Making Flooring Easy
I mean… we’re flooring people, from an outlet store basically, and it looks to us like just figuring our how to pick the right floor is daunting at best. In your life, you’ll do it less often than you’ll buy cars, and that’s a pretty taxing thing to do. So we’re trying to start from scratch and be as basic and clear as we can about doing this, so you can find what you want, wherever you end up shopping. We’ll have regular episodes, chats between Dan (who owns the company) and me (I’m David – just your host, though I’ve done my research on flooring too). Where relevant, I’ll pop some mini-episodes in between those, basically reading any articles we’ve written going into more details on the big topic. We’ll try to title these so you can easily get to the ones that matter to you and skip the others (if you don’t want ceramic tile, why listen to a piece on ceramic tile? You’ve already got enough to consider).
Episodes
This comes from https://floorstoyourhome.com/
I mean… we’re flooring people, from an outlet store basically, and it looks to us like just figuring our how to pick the right floor is daunting at best. In your life, you’ll do it less often than you’ll buy cars, and that’s a pretty taxing thing to do. So we’re trying to start from scratch and be as basic and clear as we can about doing this, so you can find what you want, whe...
HOW TO SHOP FOR FLOORING from https://floorstoyourhome.com/
How do you even begin to shop for a new floor? How do you anticipate the final cost? Is it better to bundle the floor material with installation? How do you figure out what kind of flooring to get?
Who arranges installation?
I mentioned 'subfloors' in the show, and if you don't want to wait until I get to it here, this article shou...
It’s not like a busted television. The determination to replace a floor can be forced on you, or it can be a matter of whim or opportunity. There are many kinds of flooring, each with many factors to consider, and it’s an expensive proposition, so you need to take it seriously. We’ll try to help, sorting the factors to consider by how certainly they mean that your old floor is done.
This is our first mini-episode, based on...
Shopping for a new floor doesn’t have to be an intimidating process, and we’re here to help make it as painless as possible. Everyone has their own way of doing things, but in this mini-episode, we give a few basic guidelines to help you get started.
This is our second mini-episode, based on this article, if you'd like to see it in e-print:
https://floorstoyourhome.com/resource-center/10-basics/04/when-do-you-nee...
The standard flooring options include solid and engineered hardwood, laminate, various forms of waterproof flooring, ceramic tile, stone tile and carpet. You may have a very good idea of what you want, you may have no idea, or you may have questions about whether your selection will be the best fit for your room. Here I'll share some very broad tips to get you started, and the written article has links to go deeper on any top...
Flooring specialists can be a little opaque with their wording: 2 strip, random length, wear layer, plies, micro-beveled and so on. It's probably hard for any specialist group to not fall into using their jargon even when talking with 'laymen', so to speak. I'll go over some of those terms, as well as talking about what the standard sizes are for the planks or pieces of flooring you'll be seeing as you sh...
I just did a show on terminology, and this may be the biggest one people toss around: 'subfloor'. It's a must to understand, so it gets its own article (linked below)/episode. Definitely listen to this one if the word subfloor makes you scratch your head, and I even recommend looking at the written piece. I put a lot of helpful pictures there:
https://floorstoyourhome.com/resource-center/10-basics/50/wha...
When accidents or natural disasters happen, replacing damaged flooring can be a costly endeavor which could involve your homeowners insurance. If you can properly file a claim, you might better cover the financial burden, but how is this best done?
A colleague of ours used to assist an insurance claims adjuster, the people who investigate your insurance claims on behalf of the insurance companies, so we asked if she would share any...
How much will a new floor cost? How much should it cost? How is it even priced, by the carton? Dan and I do our best to give you some starting guidelines on how to navigate floor pricing as well as how different floors can look.
Produced by https://FloorsToYourHome.com/
Created, Hosted & Edited by W. David Lichty
Reach the show at https://MakingFlooringEasy.com/
Our YouTube channel:
https://www.you...
Here we talk about things like color & tone, grain, the look of the finish, textures and edges, so seeing the pictures could be a good help.
The piece I'm reading here was initially written to focus on laminate flooring, but the basics apply across the board with all hard surface flooring (so, also waterproof vinyl, hardwoods and so on).
Produced by https://FloorsToYourHome.com/
Created, Hosted & Edited by W. Da...
Deciding which hardwood you want to look at is a decision you'll make with your eyes, so here I talk about the various hardwood species sorted by hardness. Not all wood is the same; some are denser and more rugged than others, so in case that's a factor you want to consider, I go through some common candidates from softest to hardest.
The written & Illustrated post on Hardwood Flooring Species is there (at th...
Basically, yes! Most will, to some degree, and you should plan on it, on the final color. But how much do they change, how long will it take, and how can you tell what you'll end up with? I look into that here.
Here's a link to the illustrated piece I'm reading: Must Hardwood Floors Change Color
Produced by https://FloorsToYourHome.com/
Created, Hosted & Edited by W. David Lichty
Reach ...
Just where can a hardwood floor go? Or more important, where shouldn't you use solid hardwood?
Each kind of flooring has strengths that the others don't, and today Dan and I go over those so that if your salesperson says, "Solid hardwood? In your basement? Sure!" you'll already know better.
After this full episode, where we talk floor-by-floor, I'm releasing a LOT of little episodes going room-...
When this question is posed, usually we're talking about a household that is more active than other households, likely one with older kids and/or pets. We're also talking about the common living areas, because in kitchens, bathrooms and similar rooms, the household makeup is less of a factor than are the room's uses and moisture issues.
Here's the written, illustrated piece I'm reading in this min...
Having a pet can bring challenges to the household environment. Dogs chew. Cats scratch. Birds are ... you know, they do everything inside. Accidents happen.
For a new floor in a home with a pet, several things come into play:
- where the floor is going to go
- how much traffic it will encounter
- how much wear and tear it can be expected to endure
- the pet’s size
... and more.
So, what are our options?
You can be allergic to your floor. Irritants can either be gathered and held by the floor, or they can be a part of its very make up. In this mini-episode I hope to help you make the best choice of flooring, specifically with allergy prevention in mind.
My sources:
The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA)
The American Academy of Allergy Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI)
UK based group The Healthy Flooring Networ...
A basement can make up around one third of the floorspace in a home, and the cost of finishing a basement can be half the cost of putting an addition of smaller space on the house. It's strange that unfinished basements would be so common. The problem is not that the cons are insurmountable, just that they are daunting enough to feel insurmountable or not worth the trouble, so we're going to help you get started with what...
Unlike those offered in the previous mini-episode on Best Floors for a Basement, none of these floors would survive any kind of flooding, whether a proper flood, a busted pipe or just a single, colossal spill, and all will require some additional moisture control before being put in.
So here are the rest of the main floor types, listed from least to most worst, that you might (but probably shouldn't) consider for a basement, a...
The biggest concern with a bathroom floor is water, specifically in two forms:
- spills & splashes
- steam & humidity
I'll cover both here, and tell you which floors stand up best to those assailants, and which are best left out of a good bathroom.
Read the piece here:
https://floorstoyourhome.com/resource-center/20-best-floor/20/whats-the-best-floor-for-your-bathroom/
The kitchen is a high traffic area in which your family probably spends a lot of time, so you'll need to consider each floor's durability, maintenance needs, comfort, and cost. I go through those one by one, and will hopefully leave you ready to explore your best choice to find the style and look you want.
The written piece is here:
https://floorstoyourhome.com/resource-center/20-best-floor/22/what-is-the-...
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