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Keeping on top of cleaning your parquet block is going to be one of your main priorities, especially if you have a new floor.  There are simple steps that you can take to keep your floor looking clean and fresh.  Parquet block flooring is a stunning and luxurious floor but there is no need to worry about spending excess time cleaning it.  You can easily adopt a short and effective cleaning routine that will not only help to keep your floor clean, but also help to prevent scratches and dents. Read More

If you’ve lived in Denver for any length of time, you know temperatures can vary significantly every month of the year. The coldest month is usually January, but that doesn’t mean cold fronts can’t cause temperatures to dip unseasonably low every month of the year. Even in the summer months, you might have to pull out a blanket to take away the chill in the air.

While our houses are built stronger, sturdier than in decades past, going green means using building materials to help conserve resources wherever possible. While your HVAC system is designed to heat and cool the air supply to your desired temperature, why not do what you can to warm your house in other ways?

Heat rises. When you heat air, the air around it expands. It decreases in density, and rises above the cooler air that falls underneath. In a house, that’s why you’ll usually find the warmest rooms in your home upstairs rather than downstairs in the basement. Every time your furnace pushes out heated air, it naturally flows upstairs. That can be a good thing in the wintertime when you’re sleeping, and trying to stay warm.

Of course, this process also dictates the materials we use to put down on our floors. If you’ve ever stepped out of a warm bed and onto a cold floor, you’ve experienced this first hand.

While the HVAC in your home can control the overall living environment, your flooring dictates comfort level too. If your feet are warmer, you’ll be warmer. What flooring is the warmest? Which flooring is best for you to install?

The obvious flooring choice to stay warm

Let’s start with the most obvious flooring choice to help keep your home as warm as it can be: carpet. Carpet is made up of plush fibers tufted into a fabric back. It’s laid into place over a thick padding, which further insulates the flooring from the cold. It takes heat in and absorbs it, holding it in place to help keep your feet warm.

Carpet is a great way to keep your bedrooms warm. Carpet is also a great addition to family rooms, where you may lie on the carpet and play board games, or let your kids play with their toys.

But carpet doesn’t work in every room of your home. Imagine carpet in the kitchen or bathroom … it’s not going to work.

Vinyl flooring works to keep your room warmer too

If you desire to have a flooring that is more durable, water-resistance, and easy on the budget, you can’t go wrong with vinyl flooring. What’s more, today’s vinyl flooring isn’t what your parents had installed in their homes.

Luxury vinyl tile is available to mimic some of the most popular flooring choices in the world. It can resemble hardwood planks or stone or marble tile. In some cases, it mimics other products so well, even flooring experts have to move closer to see if it’s real. Yet luxury vinyl tile is made up of several different layers, including a core layer that adds stability and warmth overall.

And because luxury vinyl tile is built in layers, including an insulator layer, it’s softer than what you’d get with ceramic or porcelain tile. That makes it a great place where you frequently stand, including your kitchen or bathroom.

What if you want the more traditional hardwood?

While hardwood is a better choice for warmth than ceramic or porcelain tile, it’s still going to be one of the colder flooring choices you can make. That’s why you’ll find most homeowners that have hardwood also install area rugs.

Area rugs add the warmth of carpeting without installing it throughout the room. You can stretch the area rug close to the edges of the room, leaving just a border of hardwood. Or mix and match throughout the room, using smaller area rugs to add a punch of color. Rugs are designed as much for decor as they are for their insulating capabilities.

Why not try cork flooring to increase warmth?

Coloradans love hardwood. It’s by far one of the most popular flooring choices we sell. But if you’re focused on remodeling your room to make it a warmer place to live, there’s another option you should consider. Cork flooring looks like wood, but because of how it’s produced, it has an insulating quality that makes it warmer.

Cork is an eco-friendly flooring option that has a springy surface. If sealed properly, it is stain-resistant, moisture-resistant, and can offer the same qualities hardwood does for your home. Because cork comes from the bark of a tree rather than the tree itself, its a more sustainable product – perfect if you’re trying to live greener too.

