Best Flooring for Your Home

Flooring is often one of the most expensive parts of home remodeling.  The number of materials and colors can overwhelming.  When it comes to deciding on the best flooring for your home, it’s best to determine your budget, as well as the amount of traffic and sunlight your floor will be exposed to.  Additionally, homes with pets will have to take special care in choosing their floor.

Flooring falls in to one of the following categories:
Vinyl: The least expensive option of all, vinyl is a plastic-based flooring that’s great at fending off damage, discoloration, fading, and staining. Vinyl costs a few dollars per square foot.  In recent years, a few higher end looking design choice has come available.

Linoleum: Also a cost-effective option, linoleum is made from oil, resin, fillers, and other similar materials.  While great at standing up to sunlight, linoleum doesn’t stand up as well to damage, such as scratches.  The cost of linoleum is less than $10/sq. ft.
 
Porcelain tile: Common in wet areas of the home, porcelain tile is good at resisting damage and moisture.  Unfortunately, tile can be finicky to install as they’re prone to cracking during and after install.  Single cracked tiles are difficult to replace.  The cost for porcelain tile ranges from $5-$15/sq. ft.
 
Laminate: A surprisingly durable flooring option laminate consists of fiberboard overlaid with a clear plastic layer.  It often looks fake unless care is taken to install planks from various boxes next to each other.  While it can stand up to a lot of abuse, once it’s damaged, it needs to be replaced since refinishing isn’t possible.  The cost of laminate flooring is a few dollars to $7 per square foot.
 
Engineered wood: Made out of thin layers of wood that are placed between adhesives, engineered wood, it can withstand more humidity than solid wood.  While it can be as durable as solid wood, it does wear out faster.  A few times can be refinished many times, but most can only stand up to refinishing once or twice.  The cost of engineered wood flooring is $4-$9/sq. ft. on average.
 
Solid wood (hardwood): The most expensive option in most cases, solid wood wears very well but is prone to expanding and contracting.  Sold wood is not good for damp areas like basements.  It also may dent easily and fade in the sun.   Solid wood can be refinished multiple times.   The cost of hardwood flooring is $5-$10/sq. ft.
 
If you’re pinching pennies, there are a few ways to save when purchasing flooring.  Overstock suppliers will have flooring that’s discounted below retail price.  Additionally, boxes of flooring with damaged boxes or boxes that contained flawed pieces are eligible for discounts from most suppliers. 
 
A few tips to remember:

• Choose your favorite flooring options and lay them in various areas of the home.  See how they look during different parts of the day and in different lighting.
• Always purchase about 10% more flooring than estimated to account for damaged pieces or mistakes.  Also, buying an extra box on top of the overage will give you enough to make repairs down the road.
• High traffic areas where there is a lot of foot traffic, pets, or child play areas require a flooring that can stand up more wear and tear.

Joliet Home Remodeling is experienced in installing and maintaining every type of flooring.  Let us help you find the best flooring for your home?  Need a flooring repair, refinish, or replacement?  We do that too!  Call us or submit the form below for more information.

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