How do you choose the right flooring? Traditionally, floors were made from wood or stone. In their day, they were both abundant and affordable. Carpets have been another long time favorite, and vinyl and linoleum have been affordable options, too. Eco-friendly alternatives, such as bamboo and cork, are newer on the market.Laminate flooring offers an exciting way to both protect the environment and your budget by using materials that would otherwise have been disposed of in landfills.
Choosing the right flooring material for your home requires a thorough understanding of what each material has to offer, what it will cost in both purchase and installation, and to maintain. Luxury vinyl plank flooring from Bestlaminate, for example, is a low cost, low maintenance moisture proof flooring option.
Floors get dirty.
They gets things spilled and dropped on them, furniture presses down on it around the clock, and even chemicals and burning objects sometimes come in contact with your floors. Floors play a major role in the appearance and healthfulness of your home. Carpets hold onto allergens, whereas laminate flooring holds on to nothing. Installation costs, sources of materials, and the expected lifespan of the materials should all be considered. Looking at each material is one way to collect enough facts to make an informed decision.
Carpets Hold Allergens, Dust And Grime
Carpets are a staple of apartment buildings across the country. Relatively inexpensive varieties are available and installation can be done for less than, say, a hardwood floor. Unfortunately, as soft and comfortable as carpets are at first, they soon become home to literally billions of allergens. There is simply no way a standard household vacuum can keep a carpet free of the dust, dirt, grime, and mites that call carpets home. Eliminating the carpets from your home is one of the most effective ways of reducing indoor allergies. If you enjoy having carpets in your home, throw rugs look and feel beautiful on top of high gloss laminate flooring, stone, and hardwood, and they can be taken out and cleaned more thoroughly.
Durable Laminate Flooring
Flooring laminate is fast emerging as the floor material of choice with its ease of installation, low investment price, eco-friendly nature, a wide variety of styles, colors, and designs, and its ease of cleaning. The wood fibers used to create laminate floors are combined with resins in several layers that create planks that are both flexible and strong. On top of this layer, a photographic appliqué of the desired wood gain, stone, or tile design is attached. This is topped by a tough, clear layer than can resist spills, stains, sun bleaching, heavy traffic, children and pets, and even burns and chemical spills. No maintenance is required other than an occasional damp mopping. To make this option even better, laminate flooring is designed to be installed by the home owner without any special skills or tools.
Home On Hardwood
Hardwood flooring has a look and feel that reminds many of dance halls and gymnasiums. These beautiful surfaces require expert installation and the cutting of live trees, increasing the initial cost significantly. Hardwood floors also require periodic sanding and resealing to maintain their appearance, as they are subject to scratches, stains, sun bleaching, and wear in high traffic areas, unlike high gloss laminate flooring, which shows none of these signs of use. For example Quick-Step Recliame Collection can give you the look and feel of hardwood without the initial cost or the maintenance. Once you install it, you can rest assured its surface will not change.
Written In Stone
Stone and tile floors have a look and feel of permanence. Available at moderate to high prices, they both require expert installation, adding to the cost. The grout used to install stone and tile floors is susceptible to staining, gouging, and crumbling, and it requires special cleaning methods. Tile and stone floors are subject to staining and they can be deadly to walk on when wet. Unlike more resilient laminate flooring, stone and tile tend to chip and crack when heavy items are dropped. Today’s tile laminate flooring as well as luxury vinyl tile flooring can provide the appearance of stone or tile flooring without the cost, the chipping and cracking, and without creating an overly slippery surface.
Other materials, such as cork and bamboo, are being advertised as environmentally friendly alternatives. Currently, however, harvesting these materials still disrupts natural habitats. Products that make use of materials that would take up space in our overtaxed landfills are a better environmental choice at this time. Floors last a long time and should be chosen with care. Professional installation can often double or triple the price of new floors. High gloss laminate flooring from Bestlaminate provides you with materials designed with the DIYer in mind. Pergo flooring can be installed in as little as a weekend. Transform your home today for years of durable beauty and easy to clean elegance.
6 comments
I have a kitchen that has original 1960 yellow tiles on the lower part of the walls. The cabinets are white. What color of laminate flooring would you suggest?
Hi Chris, thanks for the question. It will all depend on what type of style you want to achieve. If you want to stay modern, yet for the time, a high-gloss white could look awesome here.
ok i am sure now for the bedrooms vinyl but i am not sure yet for the stair, is it the rigth floor too?Vinyl? please help me tanks a lot!
Hi Alma, thanks for the question! Vinyl is a great option for your stairs, especially if you want to continue the same look throughout your space. You will want to glue your planks to the stairs and use a stair nose molding on the edges.
I agree that you would want to consider how cleanable a floor is before you install it. It would make sense to find something that is pretty low maintained in order to help you out. My sister is looking for someone to help replace her floors, so before she hires someone she’ll have to decide what to get.
Definitely Gloria! Laminate and Vinyl’s are a great, easy to clean floor.