Kitchen Flooring
As far as flooring goes, kitchen flooring will have to withstand the most punishment in a regular household. With the kitchen generally being the highest traffic spot in the house coupled with the amount of spillage and food droppings you will need to find a suitable surface that is first and foremost easy to clean and then fashionably styled. This is why you will never see a carpeted kitchen.
When deciding on a kitchen floor you need to take into account what rest of the kitchen will look like. Your choice of flooring will have a profound effect on the rest of the room so you better make sure that whatever you ended picking is a good match with your countertop and cabinetry. The following is a breakdown of the more popular kitchen floor surfaces:
Linoleum
Linoleum flooring is cheap and durable sometimes lasting upwards of four decades. It is a popular choice over vinyl flooring because it is more durable and scratch resistant and it does not release PVC into the air which in high doses can be very unhealthy. Over time linoleum will have a slight change in color due to oxidization; this process also lends itself to toughing of the surface which helps extend the resilience of linoleum over long periods of time. Linoleum itself is mainly comprised of linseed oil making it eco-friendly.
Laminate
Laminate wood floor has arguably become the most popular choice of kitchen flooring in recent years. Laminates allow homeowners to have that rich look of hardwood flooring at a fraction of the cost. The composition of laminate flooring is made up of several layers:The top layer – composed of cellulose then coated in plastic.
The design layer – containing the image with which the laminate is replicating (i.e. wood grain).
The foundation layer – the layer which strengthens the core of the flooring.
And finally the bottom layer – a layer design to absorb shock and the elements from beneath your floor.
Unlike wood flooring, laminate requires much less maintenance as it requires no waxing or oiling in order to preserve itself. The main concern with laminate is that it is prone to scratches so you must make sure that any furniture placed on the surface is fixed with a felt pad beneath it.
Tile
Another popular option for kitchen flooring is with tiles. Ceramic and porcelain tiles are highly durable and in the event that part of your floor breaks cracks or chips you only have to replace that which is broken as opposed to having to redo your entire floor to maintain consistency. If you do plan on going with a tile floor you should always purchase more product than is required for the job. This is because certain tiles will be discontinued over time and even if they are not, the same patterned tile from one batch may not necessarily match up with another. This is due to chemical complexities of achieving certain tints and hues which will not be perfectly replicated from one batch to the next.Wood
Authentic wooden flooring gives off a look like no other. It is true that you can simulate the look with laminate, but up close you can really tell the difference. Typically hardwood flooring will come in either planks or tiles, as is the same for some of the softer woods used for kitchen flooring such as spruce or pine. After all the pieces are laid out and fixed to the wooden subfloor the surface is applied with a thin polyurethane finish. This is done to maintain a higher degree of resilience against wear and tear. Most wood floor panels are between 3/8" to 3/4" in thickness.
