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Hardwood floors in kitchens?

T

Teresa

TUG Member
Joined
Jun 7, 2005
Messages
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Location
Medina, OH
Anyone have one? Care to comment on how you like it?

We're doing a rehab house and my husband says hardwood would look very cool in the kitchen and I agree. But I think hardware floors in the kitchen may be a maintenance nightmare. I have hardwood in my living room and love its look but I get a little crazy (paranoid) when someone tramps through it with wet shoes - or even considers it.

Thanks in advance.
 
Personaly I wouldn't do it for fear of water damage. But---- you can get ceramic tiles that look like wood.
 
We do have hardwood in the kitchen. About the day after it was installed, some dummy (me) did an amateur job of hooking up the ice maker. Water got under the hardwood and warped it. We lived with some warping and shrinkage for some time and got it refinished. So far it looks good, but it isn't maintenance free by any means. Ours hardwood is sealed, so a damp Swiffer is OK, and the dog doesn't wipe her feet coming in from outdoors with snow/water on her feet. These haven't been a problem.

I had wood-look laminate (Pergo-like) in another condo. It was virtually maintenance free, but anybody could see that it wasn't wood. So there's the trade-off.

Bottom line: we like the wood, and the cost of periodic refinishing is the price of having it.

Jim Ricks
 
I put wood down in the kitchen a few years back. I love the look and it's been wearing well. Thank goodness we've had no water issues to change our opinion!
 
I had pre-finished hardwood floors (Red Maple) installed in my NY kitchen during a renovation. It looked great and was easy to maintain for the 12 years prior to selling the house.

When we moved to Hawaii, I again installed pre-finished hardwood floors (Mahogany) in the kitchen over a year ago. So far, so good. I am really happy with the hardwood as it is easy on my back (I cook and bake quite a bit and stand for long periods of time).

I would recommend a lighter color hardwood as it will not show dirt and dust as much as a dark color. We also do not wear shoes in the house. Slippers, socks or bare feet are the norm here. In NY, we always wore shoes and the summers and winters still did not do any harm.
 
I have hardwood in my kitchen, and I really like it. The house is 10 years old now...and the floor is showing a bit of wear...but nothing too serious. Having an area rug in front of the sink definitely helps. I would put hardwood in my kitchen again if I was building a new house.

Steve
 
I have it, and love it. Had some water issue, but no one notices the difference but me. I would definately do it again. However, for a rental property, I would not.
 
Five years worth of love.

I've never had any water issues and it looks great. Dropping a can does leave a mark, but other than that it's been perfect. Very easy to clean and the dark color hides imperfections.
 
we have ad hardwood Oak floors in two homes, current one is 15 years old and never refinished. It looks great and is clean once every two weeks with vinegar and water, that's it.

Absolutely the way to go in the Midwest, tile is just to cold on the sock feet.
 
I've had hardwood oak (Tarkett) on my kitchen floor for two years, so far not a problem - no water stains or any other problems
 
I have had a hardwood floor (Angelique, very hard, from South America) in my kitchen for over 12 years and love it. Have not had to refinish it. Clean with water and vinegar and that is it.

Diane
 
Ten years ago we bought a model home that had hardwood floors in it, running from front door, down hallway and into eating area and kitchen. Hate them. We have two kids and a dog and cook lots. We've had them completely stripped and redone once as well as done the partial recoating process once. They seem to always look scratched, and really need completely restripping again now - which is a pricey job.

We had tile floors in a similar floor plan in the previous house and loved them. They were harder on the feet - I had to wear soft soled shoes or slippers if I was standing in the kitchen for a long time, but otherwise so much easier. However, in our area, wood floors have been the "expected" finish for most houses in our price range. I was pleased to see a very attractive tile in an upscale Parade of Homes model this year - maybe tile will become in the "in" look!
 
I used to have a house build in 1908. There was a maple floor under glued-on linoleum, with a vinyl floor atop that with glued on asphalt shingles. It was a ton of work to get all the additions up and then we realized there was severe water damage where the original ice box had been. Got it fixed and refinished. It was lovely.

Sue
 
White oak floors everywhere on the first floor and love it. No regrets here.
 
We have a maple floor in the kitchen, front hall, and dining room. We used to have dark oak floors with beveled joints in the hall, and hated it - there was always dust in the bevels, and the dark floor showed everything.

Our maple floor is finished with clear sealant (or maybe there is a bit of light stain in it) - we like it and would probably do it again.

However, there have been some problems:

  1. This was installed unfinished and finished on site. All the doors had to be sealed from the dust for several days' worth of coats and sanding, which was inconvenient, and there was still lots of dust. Plus I don't think the on-site finishing was as good as factory finishing would have been.
  2. Pretty much right away, the floor joints widened a bit an an area near the sink - we think it's because that area is over the furnace, and the heat affected the floor.
  3. Shortly thereafter, a pipe under the sink came undone and the brand-new floor got flooded. Of course water went right in the open joints and warped the wood. As the floor and plumbing were part of a complete kitchen remodel, the kitchen people took care of having the floor people replace half the floor in the kitchen. More sealed off doors, more dust.....
  4. The cracks between the boards in the replaced floor still open up somewhat in winter, with the furnace, then close up in the summer. The floor is a bit warped in that area, from the movement. That means we don't have a nice smooth finish in that area.
  5. DH is paranoid about any liquid on the floor and thus hates to have it cleaned so we don't do it as often as we should (other than wiping up marks or spills). We do have kids and a dog, so it is not as nice and shiny as it should be. When he's not home to complain I clean it with a cloth-covered mop and wood-floor squirty stuff. Spills would only hurt it in the area with the cracks - the rest is essentially plastic from all the sealant - but we're still extra careful.
  6. The floor - or its finish - has scratched in areas where chairs move a lot, although we do use little padded glue-on things on the chair legs. Since the floor is very light it is not at all noticeable.

