First glitch - need help with kitchen floor options please!

10 years ago

We started ripping out our kitchen yesterday - very exciting! However, part of the demo was ripping up the floor, which we were told was likely the same wood as in the rest of the house under the sheet vinyl. So I had planned to have my open floor plan have a continuous oak floor. However, turns out that the floor is actually pine, which I would also refinish if it wasn't covered in asbestos-laden tar. Having decided that spending a couple of weeks scraping up tar is not going to work out, So, I can have someone rip out the existing (very solid) pine subfloor and put in new oak. This will be expensive, and never a perfect match, but is the original plan

Alternatively, since I'm a little nervous about wood in a kitchen anyway, I could also do sheet Marmoleum. Problem with this plan is that my open space doesn't have a great cut-off point for the marmoleum to stop and the existing wood to start. I'd love opinions on whether either of these would work, assuming the carpet is marmoleum (other options also welcome!).

Option A is the most natural, but also leaves the refrigerator and broom closet sitting on wood, while the rest of the kitchen has Marmo:
{{!gwi}}

Option B encompases the whole kitchen. Unfortunately, the Marmo then intrudes on the dining area, creating a kind of psychological barrier and making diners feel more like they're "in" the kitchen:
{{!gwi}}

Thanks in advance to everyone for weighing in. This has really thrown me for a loop!

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (15)

rosie
10 years ago
Miriam, if it were my home, to answer your question I would do plan A with a material such as cork or other, linoleum, whatever, that blended very quietly with the wood floors so the space wasn't all broken up. Plan B makes the dining area look like an afterthought, a cramped one, and I suspect would look like that in person too.

You didn't ask, but since you're ripping out, I'll go ahead and say that my own first priority would be to compact the kitchen so it didn't take up so much house space. You have lots of work space on the island, for instance, and also lots of counter space on the L. I cook from scratch daily and could do very nicely with half.

