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-resilient 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. Resilient 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 resilient as vinyl and cork.

Wood
Hardwood Flooring #1 grade strip oak, the most common hardwood floor in America. Modern coatings make use in a kitchen or bath problem free. 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 and sometimes dusty process of sealing and varnishing the floor is avoided — although with new "dustless" methods of finishing wood floors, this difference is fast disappearing. Veneer floors are not nearly 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 by a big margin on longevity and durability. Most engineered flooring is 3/8" thick with as little as 1/32" of hardwood veneer. If this thin veneer surface is damaged, it cannot be easily repaired. The relatively thin flooring often sounds "hollow" — which puts off many homeowners. By contrast 3/4" solid wood flooring sounds solid and since the hardwood goes all the way through the strip, any but the most severe damage is easily repaired. 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.

Oak Strip Flooring Pegged oak strip flooring finished in polyurethane varnish makes a beautiful and durable kitchen or bathroom floor. 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 such as the time-honored herringbone.

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.

Photo: Armstrong World Industries, Inc.. Armstrong's Starstep Atlantica collection Vinyl resilient flooring can mimic the look of tile, stone and other natural materials. 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.

Photo: Armstrong World Industries, Inc.. Ceramic tile kitchen floor Click for More

 Durable, long-lasting and easy to clean ceramic tile. Problems with grungy grout have largely been eliminated by new urethane-based grouts. 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 porcelain 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, so as a rule, large tiles are less expensive to install. Grout is much less of a problem than it was just a few years ago. Newer urethane and epoxy grouts are flexible, long lasting, and easy to clean. The days of the grungy grout lines on floors are pretty much gone forever.

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?. Tile is rated by testing organizations to determine how it can be used. There are tiles suited only for walls, others for floors and the highest quality tiles for outdoor use. Generally the manufacturer will indicate whether the tile is suitable for heavy 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.

Laminate Flooring
Photo: Armstrong World Industries, Inc. Laminate floors use a tongue-and-groove installation system similar to solid wood flooring. Originating in wood-starved Europe, where it has been used in homes for more than 20 years, laminate flooring migrated to the United States for residential use in the mid-1990s. Laminate flooring is similar in construction to laminate kitchen countertops but with a much tougher wear layer.

Laminate flooring is a tongue and groove interlocking flooring system that floats on top of the existing sub floor. The sub floor could be a wood sub floor, a concrete slab, an existing vinyl floor, or any other existing flooring type. Laminate Floor is not attached to the floor underneath. A special polyurethane padding is laid down prior to the new laminate flooring being installed. Some laminate flooring is glueless, it just snaps together. Other brands require a bead of specially formulated, water-resistant, glue be placed between the tongue and grooves of every plank to hold the planks together and to seal all the edges of the planks from moisture.

The product itself is constructed of a hard core material that has a laminated printed layer and a special backing material that is secured to a core material and then saturated in plastic resins. All the layers are bonded together at high pressure. The surface is extremely hard and resists scratching, denting, fading, and even cigarette burns!

Laminate flooring has an exceptional ability to reproduce the look of natural materials such as wood, stone, and tile. Traditional wood-grain patterns are the most popular, particularly oak and maple. Laminate is a good choice for homeowners who want the look of a real wood floor at less cost and with minimum maintenance. Regular vacuuming or sweeping and occasional damp mopping are all that are required. The only drawback to the flooring is that it is noisy. Walking on it is often like walking on a drum.

Most laminate flooring is 5/16 inch thick. Less expensive, thinner laminates are also available but are not as durable. Warranties are a good gauge of quality; they can range from 10 years to lifetime. Most of them guarantee against defects, wear, fading, stains, and water damage. Laminate flooring can be installed on any level of the house, including below grade. There are even water-resistant designs made especially for bathrooms. Check the warranty to be sure what's covered.

Linoleum
Linoleum Flooring Click for More

Available in many new colors and patterns, true linoleum requires periodic waxing or polishing to protect the material and maintain its luster.

Photo: Armstrong World Industries, Inc. Genuine linoleum is the original sheet flooring material, first patented by Englishman Frederick Walton in 1863. Although some people still call all sheet floors "linoleum," the real thing is quite different from the sheet vinyl floors that have gradually replaced linoleum in the late 20th century.

Its name derives from the main ingredient, linseed oil. (In Latin, linum is the word for linseed and oleum means oil.) The oil is boiled, mixed with melted resins, and combined with powdered cork, wood flour, resins, ground limestone, and other natural materials. Mineral pigments provide the color. This mixture is formed into a durable sheet by applying heat and pressure.

Today, linoleum has enjoyed resurgence in popularity among homeowners because of its natural look and physical properties. Linoleum is quiet and comfortable underfoot and contains no synthetic chemicals. The antistatic surface rejects dust and makes it ideal for rooms with electronic equipment.

