How to Pick Good Flooring for Your Home
Picking the right floor starts with an assessment of what you want and what you need. For each and every type of surface, there are unique advantages and disadvantages. Of course, all of these depend on your personal requirements and preferences.
Before you decide on a particular type of flooring, consider the points below:
Room Conditions
The function of the room you plan to install flooring in has an impact on which surface is best to use. Carpeting is obviously not right for your kitchen, considering this area is prone to food and liquid spillage. The idea is to pick a surface that works for how the room will be used.
Household and Lifestyle
If you have kids, you should choose flooring that holds up to lots of running and banging. Some laminate products may be better in this situation compared to site-finished solid wood because of the durability of laminate. Still, plenty of engineered wood floors (wood flooring that has been pre-finished in the factory) are coated with very surfaces as durable as laminate. Hard surfaces makes cleanup easier when you have pets that shed, while carpeting will most like retain pet hair and dander. On the other hand, claws will probably scratch a wood floor. If you’ve got big dogs with big claws, go for tile or wood/laminate flooring that comes with the most durable surface.
Health Issues
Carpeting provides a great environment for allergens which are more easily removed from hard surfaces. Carpet and other floor materials also have higher VOCs (volatile organic compounds) levels which can be harmful to health, especially in people who are very sensitive to airborne contaminants. In such a case, get something with less VOC emissions.
Care & Maintenance Requirements
Some materials are harder to maintain than others – at least, if you don’t want them to lose their aesthetic appeal. Wood must be swept or vacuumed every now and then to keep it from dulling or the ground-in dirt from scratching the surface. Tile or stone is durable, but the finish can still dull when it is not cleaned often. Where there is standing water, such as in the basement sometimes, tile or vinyl is much better than wood.
Aesthetics and Economy
If you’ve always wanted the look of Brazilian cherry but you couldn’t afford it, use its laminate substitute instead and you’ll be stunned by the resemblance – and the savings are huge! If you’re renovating or building a new home, you can use those savings for something that will give you more service and satisfaction in the long run, like cabinets or upgraded appliances.
Trying It out
Lastly, drop by those building supply stores or showrooms personally if you can. Pictures and articles are great, but actually seeing things yourself and standing on them can help you make wiser decisions