Hardwood in the Kitchen

Hardwood flooring in the kitchen, should you or shouldn’t you, that is the question? And yes you should! Hardwood flooring in the kitchen is very, I mean VERY, popular in kitchens in the Northeast. With proper care and maintenance, hardwood flooring in your kitchen and home will last a lifetime maybe even two or 3 lifetimes. We have sanded and refinished hardwood flooring that was over 100 years old.

Truthfully, hardwood flooring is one of those floors that never go out of style. The stain trends may come and go but with a sanding and refinishing, you can change that to bring your floors up to current trend. An experienced floor refinisher will be able to get about 7 sandings from a hardwood floor.

Is Hardwood in the kitchen a good idea?

Engineered Hardwood

Many homes in Texas are built on slab. But you don’t have to let that deter you from installing hardwood in your home or kitchen. Manufacturers have created hardwood in the engineered form with a face the same width as solid hardwood, they come unfinished and finished too! This means that the flooring is the same thickness as solid hardwood but offers many advantages. Whether or not your kitchen subfloor is a concrete slab, you may want to consider an engineered floor for your kitchen application. For one, you can glue it to a slab subfloor. Second, it expands and contracts less than a solid hardwood floor because of the engineered (plywood) backing. Three, it is a hardwood floor! Engineered hardwood offers more beneficial factors than solid hardwood in most cases.  Hardwood flooring is timeless and does not date like other floor coverings such as tile and LVT.

Messes

Cleaning up messes AS SOON as they occur is a life saver for your floors. It’s the kitchen, and spills are bound to happen; but cleaning them sooner rather than later will save your floors from damage. When ice cubes drop from the fridge ice maker, don’t kick them under the fridge. Instead, it is best to pick them up to avoid them melting and causing water damage.

Mats

My Shepherds are messy eaters and even messier drinkers. They make such a mess when drinking from their water bowls. Placing a mat underneath dog bowls helps avoid, in my case, most, of the water from getting on the hardwood. A while back I noticed the flooring around their dog bowls were buckling ever so slightly. Before it got worse, I made sure clean the area and let it dry completely. Luckily, the floors dried and went back to normal.

Install a hardwood vs a soft wood

Choose a hardwood for your kitchen. Pine, while considered a soft wood, is very popular back in the North East, but it is definitely NOT a good choice for the kitchen with an active family. Instead, choose flooring that ranks higher on the Janka Scale; for example, White Oak. White oak has a Janka rating of 1360 while Red Oak has a Janka rating of 1290. It’s graining is tighter than Red Oak as well making it a better choice for kitchen installations.

Key an eye on appliances

Always keep an eye on your appliances especially your refrigerator and dish washer. Many times, these appliances leak. If not detected soon enough, the water will damage your floor. We have had to repair countless clients’ floors whose fridge leaked. Although a leak isn’t always avoidable, with proper attention, you can minimize the damage that can occur. Water damage signs include spacing, buckling, crowning or cupping, and color change and pulling up from the subfloor.

I hope I’ve calmed your hesitations about installing hardwood in your kitchen. Hardwood floors in the kitchen are beautiful, warm, inviting and classic. With the proper care and maintenance, your floors are sure to last.