mopec

I love my laminate also, but as with most things, there is so much difference in quality. We went with a Dupont 30 year waterproof and I am quite happy with the wear.

mountain-moma

I just love your kitchen so very neat and pretty and yellow counter tops i would love to have them

Carron

We now have ceramic tiles (and the grout areas are sealed with a special liquid sealer and nothing penetrates it. ) The wood is beautiful but not practical in badroom or kitchen. Been there and done that!

sew1

We have porcelain tile and love it. Things don't seem to shatter as you would think. It hasn't been harmed so far, when I drop something hard on it. Love the clean up, damp mop and done.

quiltincat

Did my research & here's what I found-Laminate floors look like someone took the paneling from the 70's & laid it on the floor, also it "clicks" when you walk on it.
Tile floors-PRO=good in areas that has a sandy soil, or is subject to a lot of grit, like a farm or a beach house. It also stands up well to animal nails and "accidents" it is also great around watery enviroments. Kids & swimming pools.
CON-Good tiles are expensive, cheap tiles crack too easily and you can see the clay foundation underneath. The weight of a stove or fridge can crack the tile. If you decide to change the "look" of your floor, tile is expensive and hard to remove. Even though the tile is easy to clean the grout is not. The grout needs to be sealed once a year and some times it pops out & areas need to be re-grouted & if you dont do the whole floor it looks patchy.
Hint--if you go the tile/grout route audition the grout color by using a colored paper or fabric (from you stash!) behind the tile to see the effect. With the smaller tiles the grout color (white, black, gray) can make a huge difference in overall look of the floor.
It changes the accousts of the room it's LOUD.
You can't move chairs easily over it, they dont slide well.
It can be very slippery, unless they have a lot of texture and then they are harder to clean.
Say goodbye to your favorite bowl or that great bottle of wine should you drop them.That wine will then stain your grout.
Keep aspirin in the kitchen for your aching feet, knees and back, also some warm slippers for that cold slippery floor.

Wood floors-CON-Wood does'nt go well with STANDING water, griddy soil, doggie nails, animal "accidents", little boys with hammers or big boys with golf shoes. The finish wears off in high traffic areas and if the finish is too high the floor can be slippery Those of us of a certain age worry about those things. Wood also takes a little more care to clean, not too much water please.
PRO-Most of the above cons can be fixed by a good sanding and if you dont like the color of the floor can be changed by a can of stain. If you're worried about water,remember most houses are built of wood and they stand up to rain quite well.
Yes, you will lose your wine glass to a wood floor, but the bottle at least has a fighting chance.
Your ears won't hurt from the noise, you're back wont complain about the muscle shock and your feet won't bark because they're cold.
Cement floors--Walk around Costco or Sam's Club for an hour and then decide.

I now this was way too long, but if your sewing machine keeps your husband awake at midnight what else is there to do?

seasaw2mch

I love the look of tile and wood but the simple fact is tile floors are dangerous to small kids and elderly people. The reasons I say this is because they are very slippery when wet and we all know that small kids and elderly folks seem to always drop things and elderly people often trip as well and this could cause greater broken parts.

About 5 years ago I redid my kitchen from scratch (myself) and I had to do the research on all the different flooring out there so I could make a choice as well. Wood and wood laminate flooring are also really nice but the truth is if they get wet you are going to have to replace parts of it. Concrete I think is about the same as the tiles, to hard a surface if one has elderly people around that can fall on it. So after all the ideas that I found, the best thing is still a vinyl laminate and that is what I went with. They have some now that looks like the tile or the wood so you can still get the look without having to worry about the safety hazards that come with the other flooring's. Yes Vinyl is slippery when wet but it's a softer landing and the liquid can't soak through it so it's not going to have to be replaced as often.

sailsablazin

While we built our house, we rented a house with ceramic tiles on the floor. I will NEVER have ceramic tiles on a floor that I walk on constantly. (I am in the kitchen a whole lot...love to cook and can't stand a messy kitchen).
First of all, the ceramic is COLD....my kids used to come out into the kitchen and sit in front of the heat vent to get dressed in the morning (if the heat hand been turned down at night). They did this with our vinyl floor house---not with ceramic tile!!
Secondly, by the end of the day my legs ached SO----SO badly....ceramic is not forgiving....
We had planned on putting ceramic tiles in our new kitchen...NOT after renting this house---no way! We now have 3/4 inch oak floors and love them!! They clean up nicely but do expand and contract with the seasons.
I do have porcelain tiles in bathrooms, the laundry and back hall---very easy for clean up,,,but never in my kitchen.
I have had my wooden kitchen floors for 20 years and never had a damaged area. We had them finished with the same polyurethane stuff that they use on basketball courts at schools. (it is time to refinish the floors but it has been 20 years---nothing lasts forever.)

sailsablazin

When you have the wood refinished....ask them to use the finish that they use on the basketball courts at schools...ours is a satin finish, not high gloss. After 20 years the kitchen needs refinishing, but the dining room and foyer are still beautiful.. We were advised that if we had dogs, that we would need to refinish our floors every 3 years. If we did not have animals running in the house, then refinish the floors every 5 years. It's been 20 years and it is time to refinish!! Our floors are real oak so they can be sanded down many times. The Pergo floors can only be sanded done once.

quilt-fanatic

Ceramic tiles but they are hard on your back when standing for long periods. I have throw rugs and padded decorative cushions in front of cooktop, refrigerator and sink. They catch most of the spills. Grout gets a steam cleaning when needed.

ShabbyTabby

We have ceramic tile in Kitchen, living room, both bathrooms and laundry rooms. All 4 bedrooms are carpeted.
We have dogs and the tile is soooooo much easier to care for. And living the the hot desert the tile is so cool in the summer.