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?
H
hampshire19 Apr 2021 13:07That's fine. I had the impression that you lack information and experience regarding room acoustics. It's okay if this topic is no longer of interest to you.
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pagoni202019 Apr 2021 13:32exto1791 schrieb:
That’s why everyone has to decide for themselves how important the acoustic aspect is when choosing flooring. Yes, of course, that is something everyone should decide individually.
exto1791 schrieb:
I would never notice a difference sitting in a room with wood flooring and 20 people or in a room with tiles and 20 people. ...you definitely would, if you did the test properly. But that doesn’t mean you would base your decision on it; the difference is simply there. Nowadays, we are exposed to a high level of background noise without really noticing it anymore. Still, it makes sense to be sensitive to this aspect as well. You don’t perceive fine dust or poor footwear directly either... often you only notice their effects later through physical or psychological reactions.
BUT: This is not a judgment of right or wrong, just my observation that these things are often present unnoticed. I have shared before my experience spending extended time alone in the desert. For the first time in my life, I experienced complete silence, which I found almost unsettling. But it also made clear what I usually perceive as “normal.”
pagoni2020 schrieb:
Of course, everyone should actually do that for themselves.
...you certainly would if you took this test yourself. But that doesn’t mean you would decide the same way afterward, the difference is there. Nowadays, we are exposed to a high level of background noise without even noticing it. Still, it’s important to be sensitive, even in that regard. You don’t notice fine dust or bad footwear, etc.…often you only realize it later through physical or psychological reactions to such things.
BUT: This is not a judgment of right or wrong, just my observation that it is often present without being noticed. I already shared my experience of being alone in the desert for an extended time. The first time in my life with absolutely ZERO noise, I found that almost unsettling, but it also made clear what I had perceived as "normal."Definitely, I also believe there’s definitely some truth to that—no question!
However, I tend to be quite conservative on these topics. I think today there is far too much fuss made about everything. I catch myself in so many areas when it comes to building a house. I believe that the real issue affecting the mind is the feeling of "not having done anything 100% right," or "having something different from everyone else," or "these days people do it differently."
I think for myself, I have a very high tolerance in many areas and can be satisfied with very little quite quickly. In exactly these areas, you really need to be very careful and weigh things carefully in the forum (as I said, I’ve caught myself too often approving things just because society suggests it, even though it doesn’t bother me at all).
In the end, everyone has to know what kind of "person type" they are and how important various aspects really are.
I think the urge for perfectionism and the many differing possibilities and opinions come from the psyche. The urge to always have everything nice and perfect in the future, to continually renew and "develop" oneself. Nowadays, people get laughed at if they say, "I’m building my house to last forever."
For me, this fits well with these "small details" like flooring, etc.
Some say, "Vinyl isn’t good for my child, tiles are too noise-sensitive, the granite countertop is an absolute must, without a ventilation system I’ll suffocate in my house, and building a basement is only for 'fools'." Come on... back in the day, none of this really "harmed" anyone…
I’m already on this "trip" myself, trying to make everything perfect, but ultimately I think way too much fuss is made over too many things 😀
PS: I’m also really glad that I’ve basically made my decisions in all areas because you always hear other things somewhere that make you doubt or similar. I think once you live in the house, all the "doubts" or things you spent sleepless nights worrying about don’t really matter anymore 😀
Nevertheless, we small group of homeowners here in this forum are also here to master our new builds as best as possible 🙂
S
SamSamSam21 Apr 2021 12:27Now that the topic of acoustics has been thoroughly discussed and several experiences have been shared here, I am still interested in hearing about experiences with floating floor coverings installed over underfloor heating. Can you feel the difference compared to glued parquet? And how much more "loss" occurs in this case?
Neubauling21 Apr 2021 12:28SamSamSam schrieb:
and how much more "loss" occurs here?I always wonder whether there is actually any loss, or if the underfloor heating just becomes slower to respond because the heat transfer through the "insulation" air is slower. Maybe someone can shed some light on this?S
SamSamSam21 Apr 2021 12:34Neubauling schrieb:
I always wonder if there is actually any heat loss, or if the underfloor heating just becomes slower to respond because the heat transfer through the "insulation" air layer is slower. Maybe someone can provide some insights? I think that if the heat faces more resistance going upwards, it will spread more in other directions? At least that is my very basic physical assumption. But I would appreciate hearing from anyone with experience or expert knowledge.
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