Most people know that wood floors and moisture are not typically a good mix. However, wood floors can be charming in the kitchen. To help make it feel more open, tying all the areas of your home together can be done by using all the same flooring throughout the house. Today, we at Mike’s Custom Flooring would like to discuss using wood flooring in the kitchen.
How Do I Choose a Hardwood Floor for My Kitchen?
Level of Kitchen Traffic. Commonly, there is high traffic patterns in the kitchen. Eating socializing is often done in the kitchen. Premium quality flooring is essential to handle a high level of traffic.
General Wear & Tear. Messes are expected to happen in the kitchen. To help prevent wear and tear, choosing hard floors with texture is ideal. Utilizing kitchen mats can protect the floors from potential spills as well.
Hardwood Floor Finish. For better coverage and more consistent color, choose a water-based finish for your wood floors. To get a soft and more natural appearance, oil finishes are ideal. Oil can make it easier for your flooring to receive scratches and stains. It may require you to care for it more often but is much easier to maintain on general. Against wear and tear, polyurethane is a more durable option. It may be harder to fix if you have a scratch on it, however. Replacing a board or recoat a section of the floor is common. People tend to choose satin over gloss, though wood flooring comes in multiple finishes. Satin tends to mask dirt on the floors more than gloss would.
Hardwood Floor Species: You can choose from many types of wood. You can significantly impact the room’s design with the type of wood you select. Various woods have their own unique benefits. Because they are harder, some species of wood are more durable than others. For example, Oakwood is common since it is stable and works well with different stains. Providing a warm hue, walnut wood is softer than oak. Hickory and maple are harder than oak but can be more troublesome to install. Other options include Bamboo, Brazilian cherry, and Mahogany.
Hardwood Floor Grain Pattern: One of the most crucial factors in deciding what type of wood flooring to use is grain pattern. It will create a different pattern on the wood planks depending on how the wood was cut. The most common and also most popular is plain-sawn lumber.
Hardwood Flooring Installation Considerations. Choosing your installation method is the first step to installing hardwood floors in your kitchen. You could use the click-lock form or the nail-down installation method to glue the floorboards for instance. Prep your baseboards before installing the flooring. Prep typically incudes leveling and smoothing out the subfloor, laying down a moisture inhibitor, and figuring out how you will have to lay out the floorboards. Depending on the method you select, dictates the installation of the floorboards.
Maintenance of Hardwood Floors. In general, hardwood floor maintenance is simple. Avoid dirt build-up, so it’s important to sweep every day. Follow up with a dust mop to pick up the remaining dirt and dust that the broom did not get. You may need to reapply the finish every three to five years and sand and refinish every ten years.
Hardwood Floor Installation, Repairs, Refinishing & More in Charles Town & Eastern Panhandle of Berkeley & Jefferson Counties in WV | Winchester & Frederick County | Round Hill & Loudoun County | Berryville & Clarke County | Herndon & Fairfax County VA
To ensure the hardwood floor is properly installed in your home, call in the experts of Mike’s Custom Flooring and let us ensure you have a quality installation.
