My Bona Traffic HD finish is tough and doesn't scratch easily but with roll on toys I wouldn't take the chance. Would you consider wood tile?

We have engineered hardwood on our entire main floor including kitchen. Lots of traffic from the five of us and dog as well as family and friends. My nephew rides toys around no issues.

I have hardwood in my kitchen. We didn’t install it, we bought it this way. We also have a large family and a busy kitchen. The hardwood is mostly holding up well, there are some scratches in the finish and a couple of gouges, but they can eventually be refinished. (We are on the verge of starting the empty nest transition) I would recommend getting drip pans and water alarms under things like your dishwasher and fridge... we know that appliances like that wear out faster in large families just because of so much more daily use. ;) We’ve had some good water leaks in our kitchen, enough that the floor started buckling. My hubby happens to be extremely handy and a very talented craftsman, he knows how to patch a wood floor very well. But we were surprised that both of the leaks we’ve had where the floor buckled... well, the buckling calmed down before he was able to tear the planks out and patch the floor! There’s a bit of a squeak still in those spots, but we decided it’s not bothersome enough to replace the wood. At least, not yet. I’ll include a photo of my kitchen (my hubby designed and built all of the cabinetry, our kitchen remodel was a DIY total gut job and appliances, plumbing, electrical, gas, and even part of a wall was removed... so the floor you see in this photo has patch jobs because the original island was a very different shape) the leaks happened AFTER this photo was taken, one was in front of the dishwasher the other in front of the fridge. The color of the floor stain is not what I love, we plan on changing it eventually... if you were to look closely you’d see some wear and tear on the floor even in this photo, but for the most part the floor looks in great condition. It’s 3/4” red oak.

Oy! My brain got backwards... I meant to say the leaks happened BEFORE these photos were taken. The photos are after the leaks... my brain got all confused. The damage in front of the fridge extended into the pantry area. We were amazed that it dried out enough to not be very noticeable! Anyways, we now have pans under the appliances and water sensor alarms. ;)

With all that said... tile is still my preferred choice for a kitchen floor. I feel it’s just more durable, but I think it’s a personal preference for this girl who grew up in Florida and is just fond of tile floors. I’ve been surprised at how well this wood has held up. I don’t baby it at all.

1302,,,sounds like you could benefit from a well made, quality looking, wood-look tile. If you're willing to pay, you can find some that look very convincing.

if you want real wood, look into some of the harder wood species (oak/maple are right around the 1200-1400 mark on the Janka scale. something like African Walnut is up in the 3500 range) Then do a natural finish, rather than a glossy poly, so you won't get the scratches.

the last option is LVP. some good ones to look like wood, but they also aren't cheap.

as for the kids on scooters,,,why can't they ride them outside? there comes a time when you put your foot down and tell the kids no. (if you want a nice floor. Your choice)

You have 4 choices. Of the 4 I would not do one of them.

Tile. My main concern with tile is that it is too hard of a surface. If it is just the kitchen and or bath rooms it is okay, although I used LVT throughout my home.

My reason for not wanting tile is that it is known to cause joint issues. You generally hear older people, like myself, saying it is too hard on our old joints. Factory workers who stood on concrete all day have a variety of joint issues. Runners have issues if they run on cement/roads. In the humane industry there is a lot of talk about the pigs and cows raised on cement having joint issues and going lame. I don't think we have studies of the long term impact of kids living, running, playing on tile or cement surfaces through their developmental years. Based on that alone I would make an alternate choice with young kids in the house.

Tile is always the best choice. Urban legends not withstanding.

pigs and cows raised on cement going lame? what, in the one year they're fattened up before going to slaughter? come on. Obviously no animal should be kept on cement for years on end. But that's a discussion for a different forum. You can't compare our bodies and our daily routine to a farm animal.

as for older people and bad joints,,,I'm one of those. everything hurts and it doesn't matter if it's wood, tile or carpet. and lets be real. if you're that old and joints are that bad, it's not like you're going to be standing on the tile all day. This argument is ridiculous. Not everyone is bothered by hard surfaces. And quite frankly, if you're on a cement slab like I am, it doesn't matter if it's tile or hardwood. they're both hard. Most people sit in their homes, not stand. cooking and cleaning take up an hour or two. the rest of the time someone is sitting or lying in bed.

most kids wrestle and play outside (or they should) on grass or playgrounds. Again, they're not standing on tile floors 20 hours a day! I grew up playing on a cement playground. I had no developmental issues.

