Instead of breaking the family bank account by taking on an expensive and disruptive home renovation, there are budget-friendly options that will provide your family with a solid capital investment that is both beautiful and easy to clean. Homeowners looking to replace the current floor in their home must consider the cost of materials, installation, style and color selection, maintenance, health of the family, and ease of cleaning when deciding on a new floor.
Unlike new window treatments, changing accent pieces, or painting the walls of a room, new flooring can improve your family’s quality of life by removing toxic materials and replacing them with flooring that protects against allergens, built-up dust and grime, or injuries from falling. A new floor can profoundly transform the look and feel of a room. Understanding the various materials available on the market today helps homeowners make the best choice possible.
Color And Style
The color scheme of a room can greatly alter its feel. Most homeowners cannot afford to replace both a floor and a room’s furnishings, which makes finding the correct color and style of flooring material so important. Vinyl, linoleum, and laminate flooring come in a variety of colors and styles. High gloss laminate flooring provides the added choice of whether or not to have beveled edges, and it comes in a wide variety of wood grains, including ash, walnut, oak, pine, cherry, birch, pecan, maple, and many more. Stone floors are generally available in earth tones, and tiles come in a variety of colors.
Initial Cost And Installation
Cost is often the deciding factor when it comes to renovations. Stone, tile, hardwood floors, and carpeting are at the high end of the price spectrum, as they require professional installation. At the opposite end of the cost comparison are the self-adhesive squares of linoleum found in many stores. While inexpensive and easy to install, these materials tend to be easily damaged and often curl and separate, leading to more maintenance and replacement costs later on. Laminate flooring is both durable and affordable, and homeowners can install these planks themselves without any special skills or tools. The planks are designed with locking mechanisms that simply snap into place as each one is laid down next to its neighbor. An entire room can be completed in only a few hours.
Maintenance And Cleaning
A discount price on expensive flooring does a family no good if the maintenance costs and cleaning requirements after installation are troublesome or unmanageable. Carpets are an excellent example of this problem. While it is simple enough to find carpets at a discount price, the low quality of the fibers indicate that the new carpet look and feel will quickly be but a memory as grease, grime, dust, dirt, hair, food and drink spills, pet messes, and regular wear and tear take their toll. Allergens are common residents of carpets and can result in respiratory problems for many family members. Even with professional cleaning, carpet maintenance needs make it an expensive choice when it comes to flooring options.
High gloss laminate flooring, on the other hand, is very easy to keep clean and requires no maintenance to speak of. Resistant to heavy traffic, sun bleaching, gouging, staining, and even burns, these planks provide years of beauty and healthful comfort to your home with minimal cost or effort. Dust, dirt, and spills are easy to wipe up, and even damaging materials such as cigarettes, heavy tools, and many chemicals are unable to mar the surface of this high-tech option. Once installed, this floor material continues to look and feel as good as new, providing your family with an affordable and easy to install floor that will showcase your home the way no other material can.
Health And Safety
The health and safety of your family and pets is yet another consideration when selecting a new floor. While stone and tile are beautiful, they can be dangerous when wet. Wooden floors look lovely, but are highly prone to gouging, sun bleaching, and splintering. Vinyl and linoleum squares can cause a tripping hazard and expose the subfloor in a relatively short period of time. Carpets can hold onto dirt and allergens for many years, in spite of regular vacuuming. High gloss laminate flooring, however, is made from kid and pet friendly materials that can even be purchased with anti-bacterial properties. Resistant to damage and easy to clean, your family is not exposed unnecessarily to harsh cleaners, sharp edges, or accumulated dirt or allergens.
High gloss laminate flooring provides the best of all worlds – it transforms a room beautifully, is easy to install and care for, and is still a budget-friendly renovation option for today’s homeowner.
