Decorating your home can be a challenging yet rewarding time. Painting, papering and even knocking down walls can all make your home look more attractive and can instantly improve your home. When it comes to flooring, decorating can be more challenging as replacing your whole floor is a big job.
Getting your flooring choice right the first time will not only save you money but it will improve the aesthetics of your home. Getting your flooring wrong will cost you money and it could also cause damage to your furniture and fittings.
In this blog post, we will look at the flooring options you have when redecorating your home so that you make the right choice every time.
Hardwood flooring
Solid wood is one of the most popular types of flooring and comes in either strips or planks which are then nailed to the subfloor. Hardwood flooring should be used in rooms that see a lot of footfall. These hardwearing floors are long-lasting, durable and easy to refinish to remove scratches when necessary.
You shouldn’t use hardwood flooring in the bathroom or laundry rooms though as they don’t stand up well to moisture.
Engineered Wood
If you like the look of hardwood but want something that’s cheaper then engineered wood is a good choice for you. The advantage of using engineered wood over hardwood is that it’s engineered to be more scratch resistant and can be installed over concrete flooring and hardwood flooring which makes installing it quicker and easier.
Engineered wood still shouldn’t be used in the bathroom or anywhere that has moisture as it will cause the wood to shrink and expand causing damage to it.
Epoxy Flooring
Epoxy flooring is a specialist flooring type that not all homes will need, however, if you run a business from home then it could be a good choice for you. Epoxy flooring or anti-static flooring as it can sometimes be referred to can be a good choice if you have any rooms with electrical equipment such as computers run from.
Epoxy flooring can be used in rooms with heavy footfall and is long-lasting and very durable. How long epoxy flooring lasts will depend entirely on how many coats of epoxy have been used. It can be painted on wood, concrete and many other flooring types to protect your flooring and give you those additional benefits or antistatic properties in your home.
Ceramic Tile
Ceramic tiles are something we are all aware of but not all ceramic tiles are strong enough to be used for flooring. The main types of ceramic tiles that you may have seen include glazed ceramic, porcelain, quarry and terracotta.
Porcelain tiles are by far the most durable tiles that you can get and if you want to use tiles in an area with heavy footfall then these would be the option to use. You can use them in all areas of your home but you should take into consideration that they can be slippery. Where possible get your tiles coated with an anti-slip finish.
You should also take into consideration that tiles can feel cold when you first get up in the morning too. In our opinion, tiles are best suited in the mudroom, wetrooms, kitchens and bathrooms.
Laminate Flooring
Laminate flooring is a cheap and versatile flooring choice which can make your home look more expensive than it is. Laminate flooring can look like wood, stone or tile for a fraction of the cost.
Laminate flooring should be used if you are on a budget and need a flooring option which is hardwearing and easy to clean up. Laminate flooring shouldn’t be used in areas of the home which can get wet. Laminate flooring can get slippery and it will shrink and expand when wet causing damage to your floor.
Damp can also cause the flooring to move so we wouldn’t recommend using a laminate floor in a basement.
Vinyl Flooring
Vinyl flooring is a tough material that can handle many different uses in your home. Everything from heavy footfall to moisture can be handled by vinyl. It’s also comfier to walk on than tile but finding a good vinyl flooring can be difficult.
Vinyl is often associated with being a cheap flooring choice and as a result, many of the manufacturers out there will create cheap vinyl flooring which doesn’t stand up to heavy usage. We wouldn’t recommend using vinyl in the home if you are eco-conscious as vinyl can’t be recycled.
