This is a very common question. As the poster above mentioned, Fir is relatively soft; however, one of the beautiful things about Douglas Fir Flooring is that as it weathers, it absorbs nicks and blemishes into the wood. If you are hoping for a floor that is blemish free and pristine, Fir is not your choice. If you are looking for something that is warm and filled with character, than Douglas Fir Flooring is a great idea. As to putting it in the kitchen, keep in mind that the finish you use will be imperative to the durability of your floor. If using a water based finish, we recommend using an extra coat above and beyond the manufacturer's directions. Good Luck with your project. Here is a link that might be useful: Douglas Fir Flooring

We used Original Waterlox, which is all we could find in our area. Had I been able to wait, I would have tried the satin for a few more coats. Thus, I can't speak to the level of sheen that might ultimately result on a purely Waterloxed floor. The Original has a pretty hard gloss to it. As is so often the case with DIY, we were utterly under the gun to get the floor done by moving time, so between that and our concern about splinters, we used an oil-based poly (Fabulon) for the final coat. It has held up beautifully -- even in the bathroom -- I contacted the Waterlox folks and they said they couldn't foresee a problem using an oil-based urethane over it (water-based might be a different matter?). Waterlox (regular and low VOC) does have an extremely penetrating odor, worse than regular poly, just FYI for planning purposes. You won't want to be inside with it for a few days.

I re-read your question; you have heated/insulated rooms below a porch. Therefore, the wooden decking has no air movement underneath it, so it can never fully dry after rains. Any rain is able to penetrate through the many seams in the flooring and get the insulation and framing wet, and they can't dry out either. You need to understand the construction details that are necessary for this situation. It consists of building a seamless flat roof, that is impermeable and drains water away from the house, then building a walking deck on top of it. I have done three projects like this. The first one. we used a torch-down adhesive roll roofing, then 2x4 floating sleepers and a 3/4" traditional wood flooring. Second one, a subcontractor put down a EPDM rubber roof (we had to tear off everything because the old rubber roof failed and ruined the decking and a lot of the framing) then we built modular, removable hardwood duck boards that fit into the space and were removable for cleaning underneath. Third one, the metal roofer came in and built a flat copper roof, and we did a normal porch floor on sleepers as in #1, but this time in mahogany (more stable and rot proof) , painted. I just wanted to point out that there are more issues in play than you may realize, and your path forward is not simply choosing the most maintenance-free finishes. Casey

Thank you both for your feedback. I'm leaning towards porcelain tile (to reduce maintenance), so do you mean the slate lookalikes? The variations are pretty high, and I'm concerned it will be look busy. Is there a brand/color you'd recommend? (On the island, I was thinking the island cabinet would be wood and the counter-top quartz, but not sure what brand or color.) In terms of large format, what do you mean, 18x18? (the sales woman at the tile store thought 12x12 or 13x13 better represented the period but 18x18 could work, if that's all I could find. I'm thinking the larger tiles may be less busy--fewer grout lines--and possibly a little cheaper per square foot and to install) Thanks for the feedback on the floors in the back of the house. My fir floors aren't in great shape. I haven't had a floor expert out recently, but at least one contractor wondered if there was even enough thickness to refinish them. I don't need pristine floors (or anything) and when I got a bid to refinish/replace the fir floors 20 years ago, the guy said fir doesn't refinish all that great and then ended by saying my floors look like the distressed floors people are paying to put in. So it's possible the fir may get replaced at some point. BTW, on the newer polyurethanes, one book (The New Bungalow Kitchen by Peter Labau) said to avoid high sheen (too 80s). I assume there are longer-lasting polyurethanes with lower sheen that can help retain the feeling of an older home? thanks!