Why stone or tile may be a great choice

When you think of adding warmth to your home through your flooring choice, one of the last that comes to mind is stone or tile. It’s hard. It’s cold. And you’re most likely to find it spread throughout a home located in the hottest states in the country. Colorado isn’t one of them.

But there is a reason why you might want to give stone or tile another look: radiant heating.

Stone or tile is the perfect choice for kitchens and bathrooms. It’s one of the most durable choices you can make, especially where water resiliency is an issue. And if you include radiant heating underneath, it can be one of the warmest flooring options you can make.

Radiant heating works by installing a heating element on the subfloor before you lay the stone or tile in place. Think of it as a warming plate for your flooring. Then you control how much heat you use depending on the overall conditions outside. Remember, heat rises. So it’s a great place to start warming your home. You’ll love it on the coldest winter mornings, and you’ll find yourself gravitating to those rooms instead of running away.

So what’s your choice? What flooring is the warmest and the most beautiful to include in your home? If you need a little inspiration or help to select the right one, stop by, we can help. View our entire selection, and make the right choice for your home.

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

At Express Flooring, we value and care for our customers as much as they value a great deal. That’s why we are the Happy Home People…and each and every one of you is a member of the Happy Home Family. We Care About You!

With concern and coverage continuing to grow about the spread of Coronavirus and the resulting illness, COVID-19, I wanted to take a moment of your time to personally assure you that Express Flooring has your safety at the forefront of everything we do.

We’re taking numerous steps to protect our family…including yourselves, our team, and our partners from the spread of infection during this concerning time in order to keep you safe during your in-home consultation. Our Design Consultants use hand sanitizer before every appointment. In addition, they wipe down the samples before and after every appointment. Each day, our Design Consultants take their temperature several times throughout the day. We take all these additional steps to ensure we are doing everything possible to help prevent the spread of this virus.

We are continuing to diligently monitoring the situation as it evolves while adhering to the guidance published from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

We regularly give these reminders to all our associates:

Wash your hands frequently and thoroughly (20 seconds, minimum) .
Adopt an alternative to the handshake.
Avoid contact with sick people.
Avoid touching your own eyes/nose/mouth.
Stay home if you or someone in your home is feeling sick. When returning, you must have a Doctor’s note.

In order to maintain a safe work environment, we have also increased the cleaning and sanitizing of our offices and warehouses.

In addition, we have advised our in-home Design Consultants and contractors on specific practices to ensure the safety of our customers, as well as themselves as they are invited in to your homes.

We’ve put these measures in place because we want you and your loved ones to stay safe, healthy, and comfortable until this public health issue is behind us all. We live, work, and participate in the same communities we serve, and we are committed to doing everything we can to help minimize the risk of contributing to any sickness.

We have always believed, and continue to believe that the best way to shop for new flooring is in your own home, with your own lighting and furniture. Now more than ever, avoiding crowds and shopping in the safety and comfort of your own home is not only convenient, its simply the right thing to do.

Rest assured that even though this is an extremely fluid situation, we are monitoring and abiding by the daily recommendations put out by the CDC, as well as our local governments. We do not currently foresee any operational disruption. We remain committed and resolved to provide excellent service at excellent prices, as safely as possible.

So, to the members of The Happy Home Family, thank you. For your business and your support. I again want to affirm that we’ve got your back!

Thank you for being a valued member of The Happy Home Family!

Sincerely,

Michael Hirsch, GM

The post A Message To Our Customers About COVID-19 (Coronavirus) appeared first on Express Flooring.

No, you should not steam mop your LVT floor.  LVT or Luxury Vinyl Tile flooring is designed to resist the test of time, however you must look after it and follow some simple cleaning and maintenance advice. Read More

We’ve been changing the way we work for a long time.

Think back to the offices of yesteryear. Almost everyone who worked outside of the home went to the office. Individuals had offices where they could close the doors. Even workers had partitions between them, helping to define their workspace.

No more.

According to a report by JLL, flexible space has been growing at an average annual rate of 23 percent since 2010, with no signs of stopping.

