My parents are wanting to spruce up their 30+ year old kitchen, mostly new floors and countertop, sink, etc., not an entire remodel. The vast majority of their house has hardwood floors, and the kitchen currently has a vinyl floor. We don’t want to have to worry about matching stains, woods, etc. and also don’t want to raise the level of the floor too much. It is a plywood subfloor over a crawlspace. They do not want ceramic/stone/marble tile. They have shown an interest in other products that are natural looking and easy on the feet, such as cork and bamboo. I have briefly looked online at cork, and was immediatly overwhelmed by tiles and planks, glue downs and snap ins. I read through a few of the older posts on cork, but wondered if there were any new experiences, or some other good flooring ideas that have worked well. They are open minded, but don’t have a great deal of access to local stores that carry the “newer” materials, so it is difficult to just go shopping to see what is out there. Thanks in advance for any ideas and experiences.
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Just put bamboo in my kitchen, and I would probally not do it again. It is softer material than i was led to believe. I had to roll out my fridge a few times and can now see impressions from the fridge wheels in the floor. (should have put something down i guess). I also just installed a 16" * 16" tile in my bath and entry from a company called mannington (Adura tile) which is a type of composite. Real easy to intall with floor adeshive over clean ply (I used 1/4 underlay over subfloor to match bamboo height). I would put this in my kitchen the next time. Take a look, they have a web site.
Tonedg
I recently installed 250 sf of Adura in a kitchen remodel. Nice stuff. Very thick, a real b!tch to cut even with a new blade in the utility knife. Goes down just like vct.
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
I just put a glue-down cork floor in 3rd floor bath, and plan to put one down in Kitchen and second floor bath. So far, so good. Cork glues down well, has a bit of cushion and is not cold to the feet like vinyl or masonry. However, it hasn't gotten any big water spills yet. And you can get it in just about any cork-style pattern you can think of.
I also just ordered bamboo for main second floor living area (about 450 sq ft). I too became worried about the softness of it, so I went with stranded. Currently on order.
BruceM
We faced the same situation, plus kids and big dogs. We went with the new laminates that "look" like tile. Our kitchen is our main entry---no problems with wet boots, etc. (with a mat, of course). Drop a pan and it bounces---with most other floors you smash a tile, dent wood, etc.
I wouldn't use it in a historic type renovation, but it looks nice, is easy to clean and virtually indestructable. Just make sure the floor is real level.
I bought Formica brand online and it was not easy to install---pergo, etc. were far easier in my experience. I wouldn't go with Formica, but Mannington makes some very nice looking laminate tile and everyone in these groups is constantly raving about Mannington (no person experience with it).
CORK
There he goes—one of God's own prototypes—a high powered mutant of some kind never even considered for mass production. Too weird to live and too rare to die.
—Hunter S. Thompson
from Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas
My parents put put in a cork floor (12" tiles IIRC) to a kitchen/dining room addition about 4 years ago. Dad intalled and Mom put the poly finish on (over a year after the install). They're in their early 60's and really appreciate the "cushy-ness" in the floor. That's Mom's description. Under floor radiant heat. Very comfortable floor.
It's been abused by dogs, kids, grandkids but still looks good. It's got a unique look as well.
Here's some close ups of their floor.
Laminate would seem to be my first thought, it can come in a myriad of styles and colors. I personally favor Dupont's Real Touch floors; they are wider, faster, better looking and hide seams better.
Other thoughts are to do a strip vinyl floor; its thin and wouldn't involve much prep. There are different sizes and styles. Check Armstrong or Congoleum.