Choosing the Perfect Floor: A Guide for First-Time Home Buyers

Posted on Jan 4, 2015 in Floors, Home Buying Tips, Home Improvement, Home Ownership, HomeFit Magazine Article

For the first-time home buyer choosing the perfect flooring can be a frustrating experience. Each kind of flooring has its benefits and its flaws, largely depending on the size, composition and age of your family and your personal aesthetic sensibilities. You can use these factors to help determine the right floor for your new home before you ever move in.

How To Choose The Right Flooring

Consider the following items to help narrow down your flooring decision:

• Do we have pets?
• Do we have young children/ toddlers/teenagers?
• What is the climate and weather like here?
• What do I/we want or need in a floor?
• Is easy cleanup a factor?
• Do we need to be overly concerned with the chances of damage to the flooring for any reason?

Each of these questions will help plan how, where and what kind of floor coverings you should use.

Floor coverings are available in greater varieties than ever before. It still pays to do a little pre-purchase thinking about these items, so your home will meet your decorating values and the needs of your family.

Carpet

Carpet is the most versatile kind of floor covering available. It is durable, relatively easy to install and largely maintenance free, barring vacuuming and occasional hot water cleaning.

Because of this, carpet is a popular choice in homes:

• Situated in cold climates
• With young children
• Where ease of cleanup is a deciding factor

Carpet comes in a variety of textures, colors and thicknesses, from shallow-pile synthetics to wool so deep your feet sink into it.

Generally, carpet or area rugs are best applied in the following areas:

• Children’s bedrooms
• Adult bedrooms
• Hallways
• Casual family areas such as dens

Places carpet should generally not be installed include:

• Kitchens
• Baths
• Anywhere water may be a frequent problem

This is largely due to the risk of mold or fungal growths which can cause serious health problems for your family. Ongoing exposure to water may also erode the carpet’s stain-resistant qualities and possibly even void the warranty. Check with your manufacturer or installer for more information.

Hardwood Flooring

Hardwood flooring has the advantage of being both beautiful and durable with relatively minimal care.

Because of the process by which most hardwood flooring is manufactured, it tends to require less upkeep in general than carpet. However, hardwood flooring does have certain applications to which it is best suited:

• Hallways
• Dining rooms
• Areas where young children do not typically go
• Living rooms and parlors

Hardwood floors may be used in areas such as kitchens and entryways. It is usually a good idea to ensure an area rug or carpet runners are used in these and other high-traffic areas. This will help protect the finish and prevent unnecessary maintenance.

Hardwood floors are generally not recommended in:

• Areas where small children or non-housebroken pets frequent
• Areas which are prone to water infiltration
• Bathrooms

With basic care and a little common sense in application, a hardwood floor can give your home up to twenty years or more of beauty and durability.

If a hardwood floor is not right for you, there is still another option available.

Tile

Tile’s classic look is the most adaptable to nearly any kind of household situation. It’s easy to clean, simple to care for, and looks beautiful year after year.

You can choose from actual tile, which is more expensive to install but has superior wear, or laminate flooring made to look like tile. The latter is much simpler to install but may wear more quickly depending on applications.

Tile is great for:

• Entryways
• Family rooms
• Dining rooms
• Kitchens
• Bathrooms
• Mudrooms/laundry rooms

Because of its durability and water-resistant properties, tile is excellent multipurpose flooring. It is particularly good for areas where spills or non-housebroken pets wander about freely.

About the only place tile is generally not recommended is on stairs and in children’s bedrooms and play areas. An area rug can help reduce the risk of injury in these areas.

Unfortunately there is no such thing as a “one-size-fits-all” flooring solution that works with every home or family’s needs.

By using the points considered in this article, you can work out a compromise that works with your lifestyle and the needs of your family.

Happy house hunting!

From Volume 1 Issue 1 of HomeFit Magazine.

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