Best looking kitchen flooring for least money?

[Ombligo]

Cork or Bamboo

[rgG]

davester wrote:
If you're really going for ultralow cost then you should go with laminate flooring (e.g. Pergo or equivalent).

:agree:

[Manlove]

I like the idea of cork as a kitchen floor but it needs sealing etc. Bamboo is not cheap either, but lovely to look at.
Depending on the sq ft offcuts can be inexpensive.
DIY it and have fun...

[Catzilla]

Did a laminate kitchen floor from a outlet store for a friend, very cheap and held up well until a water leak took it out.
I have a 100+ yo home, I peeled up sheet vinyl, and tile squares (the lowest level with a water based adhesive) and found hardwoods throuout, lucky me....

[Robert M]

Black,

Is this for your own kitchen or for a rental? If it's for your own kitchen, choose flooring that makes you happy. If for a rental, go for cheap, maintenance free and durable. Here's my reasoning:

If it's for your own kitchen, you want something that will make you happy. You'll still want to take durability and maintenance into consideration but, depending on what you want, they may be less important than the happiness factor.

If this is fora rental, go cheap, durable and maintenance free. I'd go for a reasonably good quality porcelain tile. My reasoning is that porcelain is extremely durable, tile looks nice and, in my experience, requires minimal maintenance. It also won't get dented by furniture, won't get damaged by water leaks and individual tiles can be easily replaced on an as necessary basis.

Here is a useful link:



I have wood flooring in my kitchen. It's stunning and I love it. But, I'd never go for it again. It requires maintenance and i always worry about scratching and what would happen in the event the kitchen gets flood ed, i.e. broken dishwasher hose, leaky water line to fridge, etc. One flood and the floor is likely shot.

If I were doing a kitchen, I'd go for a high quality porcelain tile for the reasons I stated above. Done properly, it looks nice, is durable and is maintenance free. It doesn't get better than that. This is one of the reasons I'm very happy the new apartment my wife and I bought has very nice tile flooring in its kitchen.

Tile may not be the least expensive material and could prove a touch tough on the tootsies and a touch noisier when walking on it in comparison to other materials but I'm willing to accept that in favor of the good reasons for choosing it.

Robert

[josntme]

I did my kitchen, then the motorhome galley area, using Allure vinyl planking. Easiest flooring project I've ever done.

[Black]

Robert M wrote:
Black,

Is this for your own kitchen or for a rental? If it's for your own kitchen, choose flooring that makes you happy. If for a rental, go for cheap, maintenance free and durable. Here's my reasoning:

If it's for your own kitchen, you want something that will make you happy. You'll still want to take durability and maintenance into consideration but, depending on what you want, they may be less important than the happiness factor.

If this is fora rental, go cheap, durable and maintenance free. I'd go for a reasonably good quality porcelain tile. My reasoning is that porcelain is extremely durable, tile looks nice and, in my experience, requires minimal maintenance. It also won't get dented by furniture, won't get damaged by water leaks and individual tiles can be easily replaced on an as necessary basis.

Here is a useful link:



I have wood flooring in my kitchen. It's stunning and I love it. But, I'd never go for it again. It requires maintenance and i always worry about scratching and what would happen in the event the kitchen gets flood ed, i.e. broken dishwasher hose, leaky water line to fridge, etc. One flood and the floor is likely shot.

If I were doing a kitchen, I'd go for a high quality porcelain tile for the reasons I stated above. Done properly, it looks nice, is durable and is maintenance free. It doesn't get better than that. This is one of the reasons I'm very happy the new apartment my wife and I bought has very nice tile flooring in its kitchen.

Tile may not be the least expensive material and could prove a touch tough on the tootsies and a touch noisier when walking on it in comparison to other materials but I'm willing to accept that in favor of the good reasons for choosing it.

Robert

For a rental. Don't threads about kitchen flooring pretty much always show people don't like ceramics because everything you drop is guaranteed to shatter?

[Black]

josntme wrote:
I did my kitchen, then the motorhome galley area, using Allure vinyl planking. Easiest flooring project I've ever done.

Can that go right on top of plywood/ luan or do you need some kind of underlayment?

[Black]

Catzilla wrote:
Did a laminate kitchen floor from a outlet store for a friend, very cheap and held up well until a water leak took it out.

We've got laminate warping peeling up everywhere at work where there are no water leaks... I think it can't hold up to the frequent mopping.

[Robert M]

Black,

Maybe. But, if an item like a glass drops and shatters a porcelain floor, it's easier to replace the item than to replace/repair a floor. This assumes it's not an antique, one of a kind item. In that case, all bets are off. Then again, breakable items like dishes and such can shatter on flooring of all types. So, this to me isn't even an issue to take into consideration.

The appearance of the floor isn't a concern to me. Any flooring will look good if you choose the material carefully and it's installed properly. But, I think durability and easy maintenance should key factors, especially since it's going into a rental. It may be worth spending a bit more to get floor that will hold up well under normal and possibly even abusive situations than to try and save a buck and purchase flooring that may require premature repairs. In the event a less durable material for the floor doesn't hold up well, whatever savings you garnered will be lost due to the cost of repairs.

Robert