Tile floor or LVT?

[Josie1968]

Hi all

We are getting a new kitchen and the flooring also needs replacing - in the kitchen, dining room, front porch and back porch.

We have three dogs, two cats and kids! I was thinking LVT but my husband thinks tiles are better. I’ve also been told today that LVT is no good with pets as it scratches.

Any advice gratefully received.

Thanks Josie x

Tiles break everything that you ever drop

We've had tiles and LVT (Amtico). I agree with the pp tiles chip and crack so easily in a kitchen environment. Maybe something like flags or slate would be better but I've not had those. I've never had trouble with the Amtico getting scratched, had a couple of stab wounds from a dropped knife though. The beauty is it's so much easier to replace a damaged piece than it is to replace a tile. Also it's warmer underfoot. Both are good it's deciding what would work best for you.

I love my porcelain kitchen /breakfast room floor, it's almost 9yo and still looks brand new. It's had appliances dragged over it, chairs, kids bikes 🤔, animals, ladders, stuff dropped on it from pans to liquids. Never stained, cracked or scratched even after the great blackcurrant gin explosion of 2017 😳
It cleans fantastically but can be a bit slippy when DH makes Yorkshire puddings but that's because he's a messy bugger with the hot oil rather than the tiles fault.

Porcelain doesn't chip or crack if laid properly it's incredibly hard wearing, I used to specify it for high traffic commercial areas in big public architecture works.
Ceramic or terracotta aren't as hardy and can damage much more easily
Stone or slate will need treating in order to remain in good condition or they will stain with grease or dirt.
So not all tiles are equal

Tiles. Had no end of issues with lvt.

We have Amtico LVT through the kitchen/diner into the hall and loo.

It's surviving well with a 10yo, 1yo dropping toys all the time and racing round with a walker, and a dog

I literally LOVE our porcelain tiles. 5 years of total neglect and many children and they look literally as good as new. Showroom smart - not “quite good”, actually completely perfect and brand new looking. Of course it is true that if you drop stuff it smashes, but new crockery is cheap compared to new floor. Also we have same outside (slightly rougher texture) for lovely indoor outdoor effect.

only caveat - we have underfloor heating so is not cold!

Thank you all! Has anyone used Karndean and if so is it good?

We were told there's little difference between karndean and amtico. A friend has karndean throughout her downstairs apart from the conservatory which is amtico and has been very happy with both. Like us, she has children and a dog so it all gets a fair testing.

@Milkand2sugarsplease thanks 😊

@Josie1968 I have a client that put down karndean, it was very nice (I'm not a massive fan of LVT usually however this was well done), it was quite expensive but their refurbishment was fairly big budget so that wasn't a surprise that this was what she chose. Picture attached.
They have had it down 2 years now with no problems however they have no pets or kids and keep their house immaculately so I would expect it to stay perfect.

@wonkylegs thank you, that looks lovely but sounds like our family circumstances are completely different to your friends so not sure how long it would last!! 😅

Your gin explosion sounds interesting btw 😂

I would just say when you are making flavour gin then I would suggest you make sure you have the right kind of jar, otherwise as it matures the gas builds up and your kitchen gets covered floor to ceiling in blackcurrant gin and broken glass - the explosion launched the jar off the window sill 😳😖
It's sticky and stains. It was a real shame because it tastes fantastic and was the last blackcurrants from our garden that year.

I love tiles, but in my last house I didn't have underfloor heating and it was freezing in the winter in the kitchen. I'm currently renovating a new house and we are putting down Karndean (no underfloor heating) its durable, waterproof and not cold underfoot. I have teenagers who are not careful, i'm pretty clumsy myself and a pet, I have high hopes of long term durability all the fitters we've consulted with have told us how durable it is and that its down for the long term. Also with the glue down version which we are having if you have an issue with one bit, it can be removed easily and replaced.

We have Karndean all downstairs. it's been down almost 3 years now, I love it. We have an 11 year old and a dog. No issues re scratches. Plus it's quite warm underfoot which is a bonus.

We put LVT down in our last house, and I won't be doing it again in this house. All I could hear was the click, click of dog nails on it, we have 2 dogs and it drove me nuts! No idea how it wears, as we laid it just before we moved out.

My bil has just taken up their LVT for similar dog reasons, and have relaid engineered wood.

Our new house is a project and we haven't decided on tiles or wood, but I'm veering towards wood as my dh is pretty clumsy!!

Wood can be VERY slippy when wet. Slipped on DD’s spilt juice (I didn’t see it) and broke collarbone a couple years ago in last house. Id definitely not have it in a porch or entryway with pets.