Tiles vs. Laminates in the Kitchen

Posted by Deepak Kumar on April 18th, 2017

When thinking about renovating your home, one of the major things to consider is the flooring. Floor, together with the walls are great contributors to the ambiance of any room.

Most kitchens get heavy use, so the flooring must be chosen accordingly. Durability and resistance to moisture and stains are the must have features. Quality of the material is also very important. Both tiles and laminates meet these criteria. Let us now look at their characteristics and see which best suits for your kitchen.

1. Safety and Comfort: Planks of laminate are installed over a thin foam pad and the planks are not attached to the subfloor and allow the laminate to give a little bit underfoot, whereas the tiles do not. Glasses and dishes dropped on laminate flooring are less likely to shatter than on tile.

2. Care: Laminates are easier to clean the tiles. The grout in the tiles need special care and periodic scrubbing to keep it free of stains. It should be sealed regularly.

3. Installation: Laminates and the foam underlayment can be laid directly over bare subflooring or suitable existing floor finishes such as linoleum, hardwood and vinyl. Tile installation is a multistep process which requires a stiff subfloor topped with a cement board underlayment.

4. Cost: Tile and floor laminates are available in many options. The tile's upper limit is much higher and the professional installation for tile is more expensive than for laminate. Additional materials are required for tile installation such as cement board, grout sealer, grout and to install laminate sheetsthe only extra thing required is not too expensive foam underlayment.

If I ever plan on renovating my kitchen, I would prefer laminates over tiles. Laminate sheets are more affordable, available in an array of patterns, and colours.