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I agree with Shellytc. I would find out how much it would be to redo it all with hardwood. I personally don't like the look of tile butting up to wood.
I agree. It's perfectly fine to do, but I prefer the uniformity of all hardwood.
Long term, wood floors are tough to maintain in a really active kitchen with lots of cooking and pet activity. We had installed hardwood floors, Bruce winter white with a beveled edge on the slant, in the kitchen and adjoining rooms on that level to replace the carpeting (!) that was there when we purchased the house. Unfortunately, after a few years it looked pretty bad from water spills, particularly from big dogs drinking from a big bowl and other. This light wood may be particularly bad for water spots, which tend to darken. Plus our cleaning service doesn't seem to know how to keep it clean. They can't wash it like they might with a stone or tile but I suspect they have done just that. In 1999, when we decided to change all the wood floors throughout our flowing, contemporary house, we re-did the kitchen area, replacing the damaged wood with the same prefinished product so it would match the rest of the house. That second installation lasted abut 8-9 years before looking really bad in the kitchen area but still pretty good elsewhere. Now we plan to replace the wood flooring in the kitchen AGAIN and can't decide whether travertine or something in a very similar color would look okay. It would be nice to have something more durable and easier to clean. If we repeat the wood, I anticipate the same problems but we may because there is no logical break point that seems to work for abutting the product types. I got to this blog by searching on how to blend the two products. Is there anyone who has tried to imbedded a stone or tile product in strategic work areas within a greater flowing wood floor?
I would never tear up a good t&g wood floor! If anything, refinish by a professional with 3 coats of commercial quality polyurathane. Particularly in the kitchen where you are on your feet for long periods of time. I have it and have dogs and do heavy cooking and canning - no problem. Tile is HELL! Really hard on your legs - it will fatigue you. Hardwood and tile look fine side by side. Keep in mind that with the proper base for tile installation, your tile floor may be 1-2+ inches higher than your original wood floors.
My house was built in 94. My kitchen has ceramic tile and the family room which is open to the kitchen has hardwood. I think it looks nice. I prefer ceramic in a kitchen myself. I love the look of hardwood floors in the kitchen but have known several people that had them damaged after a dishwasher and fridge (ice maker leaked) mishap. What they did at my house is created a a border with the hardwoods before the ceramic.
I would never tear up a good t&g wood floor! If anything, refinish by a professional with 3 coats of commercial quality polyurathane. Particularly in the kitchen where you are on your feet for long periods of time. . . . .
Agree! I think there's a difference between traditional hardwood and a Bruce floor (engineered?). Since the hardwood is solid wood, I would think that it holds up better than an engineered-wood floor.
We have traditional hardwood that was re-finsihed when we bought the place. 3 cats (with claws) and so far, so good. My cats are pretty rough too (once feral) so the floors are holding up to all the chasing, racing, and fighting they do.
Thank you all for your comments. SouthJersey. this is original hardwood but factory finished with beveled edge. That makes it hard to refinish because you lose the bevel. The fact that they no longer make this color, winter white, with the bevel has caused the insurance company to decide on the total replacement through out the floors related to the family room, which had severe water damage when a tree fell through the roof and skylights during a major storm recently. So now we get to decide. I was thinking about trying to include some stone or tile in the kitchen but you all helped in that process. LivingDeadGirl makes a good point about hardness on th feet and legs. So, we are leaning toward the wood replacement but with the straight edge. Still Bruce winter white and prefinished because that is supposed to be stronger. The good thing about the straight edge is that, in the future, we will be able to refinish it in the kitchen area, if necessary without losing the same look of the adjoining floors.
I would love some maintenance tips for the heavily used kitchen area, where spills and water splashes are expected to be frequent? One key question for those of you who have been succesful with wood in the kitchen is how do you clean it with out diminishing the surface? We have a cleaning service once a week and they include mopping the kitchen and bathroom floors. What should they be doing on the wood? (Cleaning products, frequency?)
My last two homes (both new) had hardwood floors and ceramic tiled kitchen/eat in kitchen area as per my choice. I did tile for ease of cleanup purposes. I am a messy cooker.....LOL
I never paid any attention/noticed the transition from one to the other. It was just there.
I have tile floors in the living area (high traffic area), kitchen and bathrooms--with hardwood flooring in the dining room and all the bedrooms. It looks great! You just have to look at how you are transitioning from the tile to the hardwood (with a wood threshold that is the color of the hardwood) separating one room from another--as well as whether the wood type and the tile color/texture compliment each other.
My rule is never have more than 2 types of flooring on one level of the house, three types of flooring total.
I have three, maybe 4 types in a single story home. Hardwood entry hall, great room, dining room, office. Tile in kitchen/eat-in kitchen. Carpet in bedrooms. Vinyl flooring in bathrooms. All seems to flow together to my eye.
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