Flooring Options For Your Kitchen Renovation

If you're in the process of renovating your kitchen, then you should spend the time and decide what type of flooring you want. It's a great time to tear up that old, tattered linoleum flooring and put down something more substantial. Below are a few flooring options you can choose from.

Hardwood Flooring

Hardwood flooring is beautiful and durable. However it is does have one major drawback. It is not very resistant to water. This can be a problem if you like to mop down your kitchen floor every week and keep it sparkling clean. If you don't cook a lot, and don't have the need to do a thorough cleaning every week, then hardwood can work. The upside to a hardwood floor is that it will be warm. If you do decide on installing hardwood flooring in the kitchen, it is vital that you apply a protective layer of polyurethane. This will prevent moisture damage to the planks.

Stone Tiles

Stone tiles are the most durable material option for your kitchen floor. They have two downsides. First, they are cold. So if you walk around your kitchen in your bare feet, then this will be an issue. Secondly, natural stone is expensive to produce. It needs to be quarried, refined, cut and polished. This is a time consuming process that requires heavy machinery and multiple skilled artisans and laborers.

If you do choose a natural stone tile for your kitchen floor, consider choosing one where the surface has been texturized so that is rough. This will help it be less slippery. You don't want a smooth, glasslike surface on your kitchen floor because it is dangerous.

Vinyl Tiles

Vinyl tiles are designed to mimic the look of stone and ceramic tiles. They are much less expensive. They look beautiful and you can get them in a multitude of designs and colors. However, they don't hold up to wear and tear as well as ceramic. Wear spots will emerge on the tiles after a period of time.

Also, they don't handle water as well as ceramic. Vinyl tiles are laid down on your floor using an adhesive. This adhesive is not as strong as the mortar that is used with ceramic and stone. So if you are someone who likes to mop the kitchen floor on a weekly basis, you might want to avoid vinyl.

Ceramic Tiles

If you like the look of stone, but want a cheaper alternative, then ceramic tile is the way to go. They come in a variety of designs and geometric shapes. You can choose from simple square tiles, octagonal tiles, or even hexagonal mosaic tiles. They also come in many different colors.

If you decide to use large tiles, then you should have the surface textured so that it is slip resistant. Smaller tiles, such as a mosaic tile pattern, are inherently slip resistant because of the amount of grouting that is used. The grout acts as a helpful non-slip material.

Ceramic tiles can be cold, but an easy fix is to lay a heating underlayment beneath the tiles. This works better with ceramic tiles than stone because the ceramic material conducts heat better than the heavy natural stone.