It really comes as no surprise. Large companies are changing the way they do business. Employees are demanding different ways to work. And because it’s easier than ever to find talent anywhere in the globe, and let people set their own hours, flexible office space is becoming our new norm.

But this new way of working is also bringing in a different set of problems. Open floor plans are great; they can create a cohesive space that brings people together for collaboration and brainstorming. But it can also make us sicker. Recommendations for personal space vary greatly, with only 60 square feet per person in open environments.

There is evidence that if you share office space and are closer together, you’re more likely to get sick.

Choosing the right flooring for your office space

The first thing to realize is not every room in your office space needs the same type of floor. Office space receives a lot more traffic than your residential home. And in most cases, we aren’t as careful to pick up after ourselves in a work environment as frequently as we do at home.

In an office, what would you consider to be the most germ-infested place in the building? If you said restroom, you’d be wrong. One study found the worst place in an office building to be the break room. That’s because there’s a lot of action and a lot of spreading germs between people who never meet.

What’s more, this same study found that in the restrooms, germs might not be lingering where you’d expect them. Nope, they aren’t on the toilet seats or even the door handle; the germiest place is actually the floor.

What works in the break room or restroom might not be the best choice for the lobby or for conference rooms. What makes a good choice for office floors?

Lobby areas

This is where people enter and exit all day long. Durability and ease of maintenance are your two key considerations. The lobby is also the place of first impressions. It should be able to withstand everything visitors bring in, as well as make it easy to clean on a daily basis. Some flooring choices to consider are:

• Luxury vinyl tile – this can give you the impression of hardwood plank, stone, or even granite, with the ease of use of vinyl. It’s a budget friendly way to create a great first impression.
• Hardwood – nothing says elegance quite the way hardwood flooring does. This is a great option for office buildings that want a flooring that will stand the test of time.
• Stone – one of the hardest flooring choices can give you longevity too. Stone tile can deliver no matter what the office building occupants can dish out.

Open office space

Office spaces can vary greatly in desire and need. Your flooring should be chosen based on aesthetics, noise levels, and production requirements. Meeting clients for financial advice would have different needs than meeting patients for medical treatment. Durability might not be your biggest factor, but it should be easy to maintain and look good in the process. Suggestions would be:

• Carpet – commercial grade carpet can hold up well under all kinds of pressure. Consider carpet tiles for easy replacement, as needed.
• Luxury vinyl time – another great choice to give you the look of hardwood or stone, while being easier to maintain overall.
• Hardwood – for elegance and sophistication, it’s hard to ignore the classic good looks of hardwood.

Kitchens and break rooms

This is where the action is. All flooring should be slip-resistant, spill-resistant, and water-resistant. Expect water, food, coffee, and other items to be spilled, yet not cleaned in an urgent manner. How well will it stand up under pressure? How easy will it be to clean?

• Tile – always makes a great choice, and with the right tile and sealant, it will look great for years to come.
• Luxury vinyl tile – this is one flooring choice that’s easy to clean, even when spills stay in place for minutes (or hours).
• Linoleum – if you want a more eco-friendly option, don’t forget to check out linoleum. This is as beautiful as it is durable.

Conference rooms

Conference rooms are a continuation of your business, it’s the place where first impressions can be everything. Consider who uses it most: employee meetings, potential clients, training, board meetings. What do you want your conference room to say? Consider your aesthetics carefully too; you don’t want private conversations to echo and filter out into general working environments. In general, you have less square footage while increasing the number of attendees shuffling around in the room. Equipment may be prevalent. Chairs will constantly be scraping the floor. Be sure to choose a flooring that’s up to all of those challenges and more.

• Hardwood – if you go with hardwood, be sure to select a harder substance that can take the abuse. Consider moving to an eco-friendly option like cork or bamboo for a new look.
• Carpet – carpet can warm a room as well as cut down on noise and echo. Plush carpet can increase the look and give a sophisticated feel.
• Stone – natural stone can also add a touch of elegance to a conference room. Play with different sizes, styles, and shades to create a one of a kind look.

