All About Brick Kitchen Flooring
With its natural warmth, texture, and style, brick flooring brings unique allure into the heart of homes: kitchens . From farmhouse to more modern spaces, brick offers durability , character, and design flexibility to suit any family's needs. Understanding your options for patterns, installation, and upkeep helps ensure your brick floor looks and functions beautifully for decades.
Read on for tips from flooring experts that make this classic material easier and more rewarding than ever to incorporate.
Benefits of Brick Floors in Kitchens
Beyond their nostalgic allure , brick floors offer many meaningful benefits for kitchen spaces:
- Extreme durability - Fired clay brick withstands heavy daily use, drops, scrapes, and temperature extremes that damage or degrade other flooring.
- Stain-resistance - The dense, nonporous surface of bricks resist spills, grease, and other kitchen stains .
- Easy maintenance - With quick daily sweeping and occasional mopping , brick stays beautiful for decades.
- Warmth underfoot - Unlike stone, tile, or even wood floors, the clay composition helps brick floors retain comforting warmth.
While stone or porcelain tiles mimic the brick look, they lack its realistic aged character that develops over time. Genuine brick's rough hewn surface also hides wear better than the slick facades of mimic materials.
Design Flexibility and Value
Beyond their durability and easy upkeep, genuine bricks bring several other advantages to your home:
- Value addition - Brick flooring increases resale value and appeal for potential buyers.
- Customization - With varied textures , colors, bond patterns and finishes, it suits any personality or decor.
- Budget friendly - Starting around $7 per square foot, brick costs less than most tile or natural stones.
With strategic layouts and creative combinations, brick floors infuse kitchens with livable luxury or old world nostalgia without breaking budgets.
Considerations for Brick Kitchen Floors
Despite their many advantages, brick floors have some considerations to weigh before deciding they're right for your home cookery hub:
Potential Discomfort
The quintessential brick floor's uneven, rugged landscape that provides so much character can decrease comfort for those on their feet for hours daily. Their dense mass also lacks the "give" needed to soften impact from falls. Thinner application over cement backer helps increase smoothness and comfort.
Moisture Concerns
While brick itself resists moisture, water penetration between brick and subfloor causes potential foundation issues. Most experts recommend adding a moisture barrier like self-leveling concrete beneath the surface. Sealing the finished floor prevents water seeping through porous grout joints.
Delicate Materials
Unlike floor tiles or poured concrete slab, brick's composition makes it prone to breakage, especially on corners or uneven surfaces. Professional installations ensure level subfloors to prevent cracking.
Labor Investment
Being one of the more labor-intensive flooring options, most homeowners hire brick masons to ensure proper preparation and setting. This adds cost for workmanship and materials compared to easier click-in-place floor alternatives.
Considering brick's unique considerations alongside your family's cooking and living habits ensures you choose the right surface for your home.
Installing Brick Flooring in Kitchens
Proper installation ensures your brick kitchen floor retains its beauty and functionality for generations. The process involves careful preparation, precise setting, and sealing:
1. Prepare the Subfloor
The subfloor foundation is key for preventing uneven bricks or moisture issues. Most contractors add self-leveling concrete or cement backer over plywood for stability and protection.
2. Dry Layout Bricks
Before adhering bricks, laying them dry helps determine the optimal layout, identify potential cracks or defects, and calculate exact material needs.
3. Apply Mortar and Set Bricks
Installers spread mortar onto the subfloor where bricks adhere using the "buttering" technique before pressing them firmly into place.
4. Apply Grout and Seal
Grout fills the joints between bricks, securing the floor while allowing subtle flexibility. Sealing grout and surface protects from stains and moisture.
Precision leveling, even mortar coats, consistent joint thickness and properly sealing the surface all prevent potential installation issues.
Styling Your Brick Kitchen Floor
Beyond just durable functionality, today's innovative patterns, textures and colors let homeowners personalize brick floors to any preferred design aesthetic.
Setting the Tone
The shade, finish and layering technique of your brick floor impacts the entire room:
- Light, smooth bricks keep the space airy and relaxed
- Bold, varied textures and relief surfaces add drama
- Subdued red or gray tones complement modern sensibilities
- Multi-colored blends match eclectic personal style
Tying Design Together
Strategically coordinating your new brick floor with other kitchen elements creates cohesive style:
- Pick out subtle colors in floor bricks to echo on walls or backsplashes
- Choose cabinet and counter finishes that contrast or blend with brickwork
- Consider undertones that tie together floor, fixtures and furnishings
Professional interior designers skillfully incorporate brick floors as anchors for establishing the overall kitchen decor theme.
Creative Laying Patterns
Beyond colors and textures, laying floor bricks in creative bonds lends unique personality:
- Stacked - Simple, orderly rows showcase individual bricks
- Herringbone - Angled bricks add visual motion and interest
- Woven - Overlapping brick lengths create subtle intricacy
- Geomix - Combining shapes/sizes makes modern mosaic magic
With limitless options, brick floors satisfy both homeowners wanting sleek, seamless minimalism or busy, eclectic character.
Finishing Touches
Grouted lines and surface sealants also contribute to your floor's final decorative flair and function:
- Contrasting grout dramatically outlines each brick
- Hazy, dragged grout makes a subdued mortar haze
- Gloss sealants intensify surface colors and textures
- Matte seals protect without altering brickwork's natural appearance
Every time you walk into the kitchen, your brick floor reflects your style.