The Kitchen. It’s not only the place where we eat three squares per day, it’s also where you hang out as a family and entertain guests. With the kitchen getting so much action on a daily basis, you’re going to need not only a beautiful floor finish, you’re going to want something that will last for a long time without losing any of its good looks. Durability is key. Let’s see 5 of the most durable kitchen floors.
Says the professionals at Tri-Point Flooring, a company that specializes in hardwood installation in Raleigh, options for kitchen flooring are seemingly endless. This can leave you feeling overwhelmed by the types of flooring, stains, finishes, and styles, that are available to your home. But a reputable flooring professional can help you choose the right engineered hardwood or vinyl plank flooring that can stand up to heavy kitchen traffic while maintaining its beauty.
But according to one recent article, homeowners looking to invest in kitchen flooring must also keep safety in mind. While kitchen floors endure lots of wear and tear, they also must deal with heat, dropped utensils, greasy drips, plus the perpetual pounding of feet. The floor needs to look good while putting up with lots of hazards. What this means is, not every floor finish material is well-suited for a busy kitchen.
The key to choosing the right floor? Look to balance function with style, comfort, and safety.
That said, here are five-floor finish options for your busy kitchen.
Hardwood Floors
Perhaps one of the most popular floor material choices not only for the kitchen, but every space in your home, hardwood floors can be extremely durable. However, for many years, hardwood was considered the wrong choice for kitchens and bathrooms because of potential moisture/water issues.
But today, that outdated perception has changed because of state-of-the-art sealers and polyurethane finishes that shield against “moisture-prone areas.” You will still need to exercise caution when choosing the right hardwood kitchen floor. Whether it’s an engineered wood floor or hard veneered planks, the wood will still be more susceptible to water issues than something like stone or ceramic.
Bamboo Flooring
While it looks and feels like hardwood, bamboo is actually a harder, more durable flooring material. Bamboo also offers lots of different looks due to its many grains, colors, and patterns. Also, the production process bamboo flooring goes through makes the material impervious to moisture and water spills. This means bamboo can potentially be more popular for kitchens than hardwood.
You can choose three types of bamboo flooring for your kitchen:
Strand woven bamboo is said to be the most durable and the most expensive. It’s engineered with bamboo that’s pulped and pressed into dense dark blocks that are later formed into planks.
Engineered bamboo consists of flooring planks that are topped by a layer of bamboo and sealed with a waterproof coating.
Solid bamboo is manufactured by bonding together pieces of sliced bamboo. But this material is said not to be an ideal choice for kitchens or bathrooms where moisture is always prevalent.
Ceramic Tile Flooring
Ceramic tile just might be one of the perfect choices for a kitchen floor material since it’s impervious to moisture. Created form natural clay that’s formed, glazed and subjected to extremely hot temperatures, ceramic tiles are very durable. Clay tiles are so hard they rarely break. They will also last for a very long time. Perhaps even indefinitely.
Ceramic tile flooring is available in all sorts of colors and patterns, and can even be made to look like wood.
Concrete Flooring
If your home does not have a basement and your kitchen is located on the ground floor, concrete is a very good flooring choice. Concrete is both durable and inexpensive. If you already have a home that’s constructed “slab-on-grade,” all you have to do is leave the concrete exposed in the kitchen area. Talk about a cost-effective kitchen floor finish solution.
Concrete flooring can be stained, polished, and treated in a number of creative ways. It’s a very appropriate floor finish in modern style homes.
Stone Flooring
Like ceramic, stone flooring is simply one of those durable and attractive options for your kitchen. It’s also one of the most popular. Why? Stone is said to equate with “luxury.” That said, the stone will attract a high class of buyers when the time is right to put your home on the market.
Lot’s of different types of stone varieties are available in today’s residential construction market. They all differ in hardness, resistance to scratching, and overall durability. Some of the options include but are not limited to sandstone, granite, marble, and limestone.