Month: July 2022

Choosing a wooden floor with grey tones running throughout can transform your room into a modern and contemporary space.  The flooring is usually made from Oak, and then a grey colour stain is added to the surface to provide the grey tones.  The best part of this is, that the colour stain can create endless shades of grey so there is sure to be something you will love. Read More

Let’s face it, ripples, burns, and holes in your carpet are just plain ugly – not only that, but they are tripping hazards, as well. The good news is these problems can be easily fixed by a professional. 

Causes of Carpet Ripples

We all know the causes of carpet burns or holes, but what about carpet ripples? The number one cause of rippling in carpet is poor installation. In order to save time, carpet installers will often use a knee kicker to tighten the carpet; this will result in the carpet “relaxing” after a relatively short time (usually 3 to 5 years). Proper carpet installation involves using a “power stretcher” to make sure the carpet is drum tight from the beginning. If your carpet is installed correctly, the chances of it rippling in the future are reduced.

However, even if the carpet is installed properly, rippling can occur on occasion.  If the ripples grow tall enough to cause a tripping hazard, delamination can occur – the glue that holds the plastic backing to your carpet can dry out, and the backing can pull away from the carpet fibers. 

The weather in Colorado can speed up the delamination process. High humidity in the spring and summer months can help the glue on your carpet to relax, while the drier air in the winter can cause the glue to dry out. In fact, here in Colorado we can go from a dry 10% humidity to 50% humidity in a season – this can wreak havoc on your carpet!

Spills, floods and sitting water can also cause ripples, as can inadequate padding. If you spill something on your carpet, make sure to clean up the spot immediately following the manufacturer’s instructions. If you clean your carpets yourself, make sure they dry completely before putting any furniture back on them. 

Although carpet ripples sometimes appear after cleaning, it is a myth that professional cleaning causes ripples. Occasionally ripples will occur after a professional cleaning; however, they are temporary, and will settle flat once the carpet is completely dry. If the ripples that occur after cleaning don’t go away, there is another underlying problem causing them.

Our Carpet Repair and Restretching Services

While carpet ripples, burns and holes are unsightly, they can be fixed fairly easily. Here at A Personal Touch Carpet Cleaning, we’re experts at carpet repair and restretching!

Here’s the process in a nutshell:

• First we determine what the issues are and how best to fix them
• Then we lift up the carpet from the tack strips that hold your carpet down from three sides of the room
• Finally we professionally restretch and/or replace carpet with our specialized equipment

Carpet repair and restretching can extend the life of your existing carpet, and is much cheaper than purchasing new carpet. Our courteous, experienced technicians make the process easy, and you’ll have a carpet that’s flat, ripple-free, and beautiful!

Carpet repair and restretching is a tricky business, but our trained technicians have the experience and know-how to get the job done right. This is not a do-it-yourself job – we use state-of-the-art techniques and tools that most homeowners don’t have. 

With more than 30 years of experience, we deliver outstanding results at a competitive price. If you have ripples, burns or holes in your carpet that you’re eager to get rid of, contact us today!

The post Carpet Ripples, Burns or Holes? We Offer Carpet Repair and Restretching Services appeared first on A Personal Touch.

What’s the difference between regular vinyl and luxury vinyl? That’s a question on many homeowners’ minds as they navigate replacing flooring inside their homes.

You may remember vinyl flooring from your mother’s or grandmother’s  homes. The distinct patterns and soft, squishy feel may have been popular back then, but it’s not something you’d consider for your own home today.

Or should you?

Today’s vinyl is nothing like what you remember.

Let’s start with vinyl flooring.

What is vinyl flooring?

For years, vinyl has been considered one of the best choices for high moisture and humidity areas. That’s why you’ll find vinyl in places like bathrooms and laundry rooms. If a spill occurs there, you’ll simply mop it up. No need to worry about it seeping through the flooring material.

Today’s standard vinyl comes in sheets or tiles. Standard sheets come in 6’, 12’, or 13’6”, depending on the manufacturer.

It’s made up of several layers:

• A top coat that protects the wear layer
• The wear layer that safeguards the pattern layer
• The pattern layer which gives it its color and pattern
• The cushion layer that adds bounce and texture
• A fiberglass layer that keeps the sheet flat
• A base layer that supports all other layers

The wear layer determines its strength and longevity. It typically is between 10 to 15 mil, which equates to 10/1000 to 15/1000 of an inch.

What is luxury vinyl?

Vinyl flooring was first introduced in the 1930s. A happy accident discovered while trying to make tires more affordable and resilient, vinyl became one of the floorings of choice as soldiers returned home from war, married, and bought their first homes.

As time went by, improvements were made to the vinyl market. Vinyl offered a way to create scratch-resistant, slip-resistant, even waterproof flooring choices.

