why do you think you're going to get water damage? from a pipe bursting? Appliance leaking? have you ever had an appliance leak? in 40 years I haven't. I have had a pipe leak in my cement slab, but that was in another part of the house. Insurance does cover that.

Even if you spill a pot of water, a quick clean up is all you need. it's not going to suffer any damage unless you let it sit for a day or two (and even then you can usually dry it out before it warps)

let's face it, if your kitchen floods, it's going to leak into the surrounding areas (where you want the wood), so at that point it really doesn't matter what you have in the kitchen.

as for the laundry room, make sure you have drain pans and drain under the washer, just in case you get a leak.

so, that being said, you could go w/the wood in the kitchen. or, do a neutral, large format tile. it's done all the time against wood flooring. have no idea what choices you're considering.

I had wood floors in the kitchen in our previous house, and in 10 years, had zero problems with it. Wipe up spills, and don't use a sopping wet mop or steam mop, and they're fine. If you have enough water damage to damage wood floors (ie an appliance leaking, or a flood), you're going to have cabinet damage, no matter what.

Thank you for your response! Beth: the remodel is due to an ice maker line leak behind fridge, water never showed on the floor at all. First signs showed from inside the cabinets. Long story short it is thur that nothing was salvageable.

Including the cabinrts!

Helen: Thank you for the information about the alarms will look into that will probably do the same as you so thank you for that.

Even a bigger problem than the water leak is the distraction caused is or has been the insurance company’s over six months and they didn’t get nothing done and we just want to minimize the issues that may occur may arise if it happened again meaning if the cabinets were on tile floor, which we never saw water come above the tile maybe the cabinets would have been saved.

I have wood in my own kitchen. However, I'm a mess, and my husband, contractor is always getting mad at me for spilling. I put wood in most of my client's kitchens also. If you are worried about water damage, use a tile that is a similar color to the floor. I don't know what style you are going for, but if it was a spanish style, you could use a deep stained terra cotta floor. If it's a traditional kind, you could use a darker limestone or similar. Don't separate the kitchen from the rest of the house with a light floor. Wood will look the best.

Thank you Maraya interior Design.

I am think about this tile and medium dark wood flooring. My new cabinets are dove-white

. Do you think is this no good for separate kitchen and living room?

If separating is the red line a good place or should it be deeper into the kitchen.

As you have discovered, even tile has issues with long term leaks. As annoying as this is, look at it as a chance to do a full kitchen renovation using your insurance company as the financier (tongue firmly in cheek).

I love the look of hardwood (natural...not the gray stuff...I get bored with monochromatic colour schemes such as black/white/gray). I'm also someone who is well aware of how wood works and how it doesn't work. I'm Ok with that.

You've lived with hardwood before. You know how it acts/reacts. In a kitchen it simply gets more foot traffic and a small amount of water splashing on the floor (droplets from the sink).

If the possibility of another leak is a scary prospect, then I highly recommend the alarm system. Be aware that the cost of the system will fall on you as the insurance company will only cover the cost to put the kitchen BACK to its original state...

Thank you SJ. I will checking alarm system.

Water alarm systems are inexpensive. Mine were all installed when the plumbers installed the appliances and although I don’t have a breakdown of costs, I can’t imagine they added much to the cost and the actual parts are cheap.

FWIW, certsin of Bosch dishwashers and washing machines have built in water alarm systems and pans.

Thank you Helen. Do you know which alarm is yours?

My understanding is the alarm systems and pans are pretty generic. I just told my GC that I wanted alarms for all the appliances plus a pan and they were ordered as part of the general supplies and the plumber installed them as part of the regular installation.

They weren't like those fixtures and finishes which I selected and paid for separately. I would ask your GC or the plumber you are using about water alarm systems and if he is unfamiliar with them, I would be surprised. I even had an alarm system installed for my HVAC system because it is installed above my foyer and has a central water line that periodically became clogged and would overflow.

Regarding tiles - One of my neighbors had a flood in his unit and he didn't replace the floor. As he is a cheap guy, I imagine he took the insurance money :-). When his unit was sold a year or two after the flood, the new owner did a remodel and there were massive amounts of mold UNDER the tile floor so just because tile can theoretically withstand a flood, doesn't mean that there aren't issues caused by the water.

Helen, do you have wood floor under the cabinets? What is under neath dish washer and stove?

There is wood underneath all my cabinets. It's plywood under the cabinets which is the height of the visible wood flooring so it's seamless. Well technically there is concrete subfloor; subleveling; cork, and two layers of plywood :-).

Some people just use the wood they used for the kitchen. But obviously the flooring underneath the dishwasher and refrigerator has to be the same level as the flooring that is visible or else the appliances would get stuck.

Thank you for the advice and your time!