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Blogger New York, NY on Nov 30, 2011

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Hi Hometalkers,

Time for the Great Flooring Debate! When it comes to kitchen floors, there is usually no middle ground: You either love your floor or you hate it! Where do you "stand" on these five types of flooring? What do you have and more importantly, do you like it?

* Cork

* Bamboo

* Hardwood

* Tile

* Vinyl

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82 Comments Displaying 25 of 82 comments | See Previous

Vicki K Soquel, CA

KMS - I read your article on wood floors - great. But have to ask - if you don't wet mop a hard wood floor how do you give it a deep cleaning. I have a sticky residue on my hardwood floors and CAN NOT get it off. I used Bona and was told that was the product to use. But think I used a concentrated amount which left the residue. I have gotten an estimate to have the floors professionally cleaned but that was about $550. Also had an estimate to have floors resurfaced which was even ...»
considerably more. I have tried vinegar & water also (but forget the right amount of %). The residue is so bad that in the right light you can see foot prints or tread marks from shoes in the floor surface. I have gotten on hands 7 knees to no avail. I really want to clean the floors myself as we are selling soon, and not have to Pay $$$ for some one else to do the job.Your suggestions would be appreciated. (product used on the floors was oil based Dura seal Polyurethane for wood floors)
Thanks,
Vicki K

on Dec 04, 2011 · Like 0
Peace Painting Co., Inc. Alpharetta, GA

Yes, Money Pit, time tested Cork is King in our book too. Once you see and use it, you'll never look back. Thanks for the fun and useful post.
CP

on Dec 04, 2011 · Like 1
KMS Woodworks Nederland, CO

Vicki...deep cleaning is not needed if the floor finish is still sound...if the finish is NOT sound than you can clean til Hell freezes over and it will never get any better because the soiling has penetrated the wood "fibers"
It is the finish that protects the wood, and the soiling should never penetrate it.
As a floor ages, the finish becomes worn and dull. It can be "refreshed" with what is called ...»
a Screen and Re-coat. In this process the old finish is "roughed up" with a fine grit sanding screen...then a new application of finish is applied. This differs from a normal sand and re-finish in that the old finish is not completely removed to bare wood.
I have always used just a damp towel ( on hands and knees) to clean my hardwood floors. 95% of my soiling is just basic dirt ( muddy dog feet) and plain water cleans it up fine. For an "oily" type mess ( say my daughter dropped a piece of bacon) then a drop or two of dish soap is applied the the towel.
When it comes to cleaning a wood floor LESS IS MORE...a damp towel...wipe...wipe....done.
If your floor looks like the pic below it may be time to get them refinished.
on Dec 05, 2011 · Like 0
Sherrie S Debary, FL

I have polished porcelain floors that are beautiful after more than 14 years. I don't care if a glass breaks when dropped or if it had red wine in it. Nothing hurts the floors.
My dogs who rule here are 103 & 89 lbs & enjoy running through the house. I don't worry about that either. I think the wood is beautiful but it wouldn't last here.

on Jan 13, 2012 · Like 1
KMS Woodworks Nederland, CO

Not listed up there is stained concrete...it would trump tile in the durability dept...but I'm still going with tile for looks and bomb proofness.

on Jan 14, 2012 · Like 0
One Man and A Hammer, Inc. Mentor, OH

Tina B, your problem is the exact reason I try to sway people to tile on a kitchen floor. If your installer had taken a bit more time he should have added silicone caulk to the tongues and/or grooves. The damage from the water would have been minimal, if any.

on Feb 08, 2012 · Like 0
Katherine A Southern Pines, NC

I consistently prefer hardwood throughout. I don't like tile...it's cold, shows everything (dog hair particularly) and hard to clean. In kitchen, anything that hits tile floor has little chance for survival. I even used hardwood in Master Bath water closet, carpet in tub/shower areas for warm feet and traction. JMHO

on Feb 08, 2012 · Like 0
KMS Woodworks Nederland, CO

Katherine...Rugs can go a long way to warm tile floors...an even better option is to install a radiant system. I have done a number of these...stepping out of the shower onto warm travertine is pretty nice. In this project you can see how a typical install might go.
http://www.hometalk.com/Kevin/project/2181 ...»

