Flooring Options

When choosing the best flooring for you, the goal is selecting a flooring that holds up to the primary use and amount of foot traffic the area receives. Plus, you must find it appealing. So we’ll explore five of the most popular flooring materials to help you better narrow down your choices. Here are the Top 5 Flooring Options that we recommend, and why we think they are the best.

Top 5 Flooring Options in San Diego

1) Carpet

Overview: 

Wall to wall carpet remains one of the most popular flooring options of all time; along with area rugs as a close second. There are so many carpet and rug styles, colors and patterns to choose from.

Carpeting is great at helping to insulate a room because of how well they retain heat and insulate from cold. It’s also very comfortable and satisfying to walk on with bare feet. With a thick padding underneath, they are also comfortable to stand on for long periods of time. Carpeting also absorbs sound so it can help quiet a large and/or noisy space.

Pros:

Carpeting comes in natural and synthetic fibers. Both are good, just different. Although each has their own pros and cons.

The most common natural fiber is wool. Sheep were plentiful back in the day so wool was an easy textile to find and use. The use of wool for making rugs date back 1,000s of years.

The most common synthetic fiber carpet is nylon. Nylon fibers are durable, have stain protection built in, and are generally easy to maintain. Other popular synthetic fiber options are polyester and olefin. Polyester is similar to nylon and is a good choice for anyone suffering from allergies due to the fact that it is basically plastic.

Carpet comes in either loops or twines. The top of the carpet can either be cut or uncut. With multiple options, you’ll have an easy time selecting the correct thickness and feel that you want. Because of its ability to reduce sound and vibration carpet is a great flooring option for rooms with overly lively sound issues.

If you have carpet in high-traffic areas then choose a more durable type in order to handle the wear. Teflon coating or some other soil/stain resistant/repellent is helpful for easy cleaning and a keeping it looking good longer. In comparison to other flooring options such as tile and glue down laminate, carpeting is much easier to remove replace when the time is right. Especially a large area rug over a bare floor. That is a great option to wall to wall carpeting. It still warms a room while helping to match or tie together the decor’. Additionally, area rugs are the easiest to change out on a redecorating whim.

Cons:

Not all carpet fibers are the same when it comes to longevity, stain resistance, and ease of maintenance. Know the differences before deciding on appearance (color or pattern) alone.

Carpet can be harder to keep clean than other flooring options and may require a professional carpet cleaner to come in and do the job right.

2) Hardwood

Overview:

Hardwood combines style with durability and is a timeless upscale classic. Hardwood is a great flooring option for the right application. There are many different types of wood, patterns, and colors from which to choose.

Pros:

Since hardwood flooring is found in many different textures and styles, this offers ample flooring choices for you. You can create a bright modern look to a rustic antique cabin theme simply by the type of wood and color you select.

The harder wood varieties are more suitable for high traffic areas because they will hold up better.

There are many design options with hardwood floors such as thin strips, wide planks, or parquet style patterns. Oak and maple are two of the most popular hardwoods on the market. However if you are cost conscious then you might want to avoid expensive exotic woods such as teak, mahogany and Brazilian cherry.

Cons:

We do not recommend hardwood in rooms that are overly humid or get frequent exposure to moisture such as bathrooms or laundry rooms. Stay away from soft wood because they are too easy to damage. They dent, scuff, and mare with the lightest of pressure. Soft wood also requires more frequent maintenance such as sanding and refinishing.

Hardwood floors require professional installation due to the high cost of materials and skill level required to do the job right the first time. So make sure your budget can accommodate the extra fee for a professional installer.

3) Laminate

Overview

Laminate flooring looks like hardwood flooring but is a is a synthetic alternative. It’s a hybrid between natural wood and vinyl. Construction is multi layers of various plastic and other synthetic materials formed into sections. The top layer is an image of the surface that it’s representing; for example wood grain, brick, or a stone tile appearance. In this way, laminate offers a wide range of delightful array of visually stunning flooring options.

Laminate is very durable, low cost, and is suitable for use in most rooms. These are reasons why laminate flooring is a popular choice for our San Diego home remodeling clients.

