The kitchen in our apartments is traditionallythe most habitable place. Therefore, everyone is trying to make this room more comfortable, more functional and more spacious, at least visually. Floor covering for the kitchen occupies a special place in the overall design and requires the most attention. After all, it is the kitchen floor that serves as a path to the very heart of the hearth, where in the evenings all the household gather in the family circle, arrange friendly gatherings, create a whole range of breathtaking aromas and prepare delicious dishes.
Due to the specific nature of this room, the floorKitchen cover must meet several important requirements. They are primarily due to the operational features of this epicenter of family comfort and, of course, aesthetic considerations. The floor covering for the kitchen should be resistant to dynamic loads and mechanical damage, have good moisture-resistant qualities and inertness to the effects of aggressive chemicals that are full of modern detergents. In addition, the kitchen floor must be non-slip, resistant to abrasion, various fumes and splashes.
With all the diversity of modernFinishing and facing materials, not every option is suitable for the kitchen floor. As a rule, either ceramic tiles, laminate or linoleum are used as floor coverings for the kitchen. Of course, you can resort to a more economical option, which is scraping the old parquet. Especially considering the high environmental friendliness of wood.
Under the term "scraping the floorboard" hidesa complex and rather time-consuming complex of restoration works to make the flooring (parquet) clean, aesthetically attractive and flat. But in its performance and durability, this option is significantly inferior to the three above.
Such a flooring for the kitchen, like linoleum,Now the market is represented by a huge mass of various materials: fabric, synthetic, natural, combined, single and multi-layer, containing various pigments and plasticizers, having a special protective coating and without it. This list can be continued for a very long time, and constantly new materials and their combinations appear.
Some expensive types of linoleum are madebased on natural oils, wax, wood flour and limestone. This type of coating, having absolute ecological purity and extremely high resistance to various types of pollution (including fat), is able to maintain its qualities for several decades. Possessing unique bactericidal properties, natural linoleum is even recommended for use in medical and childcare facilities. True, this option is not cheap.
More democratic view of the kitchen floor canserve synthetic linoleum, made from fiberglass. Although it is a completely chemical product, but according to the requirements of GOST, its negative effect on the body is completely excluded. The palette of various colors of synthetic linoleum differs in such a huge variety that it is not the slightest difficulty to choose suitable tones for any style.
The thickness of this type of flooring should bechoose in accordance with the individual operating conditions of the kitchen space and the type of furniture installed in it. For example, the more mechanisms are used to damage the surface (furniture wheels, etc.), the thicker the linoleum should be. Under standard operation, a synthetic coating of medium resistance, which can withstand distributed mechanical loads, is quite suitable. However, it may remain dents, for example, from the heels. In order to exclude the possibility of such troubles, it is advisable to choose a coating of increased resistance.
Laminate is the most modern, beautiful andpractical type of kitchen flooring. But he is too picky about the degree of flatness of the surface. Therefore, laminate flooring implies the presence of a concrete screed, which gives an ideal flatness to the floor plane. And the rest of it is quite convenient. Laminate assembly is extremely simple. With all its environmental safety, this type of coating is subject to some degree of deformation, which implies some caution in its operation.
But the unconditional generally accepted leader amongmaterials for the kitchen floor is a ceramic tile with phenomenal performance characteristics, excellent aesthetics and durability. Its merits can be listed for a very long time. It has only one drawback: it is almost impossible to change the tile, as it is mounted on a special glue, after which the surface is a solid monolith. But there is a positive point. Using ceramics as a floor covering, you can permanently get rid of the headache about changing the kitchen floor.