Linoleum is definitely not a low maintenance flooring. Its formulation and manufacturing have not changed very much since your gramdmother's kitchen. It is tough and durable but susceptible to moisture and alkalinity. In order to produce its best appearance and to protect it from dirt and excess moisture, linoleum should be cleaned and waxed with products intended for use on genuine linoleum. Remember Mop-And-Glow? If you decide on genuine linoleum for your kitchen, you will get reacquanted with this vinerable floor care product.

Bamboo
Photo: Eco Timber Flooring.


Bamboo Flooring Click for More

 Bamboo is actually a grass, engineered into a plank in a process that bonds bamboo fibers in a resin. The flooring acts like hardwood and looks a little like it too.

Some makers offer a finish that is warranted for 50 years. Bamboo is one of the world’s most environmentally friendly natural construction materials. It is not wood. It's a variety of grass. There are over 1,000 species of bamboo growing in most places in the world, even in the U.S.

The bamboo used in flooring grows so fast, (about 1" each hour), that there is no environmental danger to this product. It is completely sustainable. It can reach 90' in height and 8" - 10" in diameter by the time it is harvested. Bamboo is on average 27% harder than Northern Red Oak and 59% more stable.

Bamboo flooring is an engineered product. Most of it is made in China and imported into the United States. Multiple plies of bamboo strips are laminated together to produce planks or panels. These are then finished with a factory-applied coating, much like pre-finished wood flooring products. Some coatings are warranted for 50 years. Now very limited in color: basically natural and "burnt bamboo", expect more color choices very soon as engineers figure out how to apply enduring color to this very dense material.

The working properties of the material are not much different from wood. It mills, cuts and drills about the same, and wood glue will work well. The dust can contain some very unpleasant chemical resins, so a particulate respirator is required (and recommended as well for wood dust).

But not all bamboo is the same. Some acts like a dense hardwood with very minimal shrinkage and little movement over time. Other species will shrink and swell noticeably when exposed to changes humidity, and are less suitable for kitchen and bath floors. Only a skilled and experienced installer is likely to know the difference.

Cork Tile
"Cork" is not a word that immediately comes to mind when thinking of materials for kitchen and bath flooring. Cork tile, however, is an environmentally sustainable material, like bamboo, and has some unique properties that make it as suitable as wood for bath and kitchen use.

Cork Flooring Click for More
 When carefully sealed, cork, like wood is suitable for kitchen and bath use, but it cannot long endure standing water without damage. Cork is the bark of the Cork Oak tree. The tree, grown predominately in Europe and North Africa, has a life span ranging from 150-200 years. Cork is harvested using methods that have remained virtually unchanged since the uses of cork were first discovered. Once the tree has reached maturity (typically 25 years), the first harvest of cork bark is removed from the tree. The process is repeated at intervals of nine years, at no time affecting the health of the tree. During each harvest, no more than 50% of the bark is removed, allowing the tree to protect itself using its natural defenses.

To produce cork flooring, cork bark is ground into small granules. The granules are baked in molds at varying temperatures producing shade variations in the finished tile product. A dye may also be applied. The result is then cut into slabs, sanded and finished with several applications of polyurethane.

Cork contains micro-cells filled with air. This is what gives cork it resiliency and buoyancy. Cork has a little "give" to it when it is walked on, but immediately springs back to its original shape. While cork can be dented if enough pressure is applied, ordinary use causes no damage. Cork is also water-resistant due to its cellular structure - but not water-proof and allowing water to stand for long periods on cork should be avoided.

Properly installed, cork provides a long lasting floor, giving your interior a warm, natural look and feel that will retain its functional beauty for decades

Concrete
Photo: The Concrete Network. Acid stained concrete makes a beautiful, durable floor for your kitchen or bath. For a very durable surface, consider concrete for your kitchen or bathroom floor. We do not mean, of course, the kind of concrete that you have on your sidewalk.

Interior concrete floors are a denser, finer concrete mixture. Acid staining and dying the concrete can produce a huge variety of looks from rustic to industrial.

New flexible thinset materials can even be applied over old floors for a fresh, new look. And concrete is a natural if you want radiant heat in the floor. It transmits the heat better than just about any other flooring material with the possible exception of ceramic tile.

Acid staining is not a process for the unskilled or faint of heart. A trained colorist is a chemist with the soul of an artist. It requires a lot of experience to get it right the first time, and there is no second chance. The stains are a mixture of metallic salts and acidic, water based solution. The acid opens up the top of the concrete allowing the mineral salts to penetrate. The salts react with the calcium hydroxide in cured concrete to produce color that is a permanent part of the concrete.

Colors are now pretty much limited to black, earth tones, blues and greens, but the list of colors is growing yearly as stain manufacturers continue their search for the next great color.

Sources Notes in this Article
Armstrong World Industries, Inc.: Manufacturer of beautiful flooring, ceilings and cabinets for the ideal living space.

The Concrete Network: Directory of concrete contractors, materials and supplies.

Eco Timber Flooring: Since 1992, EcoTimber has been the only flooring company devoted to forest protection and healthy homes.

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