OP has to pick her poison. either she wants a durable floor that withstands 10 people at a time, or she wants to bounce around on a cushy floor. She can always get those cushy floor mats for the kitchen. Or walk around in those cushy slippers.

What is the flooring in the rest of the first floor?

Everyone always mentions about how tile/stone is a hard surface and a problem; but I grew up in Italy and it's the norm. Don't recall too many hobbling around because their floors were hard. :)

Beth H,

Thinking back almost 60 years, I can think of only three activity restrictions placed by my dad. We were not allowed to ride motorcycles, we were not allowed to ice skate on the pond (indoor arena only) and the boys were not allowed to play high school football.

My dad was a pathologist and passed away in 1996, Why wouldn't let my brothers play High School football? In his opinion there was too great of a risk of brain injury from multiple concussions in young football players and that coaches prioritized the game over the player's health. My youngest brother is 65. My sister was a pediatrician and also would not allow her boys to play High School Football for the same reasons. Her youngest son is 38.

As medical professionals, they knew the risk and protected their kids against what is just now being recognized by the public at large.

So even though there is plenty of evidence that workers have permanent foot, leg, joint and back injury from standing on cement floors for 8 hours a day and athletes sustain foot, leg, joint and back injury from running on cement surfaces, and animals who grow from infancy to full mature size within one to two years of life have injury related to cement flooring, and nursing homes with carpet over wood sustain the least number of hip fractures over nursing homes with carpet over cement or non carpeted wood or cement flooring, we should ignore all of this and pick the our flooring based on what will look pretty. The reasonable response is to ignore all evidence until there is a hit movie that centers around joint issues suffered by someone famous who spent too many hours standing or running on hard surfaces.

Any standing of 8 hours a day is deleterious. It’s not just on tile. Standing for 8 hours on Wood would have the same results. Standing on commercial carpet is only marginally better. It’s the standing that is the issue. Its why they make supportive shoes and orthopedic inserts for shoes. Nurses shoes. Work boots. Kitchen clogs. Dr. Scholls built an entire company around foot support.

The best surface for the least amount of investment over time will always remain tile. When it’s done properly, it’s a single time project.

My 2 cents: I wouldn't want tile in kitchen because 1) It is uncomfortable to stand on (unless you want cushy mats in kitchen). But I cook and spend time standing in kitchen. 2) Drop something breakable and it breaks for sure

I own a wood flooring business and could have just about any wood I want, yet my kitchen has real multicolored slate. It's been in about 15 years. Other than a few spots that had to be filled due to damage, it's in great shape. We have had dogs and a parrot and the floor opens to a pool deck on one side and garage on the other. It's been amazing really.

I'm almost 60. Though standing and walking on it barefoot don't bother me, I do wear cushy sandals while I'm cooking. If my slate ever fails I'd like to replace it with Expanko 1/2" thick Heirloom cork tiles (though I have seen a really beautiful blue/gold slate that's tempting). The cork has a urethane finish that would require periodic recoating and it's thick enough to resand a few times. I suspect it could last as long as any solid wood floor if treated properly.

I hope my slate never fails because I'd feel bad kicking the odd ice cube under the refrigerator, absent the knowledge it wouldn't hurt my floor.

As a former cork flooring professional (I still consider myself a flooring 'person') I would always warn clients against any floor they were QUESTIONING. If you have the question/fear in your heart already, then the floor will be a concern throughout your life with it.

If wood has desired properties (yes, it is easier to stand on wood than tile or concrete or stone) it also has negative properties such as visible damage/dings/daily living appearance.

I've talked 20% of my cork customers OUT of purchasing cork because their fears outweighed the BENEFITS they THOUGHT they were going to get (comfortable underfoot, items don't brake when dropped, quiet, warm, etc). Their FEARS of fading (cork fades like an SOB!), scratches showing, gouges, etc are all REAL. They exist. And the homeowners fears would come true regardless of how much hand holding I gave them.

