The kitchen is an important area of any household.It’s where all of your food will be prepared, to being with.But it serves several other functions, too; it’s where you might eat your food, perform a few domestic chores, and engage in idle chatter over a cup of tea.With all of this in mind, it’s no surprise that many of us find ourselves spending much of our time in the kitchen.
In order to get the best from a kitchen, however, you’ll need to equip yours with the right sort of flooring.There are several different options to choose from, each of which comes with strengths and weaknesses.You’ll find big brands like Karndean Flooring on offer from Find Me a Floor.
Let’s examine at some of them, and see which might make the best fit for your property.
What should I consider?
When shopping for a new floor, you’ll want to consider several factors.
Cost
It must be said that flooring solutions vary wildly in their cost.Clearly, securing, transporting and installing several dozen granite slabs will be a great deal costlier than simply pouring a vat of resin across a bare floor.Stone floors tend to be more expensive than wooden ones, which in turn are more expensive than vinyl ones.But there is tremendous variety within each category, and so it’s worth examining the options within each.
One should also remember that some sorts of flooring will require a professional installation – or a considerable time investment in learning the trade.Be sure to factor such costs, as well as others like delivery, into your decision.
But when considering our budget, it’s worth remembering that any investment we make will help to bolster (or diminish) the value of the property – which might sweeten the deal sufficiently that you’ll be willing to take a short-term hit.
Time
On a related note, it’s also worth considering the time that installing your floor will consume.If you’re unable to use your kitchen for several days, then the inconvenience might be a little too much to bear.Consequently, it’s worth arranging big installations for when you aren’t going to be in the house – that way you’ll be able to minimise the inconvenience.
Moisture
Suffice to say, cooking in the kitchen will create copious amounts of moisture and grime, which will float through the air and settle onto any available surface.This consideration is what puts delicate hardwood flooring at a comparative disadvantage – you’ll need to clean it more frequently, and re-finish the floor more regularly.
Ease of maintenance
Since a kitchen is an area of the house which experiences greater footfall, and where spillages and spatter is more likely, you’ll need to ensure that your floor is given the proper maintenance.
Here’s another area where wooden flooring is at a comparative disadvantage compared to vinyl and stone floors.Cleaning a stone or vinyl floor requires simply that it’s given a once-over with a mop; wooden floors, however, tend to require more careful maintenance.If they’re left to soak after being given a mop, then they’ll end up soaking up all the excess moisture, which can lead to accelerated warping and rot.Suffice to say, you should never use a steam cleaner to clean a hardwood floor.
Of course, this isn’t a universal complaint.Some hardwood floors will come equipped with more durable topmost layers of finish, allowing them to tolerate greater levels of punishment, and look the part.
Underfloor heating
While you’re re-installing your flooring, you might wish to install underfloor heating in the process.This will protect your naked feet against the early-morning shock of stepping out onto freezing cold tiles during the winter.Underfloor heating is also a far more effective way of heating your interior, as heat will flow directly from below rather than having to circulate your entire living space.The result is more uniformity, and less waste.
Of course, only certain flooring options will work well alongside underfloor heating.If exposed to repeated cycles of heat and cold, for example, wooden floors will warp at an accelerated rate.The better option is therefore almost always a stone-tiled floor.
Personal preference
As invaluable as these considerations are when choosing a floor for your kitchen, it’s also important that we consider the personal preference of the person whose kitchen the floor will be installed into:namely you.If you’d like to live and cook in a kitchen with a hardwood floor, then there’s nothing to stop you from doing so – after all, it’s your kitchen!