SFGate

Deborah Butler, Brickwood Builders It depends upon where you live. Tile throughout a home in some areas is convenient and practical. In areas that experience cold weather it is cold unless you have underfloor heat. The wood floor is more forgiving, easier to stand on for longer periods of time (as when cooking) and is warmer. I would not like to be cleaning grout all the time either.

Eutree Wide Plank Flooring A solid wood floor is always an excellent addition to the home as long as its a quality floor. Tile can be a lot less expensive up front. I urge all my clients not to skimp if they are going to buy a wood floor, the products made in China are having all kinds of issues.

maangelo I live in PA, so the issue of clod floors most of the year IS concerning to me. We would get a wood floor that is sand on site because we already need to get steps and a landing done that way.... Which is another issue because people say factory floors are harder and more durable than sand and finish on site. Wood sand on site and tile are equal in cost if I stick to a reasonably priced tile......

Ironwood Builders The durable comes from the metal they add to the finish. The finish lasts longer (maybe), but the wear layer is still half a thick as a laid floor, at best. Many engineered floors boast about the ability to refinish...then what happens to their factory finish?

Eutree Wide Plank Flooring and beyond that the sanding process on prefinished floors from China can also release negative toxins into the air like the metals you mentioned.

MOJ Contracting I am a traditionalist when it comes to flooring in the kitchen. This area tends to get wet (splashes from sink, dropped food etc) and wood does not hold up as well at tile. If you purchase a higher grade of grout (we use a product by Kiesel) that is water and stain resistant once cured so it doesn't need to be sealed. This helps with the grout staining. Additionally, trends today in tiling is to have minimal grout (1/16 or1/8) unlike what was done several years back.

AMN This was discussed recently, and some good points-of-view came out of it. Best wishes with your decision.
http://www.houzz.com/discussions/327227/Please-share-your-experience-with-wooden

kstew81 I would go sand in place wood with a durable water based finish like Bona Traffic or better. We have had it in our kitchen for 6 years and the finish is great. We have a few small dents from a "dropsy" husband. He can't unload the dishwasher without dropping a piece of silverware, but I am not complaining! We love it and trust it so much that we put the same floor and finish in our new master bath. We also have a 65 pound dog that had incontinence issues and is a messy drinker. No problems. Grandkids-no problem. Things wipe right up with no marks or damage ever!

Interiors International, Inc. I wanted the look but not the up keep. So I went with vinyl plank it looks great.

Jayme Hobbs Is anyone experienced with bamboo? We have a friend who just built and used it throughout for the durability.

Interiors International, Inc. You need to be very careful there are a few companies that have very lousy finishes. Some are great though. I check the sample with my house key It shouldn't scratch easy but will with enough pressure.

crosencrans I have all wood floors in my kitchen and LOVE THEM. They are warm in the winter (North Dakota) and stand up real well. I do have an area rug under my table that is very durable. Had it made with a remnant from a new bar and resteraunt so it is almost indoor/outdoor durable. I do have tile by my front door but a large rug covers most of it anyway. It is very cold and I have to tiptoe across it when getting my newspaper. The tile we used is a white marble in color but we did the grout in a medium gray as was suggested by our tile guy. I have never had to clean the grout special at all.
Good luck with your house building. I have built two and am looking at the 3rd and hopefully FINAL one.

Dezign Studio Inc I agree with MOJ Contracting about tiles. I would prefer porcelain tiles for Ent foyer, kitchen and dining. Sorry to confuse you further. It must be a hard decision with so many conflicting opinions. Good luck.

maangelo If I go with tile, I will definitely go with a small grout line (which as stated above is the trend right now). I considered bamboo, but don't like that you can't refinsh it.... If I go with wood, I know that I can refinsh them when the boys get older. Thanks for the link to the recent discussion. I will check it out. Any tips on color of tile (I think I would like to "marry" the wood tone and honey colored cabinet wood tone - or do I go for contrast???) I definitely want tile in the mudroom and powder room right off of it. Do I go with a darker color than the kitchen ( if I decide to do tile there)?

MarbleWarehouse.com I agree with tile, I prefer big size like 12'x24" or 24"x24".

Dezign Studio Inc I agree with large size tiles, so less grout area.But the color would depend on many things. Since it is a larger area , then light is better, but still all the areas need to have a lot of light and an open concept. Pictures would help. Also if you prefer a light c.top or dark. Do you have big windows ?

maangelo I will take pictures and post! Thanks for the suggestion...

maangelo 1st floor layout....

Dezign Studio Inc Hi, there are no pictures here.

hartz374 I have had both wood flooring and stone in three different house; I would have to go with a good stone floor with a dull finish. The wood ends up having dark marks below the refrigerator and separation between the planks no matter what you do. We had to use it on our boat because of the weight issue and I wish we had used bamboo instead of parquet. nfortunately we were trying to match the stairs up the helm that has parquet as well. I agree that tile is a poor option. We started out with it in our vacation home and it was very hard to keep the grout clean. We ended up replacing it with a travertine 18x18 laid on the diagonal and it really makes the kitchen and adjoining rooms look larger. Good Luck!

crosencrans hartz374 - where do you live?

hartz374 Key Laro FL and South Caolina