Flooring For Beginners

In case you are considering wooden flooring, you have three options that comprise of solid wood floor, laminate floor and engineered wooden floor, last being the most popular these days and there are good reasons to that. Let’s examine some of these here.

Aesthetics

Comparing the looks of finished engineered wood floor and solid wood floors is quite tricky. That’s because the top layer that one sees is almost identical in either case and what you see is largely due the type and quality of wood used and not the type of floor. You should know that the top layer of engineered wood floor is basically a thin slice of solid wood. However, laminates look quite different than engineered variety. Laminate wood floors can have so deceptive looks as to prompt an expert to go on his hands and knees to conclude that it’s not a solid wood or engineered wooden floor. As the two are one and the same thing it’s right to conclude that at a first glance engineered wooden floors have the appearance of solid wood.

Engineered Wooden Flooring Sounds More Solid Than Laminate

Did you ever realize that different kinds of wooden floors emit different kinds of sounds on being walked over? Yes, that’s true, as you step on a floor there is a sound created that varies with the floor material. It’s indeed interesting to know and understand the variation of sound on three types of floors or even the same kind of floor manufactured by different manufacturers. For example, laminate wooden floors have a hollowed sound as you walk over it. And, there are manufacturers who make it a point to mention in their ads that their product is devoid of this characteristic. On the other hand, a new average solid wooden floor hardly makes any noise that you can identify. However, over prolonged use, may be after a decade or so, these floors tend to make creaking sounds, but that’s not so were it a laminate floor. Engineered floors are difficult to predict. They could go either way. Usually they don’t have hollow sound, but then there are too many exceptions. They are not likely to sound too creaky, yet it happens. But for this creaking sound, which some people are not able to tolerate, engineered wooden floors come next to solid wooden floors. They prove to be ideal but for the said characteristic.

Damage Control

Leaving aside concrete, a solid wood floor is the most durable. Even if it gets damaged, you can have it repaired, though it does signal the damage being caused as you begin to notice scratches. Engineered wooden floor can be buffed and refinished to retain its looks, but that shouldn’t be too often. How frequently you may do that depends upon the brand and type, but be aware that its top layer is not thick enough to allow too frequent refurbishing. Thus, as in the case of laminate, serious damage may necessitate replacing the board to maintain its good looks. Laminate, on the other hand is nothing but a resin covered picture, can’t be refinished.

Price

Price of engineered wooden flooring is indeed difficult to assess accurately, as is in the case of hard wooden floors, and they are always fluctuating. That’s because its manufacturing depends upon the availability of definite kind of natural lumber.
Being derived from a natural product, the price of solid wooden floors usually has more fluctuations than the engineered one, whereas the price of laminate is governed by demand.

What makes the best garage floor is a matter of personal preferences. While many like to opt for rolled flooring, others consider tiles to be the best for the purpose. Whatever be the choice of material used for the purpose, it’s a good decision to have garage flooring. Some of its benefits are: bringing warmth to otherwise cold floor, cleaning becomes easier, adds to the looks of the garage, making it bright and cheerful and sound proofing quality, though to a limited extent.

This article is intended to inform you about garage tile flooring and the pros and cons you should consider before installing it in your garage.

Tiles are believed to have been around since Middle Ages and continued to constitute a popular form of floor covering for generations till date. One reason for their present popularity is the large variety in simple to highly decorative designs.

Tile flooring for garages is available in two types:
Interlocking type – these are square shaped compartment mats that are connected.
Peel and stick type – these tiles get bonded with the concrete.

The interlocking tiles can be installed on any kind of garage floor but are not as durable as the peel and stick type of tiles. The limitation, if it may be so called, with the peel and stick kind of tiles is that they demand the floor to be extremely clean or new. These tiles are unable to establish a bond with not so clean or stained flooring.

Many people don’t like to consider anything beyond tile flooring for garage and consider these to be the best and ultimate in garage flooring. Though concrete floors may be protected using painting, tiles are very convenient to install. Of course garage tile flooring has its own plus and negative points that we shall soon know.

