Having the right flooring in your home can make all the difference for improving the aesthetic appeal and comfort but it is quite complicated to find the best one. There are several factors that need to be considered while selecting the flooring, including durability, moisture, and cost. If this is what you have been struggling with, then you have stumbled upon the perfect guide. In this guide, we are sharing the precise steps that you can follow to select the best flooring for your house.
Consider the Moisture Content
When making a decision about the flooring, you cannot ignore the type of area because it is going to be a decisive factor in selecting the flooring type. You need to ask yourself, whether you are going to install the flooring in an area that is high in moisture content? If the answer is ‘yes’ then you have to consider flooring options that are suitable for medium to high moisture areas. The high moisture-appropriate flooring options include ceramic, concrete, vinyl, or porcelain tiles. However, if the area is not high in moisture content then you can use any flooring that feels the right fit to you.
Do You Have Pets?
This is an important factor that you cannot ignore while selecting flooring for your house. If you are a pet owner, you have to go for flooring options that are more resilient against wear and tear. To avoid easy scratching of the floors, consider options like vinyl flooring, ceramic, or porcelain. But if you do not have pets then you are not bound by this factor at all. However, it is still advisable to keep the factor of durability in mind.
Keep Your Budget in Mind
If your square footage budget is restricted, like $2 or even less than that, then you may have to look for bargain laminate flooring or tile resilient and sheet flooring. These options may not be astounding but they have a decent appearance and are a good option when you have a limited budget. You can also go for ceramic or porcelain options but they come with a tough installation, demanding intensive labor.
If your budget is anywhere up to $5, you can begin exploring more options in the flooring types, including wood flooring (engineered), solid hardwood, and others. You would also be able to find highly appealing vinyl tiles and laminates that are of luxurious quality. Once you increase your budget to move more than $5 for the square footage you can definitely start thinking about imported and rarest flooring design, including ipe, kempas, mahogany, or Brazilian cherry.
Are You Going the DIY Route?
If you are planning to install the flooring all by yourself, it can save you a lot of money that you can reinvest in other areas. But when doing it yourself you have to consider the easiest to install flooring options, like plank vinyl or laminate floors that are easily available and not at all hard to install. These two options are easy to install because they happen to be floating floors which means every board can be connected to the one adjacent to it, instead of the sub-floor. However, if you really want to go with porcelain or ceramic then you need to sharpen your skills and learn before jumping at it.
If you are thinking about wall-to-wall carpeted flooring, that can be pretty tough to do it all by yourself and it will be good to think about hiring professional service providers to handle this for you. Engineered wood and nail-down solid hardwood are among the tough flooring types that need professional installation skills. Although we mentioned that porcelain and ceramic tiles are rather easy to install and you can do it yourself without much difficulty, whether or not you want to do it yourself is really your choice. Evidently, if you want to have it installed well then seeking professional support may be the wise decision.
Think about Required Maintenance
For some people, it is a big deciding factor when they are considering different flooring options. If you are also someone who is looking for an absolutely low maintenance flooring option and it is one of your main concerns related to flooring, then you must select floor types that are high in durability and are more resistant. You can select any flooring that is resilient, like vinyl, plank, or sheet. You can also go for the laminate flooring because it is not high maintenance but you will have to clean it in a specific manner. For laminate floor cleaning, you cannot use wet mops because they can literally ruin everything about it. Instead, you can go with a slightly damp cloth to wipe clean everything.
However, if maintenance needs are not something that bothers you and you feel comfortable either way then you are not limited by any features at all. There are pros and cons of different types of floorings and you cannot simply exclude one because it tends to require high maintenance. For instance, the solid hardwood floors are more beautiful but also require maintenance and it takes sincere effort to keep the engineered or solid wood looking good but at the end of the day, you will see that its aesthetic appeal is inspiring. To keep up with the high-maintenance floorings, you can use several tips and tricks to avoid spending too much time on the floors. For instance, you can place rugs or runners in areas that receive the heaviest traffic.
This guide only shares some of the aspects but there are several others that you need to consider while selecting the flooring. However, you cannot have it all in one flooring, so decide which attributes are critical for you. With these tips, you can get started with selecting the best flooring type that suits your house and style best.