Choosing the right flooring for your home is not a game—it’s too serious of a decision to be taken lightly—but it is a process of narrowing down your options. Choosing the flooring that works for you and your family is also more than just selecting the floor you think looks the best; often that kind of flooring choice leads to a floor that wears down quickly and is full of stains—or worse, gets irreparably damaged soon after installation. That’s why it makes sense to research your options, and to ask yourself and the experts all the necessary questions to make sure you get the right floor for your home:
How much traffic comes through this room? Is the room a busy walk-through? An area where your family plays, runs and tromps? Is it a room where your pet spends most of their time? Options: many kinds of carpet are designed specifically to handle high traffic and pets, as well as tile, wood, vinyl plank and laminate floors.
Do I need to worry about water spills? Is the traffic that comes through full of mud, snow, sand and lord-knows-what-else? An educated decision now can save you the headache of a warped floor later.Option that comes with a warning: Water can be your worst nightmare on laminate and wood floors, so a bit of planning now eliminates the hassle of replacement or repair. If you have a room where water may splash or form puddles, such as a bathroom, mudroom or kitchen, and you still want wood or laminate floors, put rugs in front of doors and be ready to mop up any water spills.Options that handle water: Consider vinyl plank flooring or tile, both of which has products that look like wood but is incredibly durable. Carpet is also another option if you want soft flooring under your feet.
What kind of maintenance does the floor require? You don’t want to purchase a floor, have it installed and then end up with damage because you don’t care for, clean or vacuum it properly. Find out what kind of cleaning and maintenance the floor needs, what products you need to purchase to keep it in great shape—and realistically how much of that maintenance you can take on. Options that require maintenance: wood flooring (cleaning, wiping & refinishing every 3-5 years) and some tile floors (if the grout needs to be resealed). Even carpet needs a periodic deep carpet cleaning to keep it looking its best.
What is under the new floor? Are you installing radiant floor heating under the flooring? Sometimes knowing what is under the floor is just as important as knowing what is going to be on top of it. If you have a “special” situation, such as flooring that is installed over a concrete slab or radiant flooring, make sure you mention that to your sales professional when you discuss your flooring purchase. Options for over radiant floor heating: carpet, laminate, tile, engineered hardwood.Options for basement: carpet, tile. Engineered hardwood or laminate can be installed if the risk of moisture in your basement is low.
What is my budget? If you have a small area that needs carpeting—a small office, hallway or bedroom—consider purchasing a carpet remnant. Because there is a limited supply, a carpet remnant is discounted. Know the square footage of the room you need flooring for and the price you can afford per square foot. If you need a large square footage of flooring, visit our Lake Mills location for deals on bulk flooring purchases that you can install yourself. If you want to talk price is a very, very general kind of way, wood and vinyl plank floors tend to cost more than laminate; tile, laminate and carpet tend to cost less per square foot. Remember, these are just generalizations, the true way to find the cost of flooring for your home is to head into a Y’s Way Flooring and select a floor product (or several different floor products) that you’re interested in.
