How to choose the best flooring for your kitchen or bathroom
It’s important to do your research and make careful considerations before moving forward with a material order or choosing a contractor for installation, says Melody Higgins (Photo courtesy of Final Touch Flooring Group)
A winter home improvement projects continue, many people are still looking around their homes and realizing how much last summer had a gloomy impact on their floors. For some homeowners, it will be a great time to start that remodeling project - especially for a bathroom or kitchen. Of course, a big part of any remodeling project is choosing a flooring type.
Making a choice for the proper flooring in a kitchen or a bathroom requires some forethought and planning on the part of the homeowner. There are a variety of flooring choices for consideration.
Flooring to avoid
First, let’s start with what to avoid. Carpet is not a recommended option due to its ability to absorb and hold moisture. Also, it is one of the hardest flooring types to keep clean in a kitchen or a bathroom. It will show more foot traffic, and cleaning up those every day spills can become frustrating.
Good options
If one is considering a wood floor, it’s good to note that engineered hardwood flooring performs better than laminate flooring. Hardwood flooring is made of a sturdier, more water-resistant plywood base. However, engineered wood flooring is generally more expensive to purchase and to have installed. An alternative for the “wood look” is the latest trend of porcelain tiles, with the look of wood, and the durability of tile, with the option of five-inch planks.
Tile is also a long-term beauty option and is a very durable material. There are several tile options ranging from ceramic, to highly expensive, and rare natural stone materials. The most important factor to keep in mind is that natural stone, such as travertine, requires a stone sealer to help reduce the ability of water/moisture to penetrate.
Porcelain tile does not allow penetration of moisture and porcelain is a material that many tile manufacturers are using to simulate the look and feel of natural stone materials. The cost of porcelain is generally less than natural stone.
Inexpensive flooring
An inexpensive choice for the kitchen is vinyl tile or sheet vinyl flooring. However, even though it is petroleum-based, it is a composite material. Vinyl tile squares have seams that moisture can penetrate. Sheet vinyl is generally seamless, or has a minimum number of seams, and therefore does a better long- term job.
Don’t forget to match
If wood or laminate flooring is being selected, matching or accent colors are suggested to compliment the cabinets. The choices of wood species vary but oak, bamboo, hickory, maple and walnut are among the most popular. A hand-scraped finish could be considered for a high traffic area because it’s more forgiving of wear marks.
Do your research
Finally, it’s important to do your research and make careful considerations before moving forward with a material order or choosing a contractor for installation. If a homeowner would like to get the best price on the flooring for the kitchen remodeling project while still ensuring a quality product, find a qualified, reputable flooring installer in your area.
