Thursday, September 25, 2014

How to choose the best flooring for your kitchen or bathroom

How to choose the best flooring for your kitchen or bathroom

It’s important to do your research and make careful considerations before moving forward with a material order or choosing a contractor for installation, says Wyant (Photo courtesy of DirectBuy of Indianapolis)
It’s important to do your research and make careful considerations before moving forward with a material order or choosing a contractor for installation, says Melody Higgins (Photo courtesy of Final Touch Flooring Group)
A winter home improvement projects continue, many people are still looking around their homes and realizing how much last summer had a gloomy impact on their floors. For some homeowners, it will be a great time to start that remodeling project - especially for a bathroom or kitchen. Of course, a big part of any remodeling project is choosing a flooring type.
Making a choice for the proper flooring in a kitchen or a bathroom requires some forethought and planning on the part of the homeowner. There are a variety of flooring choices for consideration. 

Flooring to avoid

First, let’s start with what to avoid. Carpet is not a recommended option due to its ability to absorb and hold moisture. Also, it is one of the hardest flooring types to keep clean in a kitchen or a bathroom. It will show more foot traffic, and cleaning up those every day spills can become frustrating.

Good options

If one is considering a wood floor, it’s good to note that engineered hardwood flooring performs better than laminate flooring. Hardwood flooring is made of a sturdier, more water-resistant plywood base. However, engineered wood flooring is generally more expensive to purchase and to have installed. An alternative for the “wood look” is the latest trend of porcelain tiles, with the look of wood, and the durability of tile, with the option of five-inch planks.
Tile is also a long-term beauty option and is a very durable material. There are several tile options ranging from ceramic, to highly expensive, and rare natural stone materials. The most important factor to keep in mind is that natural stone, such as travertine, requires a stone sealer to help reduce the ability of water/moisture to penetrate.
Porcelain tile does not allow penetration of moisture and porcelain is a material that many tile manufacturers are using to simulate the look and feel of natural stone materials. The cost of porcelain is generally less than natural stone.

Inexpensive flooring

An inexpensive choice for the kitchen is vinyl tile or sheet vinyl flooring. However, even though it is petroleum-based, it is a composite material. Vinyl tile squares have seams that moisture can penetrate. Sheet vinyl is generally seamless, or has a minimum number of seams, and therefore does a better long- term job.

Don’t forget to match

If wood or laminate flooring is being selected, matching or accent colors are suggested to compliment the cabinets. The choices of wood species vary but oak, bamboo, hickory, maple and walnut are among the most popular. A hand-scraped finish could be considered for a high traffic area because it’s more forgiving of wear marks.

Do your research

Finally, it’s important to do your research and make careful considerations before moving forward with a material order or choosing a contractor for installation. If a homeowner would like to get the best price on the flooring for the kitchen remodeling project while still ensuring a quality product, find a qualified, reputable flooring installer in your area.




3 comments:

  1. Thanks final touch flooring Group www.finaltouchflooringgroup.com

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  2. Final Touch Flooring Group is in the old section of downtown Acworth and I discovered them while strolling through town. I had just closed on an older home and needed new carpeting so I decided to check them out. Melody and Leslie were very helpful and gave me advice that I wouldn't have gotten from a big box store. Before long I had made and choice and scheduled for them to come out to measure my home. The installers were very efficient and took extra time to make sure the subfloor was clean before they put the new carpet down. That was important to me. They hauled of all the old carpet and didn't nickel and dime me for doing those extras. I was thankful that I had walked by there showroom and discovered a nice small town business that gave my such personal small town service. I highly recommend them.

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  3. Final Touch Flooring Group helped me work through the process of choosing and installing a desperately needed new floor in my home. The personalized care, quick work, and amazing results from Final Touch Flooring Group leave me with nothing but the utmost confidence in the work they do.

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