As far as carpet in a bath goes a rug will due pretty much the same thing and it can be replaced or laundered when needed....I have seen some very nasty mold farms in some carpeted baths...

on Feb 08, 2012 · Like 0
Katherine A Southern Pines, NC

I currently have tile in living/kitchen and bathroom...hardwood in bedroom in my now little converted carriage house/cottage. I didn't build it, so it's what I have, and yes rugs are wonderful. See photos.
on Feb 08, 2012 · Like 0
Katherine A Southern Pines, NC

BTW, Nederland and Gold Hill are two of my very favorite places on earth! Hi to Barb Lawler and Marilyn Soby!

on Feb 08, 2012 · Like 0
KMS Woodworks Nederland, CO

That's why I live here...I'm so glad the Gold Hill inn was spared in the big fire...I had a number of my clients lose their homes in that one.

on Feb 08, 2012 · Like 0
Carol C Mentor, OH

A friend of mine is shopping for a new kitchen floor. She was told that the laminates are being phased out because of all the problems that they have had with it. If you get water on it, forget it. She is now looking at vinyl as a better choice. Your comments don't seem to believe that is a very good choice either.

on Mar 24, 2012 · Like 0
One Man and A Hammer, Inc. Mentor, OH

Ceramic tile with a heat mat beneath is THEE only way to go!!!!

on Mar 25, 2012 · Like 0
Anne B

I have hardwood and tile and am considering hardwood everywhere next home as I live in Northern Canada and dislike the cold of tiles except in midsummer also wood has more give to it.Also interested in cork flooring.

on Mar 26, 2012 · Like 0
KMS Woodworks Nederland, CO

Anne B...you should look into an electric radiant system for under the tile...as one man and a hammer mentions above it is awesome.
Check out this project.
http://www.hometalk.com/Kevin/project/2181

on Mar 26, 2012 · Like 0
Carol C Mentor, OH

I just wanted to add to the ceramic tile thing. I just put down porcelin tile in my kitchen even though I KNEW it would be cold on the feet. Truthfully, after spending the most part of a day in the kitchen, with socks on, I never noticed the cold (it was winter) nor were my legs bothered and I do have leg problems from time to time. Just wanted to add another comment if tile was a flooring choice.

on Mar 26, 2012 · Like 0
Phoenix Stone Solutions Raleigh, NC

With four children, we truly hate our tile. We have the stain resistant grout, but it makes no difference....had hardwoods before and loved them!

on Mar 26, 2012 · Like 0
KMS Woodworks Nederland, CO

Grout color choice is key...In our cabin project we took a sample of the local dirt to the tile store to pick the grout color that was the best match.

on Mar 27, 2012 · Like 4
Phoenix Stone Solutions Raleigh, NC

haha! We should have done that...funny!

on Mar 27, 2012 · Like 0
Bonnie B Shingle Springs, CA

Double HA~HA for KMS ! Just one more hysterical thing you've written,

on Apr 02, 2012 · Like 0
Bonnie B Shingle Springs, CA

OOPS ! Since I was still chuckle-ing over KMS's response, I forgot to add how I stop squeaks in wood floors. I simply put a bit of Baby Powder on the squeaky area, rub it in and "poof" goes the squeak! One must be careful until its fully absorbed otherwise the white powder will be "tracked" ~~ KMS' dogs would love this! Of course, this process is only good for small areas.

on Apr 02, 2012 · Like 0
Barbara Durham, NC

My hardwoods don't shine anymore. I used Bona and it is sooooo dull. It was refinished only less then a year. Next time I get it refinished, I am going to use marine shellac or what ever goes on a boat.

on Apr 05, 2012 · Like 0
KMS Woodworks Nederland, CO

Barbara...Gloss floor finishes are more durable than Satin...but will loose their shine more quickly...it is the micro abrasions from soiling and cleaning that dull the shine. With a gloss floor this "change" is more noticeable. Satin floors will dull as well but still look more like the rest of the floor.
BTW Shellac is not a good finish for floors or boats. The finish that is used on boats is a Marine Spar Varnish.

on Apr 06, 2012 · Like 0
Michele W Osage, OK

I have a large floor area to cover as dining, kitchen and livingroom all one big area...We live in a log home and I really don't want more brown wood...we have a large fireplace made of sand stone so we are considering ceramic tile we live in Oklahoma so we do get the cold and we have a lot of sand outside, (we tore up old carpet due to son's allergies not to mention cause of all the sand outside there was no padding left under carpet house was just 5 yrs old, discovered cheap vinyl self ...»
stick tile was under carpet, so I have been living with this ugly tile.) We have seen new laminated flooring where instead of wood it does look like stone or ceramic tile, but then again not sure how well this will hold up...Guess what I am asking anyone have any suggestions?

on Jun 29, 2012 · Like 0
KMS Woodworks Nederland, CO

Michele W....Real tile will hold up tons better than any laminate. One of the biggest advantages will be that you can "mop" real tile. Laminates are prone to water damage at the seams were one plank meets the next. The top layer of laminates are very water resistant but the seams are not...when water gets in between the planks it can cause the core material of the laminate to swell this tends to "open" up the seems even more and the flooring quickly degrades from here.

on Jun 29, 2012 · Like 1