Your home is your castle. But this isn’t the Middle Ages, so your palace is going to need flooring. Hardwood, laminate, vinyl or tile: With so many choices, where do you start?
Installing a new floor is a big-ticket home improvement, so budget is certain to factor into your decision. But you should also consider how much foot traffic, sunlight, and wear and tear your flooring will endure.
For example, some engineered woods, along with a few solid-wood types of flooring, aren’t as resistant to moisture as vinyl or laminate flooring—a serious drawback in a bathroom or busy kitchen. Ceramic tile would be a better choice for durability, but it can be expensive and requires labor-intensive installation.
Most flooring falls into one of the following six types. The type of flooring you choose will depend on your needs, budget—not to mention your personal style and aesthetic.
Pros: Wood has a natural warmth, impressive wear resistance, and can be sanded and refinished several times. Pre-finished floors can hold up better than those finished on site, and their warranty comes from the factory, not the installer.
Cons: Solid wood may expand and contract with varying humidity levels and can dent easily. Some can show wear quickly and become discolored from sunlight. Note: Unfinished flooring costs less than pre-finished, but higher installation costs can offset savings. Wood flooring is not a good choice for basements and other damp spaces.
Installed cost: $5 to $10 per square foot.
Pros: This flooring uses a thin veneer of real wood or bamboo over structural plywood, making it a cost-effective choice.
Cons: Most engineered wood doesn't wear as well as solid wood or laminate. It also dents easily. Most can be carefully refinished once, but the veneer on some may be too thin for even one refinish.
Installed cost: $4 to $9 per square foot.
Pros: Constructed of dense fiberboard with a photo beneath a clear-plastic protective layer, laminate can mimic nearly anything.
Some brands use real cork beneath the clear layer. The best laminates resist scratching and discoloration from sunlight better than most wood products.
Cons: The repetitive pattern can compromise realism. In terms of durability, you might be able to touch up minor flaws, but you'll have to replace the flooring once its outer layer has worn through.
Installed cost: $3 to $7 per square foot.
Pros: Especially good at fending off wear, dents, scratches, discoloration from sunlight, and stains. Easy installation, particularly for tiles or planks, and more color and design choices are available these days.
Cons: While the premium brands can mimic the look of stone, tile, and even oak, even the best products still look like vinyl up close. Top-of-the-line vinyl can cost as much or more than the best solid-wood and laminate floors.
Installed cost: $2 to $6 per square foot.
Pros: Made of linseed oil and wood products, linoleum is a natural, resilient material. Today's products offer far more styles and colors. Linoleum tends to fend off discoloration from sunlight.
Cons: Resistance to wear, scratches, and dents varies widely from product to product. Linoleum can also be relatively expensive.
Installed cost: $4 to $8 per square foot.
Pros: This classic material tends to resist wear, moisture, scratches, dents, and stains.
Cons: Tiles can crack and some grout can stain. Dropped cups and dishes break more easily. Tile is also relatively expensive and hard to install. While some can now be floated without the usual cement and grout, that makes replacing cracked tiles more of a challenge.
Installed cost: $8 to $15 per square foot; $5 to $8 for products that can float.
Sampling is Smart
Before you buy, bring home samples of your top flooring choices. Compare them side-by-side where they're going to be installed.
Compare for Consistency
Manufacturers try to match solid- and engineered-wood flooring for color and grain. But variations can occur from one batch to the next, so buy all the flooring you'll need at one time. On the flip side, laminate floorboards within a given package often have a similar pattern. To reduce repetition, pull boards from multiple packages when installing.
Measuring Avoids Mistakes
To determine how much flooring you'll need, measure the room's square footage by multiplying its length times its width. (Divide an irregularly shaped room into smaller rectangles, calculate the square footage of each rectangle, and then add them together.) Then buy 7 to 10 percent extra to allow for mistakes, bad samples, and waste. Consider buying an extra box of flooring for future repairs or additions.
Know Your Traffic Patterns
Common high-traffic areas are entryways to rooms and to the house itself. If you have pets or kids, the family room can also be a busy place. Our top products performed best in simulated foot-traffic tests. For less-busy areas, consider one of the top-engineered wood or bamboo floors, for their natural veneer and easy installation.
Preparing to Install Flooring
Before installing wood or laminate flooring, unpack it and let it sit for one to three days in the space where it will be installed so that its temperature and moisture become acclimated to the levels in the room.
Check for Certification
Vinyl floors with the industry's FloorScore certification (pictured below) emit relatively low levels of volatile organic compounds—substances linked to health problems and pollution. For wood flooring, certification by the Forest Stewardship Council and the Sustainable Forestry Initiative offers some assurance that your flooring comes from responsibly managed forests—a plus for the planet. Check packaging for product and manufacturer certification.
Ways to Save
• Check prices with overstock discounters. They buy directly from manufacturers, and often sell flooring below list price.
• You can often save on opened or damaged boxes or on flooring with minor flaws that you can install where it won't be noticed.
• Hiring a pro to do the installation? Trim hundreds of dollars off the job by doing the prep work yourself. For more helpful information see our Flooring Ratings.