As Johnson Flooring points out, he has slate in his kitchen and he might contemplate cork at a later date (being a wood flooring expert he KNOWS what to expect from cork = half the battle).

If you are wary of what wood WILL DO, then don't do it. I love wood. I love cork. I can handle BOTH of them because I'm HAPPY with both their looks (new or used/lived on) and I celebrate the fading in cork. Yes. I celebrate it! I LOVE it when it drops 5 colour tones in 1 year in sunlight! Love it! I wait for it! I open curtains and flood the darn thing with UV to reach the "bleach bottle blonde" terminal colour.

But I (and Johnson Flooring) know what we are in for and we can do our own repairs. We are not the norm. We are the exception.

If you need tough, then look at stone or porcelain. If you need comfort, then look at wood, cork. linoleum (the real stuff not the vinyl stuff) or vinyl. If you are worried about wood, cork or linoleum then vinyl is your next option.

There are IMPRESSIVE stone-look vinyl floating floors (and glue down) floors on the market that are EXTREMELY durable. And comfortable.

Pick your battles. Put your needs BEFORE your wants. And ALWAYS listen to your fears. Fears will prevent you from purchasing the wrong product (for your needs).

Thank you all SO MUCH! I don't seem to be able to directly comment-on-comments and questions, so I'll do my best to thank you and also to respond to some of these super helpful comments you shared...

-- Slate and cork were totally off my radar. Never thought of them as options. So that's something for me to think about. SJ McCarthy, The Cook's Kitchen, thank you so much for your professional input.

-- Hard floors -- Jennifer Hogan, ljptwt7, and Beth H., I lived abroad for 16 years and had hard tile floors (called "granite portzelan" -- harder than ceramic tile) throughout the house. Skippack Tile & Stone you're reminding me that I raised seven kids in that house and loved the durable floor that never aged, was light and bright, natural material, and was a cinch to clean. So: I like tile (at least, that type), although I understand it's kind of expensive.

That said, I'm heading into middle age, and have already damaged my feet by working too many hours in current kitchen (very thin linoleum over concrete slab foundation) without adequate arch support. Like, really really hurt my feet so I couldn't stand for days, then had to wear Dansko nursing clogs for two years! I often cook for 8-10 hours in the kitchen once a week, so I do take floor hardness seriously. I don't worry about stuff breaking. It either does or doesn't.

-- I'm somewhere in the middle re tolerance for my home showing that it's lived in. I like things to reward me with looking clean when I clean them, but my house is more family-comfortable than sleek-modern-shiny.

-- jhmarie, yes! Toddlers do grow up quickly! Thank you for sharing your experience with wood floors. My first batch now have toddlers of their own :) and I have my own little one again. So, for the foreseeable future, I expect/hope to be blessed to have babies around underfoot. Yes, kids should head out to the backyard, but until they are about 4 years old, they need to have an adult right out there with them (versus keeping an eye out from the kitchen window), so if I have a ton of cooking to do, they're going to be in the family room/kitchen until someone is available to watch them outdoors.

-- Wood: I love the look of wood more than any other floor. I only wonder if it's unrealistic to expect wood to be able to stand up to the stress of a kitchen. skmom, your pictures are very encouraging (and your kitchen is beautiful!). skmom, jhmarie, Eli Mo and A S, I really appreciate your sharing your experience and preferences.

I've had real wood floors but never in the kitchen. JAN MOYER, the rest of the first floor is engineered wood in the living-dining area and a guest room, but it looks really awful (it's about 10 years old). I don't expect to be able to change it out at this point. To be fair, that room has an enormous amount of foot traffic, plus we are constantly moving chairs and tables around to reconfigure eating areas, which is hard on the floor. It's also possible that the owner who installed it chose something low end (judging by the quality of the installation, it's likely). So maybe a better quality engineered wood would hold up better. I should probably check on the possibility of refinishing it at this point.

Much as I love the look of wood in the kitchen, I think you all here have helped me focus, and also feel less confused. I think I could put in wood and it would be a non-crazy, responsible choice. :) I also think that I am reminded by you how much I loved my old "granite portzelan" flooring, and am likely to go that route for practical reasons, and will be happy with it, even if I don't love it as much as wood.

so: THANK YOU!