Your floors are among the hardest-working items in your home. Apart from the usual sweeping and mopping, we barely give them a thought.
Yet, floors are one of the first things prospective homebuyers look at when viewing your home. Most home buyers prefer hardwood floors, but there are other things to think about when it comes to the best type of flooring for your kitchen.
Check out this comparison of hardwood vs tile flooring before you decide.
Hardwood vs Tile Flooring – The Pros
At the moment, hardwood floors are the top trend in home improvements, but these trends come and go. So, it’s best to consider more practical factors when selecting flooring for your home.
Both hardwood and tile floors offer specific benefits depending on your needs. These are the benefits of tile flooring:
- Tile is tough and can last up to 20 years if you keep it clean and crack-free.
- If a tile does crack, it’s easy to replace it
- Affordable pricing when compared to hardwood
- Tile doesn’t attract allergens
- You can spot dirty patches easily
- It’s easy to keep clean which makes it a top choice for kitchens
On the other hand, the major benefits of hardwood flooring are easy maintenance, variety, and versatility.
Hardwood floors are resilient when they’re maintained properly. All they need is sweeping and vacuuming to keep them free of spills, dust, and debris.
You can re-sand them indefinitely to improve their appearance too. Good quality, well-maintained hardwood floors can last for over 100 years.
When you choose hardwood floors, you’ll find a huge variety of woods to choose from. You’re bound to find a type of hardwood floor that suits your kitchen’s style.
Tile vs Hardwood Flooring – The Cons
Hardwood’s more costly than tile for two main reasons. Firstly it’s much more expensive to harvest wood and cut boards than it is to manufacture tile. Secondly, you’ll need an expert contractor to install your hardwood flooring.
Flooring made from wood is more prone to scratches and scuffs than tile, and pet’s claws can cause a lot of unsightly marks on these floors.
As they begin to settle, hardwood floors can develop creaks and they also don’t absorb the sound of footsteps as well as tile does. If you have a busy home, hardwood floors are a noisy option.
Despite their lower cost, tile floors also come with a few drawbacks. Tile floors are very hard, so you’ll experience some discomfort when standing on them for a long time while preparing meals.
Although it’s possible to DIY tile floor installation, the process is pretty complicated. You’ll need specialized tools, grouts, and mortars to install tile successfully. It’s also a time-consuming process with huge potential for mistakes.
Home Improvement from the Ground Up
Hopefully, this exposé on hardwood vs tile flooring has helped you find answers to the question, “Should I get hardwood or tile flooring in my kitchen?”.
Perhaps you’re not sold on the idea of either type of flooring, or you’re looking for a different solution to upgrading your interiors.
Whatever your home improvement dilemma, you’re bound to find answers somewhere on our website. Keep browsing for more information on how to bring out the best in your home.
