I’ll be remodeling my kitchen soon and am trying to decide what type of material to use on the floor. I have a concrete slab.
One option is to use a prefinished engineered wood product and glue it down. That is what I will do for the adjoining rooms. But I wonder about how well the engineered wood will stand up to water, to really wet washing, not just a wipe with a damp mop.
It seems to me that since the joints would not be sealed, water left to stand for more than a few moments would seep in and cause swelling.
I’d appreciate hearing your experiences with engineered wood floors in kitchens.
Replies
Mark, I haven't got much specific experience with engineered floors in kitchens, but can tell you that I personally do not like them. Put down two in the house I'm renovating. One was the laminate, and the surface was gone in one area within a year. Another floor was in a computer room and again, the surface took a beating from plastic chair rollers in less than a year. Also, the second one was gluedown (over plywood) and despite best efforts, I'm going back and face nailing because glue is popping constantly.
I would not use engineered again, especailly in a kitchen where there would be any traffic. Others will preach the advantages, but for me, if it's wood, I'm going with 3/4".
Don K.
EJG Homes Renovations - New Construction - Rentals
to really wet washing,
If you know the floors will see really wet washing, then wood is not a good choice.
"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
Not a fan of wood floors in kitchens in general...engineered or otherwise.....especially if there are children in the home. I love the look, but unless the kitchen is more of a showpeice, it's going to take a beating.
Tried talking a buddy out of it some years back, but his wife was determined. I installed a prefinished floor and within a year it had started to show the signs of its use. This was in a household with no children or pets and my buddy and his wife are both meticulous. (They leave slippers at their entrance doors so that shoes can be removed before entering.)
Ceramic tile is my choice for kitchens that see regular use in the real worls. Even natural stone is tough to maintain and keep looking new.
J. D. Reynolds
Home Improvements
We've had a number of customers who insisted on pre-engineered wood floors in their kitchens (glued over concrete slabs). We had them sign disclaimers that we weren't responsible for any water damage that occured, unless caused by a leak. Inevitably, every one of them ended up with buckling and/or staining near the dishwasher and sink areas, to which we simply waved that signed disclaimer and moved on.
Then there was the genius who decided he'd carry the same floor into the powder room, and couldn't understand the staining in front of the toilet. Hmmm....couldn't be your 3 y/o who keeps peeing down the front of the bowl, could it?????
Bob
Have you had any experience with cork tile glued over slab? .... as an aside...The house we bought had turquoise shag carpet in the kitchen..boy did it look like crap in front of the sink.
I have a whole house of 3 1/4" pre-finished nail-down solid hardwood floor from Mirage for 3 years now, no show for tear & wear, even area in front of my computer desk. The fatory finished surface is much tougher than on-site finish.The big problem with my floor is the gap shown at dfferent seasons because of moisture changes. I'm sure all solid wood floors show gaps soon or later, wider planks are more subject to changes, and no wood product goes well with water, if you want wood floor, they need to be taken care accordingly.
I would not use wood in the kitchen. If you have your heart set on it I would use solid wood that is not prefinished so that you end up with a product that is fully sealed. I have a living room and dining room where I used a solid wood pre-finished product and I had one of my potted plants leak a little water and once it got to the seams the wood swelled and that joint now looks terrible. Go with a sealed tile.
Just say no to wood floors in a kitchen! Use something you can WASH. Even a good finished-in-place hardwood floor is going to be vulnerable to water unless the finish is scrupulously maintained and you do a very good job of sealing at the edges. We have prefinished hardwood in ours and it looked like crap within about a year of use.
My maple floors in my kitchen are about 90 years old. Granted they were covered with linolium for about 50 years but they still have about 40 years of uncovered use. They look great and stand up pretty well to two kids as well, your milage may vary.
I guess what I am saying is keep in period with the house, if it is really old it fits if it is new maybe tile would be a better choice. Tile will hold up better but in a 100 year old house wood would "fit" in better.
Vinyl. If ya gotta be "period", linoleum is a good choice.
If ignorance is bliss why aren't more people
happy?
I've had great success with travertine stone in the kitchen.
Perhaps a dish or glass may be sacrified over the time it takes to learn how to handle them, but that's why they invented brooms.
I installed engineered wood floors throughout my entire house with the exception of the bathroom. There we choose to go with tile. Both floors meet at the same height as the engineered flooring and tile are both 1/4" thick sitting on plywood underlament.
The floor is over a year old, and looks like the first day I install it. Even in the home office under the rolling chair.
When cleaning we do not allow water to stand, but rather mop it up, and have had no problems.
