CHOOSING THE RIGHT FLOORING FOUR YOUR HOME
Everyone dreams of living in a beautiful house. Once you have the house, you're often bewildered with different decorating ideas. It's a good idea to start at the basics. Good flooring forms the foundation of any decorating theme. So it's vital to get the flooring right. One aspect is selecting the right materials.
The various rooms in your house may need a different kind of flooring. You have to pick the flooring depending on the use for the room, your lifestyle and your finances. Before you get floored by the number of choices available in the market, it's a good idea to know what youâre looking for:
Your location
The location of your house is an important ingredient in your purchase decision. Do you live in a warm or cold climate? Do you have flooding or fires near your area? Studying these factors will help you make the right decision. Here's an example. Knowing that your house is situated in a moist area will give you a wide choice of flooring to choose from. You should probably pick material that will not rot away like stone, granite or marble. However, if you live in colder climes, then you can use a carpet or plain linoleum for the kitchen.
Your tastes
Your house should reflect your style and tastes. Do you like contemporary designs or a more traditional look? If your budget allows it, a hardwood flooring goes with almost any interior decorating idea. Bamboo floors or laminated floors are a cheaper option. Youâll find it easy to clean a laminated floor as a good wipe will take care of it. You donât have to use oil or excessively scrub it.
Check the foundation
You need to check the foundation of the house before you buy the flooring. You will want your flooring to remain firm and stable and not cracked or chipped. Firstly, fix the foundation of any defects. Only then will the new flooring look good. If there is going to be quite a lot of family traffic you will want to ensure that it is resistant to wear and tear.
Garage flooring
This is one room in your house that is most neglected. The right flooring can change this room completely. If your concrete flooring is unprotected, you will end up doing repairs pretty often as it will crack. Moisture can be disastrous for your garage flooring. Well laid out flooring can be a pleasure to look at. Further, you will want your garage to be safe and clean.
Your budget
It's always best to stay within your budget but look for quality material. If youâre looking for a good discount go to a materials wholesaler. They usually sell in bulk so you get to save in the bargain. Remember, don't count the pennies as compromising on quality can cost you later when you need to spend on repairs. Do you homework prior to going to a hardware store as you need to know what youâre looking for.
You can take your pick amongst various materials for your flooring. Let's take a look at some popular flooring options:
- Hardwood floors- These are ideal for most homes but these floors are sensitive to climatic conditions. Wood tends to contract and expand depending upon the weather. They are also prone to water damage and require maintenance.
- Marmoleum- This is made from material that is organic. As an environmentally friendly option this is easy to take care of. Not only is it durable but it is warm and comfortable to walk on.
- Bamboo flooring- This is one of the most durable in the market today. It looks good and comes in different designs. Your rooms will look elegant and beautiful. Bamboo flooring can be dyed to look like wood. This is environmentally friendly and is commonly found in nature.
- Rubber flooring- If you are into sports or if you have a toddler at home who is just learning to walk, then rubber flooring is ideal for you. This reduces the pressure on your heels and knees. You will not get hurt if you fall on rubber flooring. Interlocking rubber tiles are easy to assemble on the floor.
Choosing
Picking the right flooring is very important. You can use different kinds of flooring for different rooms. For example a children's room can have a rubber floor while you can pick wood for the main living room. By customizing the flooring, you get the right fit. Any room requires a good floor to act as a foundation to the rest of the decor. So keep your interior design in mind, while selecting the right flooring. The design should not clash with the floor. Keep your house beautiful and elegant and most importantly let it reflect your unique style and personality.
Choosing the right type of hardwood flooring for your home is an important step. You need to factor in your lifestyle, decor, and the area where the wood floor is going. Wood flooring is available in a wide variety of colors, styles and finishes so you need to know exactly what you want for your home before you buy.
There are varying types of wood flooring. You need to decide between factory finished, solid, plank, unfinished, parquet, and engineered - http://www.bamboofloorusa.com. Here are some of the differences:
Engineered Flooring:
Engineered floors are made up of multiple layers of wood pressed together. The grains run in different directions on each layer, this makes it extremely stable. Engineered wood flooring is perfect for kitchens, basements and powder rooms.
Solid Flooring:
Any plank that from top to bottom is the same piece of wood is considered solid flooring. This is the most common type and works in any area of your home that is above ground level.
Plank Flooring:
Plank is wider than other types of strip flooring. It is linear and can be used to create the illusion of more space in a room.
Parquet Flooring:
This is a series of smaller pieces of wood that are laid to form a geometric pattern in your room.
The type and style of flooring you choose will determine the style of you room. You can usually get samples from your local wood flooring retailer to help you decide what type of wood flooring will look best in your home.
The type of flooring you choose will determine how your room feels once the floor is installed. Educate yourself and look at as many samples as you can get your hands on to be sure you get the perfect wood flooring for you décor and style.
CERAMIC TILE FLOORING
Believe it or not, carpeting is one of the biggest contributors to indoor air pollution.
One of the commonest health problems in a house is allergies, and carpets are practically a perfect environment for dust mites, molds and mildew.
Not only that, but the modern wall-to wall carpeting in todays houses are made of synthetic fibers dyed and treated with chemicals (fungicides, soil repellants and pesticides, anyone?) and bonded to synthetic backing with chemical glues. All of these materials release hundreds of Volatile Organic Compounds as they age, in a process called outgassing. Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) can be mutagens, irritants and carcinogens. Not the ideal thing to have in your home, to say the least.
Carpet also attracts and retains all that you and your family members track in to the house from the ground outside- dirt, lead dust found in flaking house exterior paint, insects, bacteria, lawn and garden chemicals and other unhealthy debris. Not to mention food crumbs, hair and dead skin particles.
Getting a wall-to-wall carpet 100% clean is nearly impossible (ever rented one of those steam-cleaners to clean your carpet and cleaned the same area over and over, each time seeing more dirt come out?) and trying to clean causes its own problems. Vacuuming stirs up airborne dust and mold spores. Shampooing can leave a damp carpet encouraging more mold growth and even the shampoo may have irritating or even toxic chemicals added.
At the other end of the floor covering health spectrum is ceramic tile. It is made from natural clay materials fired in a kiln. A tile sealed with non-leaded glaze is impervious to mold and bacteria and is well tolerated by chemically sensitive people.
Ceramic tile is bonded to the base flooring using low-toxicity thin set mortar, and can be grouted with home-made, additive-free grout. 2 parts dry, clean sand mixed with 1 part Portland cement can be prepared and added to water to form a slow, damp curing grout.
Although a ceramic tile floor can be expensive up front, due to the labor-intensive installation, they are very durable and long-lasting if properly maintained, and can be considered as comparatively affordable in the long run.
