We really love the look of hardwood floors. We just happen to have several hundred board feet of white oak lumber on hand (my husband’s a woodworker), and our kitchen Congoleum is in desperate need of replacement. I see lots of pictures of wood flooring being used throughout kitchens (even in the sink and cooking areas), but we are a little concerned that food spills, water, and other cooking mishaps will quickly damage the beauty of wood in the “business area” of the kitchen.
Does anyone have experience with a wood floor in a kitchen that gets real use? We seldom eat out, so our kitchen does get daily, real-life use. We also have pets, who have a drinking bowl on the floor in that room, and a woodburning stove in the center of the room (it’s on a quarry tile hearth).
I’d appreciate hearing of experiences (both positive and negative), including advice on how the floors were finished and cared for.
Replies
We inherited a wood floor in our eat-in kitchen with our house purchase 2 years ago, and it's holding up just fine. I don't think it's ever been sealed or stained, and it certainly gets a fair bit of abuse (2 small boys and one hubby who, when he cooks, is -- shall we say, flamboyant? and not necessarily aware of spills until I point them out!). I have no idea what KIND of wood it is, but it's planking of some sort. I'm pretty good about running the sweeper over it, and it gets a good wipe down every 2 weeks by my cleaning gal, but that's about it for maintenance.
All that being said, would I choose wood if I were starting from scratch? A definite maybe. :)
Ruth Wells
"Gardening is the only unquestionably useful job."
- G.B. Shaw
When you say blanking of some sort could it be sheets of wood like ply wood? Our son saw a wooden floor at the last home show and said it looked just like the stips of wood like oak, cherry etc., but was sheets of wood. I wonder if this would be a better way to go in the high animal usage area? I would love to have a wood floor throughout our breakfast, kitchen, dinning and livingroom, but my husband is concerned about our bassett hounds sloppy drinking habits. I would also like to hear from anyone who has used the blank wood flooring.
Cathie388
No, our flooring isn't plywood -- it's strips of various widths (ranging from I'd guess around 2" to 4") with grooves inbetween. Come to think of it, the grooves can be a PITA to clean!
Ruth Wells
"Gardening is the only unquestionably useful job." - G.B. Shaw
My only concern would be with the water bowl for your pets. I know my 4 dogs makes quite a mess and the floor around the bowl is constantly wet. In my case, that's a tile floor, but if it were wood I would be worried. Perhaps you could place it on the tile hearth or put some sort of tray under the water bowl.
I have friends who had a wood floor in their kitchen--they have 3 large dogs and the wife is a gourmet cook. The only wear and tear on the kitchen floor was from the dog's nails, something which was minimized by trimming the dog's nails every week or two. Go for it, I like wood floors in a kitchen.
Wood floor in kitchen here. Heat gunned hideous split pea soup green linoleum tiles and VOILA maple floors underneath. Definitely research the sealer/varnish you will use to make certain it will stand up to the type of abuse you expect and make certain the floor refinisher does what YOU want.This jobless recovery has done more to promote the consumption of exquisite chocolate than the finest chocolatier. Cost be damned.
if you seal it properly, it should be fine. One big advantage, if you have to, you can repair it.
Nothing valuable can be lost by taking time - Abe Lincoln.
A bunch of us visited a friend who has gorgeous solid wood floors. We had gotten togeter to make flower arrangements and we were spilling all kinds of things all over the floor, including water, soil, sappy pine greens, holly berries and juniper berries. We were walking on the stuff, grinding the natural material in with our shoes (not on purpose-we were just hard workers). The floor looked absolutely horrible and felt sticky by the time we were finished working on the project. Afterwards, we just swept the debris up with a broom and simply used plain water on a mop. All of the mess came up in a jiffy. I was astounded how quickly the floor cleaned up without any scrubbing or special products! The owner of the floor said she mops it with water all the time. I would guess the floors were finished with a very durable polyurethane. They were not glossy, but satin finish.
After that I would not hesitate to put wood floors in my kitchen. Actually that is what I hope to do. But, I know from experience that any finish can wear down over time. Water that just sits in a spot could eventually seep into the wood and turn black. To protect the floor, put a large vinyl or rubber mat down in the area where the pets eat and drink and always put a saucer down beneath any plants, and use a small rug in front of the sink.
and use a small rug in front of the sink.
Good thought, Eroom -- we use an anti-fatigue mat in front of the sink (protects the floor and eases foot and leg pain from standing too long!)
Ruth Wells
"Gardening is the only unquestionably useful job." - G.B. Shaw
Yes! That is an even better idea for using the rug! It really had made a difference!