Garage tile flooring could prove to be expensive, depending upon the design, quality and brand that you may opt for. Kits are available at most home improvement stores and the cost for an average sized garage could easily be around $500 plus the installation expense, unless of course you decide to do it of your own. A very economical option would be a floor mat, but then its maintenance and cleaning is not convenient really.

Garage tile flooring are easily the most convenient to install and come second only to floor mats. Installation of interlocking tiles is also very simple and you just need to connect as them as if you were connecting building blocks. The peel and stick kind are perhaps the simplest to install, you just peel off the back and stick the tiles to the concrete, but the floor has to be absolutely clean.

Undoubtedly, the installation of garage tiles is really easy, but that’s a very time-consuming project. It will be good to divide your garage floor into a few parts and take one part at a time rather than starting in a haphazard manner and getting frustrated and tired of it.

The practical difficulty that you may experience while installing interlocking tile flooring is that tiles tend to shift around as they are not tightly fixed in place. The peel and stick variety wouldn’t stick firmly unless the floor is absolutely clean and we all are well aware how difficult it is to achieve that.

Coming to the maintenance part of it, tile flooring is certainly among the easiest. Just mop up the floor with a damp cloth once a week to have a clean floor. You may like to have periodic thorough cleaning with detergent and water to get rid of oil stains etc.

Before you go ahead with your garage tile flooring project, make sure to go thru the instructions provided by the manufacturer for getting the best results.

Coming to the conclusion of having wooden laminate flooring for your home is just about half the story. The other half and perhaps an equally difficult if not more, is deciding the brand to go for. And that’s just not a good sounding popular name, but much more than that. You will need to consider factors like durability, installation, its price and above all how it would look in your kind of present surroundings. You may not necessarily like to choose from the limited designs often displayed on the walls of most hardware stores. Keeping that in mind, let’s see what Swiftlock Laminate Flooring has to offer:

Lots Of Options

Once you have a reasonably good thought of how you want your home to look like after the installation of laminate floor is complete, it’s time to look for a brand that meets with your imagination and specifications. There are pretty good chances of getting something exactly or vey close to your imagination and expectations from the manufacturers of Swiftlock laminated flooring. Anytime, you can find at least 160 varieties of laminated flooring from Swiftlock.

They don’t distinguish their products by giving different names to various collections like Quick Step Laminate Flooring, but they do mention the thickness right by the name of the selection, and that you would hopefully find helpful. As a consumer you may not really be aware of what’s riding the popularity chart when we talk of laminate floors, it would be worthwhile to spare some time to check a couple of different websites and arm yourself with some of the available features and narrow down to know what would best suit your requirements.

Cost

As you start looking around for Swiftlock Laminate Flooring, you wouldn’t fail to notice that the name is frequently associated with the words durable and affordable. You may be surprised, though, Amazon does not stock Swiftlock. So, you need to look other places, should you like to compare prices. Swiftlock is the cheaper laminate flooring from its parent company, Armstrong. It won’t be wrong to ad that you’ll find Swiftlock to be the cheapest of laminated floor, wherever you may buy it from.

Difficulty Of Installation

You don’t need any experience in installing laminate flooring, being the easiest of them all. Here’s a perfect project for a novice DIY enthusiast. The process of installation is further aided by the provision of installation instructions on the website of this provider. Yet, if you encounter any difficulty during its installation, you are certain to find online help and tips as this is one of the most well known and used brand. Though lighter than either solid or engineered variety, it lasts for at least as long, if not longer.

Durability

Like any other wood laminate floor, you are concerned about its maintenance and durability. Swiftlock flooring proves pretty good as far as normal floor traffic is concerned. However, there are reports of its getting warped up, even in the absence of standing water or if heavy items fall upon it. And mind you, this kind of flooring can’t be subjected to buffing, though claimed to be offering resistance to dents and scratches. So, anytime some damage is caused by whatever means, you may have no other option but to change the board. Well, there are quite many complainants having used this product, but doesn’t that once again confirm its popularity? That leaves no doubt about its price worthiness. Further, most retailers acknowledge that Swiftlock Laminate Flooring is one of the top selling brand.

