Welcome to the second installment of our series on finding the right flooring for the rooms in your home.
The first ‘Find the Perfect Flooring for You‘ laid out some important points to consider before deciding on a particular type of flooring like ease of installation, maintenance, etc.
Here are a few more tips and elements to think about:
Hidden Expenses
When calculating your budget, determine the square footage of the room in which the new flooring will be installed.
Then, regardless of the type of flooring or deal a store might be offering, break down the price of the final flooring options you’ve decided on to a price per square foot.
Nothing trips up budgets more than hidden expenses and installing new flooring has its fair share of them.
While some types of flooring can be installed directly above the current flooring, others cannot. Do you have the tools necessary to do it yourself? If not, you’ll need to factor that labor into the budget.
Other types of flooring require sub-floors and padding. Finishing elements like sealers and polishes can also add to the price tag.
Alternatives
If the budget is a big issue and you feel it might be too much of a stretch, there are a number of alternatives to choose from that offer significant price savings.
While laminate flooring used to have a reputation for looking and feeling cheap, new technology such as embossing and placing photographic images under sealed surfaces has helped close the gap and make laminate floors look like real tile and wood.