OT - kitchen flooring choices

Re: OT - kitchen flooring choices

Jack Guzman from Maine

>Bill, I just recently encountered a kind of flooring that may or may not be what you want. The Home Depot out here has it. It's a Traffic Master product.It's vinyl and it comes in 3' by 8" panels that stick together with pre applied adhesive. They look like planks but they're solid vinyl.When it's all laid it is a floating floor. I installed it in an apartment I was renovating and the properties of it as well as the ease of installation got my interest.It comes in Oak, Cherry and Hickory designs.It doesn't really look like real wood but it looks as good as any vinyl product I've ever seen.---Jack

Re: OT - kitchen flooring choices

Andy Lincoln,In Dearborn MI

>Bill,

I've installed laminate flooring in my current house as well as the previous house,both being in kitchens.The first was 1st-2nd generation Pergo,glued together but floating within the room.Looked absolutely as good after two years of hard use(kids,big dogs,rollerblades,etc.) as when it was first installed.I did opt for the more expensive underlayment(probably being overly cautious but seems to hold up real well).No noticable squeaks,creaks or noises with the floor.I haven't had to repair any yet but would probably take the unlock and remove to the defect route,myself.Laminate floors are hard on saw blades so I bought a couple $10-20 blades for chop saw and table saw and dedicated them to laminate floors and the like.

Andy

Re: OT - kitchen flooring choices

Glenn Madsen near San Francisco

>We redid the floor in the rental where my son & daughter-in-law live last fall, when we redid the kitchen. The cabinets are still awaiting doors, but then, everyone's working fulltime too.

We bought some engineered flooring at the Orange BORG, wood all the way through. It looks like a Jatoba, or something very similar. Another one of my sons laid it in an afternoon, over a pretty good foam underlayment they sell there too. Click together glue system. We were there today, and it looks pretty good, in spite of the grandkids. Maybe $3/ a sq ft? A little more?

I've done sheet vinyl, by myself, and watching pros do it. Not again for me. Tore one up moving an appliance, and had another one mark (burn) when something dropped. The wood is more durable, IMO.

Not floating

Jim in Burlington On

>I wouldn't install a floating floor in a kitchen there's just to many dings and dents that happen. I've had glue down high end tiles down for 10 years now and any that get damaged it's a easy fix to replace them.

Re: OT - kitchen flooring choices

John from Cincinnati

>Bill

I'm a fan of tile in kitchens and baths. It is very easy to insall and lasts forever. You can get some very nice tile for reasonable prices or you can spend a lot money. I plan on installing an electric grid heating system under the tile on my bathroom floor when start the remodel. That is the only real drawback, tile can be at little chilly during the winter.

John

Re: OT - kitchen flooring choices

Greg Forster

>I like VCT in kitchens and baths; a retro look. Durable, easy to replace any future damage and you can get very creative with the design. Only downside is you should apply several good coats of wax.

VCT?

Bill Houghton, Sebastopol, CA

>You've got me on that one. I'm assuming "T" = tile, but not sure about the rest.

Re: VCT?

greg forster

>Sorry.

Vinyl composite tile. Its what you see in a lot of drug stores, usually in a checkerboard pattern, but you can get very creative. Lowe's/Home Depot etc. sell it. Armstrong is a manufacturer, among others.You glue the 12" square tiles to a substrate - very easy to do. Best to finish with a good floor wax.

Re: OT - kitchen flooring choices

Mike G.

>I just finished laying a Cork floor down in a kitchen. It looks pretty good and they advertise it as "the warm floor." They make it in a glue down tile system and as a floating floor system. I put down the floating floor. It comes in 12" by 36" pieces, had "builtin" underlayment on each piece and just clicks together. I did about 120 square feet in 3 hours by myself. It's supposed to be a very sturdy floor. the salesman told me they use it in the Mayo clinic and it's held up very well. I'm sure you can find it cheaper but we paid $5 bucks a foot for ours. The main thing is to make sure you leave the recommended room for expansion. I had to repair a Pergo floating floor that was improperly installed by someone else and believe me, it's not a fun job. HTH's

Mike G. in SC

Re: OT - kitchen flooring choices

Ernie Miller

>I'm building a sun room and thought about the electric heat under the tile but it seams pretty high priced. I may still do a small section around the Jacuzzi tub though.