is it better to lay new tile in a kitchen, rather than use a fake surface laminate wood flooring?
all materials in my home are solid right now.. but I love the look of wood floors, but am afraid it will wear fast if it’s the faux wood. I found that real wood is thick and will be up high on the floors, so I canno’t use that. thanks for any advice!
Of the 2 choices I d do tile any time. But unless your on a cement slab, the tile will be raised up just as high , if not higher than hard wood.
Laminate is a good choice if you don t go out and get the 99 cents a s/f stuff.
There are many good laminates out there that give you 15/20/ and 25 year warranties. These are quality and is hard to tell from a thinner engineered wood.
If the thickness is a major issue, check out a good engineered wood which is closer to 3/8 and 1/2 depending on what you get.
Look also at Quick Step, Alloc , Mannington , Mohawk, Wilson Art just to name a few laminates.All these lines have junk and all have so nice quality laminates.
Any questions you can e mail me through my avatar,GL
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If I had to choose between laminate wood flooring and tile, I would definetely choose tile. I had no experiencde with laying tile, but was determined to learn (on the job). I tiled my own bathroom, floor, shower, and walls (half-way up). It was a stone-patterned tile and it doesn’t show dirt at all. It was messy, and I had to work off of a ladder while working in the shower, but it was well worth the effort. Wood floors show dirt and dust sooo bad you would have to dust and mop very frequently. Go with the tile.
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Laminate flooring does not wear fast. It is the quite opposite of wood flooring. Wood flooring has a lot of up keep to preserve the look. When wood floor scratches you usually have to sand it down and have it refinished. Wood flooring can only be sanded down so many times. Laminate there is no up keep to it. I have had laminate flooring in my family room for 9 years and have had no problems. I ended up ripping out all of my carpet in my formal living room and dining room and put laminate flooring. I also built on a room upstairs and did laminate. Laminate flooring comes with warranties. Just make sure you buy a known brand because a lot of laminates come from China and therefore to get them to back up their warranty is impossible. I found an inexpensive place on line called Floor One who had great prices on their laminate. Check out Wilson Art flooring that it what I purchased and have had great luck with it.
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Go with the tile. Wood floors, laminate or hardwood, will pucker when it gets wet. Also, wood floors get slippery when wet. Us a tile that does NOT have a high gloss finish. Use something with a matte finish and if possible, look for something non-slip.
Tile floors will hold up better and last longer in the kitchen.
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A couple of years ago, we installed Pergo laminate flooring in our kitchen because it’s durable. So far it has been great. It looks very much like wood. The "wear layer" is working well to prevent scuff marks and worn places. Before we bought it, the store suggested that we take a look at a Pergo floor they’d installed in a restaurant months before. Even in heavy traffic areas it showed no wear.
Ours does sit half an inch higher than the older wood floor in the adjacent dining room. The installers used slanted molding to make the transition safer.
I have worked in kitchens with hard ceramic tile floors. They were very hard on the feet, and made my legs ache after a few hours. I suppose you could put down rubber mats in front of the sink and wherever else people stand a lot of the time. That’s what they do in restaurant kitchens, although it does spoil the look.
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Although you like wood floors & laminate is an option, compare resale value of tile. I built a house using tile I loved~ eggshell with faint "shadow patterns" in tan running through. The color hides dirt, always shines & still looks new after 13yrs. For thresholds I used marble. I run a 2lb sweeper over the tile. It’s absolutely "fuss-free" & looks "richer" than wood. Tile is higher end than laminate, which most are unfamiliar with. More effort is needed to explain & prove it’s resale value.
The finish on my wood floors didn’t hold up. Sand, sugar, etc. gets stuck in the seams. Check the width of the joints in the laminate & what holds it together~ My contractor had to replace a whole section of wood flooring due to warping in the 1st year! Wood shows dirt, dust & more. It needs careful cleaning & shows dents, chips & scratches if you drop/break a glass or vase.
Invest in what you love- the best u can afford. Comparison shop- you’ll find deals you can’t pass up! Negotiate prices in locally owned shops. I told the salesman my budget limit, amount needed & negotiated $2/sq to $1.20/sq. Many are on commission & will work with you. I was able to tile 2 baths, kitchen, 2 short halls, laundry & breakfast nook.
Hope this helps. Here are some ideas:
References :
http://www.balboaflooring.com/?pg=tips-transitions-between-floors
Laminate flooring is not water resistant. If your fridge leaks or something spills and goes unnoticed then your floor will be ruined. Tile is going to be thick too. You have about 1/4 inch for the thinset and about 1/4 inch for the tile if not more. It is very nice and very durable though. The installation can get costly though if you don’t do it yourself. A good product that I have in my house is called Konnecto. Its a high grade vinyl that looks just like real wood. it has the woodgrain scraped into it and everything. It’s around $5 a sq. ft. but Lowes make a similar product for $1.69 a square ft. It’s durable, easily cleaned and best of all my kids and my huge dog dont scratch it and it relatively easy to lay yourself. All you need is a utilty knife to cut and snap the edges with and we rented a 100lbs. roller to make sure that it was down good. Also, if for some reason a piece gets messed up from a burn or something, you can heat it up with a blow dryer to reactivate the sticky strip and reinstall just one piece. Looks just like real wood. Everyone who’s come in my house thought so!
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Of the 2 choices I d do tile any time. But unless your on a cement slab, the tile will be raised up just as high , if not higher than hard wood.
Laminate is a good choice if you don t go out and get the 99 cents a s/f stuff.
There are many good laminates out there that give you 15/20/ and 25 year warranties. These are quality and is hard to tell from a thinner engineered wood.
If the thickness is a major issue, check out a good engineered wood which is closer to 3/8 and 1/2 depending on what you get.
Look also at Quick Step, Alloc , Mannington , Mohawk, Wilson Art just to name a few laminates.All these lines have junk and all have so nice quality laminates.
Any questions you can e mail me through my avatar,GL
References :
20 years in flooring as a store owner/installer
There are lots of thicknesses of wood.
Visit a flooring store, find a knowledgable sales person and explain your needs to them.
In some ways, laminates (the fake wood) are stronger than real wood.
Remember there are many grades of all flooring products, visit your stores, explain what you need and then listen.
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Laminate can actually be stronger than real wood, and of course is quite cost effective. Of course, if you take good care of it, you can get many years of beauty and strength. Tile also has its benefits – which one is best is really just a matter of taste. Try a Rite Rug dealer or similar to get some ideas of which fits your situation best!
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Laminate flooring is a long-lasting, durable, affordable alternative to hardwood. For best protection, laminate flooring should be treated much like hardwood flooring. Laminate is generally somewhat more durable than hardwood—it is made of several layers laminated together, which makes for stability and strength. http://www.riterug.com/
BE CAREFUL. Tile will come up too high and lock your dishwasher in so that it can’t be accessed for repairs. If you have a built-in refrigerator, you’ll have a problem there as well.
I have Pergo flooring in my kitchen for the last 10 years and it looks like the day it went in. This is definietly your better choice. Check out the webpage below if you want more info about it.
References :
http://www.continuous-home-improvement-help.com/pergo/flooring.html