Luxury vinyl looks nothing like sheet or tile developed almost a century ago. It uses the same PVC vinyl as standard vinyl, but that’s where the similarities end. Luxury vinyl takes on the looks of planks or tiles, and provides an affordable way of bringing the most popular flooring products into your home. Whether you want hardwood or marble, luxury vinyl may be the perfect way to achieve results.

Luxury vinyl is sold as multi-ply planks or tiles with wear layers that range from 2 to 8 mm. This is roughly 8/100 to 3/10 of an inch, quite a bit thicker than traditional vinyl. Instead of feeling flexible and bendable, you’ll notice luxury vinyl planks and tiles have a semi-rigid nature.

Luxury vinyl also contains six to eight layers of material.

• A top coat to add shine
• A transparent wear layer to protect the design
• A design layer printed to mimic hardwood or tile
• A cushion layer for comfort
• A felt or fiberglass layer
• A solid PVC layer for strength and durability
• Additional layers can include mineral content to ensure its classic good looks and durability

What should you choose, traditional vinyl or luxury vinyl?

If you shop for vinyl, you’ll find both products still on the market. That’s because they both can add a lot and be quite functional in your home.

If you’re looking for a seamless floor, look no further than sheet vinyl. It’s available in many modern-day patterns that can range from minimalistic to contemporary and beyond. You’ll find many colors and patterns, some of which mimic hardwood or ceramic tile. It’s a great way to give your house classic good looks while increasing functionality at the same time.

Installing sheet vinyl is a job best left to the professionals. The subfloor must be perfectly flat to ensure proper installation. If you place it over an uneven subfloor, it could cause bubbles or ripples in the texture of the vinyl. If you make a mistake and cut it too short, you have to start all over again with a new piece of vinyl. It’s not a complex process, but the more experienced you are, the better your chances of a successful installation.

With sheet vinyl, your biggest potential problem is in its strength. If you move heavy appliances across it, you risk scratching or ripping the surface. Large pets can also cause extensive damage with their nails. And if you drop heavy items on it, you risk gouging the fabric.

Luxury vinyl is growing in popularity because it takes the best of what people like about vinyl, and combines it with the most popular looks in the marketplace. If you want hardwood, luxury vinyl planks may be just what you’re looking for. Typical planks run 4” by 48” up to 9” by 72”, with many sizes in between. It’s also popular as tiles, with sizes ranging from 16” by 16” to 18” by 36”.

Some of these products are so convincing, even an expert has to get closer to tell it’s not real. And because it offers a waterproof alternative to hardwood, it works well in places you might not consider installing hardwood – like bathrooms and laundry rooms.

You may love luxury vinyl planks so much, you install it in every room in your home!

And installation is one of the easiest projects you’ll find. Luxury vinyl planks and tiles are generally installed with a locking method that connects the pieces together and floats them into place. It’s so easy, many choose they as a do-it-yourself project if you’re looking for other ways to save money.

Yet unlike laminate, which often has a hollow sound, luxury vinyl has enough stability in the core to illuminate that issue. That’s another plus if you’re attempting to give your home classic good looks, and still stick to a budget.

Standard vinyl or luxury vinyl – which is right for you?

The good thing about having both standard vinyl and luxury vinyl in the flooring market is that you’ll have many choices available as you’re finalizing your decision.

Homeowners have their own unique wants and desires. They prefer different looks and styles.

The first step is defining what suits your lifestyle best. The second is to analyze and compare your options.

Both standard vinyl and luxury vinyl can be a great choice throughout your home.

Which is right for you? Let us help you finalize your selection. Stop by today and see our complete lines.

The post Standard Vinyl Is Not Today’s Luxury Vinyl first appeared on PRO! Flooring.

This post appeared first on https://pro-flooring.com

If you’re searching for new flooring, you may notice that there are two broad categories of flooring: commercial and residential. The two may look similar enough that it’s difficult to tell the differences.

Do the two cross over? Can you use one in another setting? Or should you stick with what the guidelines say, and install based on guidance?

What is commercial flooring

As the name implies, commercial flooring is built for high-traffic, more arduous conditions. It’s created to stand up to heavier use. In general, it’s more durable, easier to clean and maintain, and provides a smarter investment over the long run. Whether retail, commercial, or industrial, a more durable flooring product means longer wearability and longevity. Typically, commercial flooring is needed for:

Strength and durability – higher foot traffic impacts the product’s wear and tear. From employees to customers to suppliers, a constant shift of movement can affect the flooring. Additionally, there may be business equipment, office furniture, and vendor supplies that create added wear on the flooring.

