Home Improvement Ideas for Flooring

• Think about the room or area where you'll be installing the flooring. What does it look like, how much is it used, and what kind of traffic flow does it have? Maintenance and performance concerns should also be factored in. Is the room cold? Does it need carpeting or under-floor heating?
• Set a price range and evaluate the design and performance features of each option. Factor in the installation costs if you're not planning to do this yourself. This is in addition to the square-foot cost of the new flooring itself.
• If you're not doing this yourself, hire a reputable contractor. Ask for references, and speak to people who've used him before. If he can't produce references, be warned. He is probably a fly-by-night laborer, and you won't see him again.
• If he is a reputable contractor, don't pay money up front. You will pay him at the end of the job, when the work has been done to your satisfaction.
• Explore other options. Modern, styling products like laminate and resilient vinyl flooring offer durable, affordable and easy-to-maintain surfaces that will hold up through years of wear. Flooring should blend in with the style of your home whether it's Victorian, country, traditional, contemporary, or eclectic. Take into account the size of the room. For instance, tiny tiles will be too busy in a large room, while a large-scale design will overwhelm a smaller space. The latest advances in resilient and laminate flooring offer fashionable colors and textures combined with durability, comfort, function, easy maintenance and affordability.
• When choosing flooring, determine how it will stand up to factors like direct sunlight, water spills, furniture scrapes, tracked-in dirt, cleaning detergents, and foot traffic. Bear in mind that natural materials such as hardwood or ceramic tiles are more fragile than many other options. For instance, it makes sense to install laminate flooring in high-traffic areas even though you love hardwood.