Top 3 Water Resisting Flooring Options for Kitchens

Introduction

We’ll walk you through the 3 best water-resisting flooring for kitchens on the Irish market today, the advantages of waterproof flooring and give instructions on how to waterproof your sublayers.

From washing up and steamy cooking to doing the laundry and cleaning up after the kids, kitchens —especially in cold and rainy Ireland — are highly susceptible to damp, mould, structural damage and more.

When it comes to choosing the best floor to install in your new, or newly renovated kitchen, it’s not all about looks. Functionality and water resistance must also play an important part in your decision-making process.

That’s why we at Tile Merchant — with decades of experience advising customers all across the Emerald Isle on the best materials to purchase for their projects — have compiled this guide to water-resisting flooring for kitchens in Ireland.

The 5 Key Advantages of Waterproof Kitchen Flooring

Why waterproof your kitchen floor anyway? Why opt for a water resistant flooring when there may be other materials which are cheaper, or more in keeping with your style — natural hardwood, for example?

Well, for very good reasons indeed!

Mould prevention

If kitchen flooring isn’t 100% waterproof, there is almost a 100% chance that various moulds — including damp, or black mould — will begin to build up.

Not only are moulds unsightly, and capable of ruining the quality and aesthetic of your flooring, but they can also pose serious threats to the health of you, your family, your pets and guests.

Among the most common health conditions aggravated by mould in the home are respiratory infections, asthma, and skin diseases like eczema and psoriasis.

Waterproof flooring, especially in conjunction with a fully waterproof sublayer, ensures that mould cannot take hold in your kitchen.

Pest control

Pests are another unwelcome guest attracted to damp spaces.

Woodlice, cockroaches, mice, rats, and other unsuitable kitchen visitors are more likely to make their beds where there is a ready supply of warmth, damp, and water.

Ensuring your kitchen flooring is 100% resistant to water makes it all the more resistant to pests at the same time.

Structural safety

Depending on the construction of your home’s foundations, or the placement of your kitchen, a lack of waterproof kitchen flooring could prove irreversibly damaging for the substructures.

Wooden floorboards, for example, may quickly rot if left exposed beneath non-waterproof kitchen flooring, whilst metal foundations will rust and soon need replacing.

At best, the lack of a waterproof kitchen floor will gradually reduce the value of your property. At worst, it will force you into conducting regular and costly maintenance.

Aesthetics

Whilst damaging the foundations beneath your kitchen floor is, of course, of greater consequence than its appearance, we’d be lying if we didn’t say aesthetics is important, too!

When you go to choose a new kitchen floor, you want something that speaks to your individual, unique taste. Something which stands out from the crowd and makes your kitchen a calming, welcoming, open space to be.

Without waterproof flooring, however, the build-up of damp, mould, fungi and rodents will quickly destroy your hard design work.

Cost-effectiveness

And last but not least, choosing waterproof kitchen flooring is simply the more cost-effective way to design, or redesign, your kitchen.

Without waterproof flooring, you’ll need to carefully treat and maintain your floor material on a regular basis, perhaps even replacing the flooring every couple of years. In the worst case scenario, you’ll be shelling out some serious bucks for repair costs such as those caused by leaks and wood rot underneath the flooring

Disadvantages to Waterproof Kitchen Vinyl Flooring in Ireland

Truthfully, there are not many disadvantages, or cons, to installing waterproof kitchen flooring.

Price-wise, water-resistant flooring does tend to set you back a little more than its non-waterproof alternatives — but as we’ve already argued, the additional cost at purchase is more than compensated for when you factor in the lack of maintenance, repair or replacement costs further down the line

The 3 Best Materials for Waterproof Kitchen Flooring in Ireland

Now that we’re all aware of the benefits of waterproof flooring for Irish kitchens, let’s discuss three of the best possible water-resistant materials you can choose from.

Each of the below is available on the Tile Merchant online shop, in a wide range of colours, shapes, styles and finishes to match a variety of tastes and budgets.

We also stock most of our waterproof kitchen flooring solutions in a wood-effect style, so that you can achieve the highly desirable look and feel of real hardwood without risking rot and rising repair costs

Tip: Read below the best 3 water-resisting flooring for kitchens in Ireland. Please note that proper installation with quality grout and sealant will further protect against moisture and prevent mould growth.

Waterproof porcelain tiles for kitchens

Porcelain is one of the oldest continually produced tile materials in the world, second to ceramic.

Known also for its tremendous contribution to art, porcelain is a super hardy, durable substance which is— thankfully for us —naturally 100% water-resistant.

Porcelain tiles are a top choice for water resisting flooring for kitchens due to their natural water-resistant properties.

Indoor porcelain floor tiles are absolutely perfect for creating beautiful and long-lasting kitchen floors in Irish homes.

