Hardwood floors in kitchen

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LBJ

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Many of the Irvine new homes have hardwood flooring in the kitchen, but I've heard that hardwood floors in the kitchen is not a good idea because humidity and spills can damage the wood flooring.

An alternative would be to put tile or stone in the kitchen and hardwood floor elsewhere. This would be more functional but since all the new homes have an open concept, I'm guessing the discontinuity of flooring would be ugly.

Anyone have experience with hardwood flooring in kitchen? Anyone buy a new Irvine home and choose to install different flooring for kitchen and great room?
 
I have hardwood flooring in the kitchen.  I too have heard that the spills and humidity could effect the floors.  I just try to wipe any spills that occurs in the kitchen right away.  So far so good  :D
 
Kids or no kids?  With kids, more spills, but less painful when they slip and fall.
When we had hardwood floors in the kitchen, there was more of an issue of us dropping things and denting the floors than water damage.
 
I live in Treo/Woodbury, built in 2005 - I got hardwood floors in the kitchen and living room for continuity sake.  I would say do not break up the flooring type between kitchen and living room, looks really ugly *and* makes the place look a lot smaller.  My neighbors (same model) broke up their flooring with tile + wood and it made the entire space look smaller.  I'd sooner get tile throughout instead of breaking it. 

As far as damage goes, we have 2 cats and a 6mo old son.  We had 1 incident where the dishwasher leaked and it did cause minor water damage.  That area was (and is) covered by a small mat anyhow so I can live with it.  There are certainly more things dropping in the kitchen like forks, jars, pots, etc... so I've noticed there are more marks/nicks/dents in the kitchen than the living room, but no humidity damage.

I repeat, do not break up the flooring in a great room!  I'd sooner live with more imperfections in my kitchen floor than with half tile and half wood.
 
I installed hardwood into our kitchen over a decade ago, only now are they showing signs of needing some refinishing.  this is with 2 kids, 2 german shepherds, etc.  However doing it over again I'd probably look at tile only for the fact that we're life long dog lovers and tile (probably porcelain) will hold up far better than hardwood.

However, if dogs were not an issue, I'd go back to hardwood in a heartbeat.  Tile and stone are much harder on your feet and back when standing for long periods. 

There are many kinds of hardwood flooring, while laminate isn't really hardwood, laminate flooring will swell when it gets wet beyond the surface layer.  Other hardwoods either engineered or solid will be fine. 
 
In our old house, the wood flooring was soft.  It got nicked up pretty bad by the kids.  When we get hardwood flooring in our current house, we'll look for harder wood and go with the distressed look.
 
Like jvna mentions, I would go with a distressed look so any more dents or wear is less noticeable.

I'm told that engineered wood holds up better and there are some woods that are very moisture resistant (ipe wood?).
 
I did tile throughout my downstairs in my Irvine condo and wish I had done all wood.  Engineered wood flooring is the way to go if you have concrete and sub-concrete floors (glue down).  You may want to pick out as dense of a wood as possible like maple or rosewood as compared to softer woods like bamboo or oak. 
 
Thanks for all the input. Looks like the consensus is to go with engineered hardwood ..

I googled Richard Marshall. Looks expensive!
 
LBJ - Their quality and craftsmanship is untouched.  They are on the pricier side but you really get what you pay for.  ;)
 
homer_simpson said:
LBJ - Their quality and craftsmanship is untouched.  They are on the pricier side but you really get what you pay for.  ;)
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Not necesarrily my fellow M3 owner...Simple Floors in Orange has really good selection and great prices and they've taken good care of a handful of my buyers.  Some have gotten the flooring installed by them and other just bought the material there.  Take a look at their selection and prices...the more you buy the less you pay...http://www.simplefloors.com/products/Hardwood-Flooring/category1.aspx

Btw, also look to buy the wider wood planks (5-7 inch ones versus the 3-4 inch ones) as they look nicer and are easier to install. 
 
gld2 said:
Is Simple flooring cheaper and better quality than Lumber Liquidator?
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From what I could tell the quality is comparable and pricing is pretty close too but the make you buy the better deal you get at Simple Floors.  My dad put in the engineered wood flooring I bought for my Irvine condo in 2004 that I bought from Simple Floors and it held up very well on the stairs, hallway, and bedrooms.
 
i've had wood for almost 10 years.  all downstairs, including in the bathroom and kitchen.  water leaks, spills, etc..  minor blemish, who cares?  floors are floors.  dings, dents... all will happen.  guests come over, some choose to wear shoes in.  i realized that i was better off letting go than being that anal.  overall, it's very durable.  also, pick up a floor steamer (yes works on wood!!!!).    keeps it nice and clean. 

next time around, still going wood,  all downstairs.  we are even considering going all the way up stairs and including in all house.  i will do the upstairs baths in tile, though. 
 
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