What office flooring will you install in your space?

With so many choices to choose from, there really isn’t a top recommendation. Instead, carefully weigh your wants with your needs, and select the perfect office flooring to suit your office space best.

From wood finishes to luxury vinyl tile, to carpet and stone,  the perfect solution for your office flooring needs is waiting for you.

How can we help you?

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

A properly installed wall-to-wall carpet looks great and does an excellent job of tying a room together. On the flipside, a new carpet with poor installation makes a room appear disjointed and unfinished. With decades of experience in all things carpet, A Personal Touch Carpet Cleaning knows the signs of a poor carpet installation, and how to fix it.

Signs Of a Poor Carpet Installation

Padding Installed Incorrectly

A professional carpet installer should have no trouble installing carpet padding, whose multiple benefits include extra cushion for the feet, protection against matting of the carpet fibers, and a reasonable level of stain protection. However, when installed incorrectly, the carpet padding will be bumpy – a problem that transfers over to the carpet when it is laid atop the padding.

Wrong Equipment

A big red flag to watch out for is a carpet installer who shows up at your home with a knee-kicker instead of a power stretcher. The latter looks like a jarge jack, whereas the former “kneepads” that the installer uses to “kick” the carpet and padding into place. In this case of man vs. machine, the machine wins every time, with the power stretcher able to achieve a much smoother, tauter install than even the best knee-kickers.

If you recently had carpet installed by someone using knee-kickers, a good test of their quality is to go to the middle of the room and try pulling up the carpet as high off the floor as you can. If you’re able to pull it up more than an inch, the carpet is too loose and wasn’t installed well.

Miscellaneous Signs

There are several other signs to be wary of when judging whether a carpet has been installed correctly. Some of the most common are frayed/fuzzy edges where the carpet meets the wall, carpet seams that don’t match or are misaligned, carpet that’s too loose (mentioned above), and ripples/bumps/ridges in the carpet. Often times, repairing any of these mistakes is a time-consuming, costly endeavor, and it may be difficult getting the installer to cover the cost.

Tips For Fixing The Problem

The more effort you put into finding the right carpet for your home, the more likely you are to properly vet your installer options and make the best choice. Choosing quality over cost is always a smart move, especially since you’ll rely on your carpet to contribute to your home’s warmth, vibrancy, and aesthetic appeal. Given the time and expense involved, you should take as much time as possible to find the right carpet and the right installer so that the job is done correctly the first time.

When seeking a reputable carpet company to fix a bad installation, there are some “must-haves” to keep in mind:

• Knowledge of and expertise with the latest specialty tools
• Experience with properly cutting carpet, accounting for heating and cooling registers, and removing baseboards, all in the name of alleviating the problem quickly and cost-effectively.
• Current state licensure
• Good referrals
• Strong Better Business Bureau rating

Trust The Carpet Experts In Englewood

If you have an improperly installed carpet in your home, trust A Personal Touch Carpet Cleaning to remedy the situation. Our expertise transcends carpet cleaning services, allowing us to evaluate your carpet and determine the best course of action. In some cases, we may not need to replace your existing carpet, thus saving you big bucks. Contact us today for a free quote and to make an appointment.  Remember at A Personal Touch, “We don’t cut corners, we clean them.”

The post Signs Of a Poor Carpet Installation & How To Fix It appeared first on A Personal Touch.

Think back to the coldest day this past winter. There was more than a chill to the air; you might argue you were chilled to the bone.

As homeowners, we’re trained to drop the temperatures in our homes while we sleep or while we’re away all day at work or school. Why pay to heat a place when you’re not there?

But you start to think twice when your foot touches the floor, and that chill sets in a little deeper.

That’s why underfloor heating – radiant heating – is growing in popularity.

According to a report by Component, Underfloor Heating Market, the underfloor heating industry sat at $2.53 billion in 2016, and is expected to rise to $4.23 billion by 2023 – almost doubling in less than ten years. Clearly, people want a better way to be comfortable in their homes, and underfloor heating may be the solution.

Why underfloor heating?