Here at Tile Merchant, we stock a veritable Noah’s Ark of porcelain floor tiles — available in mosaics, metro tiles, patterned or plain, herringbone, matt or glossy, and mimicking any number of sought-after raw materials like concrete, marble, and chestnut wood.

Easy to install, easy to clean, waterproof and slip-resistant, porcelain tiles make for a classy, traditional Irish kitchen floor capable of complimenting your unique interior style.

Waterproof vinyl Flooring for kitchens

One of the more recent additions to our waterproof kitchen flooring collection has been SPC Luxury Vinyl Flooring. So one of the best water resisting flooring for kitchens is Luxury Vinyl Flooring.

SPC stands for ‘stone polymer core’ or ‘stone polymer composite’, meaning that the rigid core of these vinyl planks is constructed from a mixture of waterproof stone and waterproof plastics.

Together, the stone and polymer of our SPC Vinyl kitchen floor tiles create a supremely durable and 100% water-resistant product, which is arguably even easier to install and keep clean than porcelain.

SPC Vinyl Flooring comes in planks resembling real hardwood — both in aesthetic and shape — with the nifty addition of an innovative click-and-slide design.

The tongues and grooves along the edges of each vinyl plank are made to be slotted into each other for a quick and DIY-friendly installation.

SPC Vinyl Flooring for Irish kitchens comes available in a wide range of authentic wooden styles, from raw natural oak to matured chestnut, mahogany, driftwood and more. Or, of course, you can elevate your kitchen to the more modern with SPC Vinyl in neutral blacks, whites, and greys.

Laminate flooring for kitchens

Last but not least, we have our good old friend laminate. Laminate flooring has been around for a long time now, and has improved tenfold in terms of look, longevity, price and style over the years.

Today, laminate doesn’t have to come in unwieldy rolls of uncomfortable plastic. Instead, here at Tile Merchant we stock laminate boards which click together much like our more luxurious SPC Vinyl.

And, just like SPC, laminate planks have a UV-protected image layer capable of imitating the grain and depths of colour in real wood, to a photorealistic degree!

The only drawback to using laminate for kitchen flooring is that it is not, technically, 100% waterproof.

Whilst highly resistant to water, the compressed wood-fibre core of our laminate kitchen flooring can be susceptible to water damage if left exposed to leaks and spills for too long.

How to Waterproof Your Kitchen Floor

Depending on your choice of waterproof kitchen flooring, and on the sublayer you’ll be laying your flooring on top of, you may well need to prepare the area with some additional waterproofing work.

Though time consuming and inarguably more expensive than laying flooring without doing the prep work, you’ll thank yourself in future when your 100% waterproof kitchen floor lasts decades, compared to your neighbour’s slapdash job which is already rotting through.

Below is a very rough guide to DIY waterproofing your own kitchen floor:

(Step One) Prepare the Area: First things first, clear the kitchen area of all obstacles and thoroughly clean the floor or foundation (whatever it is you’ll be laying your new waterproof kitchen flooring on top of). You should also open any nearby windows for ventilation ahead of step two.

(Step Two) Apply Flooring Primer: Prime your floor using a primer designed specifically for use with your subfloor material, be it concrete, wood, or a composite.

(Step Three) Apply Waterproof Caulk and/or Membrane: This is the most important phase of the process; the one in which you seal off your kitchen’s subfloor from the surface. You can choose either to carefully caulk the entirety of your floor with a waterproof caulk and then let it dry, or you can use a waterproof bonding agent to apply a waterproof membrane across the entire expanse of the floor.

(Step Four) Install Your Chosen Waterproof Kitchen Flooring: The last step in the installation process, once you’ve let your caulks and adhesives dry, is to install your waterproof kitchen flooring atop your prepared subfloor.

Choosing the Best Water-Resisting Flooring for Kitchens in Ireland

We hope that reading this article has reminded you of the importance of water-resistance in kitchens. Choosing the right kitchen flooring to suit your house, your interior style, your colour palette and your budget is one thing, but if it isn’t 100% waterproof, then you could be in for some trouble.

Discover a wide range of fully-waterproof and 100% water-resistant kitchen flooring materials at Tile Merchant, from the old faithful laminate to more modern SPC Vinyl Flooring and porcelain floor tiles for kitchens in countless different styles.

Start shopping for your new favourite kitchen floor today, and make sure to check out our free cut sample service if you’d prefer to try before you buy!

We deliver to any and all addresses in Ireland. Thanks for reading.

Why Tile Merchant?

Tile Merchant Ireland offers extremely competitive pricing on our entire range of tiles and likewise.

Tile Merchant stocks a huge range of wall and floor tiles and our prices are competitive for retail and trade. Our stock is widely available in our tile stores in Dublin and Ashbourne (Co. Meath) which are open 7 days a week.

Alternatively, if you’d prefer to shop our tiles online, we can supply you with samples delivered for free.

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