Flooring Options for Kitchens and Baths
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What floor best complements your kitchen design? There are many more choices of materials today than there were just a few years ago. New products such as laminate flooring and almost forgotten materials now enjoying a revival such as cork and linoleum have vastly expanded the possibilities.
Flooring may be roughly grouped into three categories. Non-resiliant flooring includes ceramic tiles, stone and concrete. These materials have no "give" in them whatsoever. They make up for it by being about the most durable materials you can use. Resiliant floorings include sheet vinyl and vinyl tile, linoleum and cork. They are more comfortable to walk on and do not retain cold like the more durable materials. Somewhere in between are wood and bamboo. These are not as hard as stone, tile and concrete, but not as resiliant as vinyl and cork.
Wood
#1 grade strip oak, the most common hardwood floor in America. Use in a kitchen may require special finishing.
Wood flooring has the versatility to be used in contemporary or traditional settings. It can be stained to produce a variety of wood tones and colors from very light to very dark, or show off its natural beauty with a clear finish.
In this category, you'll find solid wood flooring and engineered-wood flooring. Engineered flooring uses a thin veneer of real wood over plywood. The flooring is usually purchased already sealed and varnished (prefinished). The cost is similar to the cost of solid wood flooring. But it is easier to install because it comes in large tongue and groove sheets and are often glued together instead of nailed to the sub flooring. Newer products have even eliminated the glue with sheets that snap together using an interlocking joint.
Since it's prefinished at the factory, the messy, dusty process of sealing and varnishing the floor is avoided. Veneer floors are not as durable as real wood floors and cannot be easily refinished like solid wood, but often come in a variety of colors and wood species not available, or available only at very high cost, in solid wood.
But while engineered wood is less affected by moisture, more dimensionally stable, and can be installed faster, solid wood wins on longevity and durability. According to the National Oak Flooring Manufacturers Association, a solid wood floor will last for the life of your home and can be sanded and refinished repeatedly. Scratches and dulling from normal wear and tear can be buffed out through a process called a "pattern recoat", which is less messy than refinishing and takes only a day or so.
More common in Europe than here, a herringbone pattern minimizes waste and produces a striking result.
Real wood flooring is available in strip, plank, or parquet form. Strip (also called longstrip) flooring consists of boards that range in width from 1 1/2 to 3 1/4 inches; planks are at least 3 inches wide. Parquet flooring comes in standard patterns of 6 x 6-inch blocks; dramatic geometric effects can be achieved with custom patterns.
Oak, either red or white, is the most commonly used wood for flooring in the United States because it's the most readily available. Other domestic species that are growing in popularity include maple, ash, beech, birch, cherry, hickory, pecan, and walnut. Many of these woods are produced right here in Nebraska. See Guide to Nebraska Hardwoods for Cabinetmakers and Woodworkers, and are milled into flooring locally at a very reasonable cost. Local woods include some rather rare species seldom found commercially such as Hornbeam (Ironwood), Mulberry, Osage Orange and Kentucky Coffee. Exotic imported woods such as Brazilian cherry, kempas, and merbau are also starting to find favor with American homeowners.
Thanks to the urethane finishes available, wood floors can be used safely in kitchens as long as spills are wiped up immediately. You can vacuum, sweep, or dry mop a wood floor, but never use water-based cleaners.
Vinyl
Vinyl flooring also is called resilient flooring because it yields, making it comfortable to stand on. It is available in sheets or tiles. Manufacturers use
one of two processes: inlaid or rotogravure. In the inlaid process,
solid-color vinyl chips are laid on top of a carrier sheet and bonded
together with heat and pressure, resulting in geometric patterns and designs. In the rotogravure process, a print cylinder spins around while the vinyl's core layer, called the gel coat, passes underneath. The cylinder systematically prints the pattern with colored ink dyes. Vinyl made by either method has a felt backing and a clear wear layer applied to the surface.
Vinyl resilient flooring can mimic the look of tile, stone and other natural materials. Photo courtesy of Armstrong Flooring.
The better the wear layer, the longer a vinyl floor will keep its fresh, new appearance. A urethane wear layer will maintain the new look longer than a no-wax surface, which needs to be polished periodically. Wear-layer thickness varies with each collection or series and is usually measured in mils, one mil being about as thick as a page in a telephone book. (A 10-mil wear layer, for example, would be comparable in thickness to 10 pages of a telephone book.)
