Choosing the best resilient flooring depends on your family's living habits and desired floor appearance. Resilient flooring is commonly a tough material for your busy bathrooms or kitchens. This type of flooring is available in many forms, such as linoleum, rubber, or vinyl.
Linoleum is a combination of a number of materials, consisting of linseed oil, cork, and canvas. This resilient flooring choice is highly durable, producing the same color and design scheme throughout the material's thickness as the flooring wears down. A main drawback to this flooring material is waxing. Linoleum must be waxed to retain that shiny surface that many consumers crave.
Rubber resilient flooring offers an extremely durable floor material, but is not as inexpensive as linoleum. Although normally used for retail or industrial applications, rubber flooring provides a cushiony feel. If you enjoy extensive cooking periods in the kitchen, rubber resilient flooring may be a practical option for preventing sore feet.
Choosing vinyl as your flooring will offer you a wide variety of design selections and thicknesses. If you are looking for an incredibly strong vinyl choice, commercial grades offer the thickest material for resisting dents and cracks across the flooring material. Less traffic-prone areas in the home can use basic vinyl, providing an inexpensive flooring choice for those on a budget.
One of the main advantages to resilient flooring is its shape options; it usually comes either in a large roll or individual tiles. While rolling out the large flooring can be difficult for one person, tiles are easily spaced out by yourself if you don't have any extra people to help construct the floor. In addition, the new flooring can also be applied directly over old flooring, unless it is a carpet material, negating the time-consuming need to remove the previous flooring.
The main installation drawback to resilient flooring is its tendency to show subfloor cracks or anomalies. You should choose a thick or cushioned flooring material, such as rubber, if the subfloor has a lot of cracks. An alternative to a thick flooring is applying an underlayment, like plywood, to smooth out the installation area.
This normally inexpensive floor type should be replaced approximately every 10 years. Depending on foot traffic, each resilient floor type will eventually experience damage that can allow dirt and debris to accumulate along seams and cracks. If the same flooring type is purchased again, it can easily be installed over the old flooring for a fast repair.