Wood Flooring for Kitchen - Questions

[Brian Elfert]

I had site finished oak strip flooring in my previous house. I had a bunch of water leak from my freezer because the door was left cracked open for three days. The floor swelled up. I left the floor to dry for a good six months and then someone came in with a moisture meter and tested the moisture content. They declared it was dry enough to refinish. I had it refinished and within six months the floor was cupped the other way. The floor was not completely dry when it was re-finished.

I don't know if I would do wood flooring again in a kitchen.

[Thomas McCurnin]

Engineered flooring (pre-finished) has to be installed on a dead flat surface--no imperfections, because you cannot sand after installation to even out the surface. For this reason either buy standard raw flooring and sand and finish, or spend the time necessary to get that subfloor dead flat, like a 1/16th over eight feet.

[Dick Strauss]

We've had several quotes in excess if $20/sqft for out 110 sqft foyer using material that was supposed to be $5.99 or less per sqft. By the time you factor in the labor, trim,etc., it has gotten a little out of touch with reality.

This doesn't really pertain to the OP's kitchen but I have a hard time justifying $20-22/sqft when I can get really nice carpet installed for $9.00/sqft.

[Alan Lightstone]

We put the same engineered Cumaru wood flooring in our whole second floor. Including the kitchen.

Putting it in the kitchen was a big mistake. Water damage is notable in several locations. It will have to be replaced, which is a big deal considering all the cabinets/islands are directly on top of it.

I would say, in my experience, don't do it.

[Perry Hilbert Jr]

In the house I had 30 years ago, We put in beautiful high end cherry cabinets.. The old floor looked like crap against the medium red cabinets. It was not a big kitchen, the whole room was only 15 x 12. We ripped up three layers of flooring (house built in 1955) and I took a class on installing tongue and groove red oak flooring. Old school type tongue and groove flooring. The actual flooring went down fairly easy. I spent the next week on my knees with a belt sander sanding everything glossy smooth. So smooth in fact that when you ran your hand sideways, you could not feel the differences from one piece of wood to the next. I then used a paste grain filler on the floor and when it dried, spent another few evenings sanding the floor to a glassy smooth. I think I went all the way to 600 grit and only sanding with the grin. I put down 5 coats of polyurethane to seal the floor, sanding between coats. except after the last coat. Then waxed the floor. The floor looked extremely good against the contrasting darker red cabinetry and stood up to a series of kids, spilling things, as well as a family dog. In our current house, built in 2016, we have engineered floors and visitors like it, but I think it is crap compared to real old fashioned hardwood tongue and groove. Nothing worse than pushing a vacuum cleaner across some of these new floors with the clack clack clack going over the grooves.