Enjoy your remodel.
sena01
10 years ago
How about including the fridge and broom closet and then a diagonal from the corner of the broom closet to the inner corner of the island?
Related Discussions
Need help with my first floor plan- please review!
Q
Comments (12)
Thanks for the responses everyone! Let's see if I can address them all: There's a lot of focus on my guest bedroom area. My intent for that space is really to "flex" with us as our family ages, like you said, @lavender_lass. For now, I see it being used as an extra room- play room, or whatever with a bed or pull out couch for the infrequent times we do have adult over night guests. It can also be used as a BR if someone breaks their leg or has surgery or something. Then, as we age, it will become our Master bedroom. The Guest bath is large because we needed one that is wheelchair accessible. We have 3 friends and family members in w/c now, so it was drawn with them in mind. (And any future handicaps in ourselves.) So currently, it will be used as the bathroom that every guest uses when they visit. I didn't want it to open right on to the family room, cuz I think that's a little tacky! :) I don't like the door being where it is to the "guest suite" or flex space or whatever you want to call it. I was thinking about moving the door down, like you suggested, @kirkhall. Since you mentioned it, I'm thinking that's probably a really good idea! @fotomatt- just curious what you meant about the small look/sq footage? Didn't know if you meant that I haven't used the space well, or if I did use it well! Does the exterior elevation look wrong? I was actually worried that I have too much sqft. Just wondering- I won't bite, I promise! :) @andi_k- good point! And actually, after looking at those pics again, they don't seem to have alot of usable counter space, either. I might have to rethink my vision for that room. Adding a little footage to the mudroom might be on the agenda. I need to check and see if it will jive with the upstairs. So....what do you think about my front windows, then? Should I cut them down to 2 casements w/ transoms? That would give me a little more room to play with in the mudroom, but would that ruin my exterior look? So many good things to think about! I appreciate them all!
...See More
Help me to understand lighting options for kitchen please
Q
Comments (6)
Hi Raee, "I couldn't find anyone to explain to me re baffle, reflector, open -- which one is right for my space?" Baffle -- the inside part of a can. Usually white and either flat or banded for appearance. The baffle is the part that turns the inside of a can from looking like the inside of a can, into having a nice white interior. Baffles are cheap, they're like $8. If you use a baffle, you would then use a regular flood bulb. Retrofit -- In lieu of using a baffle and bulb, you can buy an all-in-one kit these days. They come w the LED light and the trim in one piece. You don't need the baffle separate from the bulb with LED, cuz theoretically, the lights will not burn out in your lifetime. Look for Retrofit kits. They have them at HD, Menards, Lowes. Reflector -- some bulbs (PAR style) light up a filament or diode, then reflect the light downwards in a particular pattern. They can have a narrow (aka flashlight) or wide (aka flood light) reflection pattern. All bulbs with a reflector and PAR style will have a more focused light than a light which has a diffuser insead, which is a BR style. For general lighting, I much prefer BR. "Which gives gentle, broad lighting?" Look for BR style kits. Avoid PAR if you want gentle, broad. "Was guessing that 5-in would be about right?" Sure. This is all personal preference. Personally, I went with 5" in my remodel. But I was working with a little lower than normal ceilings, so I didn't want really big (6") cans. 5" or 6" would be fine. Smaller would look a little more modern, larger a little more traditional. "Best price" I don't think you can go wrong here. Your electrician will probly get an ok price, tho you can probly beat it a bit if you want to put the leg work into it and find a sale. I usually have my electrician and plumber friends quote me "wholesale" prices when I need a fixture and they call their supplier, and oddly Menards or Home Depot usually beats them. I know right now the Menards 5" retrofit kit is on sale for $10 off. I'm about to take my receipts in to get $10 back on each one I've bought. Major score! I bought and analyzed the various kits available at stores by me, see the thread below... Hope that helps! -mike Here is a link that might be useful: My analysis of LED retrofit kits
...See More
Desperately Need First Floor Layout Help!
Q
Comments (20)
you'll likely be able to do something with kitchen left in that general spot like Karen's sketch/whether it's a peninsula or island or dining table there..... but with the other half of the floor not meeting your needs, maybe posting on a whole house plan forum will help figure out what to do. i think actually that's going to be just as much a challenge for your home. Have you seen any remodels of similar floor plans in your area? The transforming of the formal separated dining rooms into another kind of usable space has traction and I would be planning to do that...question is how to repurpose it in your floorplan. What kind of purposes would you give to the left side? Would a 2nd entry on the side be conducive to better flow...depends on where people come in from driveway...you do have that "everyone passing through the kitchen" effect if the back sunroom door is the entry used 80% of the time by all people.That would be something I might to try to remedy if possible. Or try to get traffic routed thru the office/sunroom door..depending on what happens with a renovation....opening it up and more of a living space destination will change the flow. that door may be a window of opportunity.
...See More
Kitchen in desperate need of new flooring! Help please!!
Q
Comments (8)
I would be wary of the vinyl planks as they can be slick, especially when wet. Scatter rugs on vinyl are exactly that...scattered around, slid somewhere you don't need them. We recently did a living room and hall with the vinyl flooring from Home Depot and the flooring is surprisingly slick, noticeably more than the oak floors in the dining room or the sheet vinyl in the kitchen. I normally wear soft soled shoes but had on a pair of boots with a harder sole and nearly fell on my rear just running into the room to grab something. I have solid rubber floor tile and also cork tile in my basement and I would pick either of them over vinyl for a kitchen. I do like the vinyl and will use it again just not in a kitchen.
...See More
rmiriam
Original Author
10 years ago
Rosie, I generally agree about small kitchens - my last house had a tiny galley that was very functional. But it's a small house, and this is actually a pretty small kitchen. Since we generally have people hanging out in the kitchen, I feel comfortable with it taking up a significant portion of the formal public living area (the kids have an additional "den" in the back).