Cleaning and maintenance – commercial flooring often moves beyond standard cleanings with a damp mop. Frequent cleanings and sanitizing may be daily occurrences, including the use of harsh chemical products. Where residential flooring would wear down quickly, commercial flooring is built specifically for this level of treatment. It stands up to all of this and more without damage. And it can do so with resistance to other harmful substances that can form with water or chemical damage, such as rot, mold, or mildew.

What is residential flooring

Residential flooring is designed to provide aesthetics in a home environment. Typically, homeowners like individuality and modernization, and are looking for ways to create a pleasing environment while building resale value at the same time. Homeowners want:

Variety – homeowners often use several different products throughout the home. They can do so based on traffic levels in each room, giving a wider array of possibilities in design. Residential flooring is built for style, and to allow homeowners to develop their own personality in each room as they design.

Maintenance – am empty nest requires different levels of maintenance compared to a growing family of four. Having many different residential flooring options allows each homeowner to select flooring based on their needs and desires. Some may wish to exchange durability for practicality. Today’s manufacturers provide options to assure no matter what desires you have in mind, aesthetics is something you’ll never have to compromise on.

What is the difference between commercial and residential flooring?

From reading the two descriptions above, it’s easy to determine that the two types of flooring have vastly different requirements. This impacts the way each are constructed.

Whether commercial or residential, you can find flooring in every category: hardwood, laminate, vinyl, or carpeting. The differences lie in how it’s constructed: commercial-grade or residential-grade. Depending on which you select determines the materials it’s made from, how it’s constructed, how durable it is, and how it’s installed.

Some of the differences include:

Characteristics – while you may think your kids sometimes resemble little tornados moving through your home, they still don’t create the environment that many commercial applications take on. Commercial floors will have far more characteristics to stand up to daily pressure:

• Waterproof
• Heat-resistant
• Soundproof
• Slip-proof
• Corrosion-resistant
• Moisture-repellant

Looks are often underlying in requirements in a commercial setting. It’s often solely about durability. And while you want your residential flooring to be durable, extremes may be limited to certain rooms in your home. The kitchen may have a lot more activity than a guest bedroom, for instance.

Selection – residential flooring is built around personalization and customization. That’s why you’ll find much wider style selections. Manufacturers know residential homes need several different styles of flooring to complete their entire home application. Residential flooring buyers often like change to complement their new styles and aesthetics. It’s more about design.

Commercial spaces keep personalization out of the equation. They look more for simple, neutral designs and styles to put the emphasis on business, not on the aesthetics of flooring itself. Luxury and plush flooring choices are almost always out of the equation when designing for high-traffic environments. Simple, durable products win every time.

What type of flooring is most cost effective?

When looking for commercial flooring, a few materials jump to the forefront as high-quality, durable, yet cost effective too. Today’s vinyl products offer unmatched durability, something more business owners are installing as time goes by. Or consider resilient flooring. It offers many of the same advantages as luxury vinyl products, including noise-reduction, which is often necessary in business environments.

If you haven’t seen luxury vinyl lately, you’re missing out on one of the fastest growing flooring products on the market. Luxury vinyl comes in many formats, including planks and tiles, giving it the classic good looks people want. Yet luxury vinyl provides something you can’t achieve with classic hardwood – you will have a waterproof flooring.

When you move to a commercial grade luxury vinyl plank, you’ll have one of the strongest materials available today. From customers and employees to vendors and suppliers, this flooring will stand up to everything dished out. Plus it has the added bonus of being softer on the feet, a good feature if you’ll be standing on your feet all day.

Resilient flooring is especially appealing because its stronger materials help muffle sounds. If you’ve ever heard the click-click of more traditional tile work, you’ll appreciate this product, especially in larger areas like atriums and entryways.

Residential flooring won’t receive nearly as much traffic as commercial locations. That makes grade issues more lenient, requiring thinner materials and less durability than commercial applications.

Can you cross over between the two? Of course. If you have a busy household with lots of kids and pets, commercial applications may make sense. If you’re building an online business where the only foot traffic is you, residential flooring may be the perfect choice.

No matter what your business needs, when you’re ready for new commercial or residential flooring, look no further than our showroom floor. We have the perfect solution for all of your needs, and can help you no matter how big or small your project is.

We’re here to help you find the perfect flooring solution for you. 

The post As A Business Owner, Would Commercial or Residential Flooring Work Best? first appeared on PRO! Flooring.

This post appeared first on https://pro-flooring.com

When trying to find the perfect flooring choice for your home, it’s about weighing aesthetics and durability with cost effectiveness and longevity.

Do you have your heart set on a specific design, no matter how long it will last? Or is longevity your top concern, wanting flooring that will last for decades?

No matter what you’re looking for, you’ll run across a flooring product called luxury vinyl planks. This flooring product is designed to give you what you love about classic materials like hardwood, and combine it with other features you desire, such as being waterproof. It’s growing in popularity because of all the features it has to offer.

