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Judy G. Russell
July 13th, 2007, 12:04 PM
I swear... if I have to make one more decision with respect to this kitchen remodeling job, I may just scream.

Okay... input, please. I have got to decide about the kitchen floor. The options are:

(a) an engineered hardwood (apparently better for kitchen than regular hardwood);

(b) a laminate such as Pergo;

(c) vinyl; or...

(d) ????

I have to say that I am messy in a kitchen, not to mention clumsy. Easy to clean is the TOP priority. Not breaking the budget is the second biggest priority. (I'm already well into discovering the joys of having champagne tastes and a beer budget...)

What do you have, do you like it, and why (or why not)?

fhaber
July 13th, 2007, 02:22 PM
I'm interested, too, but ignorant. It's past time for our floor.

jdh
July 13th, 2007, 02:53 PM
If you cover the floor with peanut shells or bedding straw, then it won't make a big difference what's underneath. If the stuff goes stale, or you spill something, you can sweep it up and use it for compost or mulch in the garden. The only thing is that you don't want carpets in the rest of the house, since the stuff will track around the house. You can just think of it as semi-permanent sweeping compound. Probably ok, as long as you or your cats don't have hay fever.

DH

Judy G. Russell
July 13th, 2007, 03:27 PM
I'm interested, too, but ignorant. It's past time for our floor.Consumer Reports says (believe it or not) old-fashioned vinyl is probably best:
Best for long-wear and resistance to stains, sun, and moisture. Some premium vinyl products look more like stone and other natural materials. Easy installation.
The only downside? "[E]ven the best of this flooring still looks like vinyl."

I went over to Lowe's this afternoon and found at least four patterns that I think would look terrific... and the most expensive was about $3 a square foot.

Judy G. Russell
July 13th, 2007, 03:28 PM
If you cover the floor with peanut shells or bedding straw, then it won't make a big difference what's underneath.I'm afraid there isn't a reliable dealer for bedding straw in Central Jersey, so that's out.

ktinkel
July 13th, 2007, 07:56 PM
The options are:

(a) an engineered hardwood (apparently better for kitchen than regular hardwood);

(b) a laminate such as Pergo;

(c) vinyl; or...

(d) ????

I have to say that I am messy in a kitchen, not to mention clumsy. Easy to clean is the TOP priority. Not breaking the budget is the second biggest priority. (I'm already well into discovering the joys of having champagne tastes and a beer budget...)

What do you have, do you like it, and why (or why not)?We have 16-inch tiles; the owner of this place did not prepare the sub-strate properly so we have many broken tiles. I curse his name every damn day.

However, if the support is there, tile has many advantages: easy to keep clean, long-lasting, versatilie (so long as it isn’t bubble-gum pink or something — ours is a warm neutral).

So that depends on proper installation.

We have never had a dishwasher that did not leak at some point, so I would never consider regular hardwood, engineered hardwood (though I should concede that I have no experience of that), nor Pergo. One week of leaky dishwasher or drain, and a huge mess.

Vinyl is clearly the most pragmatic choice, and the patterns and colors are vast. It has zero re-sale clout, but unless that is a factor, ignore it.

The other materials that interest me, in case we can build a house some day, are bamboo (which is more water-resistant than woods) and dyed concrete.

Judy G. Russell
July 13th, 2007, 09:44 PM
We have 16-inch tiles; the owner of this place did not prepare the sub-strate properly so we have many broken tiles. I curse his name every damn day. However, if the support is there, tile has many advantages: easy to keep clean, long-lasting, versatilie (so long as it isn’t bubble-gum pink or something — ours is a warm neutral). So that depends on proper installation.In a house as old as this one, I'm afraid I'd end up with problems with tile as well.

We have never had a dishwasher that did not leak at some point, so I would never consider regular hardwood, engineered hardwood (though I should concede that I have no experience of that), nor Pergo. One week of leaky dishwasher or drain, and a huge mess.You know, I didn't really think of that, but it's a real issue. And engineered hardwood is worse than real wood for water absorption (and problems resulting from it).

Vinyl is clearly the most pragmatic choice, and the patterns and colors are vast. It has zero re-sale clout, but unless that is a factor, ignore it.It seems to me that anybody who buys the house can change the damned floor him/herself. (Do I sound like I'm getting testy? You betcha.)

The other materials that interest me, in case we can build a house some day, are bamboo (which is more water-resistant than woods) and dyed concrete.Bamboo has problems with color changes and is very vulnerable to sublight. Concrete is too new for me, and everything I've read makes me a bit leery of using it on a floor. And I can't imagine having to stand on concrete for long.

Sigh. I think I'm quickly talking myself into vinyl. I am already over budget (like that's a surprise???) and I'm getting tired of saying, "Well, over seven years, it's not THAT much more, if you look at it that way..."

ktinkel
July 15th, 2007, 08:21 PM
You know, vinyl is a lot nicer than it used to be.

And if you have regrets in a couple of years, you can change your mind. That is much more difficult with tiles and other materials.

