Is it OK to Put Hardwood Floors in a Kitchen or Bathroom?
Reader Question: I am considering putting hardwood floors in my living room and dining room. The kitchen sits next to both rooms and I’m wondering if I should lay hardwoods in the kitchen as well? I’ve seen hardwoods in some high kitchens, but at least two of my friends have warned about water in the kitchen ruining the wood. Should I be worried? Is there a better type of hardwoods for kitchens? Lynne.
Lynne, excellent questions, and the subject of at least a few water cooler conversations around my office. Hardwoods add value to a home no matter which direction you choose, so congratulations on tackling this project.
In our last house, we opted to install hardwoods only in areas without plumbing; however, this isn’t necessarily required. Ethan and Jocie installed hardwoods in their bathroom, and we’re considering hardwoods for the entire first floor of our home, which includes both a kitchen and a bathroom.
Advantages of Installing Hardwood Floors in Kitchens and Bathrooms
The appeal of putting hardwoods in the kitchen (and even in nearby bathrooms, or any adjacent rooms) is that putting the same surface in multiple rooms makes the house feel larger. When rooms are divided with different flooring surfaces (or soffits, or other visual mechanisms), the perimeter of the room becomes visually obvious and the space feels more confining. If we use more natural dividing mechanisms (e.g., creative furniture placement), we eliminate this. Also, uniform floors allow for more creative furniture placement since you aren’t trying to align with artificial divisions between the spaces.
Hardwoods in Moisture-prone Areas
Of course, the issue with kitchen and bathroom installation is the danger that hardwoods will get wet due to spills or plumbing back-ups/malfunctions. When wood floors get wet, they expand. This can cause the fasteners to pull away from the floor, or the floor to buckle. There are a few ways to mitigate this risk:
Option 1: Install engineered flooring that does not expand/contract significantly with moisture. Engineered flooring is made by laminating multiple layers of flooring at 90 degree angles (much like plywood), usually with a 3/32” veneer on top. Engineered flooring can be refinished like regular wood, although not as many times, and is suitable for installation in kitchens and bathrooms. Engineered floors looks just like real 3/4 inch solid flooring, and for most installations will add the same value as solid oak flooring. Here’s a picture of an engineered maple wood installed in a kitchen with cherry cabinets.
Option 2: Install unfinished solid hardwoods and finish the floor in place instead of installing pre-finished floors. Prefinished floors make installation easy as they avoid sanding, staining, and sealing on site. However, these floors will have small gaps between the boards that let moisture seep down between them. If you seal an unfinished floor after installation, the polyurethane acts as a unified moisture barrier filling all the cracks between the boards.
Option 3: Install regular pre-finished, solid wood flooring and take the risk. The odds of a massive water spill aren’t that great, and in many cases you won’t have a huge problem even if the wood does get wet. We’ve been in many houses with prefinished hardwoods in the kitchen for years that have had no issues.
Sealing Prefinished Hardwoods
One creative approach we’ve seen for mitigating the risk of moisture on prefinished woods is to seal the sides of the wood prior to installation. This method is slow because care must be taken to avoid painting sealer on the surface of the wood. Does it work? Maybe. Sealing the sides of the wood may prevent water from entering the boards on the sides, but it could also make the seal between adjacent boards looser, increasing the chances of water seeping between the boards in the first place. In any event, do not seal the entire board as this won’t let the hardwoods breath and is more prone to trapping moisture that does manage to get inside.
Installing Hardwoods Yourself
One thing you didn’t mention in your question was whether you will install the hardwoods yourself or hire a contractor. We think hardwoods are an excellent job for DIYers. Check out our complete list of hardwood flooring tools for more information on everything you need to do the job youself.
(photo credit: tronics)
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5 Responses to Is it OK to Put Hardwood Floors in a Kitchen or Bathroom?
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September 17th, 2009 6:47 am
We installed hardwood in our kitchen and bathroom on the first floor. We wanted to have the same flooring throughout the first floor with the exception of our mudroom. So far we’ve had no complaints and LOTS of compliments on how warm the kitchen feels. Great post as usual Fred.
September 17th, 2009 9:39 am
As the owner of My Handyman, I can add to this discussion based on the repairs we get asked to tackle. I believe hardwood floors in kitchens and adjoining half baths will work well provided the home owner understands how important it is to clean up spilled water immediately. Most water problems in kitchens occur under the sink so it’s good to check the cabinet base periodically. The bigger problem comes when the dishwasher malfunctions and floods the entire room and often more than one room … but we’ve only dealt with this problem twice, and each time it happened after new countertops were installed (granite installed by others).
I would recommend avoiding wood floors in bathrooms that have a sink, toilet and shower/bathtub. There are simply too many things that can go wrong and having to deal with floor repairs on top of plumbing is a major headache. If you want to update your bathroom, there are so many nice choices in ceramic tile … you’re better off picking one of them. Spend a little more on floor prep so the floor is level, stabile with minimum risk of water getting under the tile.
September 17th, 2009 11:15 am
We had the same situation and we almost put the hardwood down in the kitchen until last minute a friend warned us not to and we went over to her house to see why. Like us, she had young children and young children = spills, and messes. her 3 year old threw his bottle down and not only did it break open and get all over the floor but it dented it a bit too- he was a strong 3 year old. They had a lot of spills over the years and even though most were cleaned up promptly you could really see the wear and tear on the floor. Personally, I would play it safe (as we did) and go for ceramic. Our neighbors just out down a concrete floor and love it. Good luck!
September 19th, 2009 7:29 am
The hardwood floors installation would definitely require an expert installation help. The kitchen really feels great with a combination of hardwood floors and granite countertops to match!
September 20th, 2009 3:01 pm
We installed hardwood in our kitchen because it all flows in with the living room and dining room. Yes, you have to wipe up water quickly but we have no kids so it’s not such a big deal. I often keep a big towel on the floor in front of the sink while I’m working. If I had small children, I might make another choice. I don’t think I would go with wood in the bathrooms, though. But if I really wanted that look, I might be tempted by the tile that looks like wood. I’ve seen some that do a really good job of fooling the eye.