If you’ve ever experienced underfloor heating, you probably don’t need a lot of convincing to know its a great option for your home. Imagine stepping out of bed on a cold morning and being greeted by warmth on your toes. Sounds great, right?

One of the biggest reasons people start exploring their options with radiant flooring is because of the comfort. It sounds great, and that’s one of the best reasons to consider it in your options. But homeowners also find that it’s a great investment, especially if they know they will be selling their home in the near future. Today’s home buyers look for the little extras that separate a house from the pack. Underfloor heating can do that.

Of course, you can’t just pick up your current flooring and through heating underneath. There are things you’ll have to consider as you lay underfloor heating into place.

What type of flooring can be heated?

There are certain types of flooring that are more conductive than others. That’s why it’s important to explore your options first, make your best flooring choice, to ensure you gain all the benefits of what this type of heating system offers. Most people aren’t surprised to learn underfloor heating works well under stone or tile, but did you also know you can lay it under carpet? You just have to learn the different types of radiant heating, and install the one that works best for you.

But before you look at types of underfloor heating, it’s important to narrow your flooring choices and pick the best for your home and personality.

Stone and tile

We’ll start with the obvious because, well, it’s obvious. Stone and tile go hand in hand with underfloor heating. You’ll never find a better match for the two. And you’ll never be sorry for your flooring choice.

Both stone and tile have conductivity that makes them perfect for heating up as well as holding heat over time. You can use both stone and tile throughout your home, wherever you want warmth from the ground up: kitchen, bathroom, laundry room, family room, sun rooms, and more.

In most cases, if you install a thicker tile, it will take longer to heat up. But a thicker tile also has more mass and will stay warm longer than a thinner tile. Plus, tiles are already well loved because they are easy to maintain and come in so many different possibilities.

Wood and laminate

Here in Colorado, we love the look of hardwood. Maybe it has to do with being so close to nature. We want to bring all we love about the outside, inside into our homes. And what better way to do that than with hardwood flooring.

Most hardwood and laminate products are designed to take heat up to 80 to 85 degrees. Check with the manufacturer before you finalize your decision. But once installed, you’ll be able to bring warmth to every room in your home and create the look you love in the process. This can be especially beneficial in cold basement remodels where you’re looking to combine good looks and functionality. Laminate may be your obvious choice.

Vinyl

Today’s vinyl flooring is soaring because of its beauty and maintenance-free qualities. What’s more, technology has created luxury vinyl tiles that can mimic just about anything, from stone and tile to hardwood planks.

Vinyl flooring is also a great choice to lay over underfloor heating. Vinyl heats up quickly, giving you quicker results on those frosty mornings. They do have a lower threshold of temperature restrictions, so it’s important to do your research and select the right option for your needs before you install it into your home.

Carpet

What may surprise you most is that you can lay underfloor heating below carpet. Your first step, if this is your choice, is to find a carpet that doesn’t act as an insulator. This will block the heat, defeating the purpose of underfloor heating. Thickness is everything when combining these two options to heat your home. Pay attention to the heat and tog-value or R-value guidelines listed for both product lines.

What are the advantages of underfloor heating?

Most homeowners start looking at underfloor heating because of the warmth. It’s appealing to have a warm floor on the coldest mornings of the year. But very quickly they learn there are a host of other benefits to installing radiant flooring as well.

Lower utility bills – by having heated floors, you’ll feel warmer as your feet are surrounded by warmth. No more turning up the thermostat again and again as the heat from your vents and registers rise. Your toes will stay warm all day long.

No ductwork – it doesn’t require expensive modifications to your home. Radiant flooring is installed directly to the subfloor, underneath your flooring, meaning out of sight, out of mind. You won’t even have to worry about where vents and registers have to be placed.

Better indoor air quality – gas-forced heating and cooling means airflow is consistently pushed through the ductwork before entering each room. That has the opportunity to send dust, pet dander, pollutants, mold spores and more circulating throughout your home. With underfloor heating, it doesn’t circulate the air, meaning less opportunity for allergens to flow freely throughout the air supply.

