The kitchen floor is more often exposed to various damages than floors in other rooms. Spilled water, oil, or hot soup, a dropped heavy pot or sharp knife, all can cause floor covering to become damaged. To prevent this, you should choose the appropriate floor finish method. Natural wood is beautiful but not very practical, and many people are tired of ceramic tiles.
We suggest which floor panels to choose for the kitchen. Modern laminate or vinyl floor panels are an excellent alternative to the solutions known so far. Such panels are best suited for domestic use, although they also adorn the floors of public buildings.
Elegant kitchen floor panels
Floor panels are associated by many people mainly with living room or bedroom furnishings, possibly a hallway. However, modern waterproof floor panels will also work perfectly as a covering for the kitchen floor. Nowadays, we have a large selection of various floor panels differing not only in colors and sizes but also in the material from which they are made. The most commonly chosen kitchen floor panels include:
- laminated panels,
- vinyl panels,
- cork panels,
- wooden panels.
You'll easily find good-quality floor panels that will match your preferences and the style in which your kitchen is arranged. Floor panels made from modern materials are available in a very wide range of colors - alongside natural wood shades, you will also find kitchen panels that imitate gres tiles or even raw concrete. Choosing floor panels shouldn't be much of a problem for you.
Which floor panels should you choose for underfloor heating?
When choosing floor panels for the kitchen, there are several aspects to consider, one of the more important being underfloor heating. Contrary to what many people think, there are no contraindications to installing floor panels on underfloor heating. Among other reasons, vinyl or laminate floor panels are better than the classic option, which includes wooden panels or ceramic tiles.
You can use both laminated and vinyl panels with underfloor heating, and manufacturers usually provide information about this on the panel packaging. If you don't choose products specifically dedicated to this type of heating, the only thing you really need to remember is the thickness of the floor panels. The thinner they are, the better they conduct heat, so an optimal thickness would be no more than 8 mm. Unless you opt for vinyl panels - they perform well with underfloor heating in almost every variant.
What to remember when choosing kitchen panels?
Every package of floor panels contains symbols that provide the most important characteristics of a given type of panel. When buying kitchen floor panels, you need to consider features such as abrasion class and usability class. These determine the panels' resistance to mechanical damage. As for thickness, the thicker they are, the more durable and stable they are; laminate and vinyl panels on the market range from 6 to 12 mm thick. It's also worth knowing other basic parameters.
Regarding abrasion class, there's a scale described from AC1 to AC5. Those with the lowest numbers are suitable for rooms with low traffic e.g. a bedroom or walk-in closet. The higher the abrasion class, the more resistant the panels are to wear; in the kitchen, vinyl panels with an abrasion class specified as AC4 are ideal.
The usability class also describes the level of traffic the laminate and other floor panels are adapted to. Usability classes are determined by two digits, including the following numbers: 21, 22, 23, 31, 32, and 33. The number 2 at the beginning means they are for residential use, while the number 3 means they are intended for public utility places. The second digit in each of these numbers corresponds to the intensity of room use.
Which kitchen panels will perform best? Which ones to choose?
A wooden floor looks beautiful, but natural wood requires special care. A good alternative to wood can be a laminate floor or one made from vinyl panels. A panel pattern that perfectly imitates real wood will bring a cozy atmosphere to the kitchen, and at the same time, vinyl or laminate floor panels are remarkably easy to keep immaculately clean.
Laminated panels
Laminated floor panels for kitchens, bathrooms, and everywhere else ensure the space finished with them will look truly elegant. Their wide color range means there shouldn't be the slightest problem finding panels to suit individual preferences.
Good panels installed properly will certainly serve you for many years, becoming a true ornament of your home. When choosing them, you need to pay attention to the descriptions on the panel packaging, as not all are suitable for installation over underfloor heating, similarly with their resistance to water. Poorly chosen panels may become damaged due to moisture.
Vinyl panels
The best panels for kitchens are those made of solid vinyl. Their most important feature is water resistance; the upper layer of the panels prevents water absorption, which in practice means that even a pool of water cannot damage them. Their resistance to moisture makes them the best choice not only for kitchens but also for bathrooms.
The best floor panels
It's hard to pinpoint the best kitchen panels because much depends on the taste of their future owners. However, when choosing them, it's worth looking at whether they are completely waterproof and what abrasion class they are marked with. Kitchen panels should be marked with a high abrasion class, as only such panels perform well in used areas, plus they must be resistant to mechanical damage. This way, you will not fear that something will happen to them if a glass of water spills or a heavy object is dropped on the floor.
Not sure which kitchen panels will work best for you? Ask the experts at Mexen.