Pros and Cons of Hardwood Flooring

Hardwood flooring looks gorgeous in any part of the house. Let’s be honest, hardwood floors are just the ultimate choice when it comes to flooring. But is gorgeous enough? Will gorgeous remain gorgeous if it’s in the kitchen?

Bear in mind that the kitchen is the most trafficked part of your home. Think about it. Where, besides the living room, do most of the gossip sessions happen? Cooking, making tea, spilling your milk as you walk out of the kitchen. The kitchen is a wet zone – and unfortunately for hardwood, water is its enemy.

But there are options and ways around it if you are still adamant you want that gorgeous hardwood floor in your kitchen.

Let’s have a quick look at the pros and cons of having hardwood flooring in your kitchen:

The Pros:

• Hardwood flooring offers that rich interior to your home you won’t find in any other wood.
• Hardwood actually ages well, like a good wine.
• Hardwood, once installed, will scarcely ever be needed a refurbishment.
• Hardwood attracts less dust than other materials because it is considered a non-electromagnetic source.
• Hardwood, like its name, is hard. It is durable. Compare it to engineered flooring and drop the same object on both floors and you will see the dent in the engineered one.
• Hardwood is comfortable to sit on (e.g. babies, dogs) in spite of its hard, strong nature.

The Cons:

• Unfortunately, hardwood flooring requires regular polishing. To maintain is natural ‘finish’ it needs to be properly polished every three years.
• Hardwood attracts termites. This can be a big problem. This means that you may have to maintain it regularly to ensure your floor isn’t attacked by termites, which will eat through your flooring.
• Owing to the heavy traffic, hardwood is prone to receive scratch marks from shoes such as high heel points and even your cat’s nails.
• In the kitchen, there are so many ways you can think of just now how spillages can occur, which if left unmopped, can soak in the floor and eventually cause warping.
• When you mop the floor, you must be extra careful not to use a dripping mop, but one that is damp only.

Looking at the pros and cons, it seems that it depends really on how you are in your home. Are there kids there, animals? However, as a general rule of thumb, most flooring installers in Perth do not recommend hardwood flooring for the kitchen.

However, there is still something you can do.
Have your hardwood installed and then coat it professionally with polyurethane to add extra protection against spillages and the foot traffic.

You should have a professional do this for you because if done without right, it could end up ruining the beautiful quality of the hardwood. Another tip, while we’re on polyurethane, it’s better to order the material first and then have the polyurethane done afterwards than having them come pre-made.

But ultimately it is your decision. If you’d like to talk this decision over with a floor expert, contact us and we’d be happy to advise.