But what good is a product if it won’t last? Hardwood promises decades of use with proper maintenance and care. Tile can offer similar promises with proper care.

What about vinyl? What is the lifespan of luxury vinyl planks? Should you consider it in your next flooring upgrade?

Look at brand names for the highest longevity 

This is where brand name manufacturers win every time. If you go with one of the most popular flooring manufacturers, you’ll likely get the best results. That’s because they set the standards within the industry, and build a product that will stand the test of time.

Looking for terms like “high quality” won’t always speak the truth. Instead, pay attention to the details, ensuring it’s installed correctly and properly maintained. Most manufacturers will require it to keep warranties valid.

If you follow guidelines with proper maintenance and care, many of the top manufacturers will tell you to expect a lifespan of 25 to 30 years.

What should you consider?

Look at construction

Luxury vinyl planks are a multi-layered product. Two of the areas you should focus on include the vinyl thickness and the wear layer.

Luxury vinyl planks are created with four separate layers:

• Backing layer – the first or bottom layer, used as a stabilizing backing layer specifically formulated for durability and stability.
• Core layers – this inner core provides thickness and durability. It builds the strength of the product and ensures longevity.
• Print layer – this is the visual layer that provides realistic visuals. No matter what style you’re looking for, the print layer controls how good it looks. Pay attention to the process, as it determines how deep the construction of the visuals goes into the core.
• Wear layer – this is the clear protective coat applied to the top, giving it color stability, depth of design, and overall wearability.

When you see a product list a thickness value, it’s usually measured in millimeters, and refers to the vinyl core. Luxury vinyl planks are typically between 2mm to 9mm for a higher quality product line. If you’re looking for a long lifespan, focus on getting a thicker product. The thinner the product, the more often they require specific underlayment in place before the installation. Thicker planks will often include the subfloor built in, and provide a more authentic look and feel.

The wear layer is measured in mil, and typically ranges between 8mil and 12 mil for residential products, and 20mil to 40mil for commercial applications. The thicker the wear layer, the more protection you’ll have from impacting the visual layer. This is when scuffs, scratches, and dents really start to show.

Consider your wear before settling on a product lifespan of luxury vinyl planks is contingent on how well it handles over time. High traffic areas like kitchens and entryways should err on the side of being as durable as possible. In lower traffic areas – possibly a guest bathroom – can do well with a lower quality product.

Focus on care

When homeowners select flooring material such as hardwood, they also look at ways to extend the life of the product, to ensure the best results.

Luxury vinyl planks are no different.

If you want to extend the lifespan, start by selecting a product that can withstand all your family will dish out. In higher traffic areas, select a higher quality product. In lower traffic areas, it may make sense to go with a different product, focusing on looks and aesthetics rather than durability as your top choice.

With the planks in place, provide proper care. Luxury vinyl planks are surprisingly easy to care for. Since they are water-resistant, or in some cases waterproof, they can withstand all your family dishes out. Simply wipe away messes as soon as they occur.

Stick with manufacturer’s suggested cleaning products. Some cleaners on the market today have harsh chemicals that can strip and damage the wear layer. Skip using these, and focus on mild cleaners instead. They will give you lasting results over time.

To provide further protection, consider using area rugs in the heaviest used areas. Rugs made from jute, cotton, or woven backings are better than with plastic latex in place. Plastic can easily scratch the surface as it moves.

You can also make a rule of no shoes in the house. When you remove shoes first, you’re less likely to bring in damaging particles that can scratch and dent floors. It also stops germs at the door instead of tracking them deep inside your home.

Think about your floors as you take everything in stride. If shoes can scratch and dent the floor, imagine what’s happening when an office chair slides across the floor. Consider using a chair mat to prevent damage.

You can also reduce the chances of sharp objects hitting the planks. Be cautious of where you place damaging items. Can you keep them in spaces where they are better contained? Use area rugs underneath dining room tables, or in a home office underneath the desk. Place soft pads underneath furniture legs. Awareness is the first step in prevention.

Are you ready for luxury vinyl planks?

It’s growing in popularity. It makes a dynamic flooring choice. Is luxury vinyl planks suitable for your needs? They may be the perfect choice.

While the lifespan of luxury vinyl planks may differ from other flooring choices, with care and maintenance, it will give you years of enjoyment.

Are you considering luxury vinyl planks for your next remodeling project?

The post What Is The Lifespan of Luxury Vinyl Planks? first appeared on PRO! Flooring.

This post appeared first on https://pro-flooring.com

With parquet flooring styles you can be fun and creative.  There are various different patterns that you can create to make your flooring truly unique to you.  The patterns you can make depend on the size of the parquet block.  For some of the patterns the width of the block needs to be divisible into the length.  This will give you the range of more patterns and styles. Read More