Keeping your home clean and well maintained is a long term effort. There is a lot that goes into making sure your home looks and feels as great as it should, and one of the most important parts is your floor. People take floors for granted, and while there is a considerable amount of attention paid to finding the perfect hardwood or tile, we miss the things that make up a good floor. It could be the looks, how it meshes with your furniture, the installation process, even the cost, but a great floor has to be long-lasting.
Keeping your home maintained starts from the ground up and in this case, it literally starts at your feet. The resale value or enjoyment of your house could come from how well put together the home is and the floor but what elements are there for a lifetime-lasting floor? These 7 reasons will help you understand the importance of your flooring choice and how it all comes together to improve your home and make it last a lifetime.
1. Installation Process
The actual installation process of a floor could be key to its long-lasting lifespan. When a floor is improperly installed it will be more susceptible to cracks, damages, and other issues that compromise its structural integrity. These problems are noticeable in floors that are installed on uneven floors, uneven angles, gaps between tiles or planks, and without the use of the proper equipment. These problems in the installation phase of a floor will result in poor floor lifespan, whereas the proper installation can ensure a great looking and performing floor for years to come.
2. Natural Conditions
Natural conditions will have a big impact on flooring. Moisture and water can seriously damage hardwood floors if it is not treated and cleaned quick enough. Some flooring options, vinyl and hybrid vinyl especially, are much more suitable for these conditions if they arise. The flooring experts from Integra Direct highlight the importance of finding the right flooring depending on potential climate/natural conditions, which will impact your flooring. Lifetime-lasting flooring must be able to handle the rigors of these conditions, so a home in a humid climate would need the right flooring to last during a sweltering summer or an accidental flood.
3. Material
In a slight continuation of the previous section, the material is also one of the most important aspects to the lifespan of a floor. Not all flooring material is made equal in terms of handling conditions and wear and tear. The quality depends on the manufacturer and installer as well as other dynamic elements like weather or use. Some materials are more sturdy than others, like concrete, but they are not suitable for certain areas of the home for various reasons. Your flooring material should come from a reputable supplier to ensure that it is not old or damaged and the material use varies on which room, use, and exposure it will be subject to.
This element of flooring condition is one of those dynamic elements discussed. The flooring in your home can take a beating from various causes. Pet claws can scratch up hardwood, water can warp wood, drops from heavy objects can damage tiles, and water can mess with concrete flooring in places like garages. The amount of abuse that your floor will receive in its lifespan will vary from home to home, and room to room, but it will happen. Great flooring that is lifetime-tested will be able to withstand these damages because the material and maintenance are accounted for as elements to a healthy floor.
5. Maintenance and Cleaning
Even the strongest or most durable materials need you to be cared for. Floors are not impervious to the rigors of the household shuffle. Spills, drops, and damages all must be maintained adequately and often. There are very few flooring options in the world that can be left unmaintained throughout their lifespan so it is important to always be aware of cleaning damages and repairing any problems. Replacing a strip or tile will help keep the whole of the flooring intact and proves to be an important factor for a lasting floor.
6. Style
Picking the right style for your flooring needs is less about the quality of the material (to a degree) and more about how much you will enjoy seeing it every day. If you choose the wrong flooring option for a room in your home, you might get sick of it and want to change it up. This is a huge undertaking, to rip up the floor and replace it. Having a floor for a short period of time before changing your mind is counterproductive to all the work put in to install and purchase it, so it is imperative that you find something you love so you can stick with long-term.
7. Cost
The cost of your flooring does not outright determine how long it will last, but it does offer the potential to give you better quality. Cheaper materials and cheap labor can equal to a cheap condition floor that breaks apart easily or requires an incredible amount of regular maintenance to keep intact. This does not mean you need to spend a fortune on a floor either, but cutting corners on installation and materials will result in a poorly done job and a headache for you. Finding a reasonably priced flooring job can be the difference between a disaster of a floor and one that lasts you a lifetime.
The right flooring can make or break your house’s appearance and quality. Choosing the right materials and having a good appreciation for the care that goes into maintaining your floor so it will last is important, but there are more elements to a long-lasting floor than just looks. The material, the maintenance, what kind of foot traffic it will go up against, the conditions of your climate and home, and cost all contribute as elements that go into a lifetime-lasting floor. This integral part of your house needs to be carefully considered, and these elements are how to find the right flooring that you desperately need.
Photo by Jarek Ceborski on Unsplash
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