We put in an oak floor almost twenty years ago. Now it's in dire need of a refinish job, but it looked great for a long time. I wish we had invested more time in the original finish job, maybe a couple more coats. Maybe now there are better choices for finishing wood. I love the oak floor. No problems when the finish was good. It's very easy to keep clean.
I am about to put a wood floor in my kitchen. I have found out that water is not the number one villian in a kitchen, but salt is. Apparantly, people are very attentive to spilt water, but often forget to clean up salt quickly enough before it is ground into the finish. It is a very sharp grain that will cut into the finish. I was told that a swiffer and a hand-held vac should always be a the ready. Otherwise, it is a fine floor for the kitchen.
We had a hardwood floor in the kitchen in our last home, and I loved it. Only problem we had was when our dishwasher leaked and the water sat for a while before we found it...that was sort of a disaster, but it turned out okay. You do have to worry about sealing it or making sure you clean it up.
Things are going to get a lot worse before they get worse.
Lily Tomlin
Thanks for the encouragement. Actually, the dishwasher has been one of my concerns, too. How did you deal with the overflow when it happened? Did you have to replace part of the floor, or was it repairable? Was it oak, or some other hardwood?
Wood floors in the kitchen? Just spent 10 years in a home with red oak flooring sealed with water-based polyurethane matte finish. With small children running around a nice shiny finish would have bit the dust many years ago.
The oak flooring held up just fine, except where dinning chairs sat. The continuous sliding of the chairs on the floor produced scratches that wore away the finish and gouged the wood in places. Tried putting felt on the ends of the chair legs, but it was worn away almost as quickly as it was put on.
The oak flooring gave a unity to the first floor of the house as it stretched from the foyer through the living room, dining room, kitchen, family room, and breakfast area. Made a fairly small square footage seem much larger.
One word of advice: Avoid using wood in a bathroom that has a tub or shower. The constant dampness will turn the wood black and ugly unless the finish is updated constantly. Wood floors swell in the summer and dry out in the winter meaning that small openings will develop through which the water will gain entrance, saturate the wood and not be able to dry due to the finish on top. We had to remove the wood in that bath and replace it with ceramic tile which turned into a great selling point with the buyers, along with other changes. House sold in one day on the market! Perennialguy
One more point: Make sure the polyurethane is self-leveling. There are several kinds on the market now.
Perennialguy
Good point about the dining chairs scratching the wood. I would think a good solution would be to have some sort of area rug in the table/seating area to prevent that. AnnL; MotherHen/Hobby Farmer
Yes, a rug is a requirement in any high traffic area.
Another problematic issue was the use of water based poly. Oil based is tougher.
In my hardwood flooring business in western state,the kitchen/dinning room were the most popular for wood (not just hardwoods) floors.Oak and more so maple floors were choosen.
I'll list important considerations in no particular order. (1) Unfinish,sanded and finished with a professional product only,(Dura Seal,Glitsa,Basic,etc) be careful of 2nd rate or store brands and contractor shortcuts.(2) Prefinish ( without a recoat ,to fill or seal cracks and gaps in floor )can allow spills to soak into ,througt or under wood to cause unsightly damage.Prefinish was only used in my business for convenience. (3)Area rugs,runners and mats especialy in front of sink. (4) Wipe spills immediately. (5) Recoat(screen & recoat) as needed. .............dan
I am waiting for the genius who is going to come up with a shiny sealant for laminate (wood look) floors.
Reality check.....30 days is up.Le Sigh
HAven't read all the posts here so scuse me if I repeated anything anyone already said.
In all the houses I've renovated and built I use hardwood in the kitchens.
Its my favorite choice of kitchen floors.
One big bit of advice is to use a "moisture cure" finish instead of poly. Makes all the difference in the world.
Be well
andy
My life is my practice!
http://CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM
Ok. Please explain moisture cure finish. I may need to change the finish in kitchen and bathroom and I need to make an intelligent decision.This jobless recovery has done more to promote the consumption of exquisite chocolate than the finest chocolatier. Cost be damned.
Moisture cure dries with the moisture in the air rather than poly that dries best when its dry out.
MC is much more expensive but worth it in areas that may be wet such as kitchens, baths, entries.
I don't recommend doing it yourself. It takes a pro thats used it before.
First coat has to be gloss than you can put down a mat finish or whatever over that.
At the bottom of the can I used where there was an inch or so of MC left.....I lifted it out of the can in one piece and it was a solid rubber type texture unlike brittle poly.
Call a local supplier and have them explain it to you better, or google it.
If youre staining it a provincial color....you won't need non yellowing MC which is yet even more expensive (alot more).
If youre bleaching the floors or using white you will in fact need the non yellowing.
HAve fun
Be well
andyMy life is my practice!
http://CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM