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?
Scout schrieb:
I understand up to 60x60. "Wood-look tiles" in the elongated format aren’t included, as far as I can see. Also, the price refers to the specialist dealer’s price; the clearance items at the hardware store don’t count.
I definitely don’t want to discourage you from choosing the tiles, please don’t misunderstand me. We have tiled the entire ground floor ourselves and we love it. It’s just often the case that many homeowners don’t fully understand the scope of work description and then get shocked by the invoice. Did you visit the tile wholesaler that your general contractor recommended to you? Also ask about your preferred tile size and if there’s an extra charge, have that confirmed in writing. Yes, 60x60 is our preferred size for the bathroom as well. If we decide to go with 60x30 for the living room, that would also be included. Anything outside those sizes would not be covered and could result in a higher cost, but that might be offset by a lower tile price of around 30-40€ (approximately 30-40 USD). Of course, this needs to be clarified in advance.
--> We went to the specialist dealer. All construction companies in our region send us to Kemmler. We went there on our own initiative. We will go back for another consultation appointment.
Yes, we are very thorough with the construction and scope of work descriptions and always have everything listed out in detail. It feels like we have our own tailored construction and scope of work description already because we have changed so many things.
opalau schrieb:
I wouldn’t see it as too critical. Our “everything except bathrooms” tiles, 60x60cm (24x24 inches), light gray, basically like the ones from matte1987, were priced at 20€/m². For the bathrooms, we chose a collection with samples for the floor, also 60x60cm (24x24 inches), which cost around 40€/m².
We didn’t look at wood-look tiles at all, so I’m not familiar with those. But for 50€, you should find a wide selection at a specialized dealer without overpaying. Thanks, that already sounds good. So it seems we are on the right track using those tiles, especially since hardly any tile at the dealer cost more than 60€. The wood-look tiles were also priced between 30-50€.
Tolentino schrieb:
The tile price of 50 EUR/m² (approx. 5.50 USD/ft²) stated in the construction specification is actually quite reasonable, in my opinion. I don’t know it offhand, but I have seen 20, up to a maximum of 35 EUR/m² (approx. 2.20 to 3.85 USD/ft²) in various construction specifications.
My general contractor had 35 EUR/m² (approx. 3.85 USD/ft²) but wanted an outrageous amount (about 10,000 EUR) for just 65 m² (approx. 700 ft²) of tiled area (wall and floor tiles, including the shower). I had that removed.Yes, our local main contractors almost all list 50.00 EUR/m² (approx. 5.50 USD/ft²) in their construction and service descriptions. Prefabricated house builders like Schwörerhaus, Hanse, Haas, etc., as is often the case in the industry, cut costs drastically only to charge the client extra later. Here, the price is very often only 25-35 EUR/m² (approx. 2.75 to 3.85 USD/ft²).
Tolentino schrieb:
Mine is also a regional solid construction builder. But no one says that a smaller company can’t adopt the methods of the larger ones.
So far, he has been quite fair when it comes to subcontracting individual trades. I just hope I won’t get overwhelmed by scheduling... Yes, we also have two small solid construction builders on our radar who provide excellent quality here, especially in the areas where most prefab houses fall short.
The cost transparency is simply much better. You know exactly what you are committing to and don’t have to bear huge unexpected expenses afterward.
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