Flooring for a home can fall into one of many categories. You have carpeting, wood flooring, vinyl flooring, tile, concrete and stone used to finish floors. Applying each one of these to an indoor floor requires specialized techniques. Weather conditions of the region you live in and your family’s makeup and activities also determine which flooring would be best for your home. Before you choose a flooring material, speak to an expert flooring installation Allentown PA to get a full understanding of your best options.
Installing Carpeting
Carpeting is one of few flooring materials that will cover up subflooring mistakes. If you are considering carpeting, the first thing that needs to be discovered is the quality of subfloor that is already in your home. Your flooring installer should determine whether your floor joists are spaced properly for the thickness of the subfloor material. Once that has been established, the next step is to select your carpeting and the carpet pad, which goes between the floor and the carpet.
Types of Carpeting
• Eco-conscious carpeting made from 100% post-consumer recycled plastic.
Cut-Pile stain resistant carpet. Preferred for its softness and durability. Kids and pets can play comfortably on this type of carpet without fear of getting caught in the loops of the pile.
All-natural carpet in 100% hand loomed wool. This type of flooring is better for keeping dust mites and bacteria to a minimum.
Berber carpeting is dense, rugged and durable. Berber carpet is made from wool, nylon or olefin and constructed of large uncut loops. It is often referred to as high level loop because of its construction.
Plush carpet is closely packed yarns that easily show vacuum marks, footprints and seams.
Shag or Frieze carpet has a short, durable, curly pile yielding a very informal look.
Hard Flooring
Hard wood flooringis another main flooring option chosen by many. Today’s choices include natural woods and engineered woods. Natural wood has at least one advantage over engineered wood: Because it is generally thicker, its surface can be refinished multiple times. Engineered wood flooring is thinner, but it is made with a thin hardwood veneer and several layers of alternating directions of plywood sandwiched together. Engineered wood flooring arrives at your home with its final finish before its laid as opposed to natural wood flooring which must be finished after is laid. The original finish on engineered wood is made to last 25 years or more, but you only have one more finish that can be gotten from an engineered floor. Still, that’s 50 years from one engineered floor.
Remember, you can choose between carpeting or wood flooring and you still have so many other options if those choices don’t appeal to you. Concrete finishes are very exciting these days because they are so varied, and many homeowners swear by its versatility. Ceramic tile will always be a winner for most people’s bathroom and kitchen floors. The list of flooring options only starts to get more interesting from here, but it doesn’t stop.