Uniform heating – with radiant heating, your entire floor is your heat source. It starts at the bottom and keeps you warm from the floor up. Vents and registers are usually only located in one or two places in each room, and work hard to blow enough air to adequately heat the space. It’s continually overcompensating and mixing with the cold air to try and keep you comfortable.

Is underfloor heating right for you? 

The best place to start is by stopping in and seeing our complete selection of flooring. We’ll point you to the best products that are perfect for underfloor heating.

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

At
Express Flooring, we value our customers as much as they value a great deal.
That’s why we are the Happy Home People…and each and every one of you is a
member of the Happy Home Family.

With
concern continuing to grow about the spread of Coronavirus and the resulting
illness, COVID-19, I wanted to take a moment of your time to personally assure
you that Express Flooring has your safety at the forefront of everything we do.

We’re taking numerous steps to protect our
family…including yourselves, our team, and our partners from the spread of
infection during this concerning time. 

We are diligently monitoring the situation as
it evolves while adhering to the guidance published from the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

We regularly give these reminders to all our associates:

Wash your
hands frequently and thoroughly (20 seconds, minimum)
Adopt an alternative to the handshake
Avoid contact with sick people
Avoid touching your own eyes/nose/mouth
Stay home if you or someone in your home is feeling sick

In
order to maintain a safe work environment, we have also increased the cleaning
and sanitizing of our offices and warehouses.

In
addition, we have advised our in-home Design Consultants on specific practices
to ensure the safety of our customers, as well as themselves as they are
invited in to homes.

We’ve
put these measures in place because we want you and your loved ones to stay
safe, healthy, and comfortable until this public health issue is behind us all.

So,
to the members of The Happy Home Family, I again want to affirm that we’ve got
your back!

Thank you for being a valued member of The Happy Home Family!

Sincerely,

Michael
Hirsch, GM

The post Our Response to COVID-19 (Coronavirus) appeared first on Express Flooring.

Have you noticed almost every home you go into across the Front Range has wood floors? There’s a reason for that.

Head back in time, and you’ll find homes predominately used wood for floors. This wasn’t expensive wood, rather it was whatever fit their budgets, often being little more than particleboard. Of course, they didn’t have our modern day finishes and varnishes, so they used sand and wire brushes to level it out, occasionally bleached it with lye to bring it to a neutral color. In most cases, they used paint as a decor statement, or simply covered it up with their handmade rugs. These floors weren’t beautiful. They were functional at best.

To make them beautiful, they started having fun with decorating techniques. They’d use paint to create borders and patterns. They’d do what they could to “pretty” them up.

The sign of wealth showed up when a homeowner had rugs or carpet installed. Rugs were handcrafted by true artisans. They often came from different parts of the world. If someone could afford a rug, you knew they’d found success.

Is wood flooring good?

The industrial age brought on many new things in our lives, including mass production. Whereas people used to have to forage local areas for the wood necessary to build their homes and install flooring, now they could be selective about the type of wood they used.

And that meant humans started focusing on quality.

We also became better at building. We learned to use subfloors and insulation for protection and warmth. Flooring was no longer a mishmash of materials based on what we could find nearby.

And that changed everything.

What are the 7 main benefits of wood flooring?

1. It’s good looks

You can never go wrong with the classic looks of hardwood flooring. They’ll never go out of style. Maybe that’s because there are so many looks to choose from.

When you first enter our store, you’ll find a large variety of choices. Light or dark wood? Something more traditional, or do you prefer exotic? Want something eco-friendly? Want something that will look good for decades? We can point you in the right direction.

What’s more, with hardwood, you also have the opportunity to refinish it when it starts aging, and its classic looks begin to fade. Some hardwoods have been known to last fifty years or more.

