Which flooring type is right for your home?
With so much choice, it’s hard to even know where to begin. We’ve put together a back to basics guide of the main three flooring types to consider when renovating your home.
Wooden flooring
The warmth and beauty of a wooden floor using engineered board is a huge attraction, while the longevity is remarkable given the ability to sand and refinish a wooden floor throughout its life. The variety of colours, textures and styles is also a bonus, with the palest grey and the darkest mahogany offering a wood to suit most styles of room. Easy to clean and timeless in design, wood is a practical long-term choice if you have children or pets in your home.
Modern engineered wood flooring can offer greater tolerances than solid wood flooring, ensuring it doesn’t warp or flex to the same extent under contact with moisture.
Under floor heating can be fitted under engineered wooden floors so this does tend to be the most popular choice with house builds and renovations. For your individual needs, it’s best to speak to the experts.
Vinyl flooring
Perfect for ‘wet’ areas of the home such as kitchens and bathrooms, the waterproof properties of vinyl floor cannot be underestimated when it comes to inevitable spills in such high traffic areas, especially if there are children or pets in your home. Warm to walk on and easy to clean, this practical floor is available in so many colours and textures, it’s another option that can suit most design schemes. Designs include solid wood and natural stone imitations.
Vinyl flooring can be one of the most cost-effective types of flooring to lay, with some lower quality floorings available to buy at only a few pounds per square metre – do beware with cheaper options, damage is more likely to occur. Vinyl can be more fragile than wood, potentially being damaged by furniture or appliance movement, or even pet claws, so extra care is needed to avoid accidental damage. With higher quality vinyl tile products, this doesn’t tend to be a problem, so it’s worth paying for a decent quality product.
Carpet
Offering the quietest of all flooring types, carpets can reduce noise and add to the sound insulating properties of your house. This works particularly well if you share your home with a noisy family, you live in a home with party walls or your home is a flat or apartment within a block. Carpets feel warm underfoot and offer a cosiness not found with hard flooring, while at the same time offering a softer landing for those not so steady on their feet. It’s hard to slip on a carpet so you can add safety to the list of benefits. Numerous colours and designs and yarn types.
The longevity of carpets is also dependent on which ones you choose, given carpets can be manufactured or woven from a number of different materials – most notably wool and nylon, polyester or polypropolene. The location, length of pile, composition and colour all have a bearing on the life expectancy.
For a more detailed conversation about which flooring type is most suitable for the different areas of your home, Voke Flooring and Interiors would be happy to advise, so please get in touch.
