2023 hardwood vs. tile for the kitchen
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last yearDiana Bier Interiors, LLC
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Kitchen Area: Hardwood vs. Tile
Comments (28)kats - Yes, our taste does sound similar. And I'll bet in order of priorities, your hairy family member ranks even higher than your beautiful floor! Our white oak floor isn't stained, but does have a clear finish on it. We were pretty set on white oak with 'character,' but the machine and hand-scraped wasn't our cup of tea either. We drove many miles (we're hours from the closest big city) to see samples since the exact color really mattered to us. As you know, wood floors next to unpainted wood kitchen cabinets means extra care to ensure the two woods work well side-by-side! We wanted as wide a board as we could find, but the wood flooring we liked best was only available in a 4-inch wide board. We were a bit worried, but once installed, we liked it just fine. We've been in our house exactly one year now and the wood floor is holding up well and is easy to maintain (just vacuum and Bona Kemi). We had one standing liquid situation about six months ago (a very, very sick dog). I just knew we'd have to replace a couple boards because they initially looked stained. However, after cleaning up the area, I generously covered it with talcum powder which I left there for several days, and now you can't even tell where the problem was. (Caveat: I don't know if this was actually the right thing to do, but it was all I could think of and it seems to have worked.) If we ever need to replace our floor, I'd certainly look into Provenze though. Your floor is gorgeous and I love its 'mood.' Here's a picture of our family room floor (complete with some of those south-facing windows!). The same white oak flooring is in all our downstairs rooms except bathrooms and utility areas. By the way, that fireplace is a wood-burning fireplace (Fireplace Xtrordinaire) and the floor has had to endure a few random sparks from it too, but it hasn't been a problem....See MoreTile vs hardwood in kitchen
Comments (5)Dh and I have had hardwood in our kitchen for the last 14 years. We have a little throw rug in front of the sink but have never had a problem. We will be building soon and will have hardwood throughout our home. It always looks so warm and is a cinch to keep clean. I can't tell you all the spills I've had in my kitchen and never has it been a problem, just cleaned it up right away. I have heard that if an appliance leaks onto your hardwood floor, like overnight, and ruins your floor your homeowner's insurance would pay to replace your floor. HTH...See More100+ year old hardwoods need replacing--engineered vs hardwood
Comments (4)Wood vs. Engineered Wood? No contest in this case. If the home was built in 1905, put real hardwood in. This preserves the integrity of the home's building materials. Plus, as you can see from the age of these floors, higher grades (i.e. thicker) hardwood can be sanded several times; you usually don't get even one chance to sand engineered wood. The hardwood layer at the top of this multilayered product is simply too thin. Level Floors and Subfloors There are ways to level a subfloor, ranging from replacing parts of the subfloor with thicker or thinner sheets of plywood (or planks, see below), to pour-on leveling compounds that harden to make the entire floor level. What you use to level uneven areas depends on what the subflooring is. If it is plywood or concrete, the compound works. But more likely with this home, on floors at or above grade, there will be wood planks laid at a diagonal across the floor joists. So in your home, the layers were probably joists first, then subfloor planks of wood, then hardwood with tongue & groove joints. You cannot effectively use a pour-on leveling compound on a plank subfloor, as there are cracks between the planks. However, you can lay a new hardwood floor directly on a wood plank subfloor as long as those planks are sound and relatively level. Replace individual planks that have been damaged by water or insects, are otherwise compromised, or even missing (it happens!), with either new planks of lumber, or with plywood of the same thickness as the planks. Any lumber you install, for either the subfloor or finished flooring, should be brought in to your home several days prior to installation, so the materials acclimatize to your typical interior temperature and humidity. Unlike for ceramic or porcelain tile, the subfloor does not have to be perfectly level. And unlike vinyl sheeting, planks or tiles, the hardwood won't "telegraph" minor differences in height, and minor surface irregularities, so the subfloor doesn't have to be absolutely perfect; it should be sound, strong, uniform and essentially level. Your flooring contractor can give you specifics on what upgrades your subfloor may need once the original hardwood is removed. Joists If the floor is significantly not level in parts, or if certain areas feel spongy when you walk on them, I recommend you have your flooring contractor, a home inspector, or structural engineer inspect the subflooring and especially the floor joists. You don't want to invest in a new floor, only to have it become damaged because some joists weren't attended to. Transitions Transitions (a.k.a. thresholds or molding) between existing rooms and the new floor ought to be made of the same wood and same finish (stain, polyurethane, etc.) as the new flooring you are putting down. As wood ages, the finish becomes darker, so trying to make the transitions match the finishes of existing floors is very difficult and not recommended (what will match those floors right now won't match later after your transitions age up a bit). Eventually, the transitions wouldn't match either the new or the old floors! Transitions come in four types: reducer (when the two floors being joined are of different heights), seam binder (when the floors are the same height, and the boards from each are very close to one another), T-mold (when the two floors are the same height, but there is a crack between the two rooms' flooring) and stair nose or stair edger (when the flooring needs to curve around the front of a stair's "tread"--the flat part of a stair upon which you tread!). The transitions for your particular project can be ordered when you order the hardwood, so make sure to include measurements for those doorways/entrances. The contractor can tell you if he/she anticipates there will be a height difference or gap between the floorings, which would require those particular transitions. Dry Air Concerns Consult a local lumber supplier or flooring contractor familiar with your local climate conditions to discuss finishes or other tips for keeping your wood floors healthy in the dry winters. Sounds wonderful! Have fun!...See MoreHelp! Hardwood vs porcelain tile for kitchen floor with radiant heat
Comments (14)The original kitchen had linoleum, and while planning our reno we debated between hardwood, laminate or porcelain tile. I hate having hot feet, so radiant heating has never been a consideration. I live in southwest British Columbia, so it doesn't get too cold, and our forced air ducting runs in the crawlspace beneath the kitchen, so the floors don't get that cold regardless.. Anyways, hubby, the kids love the ice machine in our fridge, and they are always dropping crushed ice. The kids are always having spills and the floor almost always has at least a drip of water here or there. It's a well used kitchen! Because of my concern about water, we ended up installing porcelain tiles. I have always been aware that I should wear shoes in the house because I have a mild foot deformity that is at risk of worsening without appropriate support, but I've always gone barefoot in my home. The tile changed that, my feet become painful if I don't wear my house slides if I'm spending the day baking, but I suppose it's a good thing for me to support my feet. Hubby has dealt with plantar fasciitis prior to changing the floor, so he always wears house shoes as well. We haven't noticed any pain in our hips or knees, but we are still quite young, and I'm sure wearing shoes helps with our alignment. Right after we installed our dishwasher on the new flooring, there was a big leak, and I'm glad I went with the tile! It's easy clean, I don't stress about the kids sliding their chairs and stools across it, and it's an attractive tile. I prefer the warmth of wood, but I know for our family, tile was the best choice, and we are willing to wear house shoes. I've brought wood into the kitchen in different ways, with the stools, utensil "pots", cutting boards, etc.. There will always be pros and cons, you just need to decide which has the least cons and the best pros for your situation :). Also, when you are considering cost, find out if you need to install subfloor. We ended up having to install ditra, which definitely added to the cost. Good luck making your decision....See MoreAv Vat
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