Ever wondered of all the modern materials available for flooring what makes granite such a favorite. One very good reason for that is granite is amongst the hardest, most durable and thus longer lasting material available for floors. Different parts of house may have different materials for flooring but for kitchen granites is unsurpassed. Of course it’s matter of personal choice but decided by use, amount of foot traffic and overall looks. Here, we’ll try to understand the plus and minus features of this great looking, hard material that offers easy maintenance and what makes it the ideal choice for kitchen floors.

Granite floors and kitchen seem to be made for each other. Kitchen undoubtedly has the most abused floor in the whole of household. Over and above the foot traffic that it bears like other floors in the house, it is subjected to spills of different kinds and therefore needs more frequent cleaning. Apart from spillages, it bears the brunt of all fallen items that often slip from one’s hand while working there. Perhaps no other floor than granite can bear all that and it becomes the obvious choice for kitchen floor. Moreover, natural granite being available in many patterns and styles add to the looks of any kitchen.

Granite is amongst the hardest materials, offers utmost durability and thus suitability for kitchen floors. Another factor that favors its use in the kitchen is its inherent resilient to stains and capacity to bear acids and chemicals. It has characteristic resistance to oils, grease, fat, tea, coffee or boiling water, and cold fizzy sugary drinks and all the materials that are frequently used in the kitchen. It is equipped to facing bombardments of falling cutlery, crockery and glassware and all that it demands is quick removal of rubble so generated and it continues to look fresh and shining.

Cleaning and maintenance of granite floor doesn’t demand much. Daily sweeping and mopping with warm water would leave it clean and unharmed. Care should be taken for quick cleaning of any spillage or rubble created by broken crockery or jar. To continue to have shining floor, once a week it should be cleaned with soapstone proceeded by a mop rinsed with water.

Despite all its advantages, granite has one limitation of getting scratched by quartz. The sand that may enter your house thru shoes is a good carrier of quartz. So, heavy foot traffic that kitchen faces causes the damage when small particles of sand get deposited on its surface that develops minute scratches, which if left untreated for long make the floor acquire dull looks. Restoration of scratched dull floor is an expensive process that may even lead to changing of its original color. Therefore, it’s better to take the preventive measure of sweeping and mopping the floor everyday. This measure helps retaining the original color and shine of granite.

So, but for one disadvantage that can certainly be taken care of without much expense and labor, granite is the best option for kitchen floor due its excellent looks, durability, toughness and resistant to stains coupled with easy maintenance.

Kitchen happens to be the most used place of the house for many families, and is the focal point of many domestic activities. The design and layout of kitchen conveys your lifestyle and taste. As can be expected kitchen flooring attracts maximum number of footfalls, yet has to keep looking good. Whatever flooring you may choose, from the not so expensive vinyl to the most expensive marble, if it fails to bear the beating or fit your lifestyle, you better be prepared to change it earlier than your expectations.

Vinyl flooring is the most popular kitchen flooring. This may not be the best material but has no serious shortcomings too. It’s sturdy, very economical and resilient and has the added advantage of being available in many colors and patterns, which certainly make it look quite attractive. Unlike most of the other hard flooring materials it offers a nice cushy feel. Further, it’s available in tiles or in the form of sheets. However, it is reported that the self-adhesive variety doesn’t stay put for very long. Then you have to save it from getting soaked with water, which on entering its bottom could cause a lot of problems. The resilient nature of vinyl demands the surface to be totally flat. The floor should be leveled and prepared before fixing vinyl over it. Don’t make the mistake of putting a new floor over the old vinyl tiles because the underneath pattern will begin to show in a matter of time. Should you opt for vinyl flooring for your kitchen, make sure it is done the proper way; else you may regret it sooner than expected.

People often consider vinyl and linoleum to be one and the same thing because they both look alike after installation. Yet, vinyl comprises of all synthetic materials whereas linoleum comprises of all natural materials. Generally, linoleum would have a canvas or felt base on top of which applied an appropriately thick layer of linseed oil, cork and wood powder mixed in natural resins. Though vinyl flooring is more popular, the fact is that linoleum is definitely more durable than vinyl. A properly laid linoleum floor may last up to forty years, even in high traffic areas. People often tend to ignore linoleum as an old fashioned material without appreciating its durability and practicability.

