Choosing and Installing Flooring: Who Does What Where?

Choosing and Installing Flooring: Who Does What Where

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Replacing flooring in a home can be either a large or a small project. Installing it yourself certainly saves money in the short term, but is it the right decision in the long run? A few factors and considerations can help you make the choice that's right for your situation.

Expense is almost always the first concern for homeowners. Depending on what flooring you purchase, budgets may not allow for a professional's fees. Knowing your project budget for each room in advance can help channel available funds where they might be needed.

Carpets add a softer appearance to rooms and can add degrees of comfort, as well. Installing carpet yourself can be time consuming and entail hard work, including proper stretching of the carpet, alignment, and securing it. Ensuring the carpet padding is properly aligned and installed doubles the hassle for many homeowners. If you're patient,installing carpet yourself can present a professional appearance, but if there are doubts, hire a legitimate, experienced contractor. Engineered hardwood flooring, tile, linoleum, and other surface types may be easier for you to install yourself.

Humidity, spills, pets, and human traffic are factors in choosing types of flooring. Kitchens, bathrooms, and basements are high risk areas for humidity and spills. If the moistureseeps into grout or even the surface material itself, removing the moisture can be very difficult and even impossible, causing stains and water spots. Sealing the material could defray the risk; just be sure to reseal the surface regularly.

When installing tile or hardwood, ensure the base surface is properly level. Uneven pressure on the floor surface can cause cracks and warping. Using a fill material to level the sub-floor can help.

It's especially important to waterproof basement floors and walls prior to upgrading the basic cement surface. Flooding, mildew, and molding can cause instant damage to basement walls and floors, as well as cause tremendous expense cleaning up and refurbishing the area once again.

Ceramic or porcelain tiles are among the most resilient, but they can also present slick, cold surfaces. Use of rugs and carpet runners with non-slick backing can reduce those factors for all wood and tile floor surface types.

Finding a perfect pet-proof, pet-friendly surface can be more difficult than finding the proverbial needle in the haystack. There is no need, however, to not have pets as part of the family. Pets can present special considerations in choosing what surfacing to use on your floors. Older animals generally find the harder surfaces uncomfortable on joints and prefer the softer, cushioned surfaces of rugs and carpeting. Scratches, scuffs, and spotting damage harder surfaces, despite how well you protect them. Carpeting, however, can trap pet dander and dirt. Choose what works best for your needs and understand your pet's needs, as well. Simple things like pet bedding or a throw rug can make your older pet's and your lives more comfortable.

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