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
E
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?
exto1791 schrieb:
- Cork is a versatile option; I would install it immediately. However, honestly, it often looks quite unattractive... I have yet to see a nice cork floor, to be honest 😀 take a look here:
Mellina schrieb:
@Xingwei421 The flooring is actually called Liquid Design; you can look it up online. There are different colors, and you can see the cork pieces in it. Here are the four options we selected: S
SamSamSam14 Apr 2021 15:10exto1791 schrieb:
We are also considering what to put in the kids’ rooms...
- In my opinion, vinyl is quite expensive for the “cheap material,” but it is definitely more comfortable for children compared to laminate.
- Laminate is cheap but relatively uncomfortable for kids.
- Hardwood flooring looks great and is fairly high quality, but it’s probably not the best choice for kids’ rooms.
- Cork is the all-rounder; I would install it immediately, but honestly, it looks so awful... I have yet to see a nice cork floor 😀 I can fully agree with these points 😀 that’s exactly how I see it.
Therefore, we have our eye on vinyl for the kids’ rooms. I’m leaning towards click vinyl because it can be installed easily and cleanly by yourself.
I’m just wondering whether it’s worth the effort there to maybe glue the vinyl instead?!
HarvSpec schrieb:
have a look here:Isn't that a kind of linoleum? To be honest, it looks a bit too sterile to me... Joints, edges, and corners actually have their own charm 😀
exto1791 schrieb:
How "difficult" is it actually to glue down a parquet floor when doing it yourself? It’s often strongly recommended for underfloor heating...Certainly more complex than laying it as a floating floor, but entirely doable if you’re willing and reasonably handy.
Regarding the recommendation for underfloor heating, I think it’s quite relative. Obviously, glued installation offers better heat transfer than floating floors, but is that really considered "significant" nowadays?
I believe these recommendations come from earlier times when houses were less well insulated, supply temperatures were much higher, and everyone tried to constantly adjust the heating—like applying day and night setbacks.
Furthermore, back then the parquet wasn’t really designed or suitable for underfloor heating anyway…!? So the advice was probably: "if you do, then glue it."
I haven’t decided for sure myself yet, but I’ll probably go with glued, because I don’t really like the "floating and somewhat flexible feel" when walking on it. Others, like @pagoni2020, actually see that last point as an advantage.
Tolentino schrieb:
But I didn’t say it was ugly at all. In northern Germany (or Swabian dialect), that actually means quite attractive. :P
Kids’ room: once they move out, it needs to be redone anyway.
Hallway: for the 6 hours per night I’m there, I don’t need the floor...Ah yes, the Swabians… 😉
You’re basically right. Although that might not necessarily apply to children’s rooms...!
I can only speak from my own experience when, years ago in a rental apartment, I chose flooring based on that principle. For the larger living room area (35 sqm (376 sq ft)) I wanted to save, so I went for the cheaper laminate (also not no-name) at an auction price (approx. 10 EUR/sqm (approx. $10/sq ft)).
For the bedroom (about 15 sqm (161 sq ft)), however, I bought B-grade stock (surplus) from a well-known manufacturer for little money and thought that would be enough since I’m just sleeping there.
In the end, though, that was the cheapest, best, and most comfortable floor we had up to that point, and we still regret selling it years later and have come to appreciate quality products. For me, if you want to save, it’s better to go for B-grade material from a top manufacturer than A-grade from a "no-name" brand at the same price.
exto1791 schrieb:
- Parquet looks great, relatively high quality but probably not the best choice for a children's roomFor me, there is nothing better for the bedroom... I was also skeptical at first because I thought something like that would bother me, but a carpenter once told me: okay, there are some marks, but isn’t it irrelevant since the room has been lived in? That actually gives the parquet a special character :-)
In the end, I just went with parquet and never regretted it 😎
tumaa schrieb:
For me, there’s nothing better for the bedroom... I was also skeptical at first because I thought it might bother me, but a carpenter once told me: yes, there are some imperfections, but does that really matter? It shows that the floor has been lived on and that gives the parquet a special character 🙂 ...
In the end, I just went with parquet and never regretted it 😎Yes, we will definitely install parquet flooring in the bedroom, that’s not up for discussion for us!
My main concern is the children’s rooms... I think it might be more comfortable for kids to play on cork or vinyl flooring than on parquet. But as I said, we still don’t know what exactly we will decide... 🙁
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