Labrador Retriever Forum

General Forum
Start a New Topic 
Author
Comment
kitchen floor

Getting ready to redo my kitchen floor. Where my pups spend a good amount of time...What would be your prefrence Ceramic tile, vinyl or laminate? If Ceramic tile what about grout and puppy urine? TIA

Re: kitchen floor

Ceramic or laminate are best....most woods and bamboo don't hold up well at all.

To refinish wood is not cheap proposition.

You could use a very hard wood like oak and don't rule out cork - they have some very nice options.

Good Luck!

Re: Re: kitchen floor

My choice is vinyl, especailly for the kitchen. I've had dishwasher and ice maker line leaks where I've lost my wood flooring and vinyl holds up the best for those cases, and easy to clean up for pups.

Re: kitchen floor

Take a look at the vinyl selection out there, a lot of it looks like stone/wood and it does hold up very well. Some has texture also which is great to combat slips. The larger the squares/planks in the pattern, the larger the room will look. I have it in my laundry room and in my old kitchen and everyone thought it was real tile, even realtors!

Re: Re: kitchen floor

Maria,

Do you know what company you used? I really haven't considered vinyl, but it is more in my budget, that's for sure.

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

Replying to:

Take a look at the vinyl selection out there, a lot of it looks like stone/wood and it does hold up very well. Some has texture also which is great to combat slips. The larger the squares/planks in the pattern, the larger the room will look. I have it in my laundry room and in my old kitchen and everyone thought it was real tile, even realtors!

Re: kitchen floor

I had really nice tile installed a few years ago and it was a huge waste of money for me. My dogs go out into the backyard from the kitchen sliding door, which makes it really tough to keep tile grout clean in the kitchen, even with keeping it sealed (and with using dirt trapper rugs at the door).

My project over the winter is to get rid of all the tile and have some vinyl installed. It's all about simplicity for me. It will be much easier to wipe up the vinyl than trying to keep tile grout clean. I definitely prefer the look of tile, but since I don't have the time to deal with the upkeep, I'm going the practical route.

BTW, I went window shopping for vinyl recently and was pleasantly surprised at how much nicer it is these days.

Re: kitchen floor

I believe my vinyl is by Armstrong. They offer three grades - mine is mid line. I purchased it from a Carpet One dealer. Once you decide on your pattern, shop your estimate. Bring your square footage (they will confirm it with a visit prior to installing). Check to see if they charge more to put it around a toilet - some do and it is BS. One dealer wanted a flat $350 because of the toilet (I walked).

Re: Re: kitchen floor

Is there a type of vinyl that would not be dangerous as far as the dogs slipping. Mine come charging in to eat and if they are wet I have been concerned about injury. If there is a rough surfaced vinyl then I will go that way as I have been looking for non slip tile for my dog room, hall, etc and vinyl would certainly solve my problems. TIA EM

Re: kitchen floor

E. Mayo-
If you go look at the selection, you will see a "rough" textured version that looks like stone. It has a matte finish and is randomly raised throughout the pattern. The finish actually helps to keep the floors "looking" clean so you don't notice the dirt so much, but they do clean up well with Pine Sol. Also, you will notice in the selection that there are a variety of tones, so you can nicely compliment your cabinetry/paint/furniture. I expect that a lot of home furnishing products will go on sale after the first of the year so now may be a great time to shop for this sort of thing. Good luck. I would love to hear what you all decide.

Re: kitchen floor

Our engineered wood floor is wearing out. As we get closer to 60, we are considering cork in the kitchen when we eventually renovate. It's easy for older dogs to get traction, easy on our knees, can be sealed for water resistance, lasts a very long time, absorbs sound, but is somewhat expensive and you have to look for it in specialty flooring stores.

Re: Re: kitchen floor

Yes, there are many with textures. I just went shopping for vinyl yesterday. Found a really nice Armstrong that looks like stone and has a really good texture to it, looking at it, you can't tell it's not stone, and feeling it, the texture is very good, traction shouldn't be an issue.

The hardest thing I'm facing is the task of pulling up the old vinyl in my kitchen. I have to. This will be my third layer if I put it down on top. I don't want three layers.

Re: kitchen floor

Puppies can chew through linoleum, dogs too.
Only takes 1 sharp canine tooth to poke a hole and then they rip away with joy!
I would go with something very solid, either tile or Pergo, stone, hardwood, anything
but lineoleum!!

Re: Re: kitchen floor

Well, I dont know anything about different grades of vinyl, but I bet our builder used something dang cheap!
UGH! I hate our flooring in the kitchen. I think the quality of work is especially important with vinyl as you can get seams in the middle that you cant see until a little time goes by. A little water gets in the cracks and then it starts to come up. We had to have them come out and fix it twice. It also scratches easily if you move anything heavy on it...like the fridge, or a table etc. Gouges:(
I once had ceramic tile that the grout was colored to match the tile. I never had any issue at all with keeping it nice. In the future I want ceramic in all wet areas and wood in the living areas.
Best of luck with your choice!
Annie

Re: kitchen floor

When I redo mine, I want to use some kind of natural stone, like slate. Something that would be just as good outside as in.

Re: Re: kitchen floor

yes, a place we went to on vacation in North Carolina, a log chalet in the mountains had that kind of floor...you couldn't see any seams where the grout was really. It was so pretty and even had underfloor heat.
Annie

Re: Re: Re: kitchen floor

I'm sure that is beautiful, but some of us are on a budget!

Re: Re: Re: Re: kitchen floor

Just a tip with flooring. Once you spend the money to redo your floors (wood, laminate, vinyl, tile, whatever you choose) spend a few dollars to get those felt pads to put on the bottom of your furniture legs, stove legs, etc. Makes a world of difference in moving stuff around and not damaging the floor. Those easy move things are wonderful too. I put them under a huge corner cupboard that I have, and now I can move that piece of furniture, fully loaded, by myself with no damage to the flooring.

Good luck on your flooring choice.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: kitchen floor

if you do tile have them use the grout they use in hospitals. It is waterproof, urine proof and stays clean without sealing it.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: kitchen floor

Another option is cement I couldn't believe how beautiful it looked in my sister's home. It looks like tile and has color.

The builder said he thought it might be a fleeting trend but who knows.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: kitchen floor

I put Pergo in my kitchen and was very unhappy with it. It is very slippery, I had to use rubber backed rugs on just about every inch, and it shouldn't get wet so the spot where the water dish was the seams started to buckle. I would not use it with dogs again. I like slate, or tile with a rough glaze.