The lifespan of hardwood flooring is not a simple black and white issue. This particular material, above all others, is susceptible to environmental influences including who and what resides in your house, what the weather is like where you reside, and how often the flooring is professionally maintained. With proper care and maintenance, hardwood flooring can provide a durable and attractive home surface for many years. If properly cared for, a quality flooring can enhance the value of your property and beautify your rooms with their distinctive look and feel. Hardwood flooring is typically categorized into two general categories – laminate and solid.
Laminate Flooring While laminate flooring has become more popular in recent years as an alternative to real wood flooring due to its lower cost, it still has several advantages over the real thing. Because it is made up of multiple layers of synthetic materials, laminate flooring can be expected to last a very long time, even with daily foot traffic. Additionally, this type of flooring is easy to install, requiring less effort than tile and hardwood flooring. When choosing this type of flooring for your home, you need to decide between the many different styles available. You will find that with proper care, a quality laminate floor can look new for many years.
Concrete Flooring If you’re looking for flooring that will last for decades, concrete flooring may be an option for you. Unlike many other types of flooring available today, concrete flooring is constructed entirely by machines, making it a very long-lasting floor. Like laminate flooring, concrete tiles tend to be very resistant to the wear and tear of daily life, but concrete flooring can also be affected by things such as weather and temperature changes. Because of this issue, you will probably want to consider getting a reliable flooring company to install and repair your concrete floor if necessary. If you want to go with the more low-maintenance route, you can choose to stain or paint your concrete flooring to make them more attractive and easy to maintain.
Vinyl Flooring is a relatively inexpensive type of flooring that tends to last a very long time, especially if you take good care of the flooring. Vinyl flooring is commonly installed by hot glue flooring or cold glue flooring depending on the type of vinyl you have. Although vinyl flooring can look nice, it does take a little longer to install than most other types of flooring. In addition, because vinyl flooring is a man-made material, some people may find that certain types of vinyl can scratch or snag their floors.
A Tile Flooring If you have a large area to cover with tiles, like a kitchen or bathroom, then a vinyl tiled floor may be a better option for you. Tile flooring is extremely durable and very easy to care for. The main downside of using tiles as a flooring solution is that because there are a number of different tile designs and patterns to choose from, it can be very difficult to find a style or pattern that will work well with your decor. Also, if you have an odd sized area to tiles, you may not be able to get the type of tiles that fit properly.
Hardwood Flooring Hardwood floors are a great choice if you don’t mind paying a little bit more money but living with hardwood can be both rewarding and challenging. When choosing hardwood floors, the first thing that you need to do is to identify which species of wood you’re dealing with, which determines the hardness of the wood. Typically, hardwoods with lighter colors tend to be more durable than harder woods, while darker-colored woods tend to be less durable. Once you’ve chosen your wood type, you’ll then need to decide what type of finish to use on your wood floors, whether it’s oil based or latex based.