Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Property/DIY

Join our Property forum for renovation, DIY, and house selling advice.

Original poster

What kitchen flooring type did you choose? Any regrets?

72 replies

Curiousthinker · 09/05/2018 21:56

I like idea of tiles but read some stain easily.

Those who have chosen tiles, vinyl, laminate or anything else i missed out on....any regrets or thoughts?

My kitchen extension is circa 42m2 and anything over £15m2 is alot of cash, so looking for something pretty cheap but long lasting.

OP posts:
Thread gallery
5
Knittedfairies · 09/05/2018 22:02

I have cushioned vinyl and not regretted it; crockery bounces!

Titsywoo · 09/05/2018 22:12

We have engineered wood. It is lacquered and has waterproof glue joining all the pieces. I love it and after 3 years it still looks great. Water spills on it all the time and sometimes sits overnight (dog spilling from her bowl) but since it can't get through to the lower layers it never damages it. It feels warm in the winter and cool in the summer.

There are a couple of dinks where very heavy things have been dropped but it's not obvious really. It can be sanded and restained a couple of times (we got a medium depth one - the thicker ones can be sanded about 5 times) it doesn't look like we'll need to do that for at least 5-10 years. I'd happily buy it again. It cost about £1000 inc underlay - our kitchen is 36sqm.

hennybeans · 10/05/2018 11:04

I chose limestone. What a mistake. Expensive, fitter made a mess of it, grouting is coming out just 6 months later, DH and I had to reseal it all again ourselves and it still doesn't look right. Don't choose that!
Next time I will choose engineered wood. Anything without grout would be my advice though.

randomsabreuse · 10/05/2018 11:10

Laminate scratches when things get dropped and doesn't cope very well with escaped water. Paler colour better than dark if laminate is only option in budget. Thinking tiles next time...

MismatchedPJs · 10/05/2018 11:14

Wood effect LVT has been our best so far, but I haven't tried engineered wood.

I will look at newer, good quality vinyl next time too though. There are some really nice ones. Just not sure if it might wear under the chairs.

HemlockStarglimmer · 10/05/2018 11:24

We have unsealed ceramic tiles laid on a weak sub floor. Stupidest thing we have ever done. A massive learning curve for us all.

The kitchen floor is now a mess of loose crazy paving and we can't afford to replace it.

If the timers had bothered to mention that the sub floor wasn't strong enough we'd have done something at the time.

HemlockStarglimmer · 10/05/2018 11:24

Tilers. Not timers.
They knew it wouldn't work yet they laid them anyway.

Lindtnotlint · 10/05/2018 11:25

Porcelain tiles with water based underfloor heating. Expensive. But the best best best thing. :-)

Amunamun · 10/05/2018 11:29

We had tiles (white and blue) for about 15 years and not a single stain or a crack. I think that if you pick a good quality product, this shouldn't happen. Especially not stains (first time I hear about it). My MIL had beige tiles for a similar period of time and same experience. I consider tiles almost unbreakable. And perfectly washable so perfect for a kitchen.

ihatethecold · 10/05/2018 11:34

Im looking at Amtico for my floor. Currently have flagstone tiles but they will go when the new kitchen is installed.
I love the look of tiles but they are cold and anything breaks when they fall on it.

I'd love a floor like this one. unfortunately the tiles are American but I thinks its gorgeous.

What kitchen flooring type did you choose? Any regrets?
Astrabees · 10/05/2018 12:03

Karndean in my kitchen and bath/shower rooms. I'm very pleased with it, it looks very good and is easy to clean. Previously we have had tiles, they chipped if you dropped anything heavy on them and engineered wood, which did not work well in a kitchen.

mommybear1 · 10/05/2018 12:18

We looked at Amtico and frankly if we had the cash we would have gone with it. Ours has been and still is an ongoing renovation project but we have had porcelain tiles with water based underfloor heating so far we only have a portion of the floor tiles (problems with the screed for the heating) but they look nice, grout seems fine and it's nice and toasty underfoot strangely it also seems to retain the heat on these lovely sunny days we have just had.

