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Is there a durable laminate flooring for kitchens?

10K views 5 replies 5 participants last post by  kredman 
#1 ·
Hi Everyone,

Our house is 6 months old, and all common areas (kitchen, dining room, both living areas, hallway, etc) are laminate flooring. We didn't go high end when having the house built since we have two small kiddos and thought we'd just upgrade down the road anyway.

Well last week our washer sprung a leak and flooded about 1/4 of the house and as expected the laminate flooring will need to be replaced. Since we're already paying the insurance deductible we decided to do some research to see if there's a more durable laminate flooring that will hold up to an active family but also to spills and drips through the kitchen and the rest of the house. Through the kitchen especially between the dish washer and sink (both in island in middle of kitchen - not affected by flooding) and counters we can already see where the laminate is starting to peel up alittle on the seams due to water dripping on the floor. We try to wipe-up water as quickly as it falls, but over time what water does hit the flooring is starting to do a number on it.

So what options do we have? My wife is wanting to tile the kitchen and foyer coming into the house, but honestly with our open floor plan I love the seamless continuity of the floors from one area to the next.

Is there such a laminate flooring that's less susceptible to moisture? Or is there anything else worth checking out? I thought about checking out real wood floors, but with the cost plus hearing lots of stories from people saying it dents and scratches way easily I'm not sure it's best for us.

Thanks for any suggestions...

Sam Alex
 
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#3 ·
if you have to tear up part of it your seamlessness is already gone. laminate is also a one shot deal most the time. once you buy it, wait a year or two, good luck finding it again. i strongly agree with your wife on doing tile. there are a few ways a person could blend it right into laminate.

now it's just if you can use natural stone or if the floor will only support ceramic
 
#5 · (Edited)
Oh yeah, another idea. Tile. If you don't like the coldness/hardness of regular tile (or concrete), they make vinyl tiles now that look fantastic. You can get ones that look like stone or ceramic, and use special acrylic grout, or get the kind that looks just like wood planks (no grout); they are way more water resistant than laminate! I wanted to use these in my own house originally, but they were pricier than doing the concrete.

ETA: the prices I was quoted for concrete and tile included labor; honestly I hate doing things myself if I don't have to! I don't know what any of these options would cost if you plan to do the labor yourself.
 
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