Improve the Look of Your Home with Flooring

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New flooring is an easy way to improve the look and comfort of your home. Before choosing new flooring, it’s important to determine which room or rooms you want new flooring in, your high traffic areas, your budget, and the types of flooring options available. You can choose from vinyl, laminate, wood, or porcelain tile to give your home the look you want. 

Homeowners who opt to replace carpet with a different form of flooring do so because of allergies, aesthetics, and ease of cleaning. Carpets, regardless of how beautiful, can hold onto dirt, pet dander, and anything else brought into the home by pets and shoes, while flooring is easier to keep clean, looks lovely, and is allergy-free. 

Most homeowners prefer to start with high traffic areas, areas that have the most wear and tear, to replace worn out flooring or carpeting. This could be a living room/family room or the kitchen. You’ll want durable flooring that is stain resistant, holds up to foot traffic, and isn’t easily discolored by sunlight. Your options include vinyl, laminate, porcelain tile, and wood. This is true for kitchens as well. You’ll want flooring that can stand up to spills, scratches, and water leaks while providing consistent color and longevity. 

Other rooms you may consider installing new flooring include bathrooms and bedrooms/closets. Bathrooms require flooring that is waterproof and spill resistant. All floor tile is designed to be non-slip, which is reassuring. However, keep in mind that ceramic tile is NOT slip resistant and is prone to breakage. Ceramic tile does not make good flooring for any space, but especially bathrooms and kitchens. When considering flooring for bedrooms, you’ll want to consider the warmth and comfort factor. Carpet might be a better option to muffle noise and keep your bedrooms and closets warmer. However, it depends on the look you want for your bedroom and how clean your floors need to be. You’ll also want to consider how much sunlight your floors see throughout the day.

Your first step should be to figure out your budget as flooring prices vary. You will also need to consider who will remove your old flooring and dispose of it. Do-it-yourselfers need to plan on either a dumpster, a Bagster, or if they’ll haul it to the dump. There are fees associated with all three options. Hiring a professional is another option, but make sure to ask pricing before your professional starts work. On average, professionals may charge anywhere between $1.50 a square foot for carpet and $4 or more a square foot for tile, wood flooring, vinyl, or laminate. Their charge does not include dump fees, which is extra. 

Along with how your floor will be removed and disposed of, you need to research the type of flooring you want. Flooring stores have so many choices, it can be overwhelming at first. You also need to have an idea of how many square feet you’ll replace. To figure out how many square feet of space you will work with, measure length and width and multiply them together. Once you know square footage, you’ll be able to better budget for your flooring. 

The least expensive option is laminate flooring, which starts as little as $2 a square foot to approximately $10 a square foot. It’s also easy to install and looks great, but not all brands are waterproof, and some laminate flooring products can release volatile organic compounds (VOCs) into the air, which can be a health concern. It is easy to keep clean and is suitable for high traffic areas. Your second option is vinyl flooring.  It starts for as little as $2 a square foot, is easy to install, and depending on brand and type, it’s durable, waterproof, lasts for awhile, is easy to keep clean, and looks great. It does require a subfloor, but that will help keep the vinyl flooring in good shape. 

Wood flooring is another option, but it’s more expensive than laminate or vinyl. Its cost depends on its grade (quality). Another consideration is the work that goes into installing a wood floor, including sanding it, staining it, and preserving it with a protective finish like polyurethane, varnish, oil, or wax. Wood is beautiful but takes more work to make it look good. In high traffic areas, the protective finish can wear off, requiring the floors to be re-sanded, stained, and coated with a protective finish. Natural hard wood floors are prone to warping, staining, or buckling if exposed to water. 

There are some pre-stained hardwood floors available, which range in price from $6 to $12 a square foot. These are durable and water resistant although not waterproof. It is a good option for those who want wood floors without the extra sanding, staining, and coating. 

Your final option is porcelain tile. Its cost also depends on its grade (quality), grout, subfloor, installation prices, and square footage. Expect to budget between $800-$3000 for a porcelain tile floor. Another benefit to porcelain tile is the number of options available. Porcelain tile can look like wood or stone or have patterns and colors. It’s waterproof and scratch proof. One negative to porcelain tile is that it can feel cold to bare feet, and it can be costly. However, it is durable and low maintenance.

Once you’ve chosen your flooring and figured out how to remove it, it’s important to decide about installation. Much like flooring removal, homeowners can choose to put down their own flooring. Vinyl and laminate come in boxes and the pieces click together. You’ll have to pay careful attention if there are cuts to be made, so make sure you know to do that before laying the flooring. Porcelain tile will require grouting, so either watch a video or two or talk to someone at the flooring store to find out how best to grout, if you’ve never grouted before. 

You can also hire someone to install your flooring. Flooring stores can offer that service, but it’s not included in the price of your flooring; it’s added on. You can hire a handyman or a flooring company as well. Expect to pay about $9 a square foot for hardwood flooring, $5-10 a square foot for tile, and $3-6 a square foot for vinyl and laminate. It’s a good idea to get 2-3 bids from different installers before making your decision. 

Once your new flooring is in, you’ll have to take care of it; regular sweeping and mopping mean less dirt; less dirt means better longevity. Talk to your flooring store to find out which products they recommend to care for your floor.  

New flooring can change the look of your living space, bathrooms, and kitchen. The right flooring is waterproof, scratch resistant, and holds up well in high traffic areas. But most importantly, the right flooring makes you happy.