Saving Remodeling Costs on Your Kitchen Counters

by Gabby Hyman
Face Your Kitchen Columnist

The cost of remodeling a small kitchen can absolutely floor you. This is especially true if you consider what it will cost to install a new wooden floor or lay out fresh tiles. Fortunately, there are ways short of launching a complete kitchen floor remodeling project that can restore a vinyl, stone, ceramic, or wood floor before you're ripping it out and, with it, your hair. There's no doubt when you bought your home or if you have already had a new floor installed, you were not told about specific, routine maintenance that could save you plenty over the long term. For even refinishing or staining a small kitchen floor can be costly (up to $1,500 or more).

Kitchen Remodeling and Floor Types

If your kitchen floor is made of stone and looking surly, you can bring in a professional to polish it up. In a worst-case scenario, if the existing kitchen floor is still flat and in good shape, you can treat vinyl and wood with fresh primer and covering paint, or remodel the floor with a layer of sheet vinyl or tile. If your existing linoleum is in sound shape, it will take a new layer easily. But if it's chipped and cracked, you may have to rip it up and replace it.

If you've decided to remodel your kitchen entirely, then adding a new floor may make sense depending on your financing. If you select stone, be sure it's made from a hard and impermeable material, like granite. Marble requires frequent polishing and upkeep. The more porous the rock, the less resistant it is to staining. Consider using a commercial sealant (impregnator) to help block food and beverage stains, or blemishes from foot traffic.

About the Author
Gabby Hyman has written for print and online media for more than 20 years. He has created online content for eToys, GoTo.com, Siebel Systems, Avaya, and Nissan UK. He has also been a web consultant to the Governor of California. As an author of fiction, journalism, and poetry, Gabby is a former English professor for the University of Illinois, University of Alaska, and Old Dominion University. He holds an MFA in fiction writing from the University of Alabama.