Kitchen Flooring

A variety of flooring materials are available to meet different priorities. Criteria to keep in mind when choosing flooring are durability, maintenance, renewable materials, recycled-content, comfort, appearance and ease of installation.

• Avoid vinyl sheet and vinyl tile flooring. Although a popular choice, vinyl provides questionable durability and raises concerns for environmental and health safety, especially during manufacture and disposal. It can produce harmful chemicals when burned.
• Flooring choices to consider:
  
  

1. Natural linoleum is a close alternative to vinyl, but is durable, antibacterial and antistatic, and made from natural, renewable materials. It comes in sheet s or easy-to-install click tiles that can be installed without glue or nails.
2. Concrete floors can incorporate recycled materials such as fly ash from coal-fired energy production, and are extremely durable. However, concrete is energy-intensive to produce, requires periodic treatments to maintain a surface seal, and is cold and hard to stand on.
3. Tile is another durable option that can also contain recycled material, and can be repaired by replacing individual tiles rather than the entire floor. Drawbacks are that surfaces must be prepared carefully for a successful installation, production is energy-intensive, and tiles can be cold and tiring to stand on.
4. Cork tile flooring is suitable for kitchens, is warm and cushy to walk on, and made of a renewable material. It also provides acoustical insulation.
5. Laminates, or floating floors, have the appearance of wood, bamboo or cork but are composed of a thin pattern layer over a tongue-in-groove base of wood or wood fiber. This flooring choice is easy to install, inexpensive and may incorporate recycled material. On the negative side, laminates cannot be refinished more than once or twice, are susceptible to moisture damage through the wood base, and are not recyclable.

• Wood flooring makes a kitchen feel warm and provides a durable surface that can be refinished over time. Look for reclaimed or salvaged wood at building reuse stores, possibly from deconstructed buildings, salvage trees or re-sawn salvaged lumber. If you choose new wood, look for the FSC label which certifies that it was harvested and processed responsibly.