3 Popular Types of Floor Coverings
Choosing the right floor covering for your home or other space requires considering a number of things from how much upkeep you are willing to put into keeping the floor clean and beautiful to how much noise reduction is offered by the various options. There are so many options, it can be dizzying to try to choose one. Luckily we have you covered. Let’s take a look at the many different types of floor covering available.
Carpet
Carpet is the classic choice, and the most popular one. Carpet offers many fantastic advantages, from giving the room a warm and comfortable feeling to reducing noise levels. Carpets can help insulate a room, and are good options for kids rooms where play occurs sitting on the floor.
There are a variety of brands to choose from, including Stainmaster® products, Berber’s, Shag, Plush, Sisal’s, and Commercial carpets. Each offers unique benefits that you can use to not only add a beautiful and comfortable splash to your space, but also give you a practical benefit you can use every day.
Berber Carpets can come in a wide variety of materials, such as nylon, olefin fiber, and wool. Berber carpet is highly durable and is perfect for areas that get high traffic, such as an entryway, or a hallway, or even in an office. It is also fantastically stain resistant, and generally on the less expensive side of things. Berber carpets are a good choice for areas that get a lot of foot traffic, or in areas where stains may be common. Berber carpets, like most carpets should be cleaned at least once a year to help prevent wear patterns from becoming permanent.
A plush carpet refers to a type of pile a carpet has. Pile is the raised surface of the fabric, sometimes called a nap. It often is upright loops or strands of yarn. Pile textures vary and can be as different as velvet to corduroy. A plush carpet feels soft and luxurious to the touch and is a perfect material for areas that get less foot traffic, or where its common to walk around barefoot, like in a bedroom.
Where a plush carpet has generally a short pile, a shag rug has deep pile which gives it its traditional shaggy appearance. Shag rugs are associated with the 70’s but they are making a new comeback now. They are great as area rugs, or to accent a hardwood or laminate floor. You can even do shag wall-to-wall, however generally require a good vacuum to be able to get into the deep pile and remove any dirt or dust without damaging either the vacuum or the carpet. It is best to get a specialized vacuum for your new shag rug.
Sisal is a species of agave from southern mexico, but it is widely cultivated around the world. It is used to create a stiff fiber that is used for all kinds of products, from rope to paper, cloth, even hats, and of course carpet. Only the highest grade fibers are used by the carpet industry in the creation of carpets, yielding a highly durable fiber carpet that does not trap dust or build up static. It is low maintenance with only vacuuming required. It is perfect for areas that get a lot of foot traffic, or for people who want a low maintenance yet beautiful carpet.
Hardwood Flooring
Hardwood flooring adds a certain beauty and class to any space, and is an investment that can last a lifetime. Genuine hardwood flooring can be used in just about any space in your home and can come in a variety of styles, colors, textures and grains, all to match perfectly with the decor and existing furniture in your space.
There are a few different types of hardwood flooring available, and each comes with their own benefits. Solid hardwood flooring are generally made from planks milled from one piece of timber. They are very common in older homes, with many still having their original solid hardwood floors still in use today. Other types include rotary-peel, which tends to have a plywood appearance to the grain, and sliced-peel, which has a more natural looking grain to them.
Engineered wood is generally made of two or more layers of wood which are stuck together to form a single plank. They often come with a core made from a cheaper wood and a more expensive wood used on the outside. The nice thing is they are so stable they an be installed over other types of floors. Most engineered woods are made from the multiple layers of the same wood. These differ from laminate or vinyl flooring, as those are only made to look like wood, while engineered wood is wood through and through. Engineered wood is very suitable for underfloor or radiant heating systems, whereas solid hardwood floors do not do well with such heating systems.
Laminate Flooring
Laminate flooring is quickly becoming a very popular alternative to solid hardwood floors. They give you all the beauty and grace of hardwood floors without the maintenance. Laminate floors imitate the look and the feel of solid wood flooring but they are much easier to install and very durable. They come in such a wide variety of colors, styles and shapes which give you even greater customization when choosing your perfect floor.
Laminate flooring is made up of multiple layers of synthetic materials fused together, topped by a applique that simulates wood under a clear protective layer. It is very popular because of how easy it is to install, and maintain. It costs less, and very hygienic with many brands carrying antimicrobial resin. Laminate flooring can be certified with the North American Laminate Flooring Association with a number of items are reviewed for a particular product, like light resistance, cleanability, and water resistance.
Each type of flooring offers different aesthetic strengths and benefits. Considering what kind will best fit your needs an important first step in getting your perfect floor. Give us a call today!