So....would I do it over? Yes, BUT I'd probably go for a factory finished floor, and I'd have to think twice about doing it again in THIS house b/c of the location over the furnace. I would definitely not want a dark finish or bevels in the joints. I'd also seriously consider either a fake-wood one like Pergo or a more "green" wood like Bamboo.
 
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when I redid the kitchen and pulled up the linoleum there was hardwood floors under it - we have never lookes back - LOVE the look and the wear!! Go for it!
 
Thanks for the opinions!

Thanks to everyone who commented. I'll run these by my husband and see which way we want to go with this. It's a 'flip' rehab (although not a fast one) so we don't plan to rent it.

I, personally, have an issue with water (wasting it, getting it on things it shouldn't be on, etc.) so I was concerned about spills (water and otherwise) and inadvertant splashing and spraying from the sink. Who wants to 'worry' about the floor all the time - it is a kitchen and should stand up to some of this stuff. But from most of the comments I think there may not be as big an issue as I think (maintenance-wise).

Right now I have laminate tile in my kitchen and we were told to not get it 'too' wet. Damp mop, wipe up any spills right away, etc. My friend, though, said that her laminate wood in so durable regarding water that the few scrap pieces that had been placed behind the garage when they were installing it sat there for a few months and it looked good as new even though all the weather.

Other than my water phobia (grin) the laminate tile in my kitchen is great and it's so easy on my feet, warmer to my feet than regular tile and hides spots and dirt very well (another grin). Plus it's not nearly as loud as real tile. I think hardwood and this laminate tile would have the same 'water issues' in my head.

If we go hardwood (I'm leaning a bit more that way than before) we'll have to go with pre-finished hardwood because it's a concrete slab. That's the only hardwood 'recommended' for over concrete.

Thanks again.

T.
 
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Floors

I've had it in a number of kitchens and have always loved it. One thing I don't like about our NC house's hardwood floors is that rather than polyurethane, they are finished with tung oil and already need another coat. What a nightmare that is going to be.
 
Here's a recommendation before adding wood floors, make sure the added thickness of the floor does not trap the dishwasher in place. We added Pergo wood floors in the kitchen of our last home and later had to replace the dishwasher, but it was trapped due to the added height of the floor in front of it. It made an easy job much more difficult.
 
KCI said:
Here's a recommendation before adding wood floors, make sure the added thickness of the floor does not trap the dishwasher in place. We added Pergo wood floors in the kitchen of our last home and later had to replace the dishwasher, but it was trapped due to the added height of the floor in front of it. It made an easy job much more difficult.
Click to expand...

Oh yes, that happened to my sister too, with ceramic tile floors. They had to tear out some of the tiles to get out the dishwasher! but how do you avoid it? Have them remove the dishwasher, install the floors, and then re-install the dishwasher? Does the dishwasher have height adjusters?
 
Teresa

We are pondering the same things for our redo. Hardwood looks so wonderful. I have considered getting a gel mat for the sink area to protect the floor. I think they run about $200. Floor needs to cure first.

https://www.gelpro.com
 
I have wood floors in the kitchen and love them. I had the tile in our old home, and had it replaced by wood. If you drop a plate on a wood floor it may or may not break. If you drop a plate in tile, it will shatter.
My brother just had wood floors installed at his home. The wood was tongue and groove installed with a nail gun, and was already finished. It took only a couple of days to do a large area, and it was done, no sanding, no sealing, no odor. It's already finished! That's the way to go.
 
We've had 3/4" hardwood floors in the kitchen for many, many years. It has a triple-coat swedish (formaldehyde based) finish. That coating absolutely seals every joint and provides an excellent waterproofing which is perfect for the kitchen. After years of usage the surface started to show some scratches and claw marks from dogs. A year ago we had it sanded down to base wood and totally refinished. It looks as good as new.

The problem with any prefinished material is the inability to seal the seams and joints from intrusion of water and spills. IMHO, that's a very critical "deal killer" for flooring that can be exposed to water spills. Also it is important to be able to totally refinish the floor years down the road. All hardwood flooring will need to be refinished eventually, so you really don't want to be limited in that regard.
 
We live in Fl. and have Brazilian Cherry hardwood floors in the foyer, LR, DR and kitchen. Many peopled thought we were crazy to put hardwood, as tile was the preferred choice here, but I had heard many friends say that standing and walking on tile all day bothers their legs! So, we went with wood and it is gorgeous! Everyone comments on its beauty when they visit. My biggest complaint is that they are darker and dust does show on them! We face West so when the late afternoon sun shines on them....you can see daily dust! So, I use a swiffer most days. Takes a few extra minutes, but it is worth it. We do not have pets or children (only the grandkids when they visit). Remember, we live in Fl. and the windows and lanai sliders are open alot, so we get outside dust & dirt too.
 
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