What kind of floor (hardwood , tile (type), etc) is recommended for kitchen, dining, family, and bath rooms?

Question

I'm building/remodeling what could be a potential dream home and we're taking in construction bids. I am not very sure though of my choices...

Home improvement experts...I need help!

Answer 1

kitchen - tile is the best but most expensive, vinyl is a good second choice, avoid lineoleum squares and any form of carpet like the plague, wood floors in the kitchen is also suspect as liquids can seep into the grooves between boards

dining - I would go with the listings above, however many people have wooden floors in the dining room, this is a personal choice

bathrooms - see kitchen

family - carpet is perfect for this room - it muffles noises and warms the floor in cold weather, they do make wooden floors now with radiant heat which is a great choice (just pricey), if you love the idea of wooden floors in your family room, consider getting a large area rug

Answer 2

You didn't say how many family members or their ages. You need to look at the type of traffic that occurs in each of those areas, and what maintenance methods you prefer.

Hard surface floors (ceramic tile, sheet vinyl, hardwood or laminate) will all perform well in those areas, and all can be damp mopped rather than vacuumed. However wood is the most susceptible to water damage even though the new factory finishes are superior to sand-on-site finishes. All of the above choices are relatively low maintenance, but the ceramic tile will need the grout sealed about once a year or so, and you must be careful to use a neutral Ph cleaner when you mop or you will damage the grout.

In the Family Room, will people be lying on the floor to watch tv? If so, you will at least want an area rug for comfort, or may prefer wall to wall carpet over a 6# pad. Go to http://www.carpet-rug.com/ for some very good info on choosing carpet and padding from the Carpet and Rug Institute.

You also didn't say whether these floors will be installed by you or your builder. Laminate is the most diy friendly, and the ceramic tile would probably be the most difficult or time consuming. If you have several young children, I would consider sheet vinyl, especially for their bathroom, and that would be my preference for a Laundry or Kitchen as well. Graphics and quality in vinyl has improved tremendously in the last ten year. It is not unusual to see vinyl flooring with 10, 15 or even 20 year no rip, tear or gouge warranties today.

Go to a reputable flooring company. They will be able to advise and guide you for the types of flooring that are best in your part of the country.

Answer 3

Here's what I've learned over 20 years in the field.

Kitchen -
Hardwood is a popular choice, I would recommend getting a unfinished 3/4 product.....the unfinished so you can sand all of the edges of each plank so you have a smooth floor.....prefinished floors either has the beveled edges that collect dirt and dust and the side joints are never perfectly smooth...so to run and slide might cost you a pair of socks
Also, the wider the plank you choose the more you'll see "cuppage" in a years time. The smaller the width planks, the better contraction and expansion. Smaller width planks allow for more fasteners too, over time the widder boards will show cupping more than the narrower boards
1.50 to 2.00 install, 2.00 to 3.25 ave. for the wood and 1.00 to 2.00 sq. ft to sand and finish



Tile is attractive but it is not maintenance free, its cold, and when you drop a glass...the glass, or bowl is going to break......

Bathrooms
maintenance free, vinly is best, don't cringe, they've got patterns that you would swear is tile until you touch it and look closely.
In my house I have real tile, I used scotch guard stain resistant grout and so far so good....it all depends on how much you want to spend and how fancy you want to get....tile is more attractive for a bathroom....don't use wood or a laminate product that says its safe IF you do the proper things. Tile labor and materials on ave. 6.00 to 8.00 per sq. ft.

Dining - hardwood...unless your daring with no kids no pets then you could try carpet

family room.....we have hardwood......and its not a quiet room.....between echoes of conversations from the kitchen and the entertainment center electronics I would much rather have carpet........

I hope this helps ....good luck on your project

Answer 4

Hardwood is easy to get the finish damaged in a kitchen application; tile can chip very easily if you drop anything hard on it, as that happens a lot in the kitchen, and the grout will absorb the colours of food spills unless sealant is applied; (or hike them up close to each other without a grout line--this looks great with shale). I considered all of this, and I have laminate in the kitchen with a couple of throw carpets in heavy-wear areas; ceramic tile in the bath, and laminate everywhere else except the foyer (more tile.) This is for the above reasons, and because hardwood is more difficult to install and maintain, and costs a lot more. Good luck.

Answer 5

I'm an interior designer, so I hope my answers will help.

Tiles has the greatest varieties and easiest for maintinence.They come in different pattern, colour, even some mimicking the look of wood, stone and other material. For cleaning, you just mop it bascially, no other maintinence required.

For hardwood, it depends the climate of where you live. If you living in a place where high temperature difference and humidity would not be recommended, as there would be a risk of the flooring the expand/contract. If you wish to have the timbe flooring, I suggest you use "Engineering timber floor". They are made of real timber, but instead of the whole flooring made of hardwood, only the top layer of the floor plank is made of wood, the underlayer is made of other material. This type of flooring is designed to minimise the effect from weather. Also, engineering timber floor comes with hardcoating, which protect the flooring surface, therefore require minimial maintinence, whereas hardwood you would need to wax it from time to time.

If you are looking to have modern / contemporary look, you may consider having the flooring in bare concrete finish with clear eproxy coating. This finish is hardwearing and also require minimal maintinence.

Answer 6

Hardwood is recommended for the family and dining rooms, but is not good for the kitchen and bathrooms because it is sensitive to water.

Tile is best for these other areas.

Answer 7

We just had hardwood put in our kitchen and it looks wonderful.

We had tile before .....the hardwood makes it look richer and it's much easier to maintain.

Our kitchen is very large and we don't have any children.

Answer 8

in your kitchen i would recommend a laminate floor, it is much more resistant to just about everything, scathing and wear, . family room i would go with a denser carpet. carpet is weighted on a scale from 10oz to 60oz, 60 being the best, that is the density of the carpet, the tightness of the loop and so on. bathroom i would just go with vinyl flooring or ceramic tile, you could aslo go with peel and stick tile, they are 12x12 square pieces of vinyl that you just peel and stick down. there are alot of chioces available to you at menards they have close to 100. if you like hardwood i would recommend flooring by PERGO or BRUCE. laminate i would go with SHAW.

Answer 9

My husband & I have just finished building our second home. We used marble, carpet, travatine, and wood . My advice is no matter what you use make sure it flows well. Also stay away from Ash wood for your flooring. It is more prone to wood distroying organism such as the powder post beetle. We have just found that out the hard way.

Answer 10

tile in bathrooms kitchens and family rooms especially children will spill things and make messes so tile will not stain as easily as carpet.