Quite often people forget that an integral part of their home is the flooring.
Everyone pretty much knows that a fresh coat of paint makes a big difference but second to that, or maybe even just as important, is the condition of your flooring.
The current trend in flooring is hardwood and buyers really prefer hardwood to most anything else. If you have an older home you may think that’s great because under your carpeting is good old fashioned wood but beware! In many cases older homes that have had their wooden floors covered for long periods of time find that the wood underneath is not in the best of conditions. Removing your carpeting could end up creating an extensive refurbishing project that you didn’t plan.
Many times, especially if you’re house has had pets and/or children in it, you’ll find that stains have soaked through to the wood flooring. While it would probably be worth the cost to have a professional refurbish your old wood floors it can be a project for anyone that’s handy at this type of stuff. It is hard and back breaking work and one should not expect the project to be something finished within a day or so. If you’re willing to do the work then go for it but you can also think about having a professional refurbish it or install alternative hardwood overtop in some cases.
There are basically four types of flooring you can opt for:
- Hardwood Floors
- Ceramic Tile
- Carpeting
- Linoleum/Tile
Hardwood is the most popular and most desired type of flooring at the moment; however depending upon your options you may not have the funds to do this. You will find that there are a number of faux wood products out there, some actually boast being better than the old fashioned hardwood flooring. So don’t automatically think it’s out of your price range. Ceramic tile is very expensive and actually most people don’t care of it as a flooring. One area that ceramic tile is slightly more accepted is in a foyer or entrance way where there may be mud, snow, water, and dirt tracked in. Carpeting is completely acceptable but you have to be careful to stay with neutral and not too dark of colors. Carpeting is probably the second most accepted and desired flooring buyers like.
Tiles have basically replaced the old large rolls of linoleum, mainly because it’s much easier for people to install themselves as opposed to hiring someone to do it. It can also be very economical. The biggest setback to tiles is that you have to be certain your sub-floor is in good condition or lay a new sub-floor of plywood. In any of these cases you can and should hire a professional to install the flooring if you’re not very handy. There is rarely a case where replacing old, overused and unappealing flooring isn’t worth it.
If you think about when you walk into a room the first place you look is the walls and then your eyes generally go downward to the floor. If the room has been freshly painted and looks crisp and clean and your eyes move down and hit an ugly, outdated, or well past its lifetime flooring it’s an instant turn off. It’s also something that a buyer instantly puts in the “cost of moving in” column of repairs they’ll want or need to do before moving into the place. This can actually break a deal or can become so much of an issue that, depending upon the condition of the flooring, it becomes a negotiating point for many buyers.
If you have the funds to do so have old and unattractive flooring replaced or at the least repaired so that it’s presentable. If you have a ceramic floor replace cracked tiles and make sure the grouting is clean and fresh looking. If you have shag carpeting, think about replacing it with either a different more acceptable carpet or hardwood floors. One of the biggest places hardwood is desired is in the kitchen and you may find that there are a lot of options out there that are quite inexpensive to achieve the look you want with hardwood flooring. So take the time and money if at all possible and finish off that room that you painted to look fresh and beautiful! In the end it’s well worth the costs involved.
