ᐅ Which types of flooring are recommended for single-family homes? What does the building expert community suggest?
Created on: 14 Sep 2020 07:43
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exto1791
Hello everyone,
We are slowly starting to consider the flooring for our planned single-family house and are still completely undecided.
We have an open-plan living-dining area with a kitchen. We believe that a seamless floor transition looks nicer than separating the kitchen from the living/dining area. For this reason, we want to have a uniform floor covering throughout.
Now the question: vinyl or tiles? We have already read about the pros and cons, but maybe we can get some first-hand tips or tricks here that might put some of the disadvantages into a more positive perspective?
1. Question: Is vinyl really safe to use in the kitchen? Is vinyl fully waterproof? How does vinyl flooring react if, for example, a knife slips from my hand and falls on the floor? Will I get immediate dents or marks? Are there vinyl floors that are significantly more resistant?
2. Question: How does vinyl respond to sunlight? Since we will have several large glass fronts in our living-dining area, vinyl "technically" seems to be excluded... Does vinyl actually deform? Is it true that vinyl, like parquet, fades significantly in sunlight?
3. Question: Is vinyl really only suitable for 10-20 years? What happens afterward? Do I have to replace the vinyl, or can it be refurbished or maintained?
--> We are considering tiling the entire area because then we would be "done," have a robust floor that works perfectly with underfloor heating, is simple, and very resistant to sun/fading/stains/impacts. We think generally that you can’t go wrong with tiles.
However, I see the problem that the tiles will likely stay in place for a lifetime, and I may not want or be able to replace them later due to the high effort involved. Also, any chip or damage to a tile will be visible for life since I can’t quickly repair it (true, vinyl also can’t be easily repaired, but I could replace the floor after 15-20 years). Another downside is cost. Tiles are generally more expensive, and I wouldn’t be able to install them myself (I don’t feel confident with tiles but feel okay with vinyl), so we are wondering what is best for us.
What flooring have you installed in your living/dining areas? What good or bad experiences have you had?
Now about the upper rooms:
1 bedroom and 2 kids’ rooms: vinyl/parquet/cork/laminate?
We are familiar with the pros and cons here as well. Parquet is "technically" out of the question because it is very expensive (is there good parquet for around 30€ (about $33)?). Opinions on vinyl are divided... We also have clear concerns (especially in the kids’ rooms) regarding plastic flooring... Are they really completely safe and non-toxic nowadays? If I pay attention to this, can I safely choose vinyl for the kids’ rooms? The kids’ rooms should be "good and affordable" above all. Cork might be an option? Laminate is somehow excluded because it is very noisy and offers no advantages over cork or vinyl.
Is parquet sensible for the bedroom? Here there is no fading, parquet is durable, and sunlight is limited. Very durable and might make the bedroom more visually appealing. What do you think?
We are open to any suggestions.
Where did you buy your flooring? From a hardware store? A specialist dealer? Are there recommendations, including manufacturers or models?
We are slowly starting to consider the flooring for our planned single-family house and are still completely undecided.
We have an open-plan living-dining area with a kitchen. We believe that a seamless floor transition looks nicer than separating the kitchen from the living/dining area. For this reason, we want to have a uniform floor covering throughout.
Now the question: vinyl or tiles? We have already read about the pros and cons, but maybe we can get some first-hand tips or tricks here that might put some of the disadvantages into a more positive perspective?
1. Question: Is vinyl really safe to use in the kitchen? Is vinyl fully waterproof? How does vinyl flooring react if, for example, a knife slips from my hand and falls on the floor? Will I get immediate dents or marks? Are there vinyl floors that are significantly more resistant?
2. Question: How does vinyl respond to sunlight? Since we will have several large glass fronts in our living-dining area, vinyl "technically" seems to be excluded... Does vinyl actually deform? Is it true that vinyl, like parquet, fades significantly in sunlight?
3. Question: Is vinyl really only suitable for 10-20 years? What happens afterward? Do I have to replace the vinyl, or can it be refurbished or maintained?
--> We are considering tiling the entire area because then we would be "done," have a robust floor that works perfectly with underfloor heating, is simple, and very resistant to sun/fading/stains/impacts. We think generally that you can’t go wrong with tiles.
However, I see the problem that the tiles will likely stay in place for a lifetime, and I may not want or be able to replace them later due to the high effort involved. Also, any chip or damage to a tile will be visible for life since I can’t quickly repair it (true, vinyl also can’t be easily repaired, but I could replace the floor after 15-20 years). Another downside is cost. Tiles are generally more expensive, and I wouldn’t be able to install them myself (I don’t feel confident with tiles but feel okay with vinyl), so we are wondering what is best for us.
What flooring have you installed in your living/dining areas? What good or bad experiences have you had?
Now about the upper rooms:
1 bedroom and 2 kids’ rooms: vinyl/parquet/cork/laminate?
