Question about replacing kitchen flooring:

[Mist]

I have hardwood floors throughout my house, with the exception of a Pullman kitchen and eating area. That area has sheet vinyl flooring. I think they simply smacked down a new floor on top of an older floor in the kitchen/eating area. The kitchen floor sits a bit above the hardwood floors of the rest of the house, with an edging strip where the two surfaces meet.
I’d like to replace the vinyl flooring with either hardwood or laminate that matches the hardwood flooring of the rest of the house. I like the idea of laminate as it’s more durable for the kitchen area. My question is, how would laminate “settle” next to hardwood? Would laminate expand and contract at a different rate than the existing flooring, causing gaps?

Due to the open layout of the house, the flooring in the kitchen/eating area runs right into the living room and hallway flooring, so matching is important.

[unhappycamper]

1. I put down laminate Maple flooring in my kitchen last year.

The guy that did it told me you want around 1/4 " of space all the way around.

[Warpy]

2. I've had a wood floor in a kitchen and I'd never do it again

What I might do in your case is use cork flooring in a shade close to the other flooring. Cork is renewable and easily replaced and wears like iron in the meantime. I would, however, put wood down in the eating area if it is separate.

My own philosophy is "really close or really far apart," as far as color goes. My own kitchen has hastily slapped down fake parquet tiles that match the color of the maple flooring in the rest of the house. Its days are numbered because after 14 years of hard use, it's ready to die.

Wood is prone to dings, dents, chips, and staining, a real liability to anyone who actually uses a kitchen to cook in. Laminate gets chalky if you spill water on it and don't notice it right away.

The only worse flooring, IMO, is carpet. The first time you spill something really oily on it you know why.

[Mist]

4. Glad to have your input on laminate and water spotting, Warpy! That's a big

consideration for me, as I tend to splash about a bit. I don't drop dishes, food, etc., but my floors do get water on them, and I probably wouldn't catch the spots in time to prevent the chalkiness. And wood doesn't sound too good for the actual kitchen area. Problem is, I have a straight view from the front door through to the eating area and out to the sliding glass doors. Making that part hardwood would really improve the view. I could then do either cork or maybe just a more attractive vinyl in the kitchen area.

I've looked into cork, and am impressed with how well it wears. I like your "really close or really far apart" idea on color!

Thanks for the input!

[Hassin Bin Sober]

3. Is there any chance you have hardwood under the vinyl?

A lot of old Chicago homes, mine included, have maple in the kitchens and oak in the rest. Maple was used due to its superior moisture resistance.

[Wash. state Desk Jet]

5. I did a remodel 10 maybe 12 years ago

where I opened the wall between the kitchen dining room and the living room.
Completely remodeled that.

The client called for hard wood flooring in the kitchen ,dining room. I advised against hard wood in the kitchen area, but the client would not have anything else.

I brought in a flooring specialist to estimate the cost and consulted with the specialist about water damage ,so fourth, he actually said, taken care of properly there should be no problem.

Now, with the new cabinets and counter tops and that beautiful flooring I must say it is all quite a site.

What never ceases to amaze me is that every time I go over to their house to do work, the kitchen dining room looks just the way it did the day I finished it, 12 years ago or so.

Therefor, I would suggest you bring in a flooring specialist and have a estimate done. It is either a go or a no go. And the flooring guys matched the existing hard wood flooring that ran through the rest of the first floor.
It's quite a sight.

It's all about how you take care of it.

What was done to do the flooring install is the sub flooring was removed right down to the joyce's. Tong and groove sub flooring was lay'ed over the joyce's than the hard wood flooring over the top of that. All done to match the existing hard wood floors. And no tie bars.Beautiful!

You might get a consult from a independent flooring specialist.I hired two guys from a flooring company to do it over two week ends. I knew them through a different remodel where the client had hired the flooring outfit before I bid the remodel.

Again, it's beautiful and it holds up. It's all about how you take care of it.

Climate,conditions humidity all that ,a flooring specialist in yer locality will know all about. And durning the estimate all of that should be taken into account. There is really no cheap way around good hard wood flooring installs. Because a good hard wood floor will last forever ,if you know what I mean. We had a swedish finish done. And it's all about the stuff they put in the finish product. Where flooring specialist buy their finish material from, you cannot buy it.You must be a contractor to get that stuff. It is not sold to the general public.

And in a short note, there is no separation in the flooring boards, none what so ever. It looks twelve years later the same as it did the day I finished the job.

[Mist]

6. As this is a mid-60s starter home, I'm pretty sure it's just subfloor under

the vinyl.

[Wash. state Desk Jet]

8. Your sheet flooring is lay'ed over ply wood.

That's underlayment. The sub is under the ply, should be tong and groove.If the underlayment was nailed down, you pry it up to get to the tong and groove.If the underlayment is screwed down ,you might want to remove the sheet flooring to get to the screws. Than you can level the floor or match the flooring in the rest of the house. Undrlayment could be half inch or more.That accounts for the riser between the kitchen /dining room and the rest of the flooring through out the house.

The house I did 12 yeras ago was built in 64.

If you want the floor to match, that's how you go about it.


good luck with your project.

[NMDemDist2]

7. don't know about your question, but i'd rethink laminate in the kitchen

unless you go VERY high end and follow the water proofing instructions perfectly.......

[Mist]

9. Warpy talked me out of the laminate! I don't think I could chase every little

water splash in time to keep it looking good. Hardwood in eating area an cork in cooking area is probably how I'll go.

[Lugnut]

10. We're planning to do porcelain tile.

Other than two bathrooms and kitchen the rest of the house has hardwood floors. I suspect that the vinyl floor in the kitchen has a plywood subfloor. The guy who's doing the tile assures us that it doesn't matter what's under it because he'll be using wire mesh to install the tile.

DH and I were going to do the tile ourselves but I chickened out. Since I'm disabled I'm not sure I could physically pull it off and hubs has no clue what he's doing. He also has a bum shoulder. We decided to hire a family friend rather than get in over our heads. We are going to refinish the kitchen cabinets ourselves.

[LiberalEsto]

11. Hardwood is a bad choice for the kitchen

Ten years ago we bought a house that had beautiful sealed hardwood kitchen floors.
In a very short time I grew to hate them.
Absolutely everything that falls on the floor gets stuck in the grooves between the boards. And you can't clean the stuff out of the grooves by damp mopping the floor. You have to get down and scrape out every damn groove.
I fully intend to replace them with laminate whenever I get the money and the opportunity.