CanYouHearThePeopleSing · 10/05/2018 12:25

We have bamboo (solid, not engineered) and love it. Not a mark or ding in 8 yrs and feels lovely underfoot. Looks great and easy to clean.

massistar · 10/05/2018 12:33

A bit different but we've gone for polished concrete with underfloor heating. Super practical and looks great.

wonkylegs · 10/05/2018 12:50

We have porcelain tiles and I have specified it in many many projects for other people.
It works well with underfloor heating and is really scratch resistant especially important when they are moving appliances across the floor or you have boys who seem to think it's acceptable to ride their bikes in the house 🙄
Ours are also beautiful
You can also often get ones for outside so you can have a seamless look if you have patio or bifold doors

ThinkOfAWittyNameLater · 10/05/2018 13:20

Don't get laminate. It's dreadful. Cold in winter. Scratches st the slightest excuse. We've had problems with expansion causing buckling AND problems with shrinkage opening up the gaps. And then super slippery when you've cleaned it.

Avoid at all costs.

I wish I'd just gone for a bit of vinyl

bigsighall · 10/05/2018 13:22

Gray slate. Horrible to keep clean, showed everything. Very cold.
Pale limestone type slabs. Went a grotty colour after a while (prob didn’t clean them enough!)
Now have wood and it’s much nicer and warmer.

Bobbybobbins · 10/05/2018 13:29

We have ceramic tiles and they constantly look mucky. Got cushioned vinyl in bathroom and would go for that in the kitchen.

Zadocthepriest · 10/05/2018 13:39

Glad you asked this...I was going to ask the same!
We have vinyl which is great for price, warmth and things bouncing. No dents or damage.
But because it is grooved like artificial floorboards it is a nightmare to keep clean. And the design offends the more sophisticated members of the family.

noitsnotteatimeyet · 10/05/2018 13:42

We chose rubber tiles from Dalsouple - big mistake... they show every mark and always look grubby and were very expensive. We got them because we have a double height ceiling in the kitchen/diner and wanted something which wouldn’t be too echo-y with three small (at the time) children and would be warm underfoot and to be fair, it’s ticked both those boxes. It’s also very forgiving if you drop something on it unlike my parents’ slate tiles which shattered glasses and plates on a regular basis. In our old kitchen we had beautiful Lino in a custom pattern which was gorgeous, very practical and looked just as good when we sold our flat as it had when we had it installed

wowfudge · 10/05/2018 13:51

We have LVT - Polyflor Expona Beveline. Usually sold as commercial flooring. Cost less than £18 psm although leveling the floor and laying cost more. We found an independent flooring fitter who was happy to supply the tiles at trade price.

Huffinpuff · 10/05/2018 13:52

Laminate! Takes about two minutes to wash to sparkling. No streaks and no scrubbing required. Dropped crockery/glassware bounces off it. Still looks new after 10 years.

I do love the look and feel of Marmoleum (it reminds me of my grandmother's kitchen!) and have that in my vestibule, but it's much harder to clean and also requires polish.

mayhew · 10/05/2018 17:33

Porcelain tiles , chequerboard style with a non-slip matte finish. Very practical and look timeless.

AppleAndBlackberry · 10/05/2018 17:48

We have engineered oak and I love it. We have dented it a bit but it still looks great. Warm underfoot and doesn't smash all our crockery. I also have the same in the hallway.

Mto2 · 10/05/2018 17:48

We have hex style encaustic black and white tiles. Looks absolutely stunning but they have all stained and any tiny thing can stain them (detergent, cleaning products, random wet footprints). They have also started to chip. Cost us about £10,000 plus another £1,000 to have them resealed and they still stain and after about 2 months I wanted to cry as I hate them so much, now had them for 3 years. Just a warning to anyone else never to get them! Got some porcelain tiles from Topps Tiles in our bathroom and love them :) Good luck