Stone, Wood & Vinyl - What Floor for my Kitchen?

but what's the most important part? The part that will take the most battering? The part you'll see more of than any other?When considering a suitable flooring material fora kitchen there are basica...

but what's the most important part? The part that will take the most battering? The part you'll see more of than any other?

When considering a suitable flooring material fora kitchen there are basically three alternatives: wood, stone and vinylflooring. The ongoing popularity of the first two is assured, they are naturalmaterials with mellow tones and textures and as such will always have a loyalfollowing.

But they are not without their disadvantages.Wood, whether in laminate form or actual boards can be hard to keep clean,grease and grime easily build up in the hollows of the grain and effectivecleaning can be a hands-and-knees-and-scrubbing-brush affair. Added to this isthe fact that sooner or later whatever treatment has been applied to protectthe wood will wear away and leave the surface vulnerable to the kind ofstaining that can only be removed if one is prepared to sand down the whole floor.

Stone flooring, similarly, is likely to have atextured finish vulnerable to dirt build up and despite its obvious hardwearing attributes can also be stained when a protective coating has wornthrough. Stone floors are also immensely heavy and with a typical Britishsuspended floor might prove structurally problematic. Stone floors have theadditional disadvantage of being cold underfoot in our increasingly erraticwinters and underfloor heating can be prohibitively expensive and extremelydisruptive.

With this in mind the benefits of vinyl flooringstart to become more apparent. Its smooth surface lends itself to much easiercleaning and you will find it surprisingly hard wearing. It will be easier totell when you have finally worn through the protective coating as the patternwill disappear! If simulated natural finishes leave you unimpressed there are anumber of firms that do a wide range of fun and colourful finishes to brightenany room. Vinyl flooring is also increasingly available in a range of retropatterns if one wants that ever popular fifties and sixties look The mellow andmuted tones of natural materials don't necessarily suit everyone and you mayprefer something with some zing! Compared to natural products vinyl flooring isinexpensive to buy and much cheaper and easier to install, there wont be anyneed to protect the rest of the home from dust or fumes and there won't benasty rough men carrying buckets of cement and what-have-you through yourprecious home.

Article Tags: Vinyl Flooring

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