I am replacing the ancient cracked and chipped linoleum in my kitchen with the same type of hardwood floor as in the dining room. I recently read a blurb on doing hardwood in the kitchen (don’t remember where) and the article suggested that while hardwood over the main part of the floor is fine, extending it under the sink, dishwasher, and refrigerator could result in damage if (when?) there was some water spilled from these on to the hardwood. As there was some extensive water spots under the sink and appliances, this sounded like a good approach to me.
The problem is that a small amount of the Hardi may be visible alongside the refrigerator. Thus my question as to the best way to finish it on the floor. Do I just slop on some water based paint of the appropriate hue, or do I need to do some preparation of the Hardi before hand, such as sealing it with some special concoction?
Or perhaps there is a better material than the Hardi for this purpose. It would need to end up the same thinkness as the oak strip floor which is 5/16″. Perhaps something like Pergo would work better under the refrigerator – and Pergo would certainly be no great loss if it got water damaged…
Thanks
Replies
I think you may have misinterpreted what you read- it's not just "under" the sink, DW and refer that hardwood can be a problem- it's anywhere near those items.
Think about it- the only time water gets "under" the DW is when there's a leak- water ends up "in front of" the DW practically every time it's loaded or unloaded. The same goes for a sink.
I had a homeowner in Las Vegas who insisted on having Bruce glue-down hardwood installed in her kitchen and powder room. We advised against it, and even had her sign a waiver. Sure enough, after only two months in the house, she was complaining that the floor was discolored and warped in front of the DW, and around the toilet. She swore that there were leaks in the fixtures that were causing the problem, and it therefore was our problem even though she had signed the waiver.
I went over to check the situation out. The first thing I did was open the DW and pull out the racks. Sure enough, water went all over because she had loaded a few bowls in there right-side up, and they filled with water during the wash cycle. It conveniently splashed on the floor in the exact area that the floor was stained and buckling.
Onto the powder room. As expected, the area near the toilet that was stained was right at the front, and aligned perfectly with the nice yellow pee trail that ran down the front of the toilet (don't people clean up the evidence before inviting the police over??? lol). Seems her 3 y/o son had recently learned to pee on his own and "practiced" most often in the powder room. Case closed.
I've seen full-blown nail-down, sanded. heavily poly'd hardwood do fairly well in kitchens provided that you're very careful to clean up spills immediately- the poly forms a continuous surface (at least until the wood starts to move....). Any glue-down or floating engineered or laminate floors leave gaps between the pieces for moisture to soak into (ever seen the MDF-type backing material on most laminate foors?). Maybe (just "maybe") a Pergo-type floor with fully glued joints would be OK, but it's not something I'd do.
Bob