Sena01, that is a great idea. Much better than either of my plans!
romy718
10 years ago
If you have the funds to refinish the existing oak along with the new oak in the kitchen, I'd do the wood floor throughout. We added a couple of rooms of new oak floors to existing oak floors and the match was perfect.
palimpsest
10 years ago
If you don't match the wood floors, I would do option A. The island creates a discreet natural boundary for it.
deedles
10 years ago
Option A with cork.
herbflavor
10 years ago
too small to do anything but wood throughout...even if it is slightly off...but as another mentionned, it won't be that far off....
SaltLife631
10 years ago
I would consider splurging in order to lay wood flooring in the kitchen. Depending upon the existing oak flooring an experienced installer should be able to get a great match. As a previous poster mentioned I would refinish the existing floor while the new floor is being finished. Having the same floor throughout you space will create a natural flow.

This post was edited by SaltLife631 on Sun, Sep 15, 13 at 8:48
taggie
10 years ago
IMHO the only option is to go for the wood. Otherwise I'd fear it would always look like you didn't have room for a fridge in your kitchen.
mpagmom (SW Ohio)
10 years ago
I think wood throughout is the only good option. I was nervous about wood in the kitchen, too, but I like it so much better than the vinyl or tile I've had in the past.
sena01
10 years ago
IMO, if you won't use a rug under the dining table, having different flooring for the kitchen would be better.

Otherwise, I think your dining room would look more like an eat-in kitchen.

Shape could be something like this.

With rug, I think both can work.
User
10 years ago
Why are there two living areas? I think that having the one living area as the dining room and just having a small seating area "in" the kitchen where you've got the dining table would be the best option here. It would allow the dining table to have the room it needed and not feel so crowded. And one single floor would be the best option.
User
10 years ago
Why are there two living areas? I think that having the one living area as the dining room and just having a small seating area "in" the kitchen where you've got the dining table would be the best option here. It would allow the dining table to have the room it needed and not feel so crowded. And one single floor would be the best option.
raee_gw zone 5b-6a Ohio
10 years ago
First, the "tar" -- adhesive-- very likely does not contain asbestos although according to some sources it might. You can have it tested to be sure, if you haven't already. If you are sure it doesn't have asbestos, it does sand off fairly easily.

Secondly, I found out (quite by accident) that DIF wallpaper remover loosens this adhesive to the point that it can be scraped off pretty easily with a wide putty knife. (oddly enough, adhesive remover didn't loosen it at all!) Once the paste was removed, the wood sanded nicely.

This is what I did, and it really didn't take long.

I did find that most of the flooring contractors that I called out took one look and told me it couldn't be done, or only at a huge price, or wouldn't be worth the effort. However, I kept calling around, and did find a couple of companies that had dealt with this before and weren't frightened by the job. But, in the end I saved money by doing the scraping first (which allowed me to be sure there were no more nails or staples in the floor) then renting the sander.

So, if you would really like to salvage that floor, try the DIF and call around to find another flooring contractor.
rmiriam
Original Author
10 years ago
Thank you so much, everyone! Continuing the wood is definitely my first choice, if it's not prohibitively expensive. Raee, I hope you're right. I have a sample in for asbestos testing, and if it doesn't have any, I'll try the DIF first thing.

Meanwhile, thanks to Sena01's great renderings, I feel like I have some good options if wood doesn't end up being possible. I really appreciate those. I knew you all would have better ideas than me!

First glitch - need help with kitchen floor options please!

Comments (15)

rosie

sena01

Related Discussions

rmiriam
Original Author

romy718

palimpsest

deedles

herbflavor

SaltLife631

taggie

mpagmom (SW Ohio)

sena01

User

User

raee_gw zone 5b-6a Ohio

rmiriam
Original Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

First glitch - need help with kitchen floor options please!

Comments (15)

Related Discussions

rmiriamOriginal Author

rmiriamOriginal Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

rmiriam
Original Author

rmiriam
Original Author