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The floors in your house have a major impact on the feel and style of your home. Of course, we all look at our walls but we put our feet on the floors, so there’s a great sense of connection with floors that goes beyond mere aesthetics. So, if you’re thinking about replacement flooring, then continue reading for seven beneficial tips to help you make a smarter choice.
New floors might be an exciting opportunity or an absolute headache. The difference, in part, comes down to your research and preparation before you get the new floor installation underway. So let’s get started.
7 Steps to the Best Replacement Flooring for Your Home
1. Measure, Measure, Measure
Measuring the floor is the first stage of your project. This is not a project you want to eye-ball or leave to your intuition. Rather, you need accurate measurements. That makes it far wiser to measure the floor area first before you do anything else. Then, once you know the exact size of the space, it’s easy to calculate the exact amount of flooring to purchase.
2. Prepare to Succeed
By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail. So said Benjamin Franklin. He probably didn’t have your new floor in mind but the principle holds true for anyone installing replacement flooring.
Before you lay down your lovely new floor, you need to make sure the sub-floor is appropriate for the flooring you are about to install. For example, if your new flooring is ceramic then the sub-floor needs to be a fairly smooth concrete.
If you intend to use vinyl products that are glued down then, fitting a layer of plywood is very helpful. Alternatively, you might find that the wooden sub-floor is perfectly fine for fitting new wooden floorboards. The main thing is that you think about this now before you select the flooring material.
3. Importance of Order
As in the order of events. Nothing is more frustrating after having spent time, money, and love installing your new floor only to realize that you now want to paint the walls as well.
Save yourself the heartache and stress by giving some thought to the overall changes you want to make to a room and what corresponding sequence of tasks is the best work flow. It’s also a must-do to plan the right color palette for the room. Of course, you definitely want the colors of the walls, ceiling, and floor to work well with your furniture and room decorations.
4. Material Considerations
There is a giddy range of options when it comes to choosing material for your floor. You can choose hard surface materials like stone, tile, marble, and even glass. Alternatively, you can opt for more textured surfaces like wood, mosaics, and even some types of vinyl.
Check out the Baird Brothers site for some nice examples of wood floor options.
Also, mix some of your material types and textures. This is especially true if you carpet some areas of the floor or decide to use large rugs. Just remember, the overall style of your room is going to affect your choice of material.
However, there are many other considerations – some of which are practical in nature. Here are a few questions to keep in mind.
- Is there a lot of footfall in this room?
- Where is the room located?
- Can you access the room directly from outside or is it an internal room?
- How durable does the floor need to be?
- Will there be pets in this room?
5. Get Settled In
Once you are past the big challenge of choosing your flooring material, it’s a good idea to buy the flooring and leave it in your home for a little while first before installing it. Interestingly, many natural materials slightly change their size and shape by the effects of the ambient temperature, the moisture level in the air, and general weather conditions.
It is better to know before purchasing which flooring will work best for your home. One you establish that, then it’s time get the new installation under way. So, even though you want to get going and install the new floor, try holding off the enthusiasm for a little while to make your job easier in the long run.
6. Clear the Room
Be prepared to move everything entirely out of the room. Some people may feel that isn’t practical and try to work around furniture. But, please don’t make this mistake.
Rather, you need all the space you can get in an uncluttered room. This allows you to lay the flooring out and get a feel for what the final look will be. It also helps alert you to any changes to make before you start the job.
7. Use Right Tools for the Right Job
Next, you need a selection of the right tools. Depending on the material you select, it might require a variety of tools. However, a few of the general flooring tools are as follows:
- Hammers
- Screwdrivers
- Floor scrapers
- Brooms
The point is, it’s not just about using the right tool but it’s also about helping to avoid interruptions to keep the momentum of your project moving forward. The last thing you want is to keep interrupting the project to go buy the right tool.
Don’t be Floored by Replacement Flooring
Purchasing and installing replacement flooring seems like a huge job. However, if you follow the tips in this article, it relieves some of the stress.
If you are not up to the job yourself, consider hiring professional help. Preparation and planning is the key throughout every flooring project. If you are thinking about professional help then make sure you include them in the early planning stages.
Also, check out other really useful articles about all things design by clicking through the links below. Then, if you have any questions or suggestions, we would love the hear from you in the comments below.
Images Courtesy of Canva.
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About the Author: Ashley Edwards
