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Flooring Your Home
Practical considerations and decorative choices are both equally important. How to cover floors? Make sure that flooring options are not an afterthought once you have completed all the other decorations in a room. Such a large surface area contributes significantly to the total decorative look, and it deserves careful thought at the same time as you choose other decorative materials.
Basic Flooring Equipment
Much of the equipment needed for flooring is already part of most household toolkits.
- Renting specialized tools: Rent specialized equipment if you need it. It is usually expensive, and you are unlikely to use it enough to justify buying it.
- Checking rented equipment: Make sure that the equipment is working and has all necessary operating instructions and safety recommendations.
- Planning tool use: Plan “Cover Floors” work so that you rent equipment only when you need it. Do not rent an item on day one if you will not require it until day three.
Selecting Floor Types
Decorative features are highly influential when it comes to choosing floor types, but practicality must also be considered, as well as the ease with which a floor can be laid. Take your time when weighing options before making choices.
Floor types are many and varied, but most of them fall into four main categories:
- Wooden flooring: These range from basic planking to veneers. Block floors are another option.
- Carpets: These include good-quality burlap-backed as well as less expensive foam-backed varieties. Naturally occurring fibers such as sea grass and jute also fall into this category.
- Utility flooring: Sheet floorings, such as vinyl and linoleum, are hard-wearing and washable. Carpet and vinyl tiles are more decorative yet still practical.
- Ceramic tiles: These make the most hard-wearing floors and offer a huge decorative choice of Cover Floors.
Considering Options
All purely decorative considerations aside, the economics of buying and laying floors deserve serious consideration. A major factor is how long you expect a floor to last. Flooring is not permanent, but neither is it easily removed, and it represents a significant financial investment.
Budgeting
- Considering your stay: Many floor coverings are difficult to remove once laid, so they will need to be left behind when you move. Bear this in mind when deciding how much to spend on flooring.
- Including the preparation: Consider the preparation that might be required prior to laying a floor. It may prove costly to lay floors if the sub-floor requires a great deal of work. Old floorboards, for example, would need a lot of preparation to make them ready for laying ceramic tiles.
Reflecting on Style
- Planning an entire room: Remember to include flooring when color-scheming and styling a room. Obtain floor swatches as well as paint and paper samples. Budgeting will be far easier if you consider flooring when you plan the rest of your decorating.
- Determining period: When choosing the floor, consider its pattern and style in terms of the historical period of your house, if appropriate, as well as the decoration in other rooms. Being accurate may require some research.
Measuring
Measuring the floor surface area is relatively simple: just multiply the relevant dimensions together. Bear in mind a few other considerations, depending on the type of flooring:
- Wooden floors: Allow ten percent extra for wastage resulting from cutting.
- Carpets: These are sold in rolls. Determine the direction in which it will be unrolled to minimize wastage.
- Tiles: Allow for extra tiles for any cutting required at joints and edges.
Considering Practicalities
The suitability of a particular floor covering for a room depends on its function, how much flooring is required, and your comfort level with the appearance and durability of the flooring.
Choosing Flooring to Suit Function
When choosing to floor for a specific room in your home, it is essential to consider how frequently the area will be used and whether people will be wearing outdoor shoes or going barefoot. There are many options to choose from for each room in the home.
Considering Occupants
- Children: Luxury carpeting can be easily spoiled by the activities of children. Consider laying inexpensive carpets or other types of flooring while children are young.
- Pets: Hard flooring may be advisable in rooms that animals have access to. Young cats and dogs can spoil carpet and natural-fiber flooring.
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Choosing Materials
- Establishing fiber content: Make sure no one is allergic to the constituent materials of a floor covering. You cannot afford to discover this after it has been laid.
- Going for quality: Choose the best quality flooring that you can afford. The better the quality, the longer the flooring will last without looking worn.
Disguising Problems
- Protecting corridors: The flooring in areas leading into adjoining rooms usually wears out quickly. Lay durable flooring, or protect these areas by also laying rugs or carpets.
- Adjusting to lifestyle in busy households: Choose a patterned or flecked carpet to disguise wear. Stains and dirt will also be camouflaged.
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