Pros:

Home remodel designers favor laminate because of the way it mimics a large variety of different textures and surfaces. It’s a great low cost alternative to the more expensive surface that it actually looks like. Laminate is tough and holds up well in rooms with high foot traffic. Laminate is difficult to stain so that makes them easy to clean with periodic sweeping, vacuuming, or with a damp mop.

Cons:

Areas with damage are difficult to repair if it’s an older design no longer available. So then replacing all of it become necessary. For this reason, we highly recommend saving leftover sections from the install to use for repairs someday down the line.

4) Tile and Natural Stone

Overview:

Tile, brick, and natural stone as flooring options dates back 1,000s of years. However, modern ceramic tile, both plain or decorative, is a more recent invention. Tile is ideal for high moisture environments and perfect for heavy traffic areas.

Pros:

Tile is functional. Natural stone is both functional and upscale. You can find flooring tiles in a wide variety of colors and textures. Grout in between tiles can also add to the appeal due to lots of choices in cement color and texture. Durable and water resistant, tile is a great flooring choice for all types of traffic areas including kitchens and bathrooms.

Cons:

Cement grout soils quickly, and deeply requiring frequent maintenance. If left too long then professional tile and grout cleaning is necessary to bring it back to fully clean. In addition, a tile polishing professional is necessary to restore a deep luster or high gloss. Broken tiles are labor and skill intensive to repair. Most times finding replacement tiles are difficult to impossible. So here is another instance where saving some leftover tiles from installation is beneficial. Tile does not absorb sound. In fact, it amplifies sound making it seem louder than it actually is.

Tile surfaces are cold and hard which makes them chilly on the feet during cold winter mornings. And since they are hard, most people find tile flooring uncomfortable to stand on for long periods of time. Also notable, due to it being a hard surface, delicate items such as glass, electronics, and other delicate home decorations break more easily when they fall to the floor.

5) Vinyl / Linoleum

Overview:

Sheet vinyl flooring was once the Queen of all flooring options available, second only to King Carpet. This was before laminate hit the scene. Vinyl flooring, also known as Linoleum, is really durable in high traffic areas. It really excels in rooms with frequent moisture such as bathrooms, kitchens, and entry ways. Similar to laminate, vinyl mimics a large variety of surfaces such as wood and stone. Just like in the past, it still comes in a wide variety of unique patterns and color combinations. Thus making it a popular choice with designers and their cost conscious clients.

Pros:

Vinyl comes in sheets, square “peel and stick” tiles, and in planks. Different shades of matte and gloss finishes are available or custom preferences. Vinyl does little to acoustically quiet a room however it does help some.

It provides a slightly softer surface to walk on than ceramic tile and natural stone. So this makes it ideal for rooms such as kitchens where standing for longer periods is common. Comparing to tile again, since vinyl is a little softer, it provides a little more protection to breakable items, but not much.

Vinyl installation over almost any flat and dry surface is a simple. Since vinyl is flexible it’s easy to install on flooring that has curves or slope. Cleaning vinyl flooring is easy too. Modern vinyl does not require waxing like back in the old days. Just mop with a decent floor cleaner, rinse with water, then towel dry and buff. It’ll look great! Because of the way it repels moisture, vinyl is a frequent choice for bathrooms, kitchens, laundry rooms, pool rooms, entry ways, and sometimes even outside patios.

Cons:

Since it is one of the cheaper flooring options it does not give an “upscale” feel to a room. It’s “low rent” or functional utilitarian. Even the more costly varieties of vinyl surfaces fall short of mimicking wood and stone as well as as laminate. When exposed to excessive direct sunlight for long periods, vinyl will fade and dry up over the years. It will shrink and curl at the edges then crack and break away. Damaged areas are nearly impossible to repair so then replacing all of it become necessary.

Conclusion

With so many great choices and all the variety within each choice it’s difficult to know what’s best. That’s where our home remodel team comes to the rescue! Thigh their interview process they can get to know your favorite desires concerning styles, design, and your functionality needs. The we’ll make our best recommendations and tell you why we think they are the best for you.

Need more info or ready to start remodeling? The please call us for a free home remodel consultation today.

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