2. It’s durable

Today’s hardwood is no longer taken from a local tree and installed without proper processing. Instead, they are kiln-dried, manufactured, and finished to meet specific standards. Depending on the materials you choose, they can be durable enough to last even in commercial applications.

https://www.nwfa.org/technical-standards.aspx

If strength and durability are something you are particularly concerned with, learn more about Janka hardness test. The Janka test lists hardness values for all types of wood used for flooring applications, ranking them for how well they sustain denting and wear.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janka_hardness_test

3. It’s easy to maintain

Wood floors are one of the easiest flooring types to keep clean, no matter how busy your household is. They don’t accumulate dirt and debris, nor will they stain under most circumstances. If you spill, simply wipe it away. A weekly cleaning is often nothing more than running a vacuum over it to remove the debris, with an occasional damp mop for a deeper clean. Be sure not to let the water pool, wipe up spills immediately for best results.

4. Variety

While we’ve mentioned it’s classic good looks above, it’s worth another look at the different options you can find in the hardwood flooring industry. It’s no longer just about using standard species like oak or maple.

Have you ever thought of using cork? Cork is an environmentally friendly option that is processed from the bark of a tree rather than the inner wood itself. That makes it sustainable, as the tree doesn’t have to be harvested for the product. It can reproduce bark every few years, and last for decades to give the farmer a recurring revenue stream. That’s good for the environment, and good for your home.

You can also select from a wide variety of species, and even change the look further by selecting your own stain and finish. Darken the wood to produce a dramatic space. Lighten it up for an open, airy appearance.

5. It’s a great investment

If you’re at all thinking of selling your home in the future, you can’t go wrong by installing hardwood floors. Wood floors are shown to consistently hold their resell value, and you’ll find it boosts your home’s price enough to recoup as much as 80 percent of the installation costs.

https://www.realtor.com/advice/home-improvement/what-type-of-flooring-should-i-install-for-best-resale-value/

 

Why? Because new home buyers demand it. There’s nothing that makes a home look cleaner and more up to date than walking into wood floors throughout.

6. It’s healthier

Indoor air quality is no longer on the fringe, something that only scientists or medical practitioners consider. If you have a family, chances are you do your research well, and want only the best for each member. Of course, you want to create a home environment where everyone thrives.

Wood floors are healthier, depending on which manufacturer you choose. If you’re concerned with quality, be sure to ask us for the best products on the market. We’ll steer you to the ones that are produced without harsh chemicals, and that won’t require glues with higher levels of VOCs. And because they don’t harbor dirt, dust, particles, dander, or allergens the way other flooring does, you’ll breathe a sigh of relief, knowing your house is as clean as it can be.

7. It’s ageless

If you want a floor that will last years – decades – wood flooring is your choice. Long after other flooring options look tired and worn, hardwood will keep on looking its best. And even when it starts looking dull and tired, you can sand it down, stain it, refinish it, and it will pop right back into great shape.

https://pro-flooring.com/refinish-your-old-hardwood-floors-or-replace/

If you install hardwood flooring today, rest assured it has the possibility of being in your home as your family grows and ages.

And that can be a very good feeling, knowing you’re installing a flooring that will do well by you for years to come. It’s more sustainable – meaning it will lower your carbon footprint. And you won’t have to sacrifice good looks during the process.

Are you ready for wood floors in your home? If so, we can help. Stop by today and see our complete selection. We’ll help you choose the right floors for your space.

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

I stopped by a friend’s house the other day. She’d invited me over for coffee and conversation.

“And bring your dog.”

Our puppies grew up together and were great friends. As we entered, I bent down, wiping her paws off with a towel.

“Don’t worry about it. The floors are beyond repair anyway. There isn’t a flooring choice out there that can survive when you’re a pet owner.”

What!?

And as I looked around, I saw what she meant. Her hardwood was scratched, possibly beyond repair. The living room had threadbare carpets in place where her furry friend dug into the floor. I’d never noticed it before, but her flooring was truly a mess.

I compared it to mine when I got back home. Without my dog by my side, you couldn’t tell pets resided in my home. The flooring looked great! What was the difference?

Is it possible to have great looking flooring when you live with pets? I was determined to find out.

What pets do to flooring

People own all sorts of exotic pets. But in general, dogs and cats far outweigh any other kind of pet ownership.

