subject: Deciding on Your Flooring, Carpeting and Rugs [print this page] Deciding on Your Flooring, Carpeting and Rugs
Flooring or carpets and rugs can do a lot for any residential or commercial space. You can create the look you want by matching your flooring or carpets and rugs to the right interior design. You can also easily change the look of any room just by changing the flooring as well as the carpets and rugs. On the other hand, the wrong choices in flooring or carpets and rugs can also totally make a mess of any room. There are so many choices and it is very easy to make a huge mistake. You can lessen your stress by seeking professional advice from the experts.
When you choose your flooring, you have to decide among hardwood, tile, vinyl and laminate.
For hardwood flooring, the choice is between solid hardwood flooring and engineered hardwood flooring. Solid hardwood flooring can be bought in strips or planks that are then sanded and customized by staining. Engineered hardwood flooring are made of several layers of wood laminated together. Solid hardwood flooring and engineered hardwood flooring both have to be properly installed and sealed to ensure protection against spills and stains. They can be easily maintained through regular vacuuming and mopping.
For tile flooring, your choices include natural stone, ceramic mosaic, glass or metal.
There are also choices in natural stone tiles, such as granite, slate, marble and limestone. Limestone tiles are usually designated only as decorative accent tiles because of the stone's relative softness. Marble tiles are a bit stronger but are recommended only for areas with low human traffic. They are also quite slippery. Slate tiles have a texture that is slip resistant especially in areas that get wet. Slate tiles are also strong. Granite tiles are the strongest and have the highest density. They resist moisture and bacteria growth and are best to use in kitchens and high traffic areas.
Other choices in tile flooring are glazed or unglazed ceramic tiles which are quite durable or decorative glass and metal tiles.
For vinyl flooring, your choices have to be among no-wax vinyl, urethane vinyl or enhanced urethane vinyl. The oldest among these variants is no-wax vinyl flooring. It, therefore, has the least advantages and is considered the weakest. Urethane vinyl flooring improves on it with greater resistance to scuffs and stains as well as less need for maintenance. The newest variant is enhanced urethane vinyl flooring. It is only logical that it has been developed further and has better characteristics as compared to the other two. Enhanced urethane vinyl flooring is so resistant to moisture that you can even use it in bathrooms. It likewise resists most household chemicals. All it needs is regular mopping and sweeping. Vinyl flooring can be bought in many different colors and designs. Some designs even look like stone or hardwood.
For laminate flooring, you only have to choose your preferred design and color. It can also mimic the look of natural stone or hardwood but is much more durable and resists moisture, warping, staining, scratching and fading. Laminate flooring is also cheaper than natural stone or hardwood.
You can either complement or replace any flooring with carpeting. Carpets come in cut pile, loop pile and cut & loop pile yarn fibers. More often, though, consumers choose carpets based on styles. Examples are broadloom carpets and wool berbers.
You can further enhance your flooring or carpeting by adding a layer of rugs. Oriental rugs are a popular choice for runner rugs, area rugs and round rugs.
To help you make sense of all the choices in flooring, carpets or rugs, you can ask for advice from Carpet One Floor & Home.