We are familiar with the pros and cons here as well. Parquet is "technically" out of the question because it is very expensive (is there good parquet for around 30€ (about $33)?). Opinions on vinyl are divided... We also have clear concerns (especially in the kids’ rooms) regarding plastic flooring... Are they really completely safe and non-toxic nowadays? If I pay attention to this, can I safely choose vinyl for the kids’ rooms? The kids’ rooms should be "good and affordable" above all. Cork might be an option? Laminate is somehow excluded because it is very noisy and offers no advantages over cork or vinyl.
Is parquet sensible for the bedroom? Here there is no fading, parquet is durable, and sunlight is limited. Very durable and might make the bedroom more visually appealing. What do you think?
We are open to any suggestions.
Where did you buy your flooring? From a hardware store? A specialist dealer? Are there recommendations, including manufacturers or models?
Regarding tiles:
We visited Kemmler’s tile showroom yesterday, and to our surprise, there were hardly any tiles priced over 50-60€ (about 55-65 USD). There was a large selection of attractive tiles for bathrooms, as well as many wood-look tiles for living areas, mostly in the 20-40€ (22-44 USD) range.
What kind of tiles have you installed in your single-family homes? What differences have you noticed? Unfortunately, we didn’t receive any consultation yesterday, so we are now trying to educate ourselves about the whole topic.
But basically: Are the cheaper tiles any good? What should you pay attention to when buying tiles?
We visited Kemmler’s tile showroom yesterday, and to our surprise, there were hardly any tiles priced over 50-60€ (about 55-65 USD). There was a large selection of attractive tiles for bathrooms, as well as many wood-look tiles for living areas, mostly in the 20-40€ (22-44 USD) range.
What kind of tiles have you installed in your single-family homes? What differences have you noticed? Unfortunately, we didn’t receive any consultation yesterday, so we are now trying to educate ourselves about the whole topic.
But basically: Are the cheaper tiles any good? What should you pay attention to when buying tiles?
Very cheap tiles, I believe, are not the easiest for the tiler to work with. You can look for rectified/calibrated tiles, which allow for narrower grout lines because the edges are more precise. If you want to avoid using tile trim profiles, full-body tiles could be an option.
We chose purely based on personal preference. The wood-look tiles are from Villeroy & Boch and are called Oak Park. Interestingly, we previously had parquet flooring from Bauwerk, also called Oak Park, with the same color range. I wonder if they collaborated in some way.
We chose purely based on personal preference. The wood-look tiles are from Villeroy & Boch and are called Oak Park. Interestingly, we previously had parquet flooring from Bauwerk, also called Oak Park, with the same color range. I wonder if they collaborated in some way.
Tolentino schrieb:
I also think that would be best. And solid wood right away.Yeah. Solid wood planks. Upstairs we have 22 mm (7/8 inch) thick oak boards, nicely with knots. Very sturdy and great quality. Scratches hardly show up, and if they do, they can still be repaired.exto1791 schrieb:
We were at Kemmler’s tile showroom yesterday and, to our surprise, there were hardly any tiles over 50-60 euros... Plenty of nice tiles for the bathroom, and also many wood-look tiles for the living area, mostly between 20 and 40 euros.Tiles are among the most expensive in terms of installation costs. Depending on size and subfloor, you’re looking at around 40 to 100 euros/m2 (3.7 to 9.3 sq ft) for installation. The price of the tiles themselves isn’t that significant in comparison. Hardwood flooring, by the way, costs about 25 to 35 euros/m2 (2.3 to 3.3 sq ft).These are rough estimates, including all work and baseboards.
Scout schrieb:
Yep. Solid wood plank. We have 22 mm (7/8 inch) thick oak boards upstairs.
Tiles are among the most expensive when it comes to installation costs. Depending on size and substrate, you’re looking at around 40 to 100 euros/m² (about $43 to $108 per sq ft). The actual tile price isn’t even that significant. Parquet flooring, by the way, costs around 25 to 35 euros/m² (about $27 to $38 per sq ft).
Just rough numbers, including all work and baseboards. Yeah, I’m aware of that. However, the price range listed in the construction and service description from our builder, as well as from competitors we checked earlier, is about 50.00 €/m² (around $54 per sq ft). Our total price also includes installation. If you do the tiling as a separate contract, something will likely be subtracted in the end... But since we’re not installing the tiles ourselves, that’s not really relevant for us.
I always thought tiles cost around 50 to 70 €/m² (about $54 to $76 per sq ft), but I was apparently wrong.
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Bertram10015 Sep 2020 09:39I think tiles always end up looking kind of outdated. After 10 years, they just look like “they were nice 10 years ago.” I would never choose tiles except maybe for the entrance area.
I have hardwood flooring over underfloor heating everywhere, including the kitchen and bathroom. It works great, no problems at all. Otherwise, linoleum is also a very good floor covering.
50 euros for materials and installation isn’t that much. I really wouldn’t save money on the flooring itself. You don’t redo it very often. Better to have it done room by room.
I have hardwood flooring over underfloor heating everywhere, including the kitchen and bathroom. It works great, no problems at all. Otherwise, linoleum is also a very good floor covering.
50 euros for materials and installation isn’t that much. I really wouldn’t save money on the flooring itself. You don’t redo it very often. Better to have it done room by room.
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