Kitchens & Bathrooms News · October 2019

Choosing flooring

First published in Kitchens & Bathrooms News in October 2019, this Fitter’s Advice column looked beyond the appearance of a floor to the home it would be used in. Children, pets, heating, the subfloor and the rooms below all entered the conversation, along with my own less-than-perfect choice of kitchen flooring. It is preserved here as part of the original Design It Out run, with the installer’s experience and the humour of the piece intact.

THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE · October 2019

Director of installation company Liberty Fitting Service Mark Conacher says be aware your choice of flooring can have a huge impact on a kitchen

With so many choices of flooring on the market, choosing the correct product for your client can be difficult. However getting to know a little more about the client and their home life can help avoid costly mistakes.

Understanding homelife

The choice of flooring should be determined by a number of factors. If the back door is in the kitchen, a quick check of the garden will help you understand how much dirt is likely to be brought in through this entrance.

Is the kitchen open to other rooms in the home? The client may want the same flooring to be continued throughout the open-plan area. But what may work for the kitchen may not be the best choice carried throughout different rooms. Is the kitchen on the ground floor? If the kitchen is in an apartment, or in a house with the kitchen on the first floor, the noise level created by walking on the floor will be a factor in the room below.

Are there children or pets in the home? If there are children or pets in the home, the dirt level will be greater and spillages more common. General traffic on the floor is also likely to be far greater.

Heating and subfloor

What will be the method of heating in the kitchen? Underfloor heating may be a good idea and your choice of flooring may be determined by this. Lastly, what is the sub-floor made of and what condition is it in? The sub-floor can have a huge impact on your choice of flooring. Look for movement in the floor. Further works may be required before flooring can be laid.

Safety first

A factor to consider above design is safety, so how easily the floor can be kept clean and whether it becomes slippery when wet. I had tumbled marble fitted throughout the ground floor of my house. While it was beautiful and seemed like a great choice, it was in the kitchen that it let us down. With the grooves and rough surface, it wasn’t the easiest to clean and required a lot of effort to maintain. Though my wife does like to point out, “how would YOU know?”

Original publication: Kitchens & Bathrooms News. Archived here with its original date and wording.