A comparatively new material in the form of laminate flooring may be the best compromise for kitchen flooring. Though not as expensive, it has most of the features of vinyl and linoleum flooring. It’s durable, resilient and easy to maintain. Moreover, it can give the impression of costlier flooring like hardwood, ceramic or marble. It may not look beautiful like marble or real hardwood, yet it presents a good compromise, and for many people it remains a very versatile material.

Some would have only hardwood floor in the kitchen despite its shortcomings. It demands better maintenance, is slippery and offers poor resistance to scratches and stains but more expensive than other options of flooring for the kitchen. But, it finds favors for its eternal warmth and natural beauty.

If cost is not a consideration one can choose any of the natural stones like, marble, granite, travertine etc. Well, all stones are expensive but no other flooring material in kitchen would last for so long and yet continue to look so beautiful.

Of the many materials available for flooring, limestone is one, and there are good reasons for patronizing it. For centuries this material has been in use. That is one reason that makes this material look beautiful on floors of buildings with old styled rooms housing wooden furniture of equally old style and design. People generally underestimate its ruggedness. As a matter of fact it is tougher than many other flooring materials. Though it is not hard like marble, and prone to wear and tear, it lasts for many years provided that it is treated and sealed properly at the outset. Let’s have a look at its positive and negative characteristics for being used as a flooring material.

Some good reasons for patronizing limestone as flooring material include its rugged nature and good looks. It perfectly jells with the country environment and compliments an old styled living area like a lounge or study room decorated with old wood furniture. No material better compliments those antiquated solid wood cabinets and bookshelves made from oak and pine. The rustic looks of limestone floor very harmoniously hold pieces of old rich furniture comprising of chairs and tables while adding to aesthetics of such a palace like place. This solid material provides a very cool touch to feet with that element of safety at the back of your mind.

The degree of hardness offered by limestone is much less than that of marble. That makes it unsuitable for areas that have higher level of activities or more foot traffic like say kitchens. It’s also susceptible to stains and some of the acids may badly damage its surface. It needs better maintenance and more frequent cleaning than marble. Moreover, it’s quite sensitive to sand particles that enter households thru soles of shoes and gets scratched rather easily. All these features of this stone discourage its being employed in kitchens, bathrooms or other such high traffic bearing rooms.

By way of maintenance, a limestone floor demands more than just regular sweeping and mopping. It needs to be cleaned by plain warm water, preferably warm water with a small, prescribed quantity of a pH neutral propriety floor-cleaning agent specially devised for being used on marble and limestone floors. Cleaning with strong acidic cleaning agents or those with bleaching powder will harm its looks and could stain or discolor the stone. Another important measure for its maintenance includes periodic and professional application of sealant after every few years, as being porous in nature it attracts dampness that goes to spoil its looks in the long run.

As one can understand that limestone needs better care thru proper and regular maintenance to prevent it from getting spoiled and stained. Nevertheless, it’s a wonderful medium for floors of an older style home with rustic setting. It surely makes a charming setting in such houses by adding to their overall appearance and décor.

Flooring ideas from Karndean vinyl flooring are really electrifying. Vinyl planks and tiles produced by Karndean are perfect replicas of natural materials like wood, stone, ceramic, slate and marble. The technology employed for manufacturing these luxury vinyl planks and tiles makes them look so natural that you will find it hard to tell them from the natural ones.

Karndean floors are quite different from the normal vinyl sheet floors. As this floor is installed in a piece-by-piece manner it gives the appearance of a handcrafted floor. The tiles and planks are produced using random pattern technique. As a result no pattern is repeated, that’s very unlike cheap looking standard vinyl resilient flooring. Another very exclusive feature of these floors is their coloring. Intentional changes are made to vinyl coloring enabling it to acquire slight random difference in color. That helps to give the floors more natural looks. An additional advantage of such coloring technique is that in case of replacement of a couple of tiles, you need not fear dye lot issues. Here are six good reasons that prompt designers to suggest and use of Karndean luxury vinyl tiles and planks for getting perfect floors.

1. The most favorable point of Karndean vinyl floors is that they are stain proof against any kind of spills encountered in a normal household. That includes stains that may be due red wine or urine of your pets! However, they are not as resistant to petroleum based spills caused by petroleum products.