I would recommend gluing every joint if you feel there will be a lot of water making its way to the floor.
Thanks so much for all your thoughts. You confirm my thinking that wood floors are not a great, or even a good choice, for kitchens. Cheers,
Mark
I saw the most interesting flooring being installed a the local Safeway (supermarket). It looked like old barn wood flooring but it had to be VCT (vinyl composition tile). It was in approx 6by 48 inch strips. I say vct because it is the same thickness as the new vct next to it on slab.The installers were measuring up the isle and I asked them about it...they were clueless,had no idea what it was, at least they can read a tape measure.
Mark,
I think its all about personal preference. However, here is my experience (aka 2 cents):
I have 9/16" thick engineered wood flooring (Mannington gold series) in my kitchen, eating area and front living room. I love it.....HOWEVER...I have a 16 month old who loves getting cans out of the lazy susan and dropping them ! Yep, i have a floor less than a year old that has dents, scratches, etc. That is one downside. Plus not being able to wet mop it is another. However, versus tile it is a little more foregiving on stuff being dropped.
I think the pros and cons are about equal in my opinion. That being said, I may opt to install ceramic when my kids are older ....might as well let them abuse what I have already paid for for now.
I am completely amazed at the responses to using 'wood in the kitchen' mentality. I know my wife and I are abnormal :) in the sense that we do not have kids (and don't want kids), but we have cats, was dishes, cook, and run the dishwasher about 6-8 times a month. We have 3/4" hardwood in our kitchen (chestnut-oak) that was installed, sanded, and finished by the sub some six years ago. The occasional sweeping and mopping (some product the wife uses from HD for hw) every 6-8 months, and it looks pretty dang good.
Maybe the wife and I will continue to be the anomaly in hw in the kitchen, but we have others that have it (installed by default in my development) and they do not seem to be having the problems (and generating the conclusions) being presented here. Is it that engineered and laminate floor have such a thin veneer that they hold up poorly?
I dont know.....perhaps it is easier to dent with the veneer and the plywood core of engineered floors
However, we all know that wood will eventually scratch, dent, etc......shouldnt be a surprise to anyone experiencing these things.....
As hard is it was to see the first few scratches and dings in my engin. floor, i have know better than to expect anything different.
I think its a fine choice for a kitchen. Some styles of homes may warrant different floor coverings than wood in a kitchen... But for me, i think it fits perfectly. And in my openinon, the grain of the oak adds some interest to the grain of the maple cabinets we have
run the dishwasher about 6-8 times a month
Reminds me of a cartoon I saw once. Split-screen cartoon. 30-something guy in the grocery store, reading the label on a toilet bowl cleaner dealie that hangs in the tank. Label says "Good for 1000 flushes". Guy is thinking "Wow, that's about 6 months". Other half of the cartoon, a mother with 3 young kids, preschoolers. She is re4ading the same label and thinks "Wow, only a week."
"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 know, and I forgot my medication which allows me to opinion other people's moments of indiscretion. :)
Every single one of "my own" houses I've installed solid wood flooring and love it. I always use "four" coats of poly not that three wouldn't suffice. I've "never" ever had any problems with them. Its not like you're showering on the floors. I can mop them but I'm carful not to dump gallons of water on them. Just a well rung out sponge mop then when its clean I mop on Pledge wood floor finish to top it off as I do on all my wood floors and they look awesome. Actually I have the same pine wide plank floors in the master bathroom that has a shower stall and claw foot tub with zero problems.
The wood, especially in a kitchen where you do stand awhile cooking are soft on your feet unlike tile. A hair less of a chance of a dish or bowl cracking when you drop it as well not that thats a consideration, just something I noticed.
I'm no big fan of engineered flooring. Something about it ...doesn't have the same feel/look to me as solid wood/
Be well
a...
The secret of Zen in two words is, "Not always so"!
When we meet, we say, Namaste'..it means..I honor the place in you where the entire universe resides, I honor the place in you of love, of light, of truth, of peace. I honor the place within you where if you are in that place in you and I am in that place in me, there is only one of us.
I do agree with you Andy. There is a different feel between solid HW floor and the engineered stuff. Perhaps its the difference in application of finish.
In my case, dealing with slightly uneven existing floors, the micro bevel of the engin. floor hid some of the variation....If I had been starting from scratch from the ground up, no doubt I would have chosen solid wood floors.
regardless of solid or engin., Hardwood floors are great...a quick brooming or vacuuming is all it takes. I only have to wash/polish them once a month or so to keep them looking decent