Congratulations on your decision to install new flooring in your home! Any addition to your home, especially flooring, can make a dramatic difference in how you feel, in the value of your home, and just in your overall enjoyment. The installation of flooring, and especially the type is a personal choice. Laminate flooring is becoming a popular choice for many people today and here are a few points when you’re considering laminate vs hardwood.
Hardwood floors are environmentally friendly, and in a recent survey done by real estate agents, they estimate that hardwood flooring can add $7,000-$10,000 to your home’s resale value. Laminate flooring is simply a plywood base, topped with a layer of veneer of three-ply, 3/8″ flooring, being the most common. Solid hardwood flooring is thicker than laminate and is usually of an inch in thickness.
When deciding whether laminate vs hardwood is best for you, remember that most manufacturers have a warranty of five years on laminate that can only be refinished three times at the most. It would depend on how much traffic you expect in the area where you’re considering the new flooring. If you have a heavily-trafficked area in your home, and it is new, along with a young family, maybe laminate would be a good choice for you. The veneer topping on most wood laminate floors is usually 1/8 of an inch thick. There are three basic types of solid wood flooring. Strip flooring will account for the majority of installations and is usually 2 1/4″ wide ranging in widths from 1 1/2 ” to 3 1/4″ and is installed by nailing it to the sub floor. With plank flooring, they are 3 inches wide and may be screwed to the sub floor as well as nail in. The screw holes are then covered with wooden plugs. The last most common variety is parquet flooring. It comes in standard patterns of 6″ x 6″ blocks. You can find specialty patterns on the market that range up to 36″ square units. You can create dramatic geometric effects and special, design patterns with this type of flooring.
On a slight change of topic, let’s look at rubber garage flooring. If you’d like to turn your garage into a showroom, there are many, great manufacturers out there that offer state-of-the-art modular surfaces made from special polypropylene copolymer. This puts a great layer of protection between your vehicle and your garage floor. If you’re a home mechanic or do a lot of work in your garage, then you should definitely consider rubber garage flooring. I’m sure if you’ve done any work in your garage, you know the damage that chemicals such grease, brake fluid, oil, gasoline products, antifreeze and many other liquids can do to your garage floor. Also, if you ever lie on your back on a hard, concrete floor doing work on your transmission you know how sore your back feels after only a short while. Rubber garage flooring is not your living room couch, but it sure helps!
Your garage and back will love what this remarkable floor covering can do for them. You can even turn your garage into an exciting recreation room as there are many colors and customized patterns that will truly enhance your collection of antique cars or hot rods, or if you have a large garage or specialty shop. Like laminate flooring, you’ll find that most manufacturers can offer you five-plus years of warranty. All you do is simply snap it in place and there are no adhesives or specialty tools required. The tiles can be cut with a regular utility knife and you can easily do the installation yourself. What are you waiting for? Investigate some of the exciting options in hardwood and garage flooring today. You’ll be glad you did!