Judy G. Russell
July 15th, 2007, 11:45 PM
You know, vinyl is a lot nicer than it used to be. And if you have regrets in a couple of years, you can change your mind. That is much more difficult with tiles and other materials.That's part of my thinking as well. Plus the fact that with sheet vinyl you don't even have to worry about a big spill. It ain't going anywhere until you can mop it up.

lensue
July 19th, 2007, 11:20 AM
>It ain't going anywhere until you can mop it up.<

Judy, we went with tile and love the look--people said it would be hard on the feet to walk and stand on but so far it's been good--haven't looked at vinyl in some time--good luck.

Judy G. Russell
July 19th, 2007, 07:31 PM
we went with tile and love the look--people said it would be hard on the feet to walk and stand on but so far it's been good--haven't looked at vinyl in some time--good luck.I thought long and hard about tile. Decided it just wasn't worth it for me. I think I'll be very happy with the combination of things I've chosen (http://www.pbase.com/jgr/image/82453515).

ndebord
July 19th, 2007, 08:44 PM
I swear... if I have to make one more decision with respect to this kitchen remodeling job, I may just scream.

Okay... input, please. I have got to decide about the kitchen floor. The options are:

(a) an engineered hardwood (apparently better for kitchen than regular hardwood);

(b) a laminate such as Pergo;

(c) vinyl; or...

(d) ????

I have to say that I am messy in a kitchen, not to mention clumsy. Easy to clean is the TOP priority. Not breaking the budget is the second biggest priority. (I'm already well into discovering the joys of having champagne tastes and a beer budget...)

What do you have, do you like it, and why (or why not)?

Judy,

I just opened a restaurant and I have that standard mediterranean looking tile in the kitchen and I have that engineered hardwood you are talking about in the front and it is a breeze to clean. Will it hold up? My contractor says yes.

lensue
July 19th, 2007, 08:51 PM
>I think I'll be very happy with the combination of things I've chosen.<

Judy, that looks great--I don't see how it can miss!

Judy G. Russell
July 19th, 2007, 09:12 PM
JI have that engineered hardwood you are talking about in the front and it is a breeze to clean. Will it hold up? My contractor says yes.Unfortunately, Consumer Reports says no. And since I know I'm going to be moving in less than 10 years and know I do not want to have to replace the floor again (or, if I do, I want it to be cheap), I'm going with the vinyl.

Judy G. Russell
July 19th, 2007, 09:14 PM
Judy, that looks great--I don't see how it can miss!Thanks, Len. I think it's going to be very nice. I hope it'll be very nice. And I hope by Labor Day I'll start forgetting how painful this process is...

ndebord
July 19th, 2007, 09:39 PM
Unfortunately, Consumer Reports says no. And since I know I'm going to be moving in less than 10 years and know I do not want to have to replace the floor again (or, if I do, I want it to be cheap), I'm going with the vinyl.

Judy,

If you buy the right engineered hardwood, you can do the same kind of things you would with say White Oak... Sand it, refinish it and get at least a decade out of it.

Judy G. Russell
July 19th, 2007, 10:35 PM
If you buy the right engineered hardwood, you can do the same kind of things you would with say White Oak... Sand it, refinish it and get at least a decade out of it.Too much trouble, too much expense. Engineered hardwood starts at more than twice per square foot as a very very good vinyl. If the next owner of this house wants wood, fine.

Mike
July 20th, 2007, 01:17 AM
Excellent! Things are coming together.

ndebord
July 20th, 2007, 11:22 AM
Too much trouble, too much expense. Engineered hardwood starts at more than twice per square foot as a very very good vinyl. If the next owner of this house wants wood, fine.

Judy,

Some of the new vinyl ain't half bad. As for the engineered hardwood, if you look hard you can find it at a reasonable price. In my world, that means Chinatown warehouses in NJ, not NY.

Judy G. Russell
July 23rd, 2007, 09:28 PM
Some of the new vinyl ain't half bad.And with luck the stuff I selected will fall into that category.

ktinkel
July 24th, 2007, 11:04 AM
I thought long and hard about tile. Decided it just wasn't worth it for me. I think I'll be very happy with the combination of things I've chosen (http://www.pbase.com/jgr/image/82453515).Looks as if it will be very easy to live with. Good choices!

As I must have mentioned, we have snazzy cherry-finished cabinets (some of them with glass doors picked out with an overlay to look like old-fashioned windows; phooey!), black granite on most of the horizontal surfaces, dark green tiles around the walls, stainless appliances.

Appealing at a glance, especially where we were coming from (as close to a tenement as existed in Westport!), but extremely educational. I do not generally like neutral colors, but I sure do see — NOW! — the benefits of light or medium ones. Visual drama is not what I want in a kitchen — I want easy to live with, easy to clean, recessive stuff.

Among other things, this 1996 kitchen is already dated looking.

Judy G. Russell
July 24th, 2007, 04:06 PM
Looks as if it will be very easy to live with. Good choices!Thanks! I sure hope it looks as good in large doses as it does in the samples.

... I do not generally like neutral colors, but I sure do see — NOW! — the benefits of light or medium ones. Visual drama is not what I want in a kitchen — I want easy to live with, easy to clean, recessive stuff.Easy to live with and easy to clean are among the most important reasons I chose what I chose. The Number One factor though was not making a small room so dark I would never want to be in there. That's why light colors for me were an absolutely necessity: the kitchen is only 12x9, way too small to have anything dark (except the appliances, which are black).