When it comes to flooring, you have a lot of options. In this article, we make you familiar with various types of residential flooring so you can decide which flooring is the right one for your home and especially which is the best choice for different rooms of your home.
1. Hardwood
Hardwood is one of the most popular and expensive options for flooring and is usually made from a single cut of the tree of your choice. Hardwood flooring comes in different styles, patterns, sizes, and colors.
Most commonly, you’ll find hardwood flooring made from oak, cherry, or walnut, but there are many even exotic species to choose from. However, not all hardwood species are equally hard. For high traffic areas, you should choose wood species that are hard enough(in the Janka Hardness Scale) to withstand tear and wear for years.
Hardwood flooring is sold in one of two ways: Finished and Unfinished. Unfinished hardwood planks need to be sanded down and finished in place after installation. Finished plank eliminates the mess and time required for the finish to cure because they have already finished at the factory.
2. Engineered Wood
Engineering wood is an affordable and eco-friendly alternative for hardwood flooring. Since engineering wood is produced from smaller pieces of wood, they help us to preserve our prized wood jungles.
Made from a top layer of genuine hardwood and several layers of ply plank, the engineered floorings look similar to hardwood but it is more cost-effective and less prone to warping due to high humidity. Though, they are ideal candidates for rooms with high humidity levels such as an underground basement.
3. Bamboo
Although it falls under the general category of hardwood, most manufacturers put Bamboo under its own category. The reason is that the Bamboo tree is an eco-friendly plant that grows quickly and the produced floor with a comparable hardness to oak. Natural Bamboo creates a shiny light floor but processes are available to make it look like hardwoods. Moreover, Bamboo planks are less expensive than most hardwood species in the market.
4. Laminate
Similar to engineered wood, laminate flooring consists of a top layer combined with underneath compressed plywood layers. But unlike engineered wood, the top layer is not made from hardwood. instead, a realistic photo of natural material textures such as wood or stone is attached as the top layer.
The technology is so incredible that it’s almost impossible to differentiate a high-quality laminate flooring from hardwood just by looking. The photographic layer is coated by a water and dust resistant, making it a good choice for damp or high traffic areas. And, the best is that you’ll get all of this, only with a fraction of the money you spend for hardwood flooring.
5. Linoleum
Linoleum is considered as a renewable and bio-friendly flooring option made from natural materials like linseed oil or cork. It comes in the form of sheets and is fixed to the subfloor by glue, and they could be sealed with a protective coating to prevent wear and moisture. Luckily, advances in the linoleum flooring technology now let you choose from a range of attractive designs and patterns.
6. Cork
Cork is another flooring option that is aesthetically comparable to wood but is more cost-effective and environment-friendly as the cork is harvested from the tree bark without killing the tree. Cork flooring is manufactured in the form of sheets or planks and similar to laminar flooring includes a top core layer accompanied with plywood layers glued to the subfloor. Most cork products are sold pre-finished but there are also instances that you have to finish the product in place.
7. Ceramic Tile
Ceramic tiles are among the most versatile and affordable flooring options available in the market. As it has many colors, sizes, textures, and patterns, it is super-easy to match tiles to the existing style of any room in your home. It’s important to choose ceramics types that are rated for flooring so they can survive the wearing and tearing of a high traffic area.
8. Carpet
Carpets are among the most commonly used flooring options that give you total freedom in choosing color and texture as well as the material it is woven from. Not all carpets are made with quality in mind. When assessing a carpet, pay attention to the fiber density. The more fiber density means a better quality as well as better durability.
9. Stone
This high-quality flooring option brings a luxurious look to any space, but at a cost higher than other flooring types. The stone flooring is made from different types of stone including marble, granite, limestone, travertine, and so on. Softer stones won’t resist water as well as harder ones like marble and you need to seal and finish them more frequently.
10. Vinyl
Being the most cost-effective option in the flooring spectrum, Vinyl is known as a resilient flooring providing a cushioned surface that is scratch and stain-resistant. For construction, usually, a top wear layer is attached to layers of felt or foam. This type of flooring is so durable and low-maintenance that some manufactures include a 15-years guaranty with the product.
We just reviewed the different types of residential flooring for you. Stay tuned with our other articles to find which flooring fits best for different rooms of your home.