In general, the more expensive the vinyl floor, the thicker the wear layer.
The wear layer for rotogravure vinyl is 10-15 mils thick, compared to 25-30 mils for a quality inlaid vinyl floor. As you're comparing different brands and price points, also note how easy the flooring is to clean and how well it resists scratches and staining.
Sheet vinyl, which is produced in roll form, is commonly available in 6- and
12-foot widths and almost any length. It has few seams to trap dirt. However, you might have to replace the entire floor if it's burned, torn, or dented. Vinyl tile is usually sold in 12 x 12-inch squares, but other sizes are offered, and some vinyls come in planks as well as tiles. Some tiles are the peel-and-stick variety, while others require an adhesive spread over the floor before setting. Because they don't have a felt backing that sets into the adhesive, they may come loose more easily. A vinyl tile floor can be harder to keep clean because the seams collect dirt and liquids, but if damaged, individual tiles can be replaced.
The look of wood, stone, and other natural materials continues to be a big trend. Metallic accents, such as brass, copper, bronze, and pewter, are also becoming popular. Commercial vinyl flooring is sometimes used in homes but may require waxing and other maintenance that isn't necessary with residential vinyl.
Ceramic, Stone and Porcelain Tile
Ceramic tile is a natural product made of clay, minerals, and water, which is pressed into shapes and fired at high temperatures. The body of the tile may be glazed or left unglazed, depending on the intended use. Tile strength is determined by the body's thickness, composition, and by the duration of firing.
Bordered ceramic tile makes a bold statement in this spare, oriental-look kitchen. Photo courtesy Armstrong Flooring.
Glazed tile is used more often for residential flooring than unglazed tile. With today's technology, tile manufacturers are able to produce a wide selection of colors, sizes, shapes, and new textures. Large tiles -- 12 x 12-inch squares and larger -- are becoming popular, and decorative elements, such as strips and borders, are being used more and more.
Is Your Floor Strong Enough for Tile?
The Tile Council of America's L-360 standard can tell you whether your floor will support ceramic or porcelean tile or stone. If a floor is too "springy", tile or stone will crack or loosen over time. The standard, for example, allows no more than a 1/2" deflection over a 15' span. The L-720 standard used for large format tiles (18"x18" and larger) is even stricter: allowing only 1/4". The process of measuring deflection requires a fair amount of arcane equipment. An experienced tiler will just jump up and down a few times to see if the floor "gives". If it does, it has to be stiffened before tile can be laid.
Large tiles offer two big advantages: there are fewer tiles to install and there are fewer grout joints to keep clean. The tile itself is easily cleaned with a damp mop or sponge and an approved tile cleaner from your local home center. Homeowners really need to be cautious about the grout because it shows wear a lot sooner. Grout is like a sponge and will get dirty before the tile will. Once the tile is down and cured, seal the grout to keep it clean. Grout cleaning can also be minimized by using a gray, taupe, or dark neutral color instead of white or another light color.
High quality tile is frequently called referred to as porcelain tile. We were surprised while doing the research for this article to learn that there is no generally accepted standard that distinguishes porcelain from ceramic tile. See Porcelain or Ceramic: What is the difference?. Generally, however, a tile in which the face color runs through the entire body of the tile is referred to as porcelain tile. This tile is a good choice for heavy-traffic areas. It also can be used outdoors in any climate because it accepts freeze-thaw conditions, but then so can high-grade ceramic products. Generally the manufacturer will indicate whether the tile is suitable for heavey and/or outdoor use based on the tile's ratings.
Another option is stone tile, a category that includes granite, marble, slate, and limestone as well as a huge variety of exotic stone. Some varieties, such as granite, are practically indestructible, while others are vulnerable to scratching, cracking, and other wear. (Imperfections, however, may make a stone floor more attractive.) Certain kinds of stone tile can warp under moist conditions unless they are installed with an epoxy adhesive and grout. Stone tiles with a highly polished finish, such as marble,
may be dulled by heavy floor traffic, so you may want to limit them to areas where only soft footwear is worn.