How to Choose New Flooring for the Home

Homeowners have a lot of options for new flooring, depending on their budget. This guide identifies the popular choices, with pros and cons for each.

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Buying New Flooring for the HomeInstalling new flooring can dramatically change the look and function of the home. With information about the five most popular types of flooring, homeowners can weigh the benefits and disadvantages and make the right choice for their homes.

1. Carpet

For people who want a budget-friendly flooring choice that is warm and can block noise, carpet is the standard option. Carpet prices range from around $1 per square foot to many times that, depending on the cut and arrangement of the fibers, the density, and the materials used. The quality of the pad underneath the carpet could significantly affect its feel and long-term durability. Carpet can be more difficult to clean and maintain, and generally lasts for a shorter time than other flooring styles. This makes it a fair choice for bedrooms and low-traffic areas.

2. Tile Floors

Tile, whether it is made from natural stone, ceramic, or porcelain, can be a very long-lasting flooring type that also looks classically elegant. If tile flooring is maintained on a regular basis, with periodic resealing or replacement of the grout, it might well last for centuries. Although the tiles themselves could be very hard or heavy, they may be easy to chip or break if something sharp or heavy is dropped on them. Tile tends to be more expensive compared to other flooring types, although the total cost may range close to solid hardwood. Tile is relatively easy to clean, but may be more difficult to repair.

3. Hardwood Floors

If people are considering flooring choices that will give them the best advantage for reselling the home, hardwood is hard to beat. Typically, home buyers look for hardwood when they first enter a home. Although solid hardwood might not be an ideal option for certain parts of the home (such as bathrooms, basements or the second floor), engineered hardwood planks may solve most of these problems. In either case, the floor is fairly simple to maintain with minimal care to avoid scratching the surface.

4. Laminate Flooring

Some people love the look of hardwood flooring, but their budget will not accommodate it. In this case, laminate may serve as an appropriate alternative. Laminate flooring might look and even feel like real wood. However, it is not real wood. This means that laminate floors are somewhat more resistant to moisture compared to hardwood, and may be better to use in high-traffic areas. Laminate can be made to look like almost any kind of hardwood, without contributing to overuse of endangered species.

5. Vinyl Flooring

As a general rule, the flooring option that is the easiest to install, maintain, and clean sits with vinyl. As one of the least expensive flooring choices, vinyl comes in a variety of colors and styles that can effectively mimic more costly materials like stone tile or hardwood. Vinyl is highly resistant to water, which means that spills are easy to clean up and will not damage the surface. Vinyl plank might not be the ideal for luxury homes or homeowners who need to scale up their interior design, but it works well for homes in almost any market. It's also a great DIY project for those weekend warriors.

Choosing the right kind of flooring for the home demands a comparison of the most popular styles. As mentioned above, carpet helps with noise reduction the most but if the homeowner's choice is any of the other options, there are other ways to help soundproof the floor. With this information, Gulch TN home buyers and homeowners have the details they need to select a flooring material they will love.

Posted by Gary Ashton on
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