2. Now that you know they are almost stain free, you would wonder about their waterproofing characteristics. You would be relieved to learn that these are waterproof.

A leak in the bathroom or kitchen will not causes any damage to these vinyl tiles and planks. Now, that’s what distinguishes them from hardwood flooring and laminate. In case of a leak you might have to replace the whole of hardwood or laminate, or at least a part of it. But, with Karndean, you may have to get the floor reinstalled under the worst of circumstances.

3. Karndean flooring is hypoallergenic and resistant to mold and mildew.

4. Luxury vinyl planks and tiles are comparatively too hard to scratch than laminate and hardwood. These are best floors for pet owners.

5. It’s nearly impossible to cause any chip or break Karnden tile, in comparison to ceramic, stone, slate or even marble tiles

6. And the most interesting part is the maintenance. All that they require is daily dusting and damp mopping once in a while.

That should make you understand why Karndean nears perfection. Now, have a look at their styles. Karndean offers six series to choose from. Here they are:

1. The Van Gogh lines comes with 22 variations of Wood planks. You can expect to get almost any color and species that you can imagine.

2. Art Select vinyl from Karndean gives you 11 options for selection from simulated Wood planks and Limestone modular tiles

3. A very popular design of luxury vinyl tile is Da Vinci. It offers more than 33 options of tiles in sizes varying from 12-16 inches in Ceramic, Slate and Sandstone. Could you possibly ask for any more?

4. The Knight series of tiles gives you 33 choices of tiles and planks in Terra Cotta, Slate, Stone, Marble, and Wood round out Knight tile.

5. For that unique décor go for Karndean’s Michelangelo series. You get a dozen of products here that go to include Italian Mosaic, Spanish Pebble or a Metallic tile.

6. Finally, it’s the vinyl plank and tile flooring series from Karndean. Renoir has on offer 13 different types of Wood, Slate and Concrete tiles.

Flooring forms one of the more important aspects of any interior design and decoration project. It conveys the taste of the householder. Modern trends of decoration heavily rely on flooring. The flooring is expected to go a long way to accommodate wide-ranging colors and styles of furniture.

There are hundreds of natural, synthetic or hybrid types of flooring materials available. Each material finds an application at some place or the other. Different circumstances at different buildings like houses, hospitals and gymnasium etc. necessitate the use of different flooring materials. Even the same building may have different flooring materials in its different rooms. While choosing your flooring materials you should have some requisites in mind.

Maple flooring is an amazing material that gives quality surfaces. Maple flooring has many good qualities. It is a very hard and long lasting material that is easy to clean. Of course it adds value to your home. Its unusual patterns and design in natural colors allows it to easily jell with most of the interior designing from old traditional to modern ones. Northern maple may be used because it is inexhaustible, and can be reclaimed and recycled. The maple used for the northern flooring is produced taking care to ensure that the quality of maple is maintained. The producers guarantee that the flooring will conform to the exact quality as promised.

As there are many grades available it is very important to choose the right variety of maple. Northern maple comes in three grades. First grade is naturally the best with highest possible quality. This grade ensures minimum variations of natural quality. The second grade down the line is most often used for flooring. It shows more variations than the first grade. Third grade has exactly the same structural wholeness and more variation than the first two grades.

Environmental factors play a crucial role in selection of maple floors. Manufacturers recommend its installation in homes where air temperature is between 55-75 degrees and humidity level is from 35 to 50 percent. It’s very typical of maple to absorb moisture making it swell, but at the same time lack of moisture causes it to shrink. So, one has to be careful about temperature and humidity before installing maple floors. They respond to periodic climatic changes and find it difficult to provide the expected service. The only way to prolong the life of a maple floor is to have a control over humidity and temperature.

There certainly is a steady increase in the number of people who are patronizing bamboo flooring in preference to hardwood flooring. Increasing awareness of the benefits of using bamboo is contributing to its popularity. China is the home for most of this flooring material. Though, it is also there in the U.S. and parts of Europe.

As more and more people get conscious of environments they want to contribute in their own way towards maintaining healthier environments and opting for bamboo flooring is a step in the right direction. Bamboo is classified as a grass and compared to other trees it regenerates itself very quickly. Carefully harvested bamboo has little impact on environments.

