This article is sponsored by, America’s Floor Source

Ready to start shopping for new floors?Here are some things you should know about choosing the right flooring for your home.

The most widely used floor covering in homes today is carpet

Why? Because it is soft, relatively inexpensive, easy to change, sound absorbent and available in an almost infinite number of colors and styles.

Types of Carpet

• Textured Plush: Textured plush carpet is the most versatile. Because the textured surface of this carpet hides footprints and vacuum marks, this carpet is often the preferred style for many people. It is available in a broad range of prices and colors.
• Saxony: With a smooth, soft finish each yard of Saxony carpet has uniform twist and finish, making it the perfect carpet for master bedroom, dining room or formal living room. This is not a good carpet choice for high-traffic areas. It will show footprints and vacuum marks.
• Frieze/Cut Berber: One of the hottest styles of carpet today, this durable carpet adds a sense of both comfort and style. This type of carpet is effective at hiding footprints, and adding color flex can be very helpful at hiding soil between cleanings.
• Berber: Looped Berber carpets are durable and ideal for any room in your home with a lot of foot traffic or heavy use. This rugged carpet creates a sense of warmth and hides footprints. However, this style may make seams more apparent. It is also not ideal for stairs because the backing can show through on the stair fronts.
• Cut & Loop: This beautiful carpet is created through a combination of cut and looped yarns that create pattern effects by the variation in surface textures. Multi-color cut loops can spice up the décor of any room, as well as hide soil, stains and footprints.
• Wool: Often considered the highest-quality carpet available, wool carpet provides a sense of quality, luxury, formality and warmth. The wool pile naturally hides footprints and adds a prestigious feel to any room.

Choosing The Right Ceramic or Porcelain Tile

Ceramic and porcelain tile flooring is offered in a broad range of textures, patterns and sizes, and when combined with a spectrum of grout and glaze options, they offer significant design options for any room, in any home.

The main difference between ceramic and porcelain tile is that porcelain is fired at a much higher temperature; thus, making porcelain more resistant to moisture staining and wear than any other tile products.

Ceramic and porcelain tile is manufactured in sizes ranging from 1” to 24” square. However, you should know that tile size is relative. Tile is usually referred to by its nominal size, not it’s actual size. During the firing process, ceramic tile will shrink an average of 10%. For example some 12” by 12” floor tile will actually measure 11-7/8 inches square.

You can also choose a variety of tile shapes. Rectangular, octagonal, circular, and square shapes are just a few shapes available to consumers today.

Types of Tiles:

• Glazed Ceramic: Glazed ceramic tiles are coated with glass-forming minerals and ceramic stains. Typically, they have a matte, semi-gloss or high-gloss finish.
• Unglazed Ceramic: Unglazed ceramic tiles are very hard and dense. They come in various surface treatments and textures. These tiles are installed outside your home, as they do not offer much protection against stains compared to glazed ceramic tile.
• Porcelain: Porcelain is the hardest and densest tile available. Porcelain tile also has water absorption rate of 0.5% or less, making it applicable for both interior and exterior use.

Choosing The Right Hardwood

Hardwood floors come in a variety of species, colors, widths and finishes. However, hardwood floors come in two types: solid wood and engineered wood. The two floors look virtually identical. However, each option provides it’s own unique benefits.

The Differences Between Solid And Engineered Wood

• Solid Hardwood: Each plank is made of a single piece of wood meaning there are no veneers or reinforcements necessary. Solid hardwood floors offer greater flexibility in finishing and repairing because the floor can be repeatedly sanded, stained, and refinished.
• Engineered Hardwood: These planks are created by layering multiple sheets or plies of wood together. They are then laminated together to form a solid plank or strip. This option offers improved stability, reduced chances of cupping, more sound absorption, reduced impact from moisture and other benefits created by the strength of multiple layers.