Different Floors for Different Lifestyles

Dear Rob:

We really need to replace the carpeting our new house, but we aren’t sure what to choose.  We like the durability of tile, but aren’t sure if it is really the right choice for our family.  We have young kids, and some time in the next few years, we expect my elderly grandmother to move in with us.  Can you help?

-Rita in Washington

Dear Rita:

Different lifestyles call for different flooring needs. Homes with children, the elderly and pets will benefit more with the right flooring choice. Below are some of the advantages and disadvantages of hardwood, carpet and tile for your lifestyle.

Flooring advantages for homes with children include:

Hardwood:

• Durable against rough playing, most toys and heavy traffic
• Long lasting
• Hardwood does not have to be replaced like carpet after years of spills and stains
• Excellent choice for households with allergies
• Can be refinished in the event of excess wear and tear

Tile:

• Durable against rough playing, toys and heavy traffic
• Tile floors are water resistant against spills
• Tile floors are stain resistant against spills

Carpet:

• After the children are grown and have finished extreme wear on the product, it can be replaced
• Soft to play on
• Keeps the room quiet

Flooring disadvantages for homes with children:

Hardwood:

• Slips and falls can happen when children are in socks
• Extreme use of certain toys can permanently scratch wood floors
• Certain toys or misuse can dent soft woods like pine flooring
• Kids tend to not be as careful with hardwood’s enemy: water
• Falls can hurt a little more on hardwood than floors such as carpet

Tile:

• Slips and falls can hurt a little more on tile than floors such as carpet
• Tile is not as comfortable to lie on and play

Carpet:

• Carpet shows spills and stains more if not caught and cleaned up on time
• Carpet needs to be replaced before other flooring types such as tile or hardwood

Flooring advantages for homes with elderly persons:

Hardwood:

• Wheelchairs can roll easily without damaging floors

Tile:

• Wheelchairs can roll easily without damaging floors

Carpet:

• Falls are softer on carpet than other flooring surfaces such as hardwood or tile
• Carpet is softer on the joints than other flooring surfaces such as hardwood or tile

Flooring disadvantages for homes with elderly persons:

Hardwood:

• Slips and falls can hurt a little more on hardwood than floors such as carpet

Tile:

• Slips and falls can hurt a little more on tile floors than floors such as carpet
• Tile is harder on the joints than floors such as carpet when standing for long periods of time

Carpet:

• Wheelchairs and walkers do not roll as well on carpet
• Wheelchairs can leave wheel marks indented in carpet

Flooring advantages for homes with pets include:

Hardwood:

• Hair is easy to keep swept up
• Pet accidents are easy to clean up
• Spills caused by pets are easy to clean up

Tile:

• Hair is easy to keep swept up
• Pet accidents are easy to clean up
• Spills caused by pets are easy to clean up
• Nails do not damage the floors like with hardwood or carpet

Carpet:

• Carpet is soft and warm to lie on

Flooring disadvantages for homes with pets include:

Hardwood:

• Heavier dogs with sharp nails can scratch hardwood

Tile:

• Tile can be uncomfortable to lie on

Carpet:

• Accidents can be harder to clean up if not caught in time

General flooring advantages for homes:

Hardwood:

• Lasting beauty
• Hardwood adds resale value to homes
• Warm feel to the home
• Easy to maintain

Tile:

• Tile adds resale value to homes
• There is no need to refinish tile floors
• Easy to maintain

Carpet:

• Carpet is soft and warm

General flooring disadvantages for homes:

Hardwood:

• High heels can leave permanent dents in  the floor
• Dirt and dust can gather in the corners of the room if not cleaned frequently
• Homes with frequent water spills are not the best candidates for hardwood

Tile:

• Tile can be noisy
• Glassware and fragile items can break when dropped

Carpet:

• Has to be replaced before hard surface items such as hardwood or tile

I hope this breakdown helps you with your flooring decisions!

-Rob

Advantages of Ceramic and Natural Stone Tile

Dear Rob:

I’ve read all about different ways to use tile and hardwood on your site, and I’m still stuck trying to decide whether tile or wood is best for me.  I know you’ve already written about the advantages of hardwood, so could you share some advantages of tile as well?

-Jen in New Mexico

Dear Jen:

There is no other flooring type that has the design flexibility of ceramic tile or natural stone. There are multiple shapes, sizes, installation patterns and colorways that give ceramic tile and natural stone endless design choices. This is just one of the many benefits of ceramic tile and natural stone.

