When you are a first-time homeowner, everything is new to you. You are just starting to learn the ins and outs of owning a home. The best thing for first-time homeowners to do is to spend time researching their options for their home. Flooring is a big part of the home that people focus on. You can choose from a variety of flooring types for your home. You can keep a consistent type of flooring throughout your home or you can mix it up. Here are 5 common questions first-time homeowners usually have about flooring in their new home:
1. How Much Should I Budget For New Flooring?
This question really depends on the type of flooring that you get. You can do research on what type of flooring you want and then get price quotes for the room that you’re looking to place that flooring in. If you choose a flooring that requires installation, then be sure to factor in installation costs and labor into your flooring budget. You can also look up ways to do the installation yourself if you want to cut down on some costs.
As a general rule material costs for a good 20 mil LVP should not exceed $2 per square foot.
Engineered hardwood flooring can be purchased in a Cabin grade for less than a dollar every day at ReallyCheapFloors.com, while the higher-graded Builder will run a little more.
Prefinished solid hardwood in Utility grade can be purchased for under $2. Possibly the best deal we have right now on a solid hardwood is our American Home Hickory, available in 2 finishes and 2 widths. The 2 1/4" wide strip can be bought right now for $2.49 sq ft. That is a bargain on a first quality hardwood floor, much less a Hickory.
2. Do I Need To Remove The Existing Floor in My New Home?
You can certainly keep the flooring in your new home if it is something that you like. If you absolutely love the solid wood flooring in the home, you can always keep it. A good tip if you’re going to keep the current flooring is to just clean it so that it looks shiny and new. You can use everyday household items like olive oil to give your floor that shiny look. It’s a good way to save money and your floor will still look amazing.
3. What if I Want to Refinish the Flooring?
You can also decide to refinish the flooring in your home if you don’t think that just a quick polish job is going to do the trick. Refinishing your floor is a way to keep it in your home and keep it looking nearly brand new. You don't have to use a sander to refinish your floors: some floors do not require sanding, and just need a new coat or 2 of polyurethane, and that is something that you don’t necessarily have to hire someone to do.
4. What Type of Floors Should Go in Each Room?
When you are determining the floor type for each room you have to look at several factors. These factors include amount of traffic, water use and who the room is for. You can choose more water resistant floors like laminate and vinyl plank for rooms like the bathroom or the kitchen. You can also choose wood flooring to give your living room a timeless look. Do research on the type of flooring you are looking at to see what room it would best fit in.
5. Will My Pets Damage My Floors?
Really, pets should not hurt your floors. The exceptions to this are if fluids are left on hardwoods. That will allow the fluid to soak into your wood flooring, and possibly cause staining or delamination. The other potential problem is for the nails of large dogs to scratch a floor. Generally this will only happen with extremely soft wood floors like pine or soft Maples. Appalachian hardwoods are too dense for a dog to dent it under normal use.
Bonus Tip-How Do I maintain My New Floor?
Each flooring type requires a different amount of maintenance. All floors looks best when cleaned on a regular basis. This includes sweeping, vacuuming and dry mopping throughout the month. You can choose a flooring with lower maintenance needs if that is what best suits your lifestyle. We suggest going for something like vinyl plank flooring or laminate flooring if you want something that doesn’t need a lot of tending to. Be certain to use only cleaning solutions that are labeled no-rinse for any hard surface flooring, be it wood, vinyl planks, or ceramic tiles. Cleaners that contain soaps or oils will leave a residue on the surface of your floor that will build up over time and change the gloss level of your floor.
How ReallyCheapFloors.com Can Help
At ReallyCheapFloors.com, we have sales associates who can answer the questions of first-time homeowners and anyone else that may have a question to ask. Check out our affordable flooring options and let us know how we can help!