Bamboo is a kind of wood with characteristics that are somewhat different to hardwood. For one, bamboo flooring is known to be more durable than hardwood flooring. Another advantage is that it’s not so easily damaged by water and moisture, unlike hardwood flooring that tends to buckle or develops cracks on being wet. This kind of flooring derives its durability from the lamination process it’s subjected to. The adhesive used for its making and the pressure at which it is applied govern its durability.

Further, it has better scratch resisting properties than hardwood flooring. And last but no the least, bamboo flooring is economical than hardwood flooring, which is a motivating factor for its users.

Having said about the beneficial characteristics of this material for flooring, let’s come to installation. It offers very simple installation that you may do yourself. Like most of the other floorings, this also uses the tongue and groove kind of design for being installed. Though, you have to take the precaution of giving it time to get acclimated to its place of installation. That means, before you really get down to its installation, you have to leave it flat on your floor for three to four days enabling it get used to its new environments. Such acclimatization helps avoiding warping of the material.

And, finally let’s look at its maintenance. It’s not much of an effort to clean a bamboo floor. It should be swept regularly and once in a while you may use a damp mop for the purpose. That prevents the floor from acquiring dull looks. As with any other floor, you may make use of rugs that protect the floor by collecting all the dirt and dust and reduce wear and tear. Though resistant to scratches, this flooring may yet develop scratches over prolonged use. So, again like any other flooring, bamboo flooring too needs your attention if you want to keep it shining and good looking.

Though there are many materials available for flooring, each has some limitation or the other. Some get damaged easily, others are difficult to maintain while another category may offer very limited designs and styles. Marble flooring is perhaps the only kind that is devoid of most of the negative features already mentioned. Here are some of the benefits and limitations of using this attractive material for flooring.

A very welcoming feature of marble is that it maintains its cool. Marble floors bring to mind the images of cool and white Spanish style houses with small smooth courtyards and sunny terraces. Imagine the pleasures of a long cool drink on a warm sunny day in the company of loved ones around a low table in the middle of a big and airy room that has white marble beneath your feet. Or imagine the joy of walking barefoot on a smooth marble floor while it’s hot outside. That’s one exceptional characteristic of this beautiful material. It continues to remain cool in summers and offers a soothing smooth feel.

Marble floors find a wide patronage in countries with warmer climates. Technology has facilitated getting a very high degree of finish and shine to marble. As it’s a natural material it comes with infinite number of natural colors and fascinating designs. No other flooring medium would offer such vast a variety of designs. That’s one reason why marble never seems to go out of style.

Another positive feature that contributes to popularity of marble as a flooring material is its durability. Once it is laid, it is treated with stain resistant sealant that would protect the floor for nearly ten years, after which it is recommended to be resealed. It doesn’t get stained so easily by any of the normal household spills. Though few strong acids may result to stains, they can be removed by suitable treatments. Marble floors are almost maintenance-free.

Marble floors are the easiest to be cleaned. Just mop them with hot water and they begin to look new and shiny. Some patented cleaning agents may be added to water for cleaning such floors. Make sure that the cleaning agent is mild, bleach-free, non-caustic and pH neutral. Many brands are available for the purpose but insist on buying only those, which are marked “suitable for marble floors”.

There are hardly any disadvantages of marble flooring. Once they have been laid professionally, they remain in perfect shape and state for a lifetime. That’s very unlike ceramic tiles that get lifted up from their original point because of the moisture that seeps through fractured grouting. Unless cleaned immediately, they may develop stains as a result of spillage of strong acids or alkalis, but that is a very common phenomenon with any flooring material. Its very helpful characteristic of staying cool works to your disadvantage during winters. But, that can easily be taken care of by covering the floor with rugs that have Hessian cloth beneath.

Keeping the above in mind you may agree that marble is a good choice for a new home, especially if that’s in warm climate. Marble flooring is cool, has beautiful designs in many natural colors, is highly durable and easy to maintain and clean. There’s no serious limitation or disadvantage of marble flooring and ultimately it’s an excellent choice for a new home.