In addition to tile’s design flexibility, ceramic tile is an extremely durable product. A good quality tile that is taken care of and installed properly can last a lifetime. Choosing a tile floor can be a decision that you don’t have to worry about ever again – unless of course, you decorating tastes change.

Ceramic tile and natural stone are both very easy to maintain. Walk off mats should be used at every entrance and the floors should be swept regularly. If you have a spill or stain, a manufacture approved cleaner can be used to remove the stain. That’s it for the tile itself! Areas around tile should be caulked on an annual basis.

Design Flexibility. Ceramic tile comes in sizes varying from 1″x1″ to 24″x24″ and many sizes in between including non square sizes and shapes such as octagons, rectangles and circles. These sizes can be used alone or can be mixed together for countless design choices. All you need is a little math to create custom installation patterns with the geometric size options of tile. These options in conjunction with all of the color choices available make tile the most versatile and designer friendly flooring product available!

Tile can be installed in nearly any application. Tile can be installed on floors, walls, in showers, tubs, backsplashes, ceilings, inside or outside. It can also be installed on countertops, table tops, fireplaces, hearths, columns and more. Unlike wood flooring, you don’t have to worry about installing tile in a wet environment.  It can be installed over most subfloors with the proper underlayment.

Cost effectiveness. Tile is still one of the most cost effective surfaces on the market. Once you absorb the initial cost of tile you don’t have to spend money on it again for the life of the product if it is installed properly. It doesn’t need refinishing, resurfacing, reglazing, or recoating.

Repairs are simple. Should there be a need for repair, the process is not as complicated as other flooring surfaces. In most cases it should be performed by a professional. A professional can usually repair a broken tile without damaging other tiles around it causing a larger problem.

Increase your home’s value. Ceramic tile and natural stone can increase the value of your home helping you recoup the initial cost invested in the product.

Good for allergy and asthma sufferers. Unlike carpet, which can harbor dust, mites, dander and other allergens, tile and other hard surface flooring are easier to keep clean and allergen free.

When considering purchasing new flooring, ceramic tile is a good choice if your budget permits and you are looking for a product that is easy to maintain and will not have to be replaced quickly. It can give you long lasting beauty and a focal point for your decorating scheme in your home.

-Rob

How Floor Coverings Affect the Size and Feel of Your Room

Dear Rob:

The rooms in my home are small, so I’d like to choose a flooring that will help them feel bigger. Any tips?

-Rita in Texas

Dear Rita:

Floor coverings are an important part of your home. Its main purpose is obviously functional, but there are decorative aspects that can help determine the way a room feels. Depending on the type of flooring you choose, a room can feel intimate, spacious, cold, warm, inviting, large or small.

For example, darker or warm color schemes will make a room feel more intimate. Lighter and cooler colors will make a room feel less intimate.

People often think that dark floors will make a room feel smaller, but this is not necessarily true. Dark floors will only make a room feel smaller if there is insufficient lighting either from windows or overhead lighting sources or the walls are painted a darker color in combination with the dark floors. The opposite is also false. Light floors will not make your room feel larger if the walls are painted a darker color and there is insufficient lighting.

The size of the flooring you use can help determine how large or small a room feels. You might not think that a wide width hardwood or large format tile (12×12 or larger) belongs in a powder room, but they actually can help visually increase the size of the room. The fewer lines there are for your eyes to intercept, the larger the space will feel. As long as the tile or piece of hardwood can be repeated more than twice, the larger format will look great!

A larger tile in a larger area also helps maintain the spaciousness of a room. Using a small tile (smaller than 12×12) in a larger room will break up the room with so many lines that in can, in fact feel smaller.

Flooring patterns can also have an effect on the way a room feels. More complicated patterns are better suited for larger rooms where more restful patterns are better suited for smaller rooms. As an example, if you have a large room a modular pattern with large format tiles (18×18 or 20×20) can increase the size of the room more than if a 12×12 tile was laid straight. Generally speaking, turning the tile on the diagonal or laying the tile at a 45 degree angle will make a room appear larger.

To determine how a flooring pattern will make a room feel, you can start with a simple drawing on graph paper. Lay your room out to scale and draw the pattern in. Seeing a pattern laid out on paper can help you visualize the pattern and determine if it will be too busy or too simple for the space. You may find that you can save money by eliminating pieces, or you may find that adding a pattern will help the overall look of the room.

If you are not sure about a selection you have made or you are not a person that can visualize, the easiest thing to do is to pick up some home decorating magazines and look at the pictures. All of these examples will become clear! Look at wall color combinations, flooring patterns and tile or hardwood sizes in relation to the size of the room.

-Rob