While dogs and cats are distinctly different in the way they impact flooring, you’ll face three different categories of problems that affect how well your flooring wears:

Pets make messes. Their fur accumulates everywhere, meaning you’ll be sweeping and vacuuming more. They spill their water and food when they eat and drink. They may knock things over as they run and play.

Pets scratch. They like to run across the floor, playing with a ball, or fetching a toy. They dig in for traction. They dig … who knows what may be underneath the flooring, or at least in their minds.

Pets have accidents. Just do a quick search in Google on pet urine, and you’ll find millions of entries making recommendations for how to remove unsightly stains. It’s bad enough when you see the accident. If it goes unnoticed for days, you may never be able to remove it entirely without stripping the flooring down to the core.

Factors to keep in mind when selecting pet-friendly flooring

If you want to have great looking flooring and have pets in your home, it does take a little extra work. Still, with a bit of research, before you make your final selection, you can choose wisely and be happy with your decision for years to come.

The best flooring when you have pets should be:

Scratch-resistant. While both dogs and cats can have sharp nails that dig into the flooring as they walk and play, dogs have the added issue of weight. A one-hundred-pound dog playing as they run from room to room has the potential for doing a lot more damage than a twelve-pound cat. Pet-friendly flooring is one that stands up to high levels of scratch-resistance, no matter how hard your pet plays.

Stain-resistant. When you bring a puppy home, you’re going to face a lot of accidents. But even a well trained pet will occasionally have accidents on the floor. Even food and water can be a problem, especially when it sits in place for too long. The perfect flooring stands up well no matter how much your pet dishes out.

Safety. If you’ve ever watched a dog trying to gain traction on a slippery floor, it might look like it’s straight out of the funniest home videos show. But it can be a safety hazard that has the potential to injure your pet. Your pet walks, plays, and lies on the floor all day. Shouldn’t it be something that’s safe and comfortable?

What is the best flooring for pets?

Now that you have a better idea in mind of what factors to look for in a flooring, let’s talk about what options make great choices.

Hardwood. We start with hardwood only because it’s one of the most popular choices here across the Front Range. Most hardwoods aren’t meant for the abuse that typically comes with owning and caring for pets, especially larger dogs. If you don’t want to sacrifice your hardwoods for the sake of pet ownership, however, spend the extra time looking for the hardest wood you can find. Check the Janka hardness factor for specific types of hardwood, and select on the side of the hardest of woods. You might even consider adding even more protection by applying a urethane coating to minimize damage from scratching and messes.

Laminate. If you love the look of hardwood, but want added strength and durability, consider laminate flooring instead. Laminate is designed to imitate the look of hardwood, yet depending on the product you select, it can actually be as hard as stone. Laminate is made up of several different layers of materials, giving you the freedom to select many different looks, while having a durable product that can stand up to whatever your pet dishes out. What’s more, laminate flooring is easily cleaned and rarely stains, making it a great product to stand up to those occasional accidents your furry friend may make.

Vinyl. We love vinyl flooring, and recommend it all the time to pet owners. Don’t think you’ll have to compromise on looks to have vinyl installed in your home. Today’s luxury vinyl flooring mimics the most popular flooring on the market so closely, even experts have to lean down to tell it isn’t real. If you want hardwood without the hassle, look at luxury vinyl. If you want a softer version of stone, check out the options with luxury vinyl. Plus, it’s one of the lowest costing flooring choices, meaning it’s economical for all budgets.

Stone. Natural stone is one of the most expensive options, but its timeless beauty also makes it one of the best. If you’re worried about scratches in your flooring, you won’t have to think twice when you install stone. Even large dogs will have little impact against stone. And when it comes to clean up, as long as you have a proper sealant in place, clean up is as easy as wiping away the mess for good. We also love stone because you can install it over radiant heating, something your furry friend will love on the coldest of nights.

What pet friendly flooring choice is right for you?

These are our top flooring choices for homeowners that own pets. Though a lot of it depends on your style, personality, and the pets you care for.

If you’re thinking of changing out your flooring, what choice is moving to the top of your wish list? What questions can we answer for you?

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