Help me pick out new flooring!

Singersdad
Tue, 24 Mar 2015 09:58:52 +0000

After 30 years as an independent flooring retailer I commiserate with @deb922, who like most of our customers is overwhelmed with choices and bad advice. To find the right floor we need to ask questions first.

Where do you live? Does it get cold? Is there lots of Sand? Mud? Rain ? Snow?

Who lives there? How often do you change your flooring?

Why are you changing what you have now?

How much time and effort do you want to devote to floor care?

Are you highly budget conscious ?

Now for some flooring suggestions:

I like L.V.T. (luxury vinyl tiles) as a hard surface option as do many of my suppliers, who are building and buying loads of capacity to produce them. Brands like Congoleum Dura-Ceramic or Armstrong Alterna are good examples. My personal favorite however is Shaw Resort tile in the Versailles pattern. Mostly because it offers both great quality and value.

LVT is basicly a thick vinyl tile, most often they are solid vinyl, although some like duraceramic use a limestone base, most importantly be sure to get rounded edges or what we call “groutable” tiles. They reduce the chance you might one day peel the wear layer and pattern off any tiles.

LVT is kind to bare feet (doesn’t feel cold like ceramic), dropped dishes stand a chance of survival, is pet and kid friendly, clean easily and look fantastic. Floor prep needed to install these is minimal to moderate. It does not add a ton of height to a floor ( which leads to dishwasher and fridge height issues.)

When grouted some of these look incredibly real .let me know what you think about them.

On to carpet. I am a huge fan of Mohawk’s
“SmartStrand” carpet made with a fiber called Triexa. It is renewably sourced (much is made from corn) virtually unstainable. even by bleach, and very durable. It is not inexpensive however, and if budget is an issue a continuous filament P.E.T. fiber is a good second choice, but not quite as durable ounce per ounce.

I like the subtle multicolors. Many retailers like me have a SmartStrand “color wall” with 72 solid colors and 16 multi’s.there are 9 or so assorted styles and thicknesses available (from $30 to $50 a sq. yd. Installed with fine cushion retail at my store)

I love not worrying about my carpet. No stain issues no matting issues, and it feels silky soft. Check those out and tell me what you think.

Good luck with the project!