Forum
« Bathroom Recaulk & Mold 3-Family to 1-Family? »
October 24, 2009
Kitchen Floors
I always assumed when I renovated a kitchen I would go with porcelain tile...but now that I am looking through all the reno mags, I see a lot of wood floors in kitchens. And to further confuse the issue, friends of mine said they would do cork if they knew now what they know. What would YOU do? I am interested in all opinions pro and con.
Thanks!
Comments
About to do a kitchen reno myself, and am probably going with cork. I'm not sure I would have thought of it myself, but my architect recommended it. Warm, durable, and easy on the knees. And you can get it in all sorts of colors and shapes. I would never have gone with tile -- I rarely like how it looks. The other materials I was considering were slate and linoleum (real, eco-friendly linoleum -- not vinyl).
Posted by: ilovebrooklyn at October 24, 2009 6:20 PM
Wood floors look nice. I would ask if there's a concern about mice slipping through the cracks. Otherwise, I'd go with cork or Marmoleum because it's comfortable and appropriate. I'd stick with tile in the bath and entry way.
Posted by: mopar at October 24, 2009 6:59 PM
Cork- finished with Osmo. soft, sustainable, forgiving.
Posted by: southslope at October 24, 2009 7:51 PM
You know, I have heard great things about cork--never seen it in use though. Forgive my ignorance.....but it must be much harder than I think, is it at all porous? Where does one go to see samples?
Posted by: sogo at October 24, 2009 8:06 PM
and oil....wouldn't oil seep through? I have seen this hybrid "Corkoleum" advertised....looks amazing but I wonder about the durability--I cook, a LOT--and there will be 4 teens (and friends) traipsing through...
Posted by: sogo at October 24, 2009 8:18 PM
Sogo--all cork tile is sealed, and depending on the type/quality you buy, you may want another coat of sealer on top. High quality cork can be quite expensive, but there are cheaper versions.
To get a good sense of what's out there, including real linoleum/Marmoleum (which is beautiful but requires a certain amount of maintenance), check out Aronson in Manhattan--you don't have to buy from them, but they have a lot on display and their salespeople are knowledgeable.
We cook all the time and have wood floors--very attractive and nice on the feet. As for durability, our kitchen floors are sealed with a product called Waterlox, and we put down a new coat every year or so--you don't need to strip the floors to add another coat, and you can do it yourself.
Posted by: tinarina at October 24, 2009 9:06 PM
cork is good choice because it is sustainable, feels great under foot, actually absorbs noise (good if you have kids with non kid people under you if you are in an apt), is naturally antibacterial and comes in many colors and options.
Linoleum is also a good choice and it doesn't have to be like old kitchen linoleum...there are some really modern options out there.
Rubber is also good. Good for the noise and colors are unending.
We have wide bamboo planks in our kitchen. It's warm and pricing was reasonable. Cleaning is a snap...no grout lines to worry about.
check out some options here:
http://donkeehouse.com/?p=291
Posted by: bitdot at October 24, 2009 10:44 PM
I've gone with tile in my last two kitchen renos.
I've seen wood, and over time the water and stuff gets in between the cracks and the wood gets grungy.
I think this 'wood is softer than tile' thing is an urban legend. Oak is a pretty damn hard material.
Cork sounds like a good idea but I have a hard time believing that it won't stain/darken/discolor over the long term. Maybe I'm wrong.
Posted by: denton at October 25, 2009 8:54 AM
I have tile now and I regret putting it in. I wish I put in marmoleum.
I love the look of wood, but I see how there are gaps here and there between the boards, I can't imagine that in a kitchen.
Posted by: HmmWhichNeighborhood at October 25, 2009 10:51 AM
My cousin has had wood in her kitchen for 15 years, and the wood has some wear and tear, but looks much better than a 15 year old tile floor. And it's easy enough to refinish.
She's a HUGE cook--even put in a new ventilation system so she could install a bazillion BTU stove and run a proper wok. Not a show kitchen--a working kitchen.
Posted by: bkrules at October 25, 2009 2:00 PM
If you go with cork, you want to make damn sure your subfloor is absolutely rock solid and perfectly smooth. Otherwise your beautiful cork will look like total crap within a year.
Sad but true.
Posted by: guywithahouse at October 25, 2009 10:33 PM
We installed cork in our kitchen about 6 months ago. Put 4 coats of water based sealer on it. I absolutely love it. Having had kitchens with vinyl, ceramic, and oak, I would definitely say you can feel the difference between each type, and cork is the softest on your feet.
We installed over a plywood subfloor on top of which we laid an ardex topping layer. This gets troweled on and feels kind of rubbery as it's curing, then gets very hard, making for a great finish substrate.
Jim Hill, RA, LEED AP
Posted by: JimHill at October 26, 2009 8:30 AM
If you're on your feet a lot it's much better not to use any hard tile. There's a resilience to wood, vinyl flooring, etc. that's much easier on legs & back.
Posted by: Arkady at October 26, 2009 9:36 AM
My feet get sore on the hard tile in our kitchen. But it was newly installed when we bought the house and it was fine so we kept it (we redid the rest of the kitchen). I wish I had marmoleum/linoleum. I'd so much rather have a softer surface and no texture, grout or gaps of any kind.
Posted by: traditionalmod at October 26, 2009 11:01 AM
another vote for cork. We're wrapping up our bathroom reno, and about to start the kitchen. My FIL (architect) has cork in his kitchen and bath, and love it, so I'm doing the same.
Posted by: brooklynstyle at October 26, 2009 1:28 PM
+1 vote for cork.
Posted by: laurie11201 at October 26, 2009 6:06 PM
GuyWithAHouse is correct: be sure to install cork on a very, very solid and smooth subfloor or the cork will not look good for long.
ThinkC
www.think-construction.com
Posted by: ThinkC at October 26, 2009 7:03 PM
This is selling me on cork.....my contractor assured me floors will be nice sub-floor w/ 1/4" base? But I will read him this. Can't wait to go see the flooring, thanks Tinarina for the Aronson recommend. Thanks for all the responses as well.
Posted by: sogo at October 26, 2009 7:28 PM
Just met with floor refinishers today. They say they can seal up every crack in a wood floor and make it mouse-proof. Good deal!
It's part of their regular process, not an extra step. They paint some stuff all over the floor, then use a tool to push it into the cracks. Plus as well the three coats of poly on top of that.
Posted by: mopar at October 28, 2009 4:09 PM
Also, Marmoleum can be found for $10/sf installed in Brooklyn. Try Bay Ridge Carpet and Linoleum. They probably have cork too. Aronson's Marmoleum installation prices are stratospheric.
Posted by: mopar at October 28, 2009 4:16 PM
Post a comment
Please be patient while your comment is published. It may take a moment.