The winter is here and the temperature is dropping, so you might want to consider redecorating. When you make the right choices, you can transform your home so that it retains heat and is warm through the winter. Take wood flooring as an example. Wood flooring is brilliant at absorbing heat and keeping it inside instead of outside. And, that makes it a must-have. However, before you jump the gun, you need to ask a couple of questions to make sure it is right for your home.
Where Is It Going?
If you are lucky, you might have several stories in your home. However, when it comes to wood flooring, that can be a problem. Any wood flooring that you install below grade – underneath the house – is susceptible to moisture coming up from the ground. The moisture can get into the wood and cause it to rot, which means hardwood may not be a good option for a basement. Plus, hardwood is heavy, which means it is hard to get upstairs, or above grade.
What’s The Sub-floor Made Of?
The sub-floor is the material underneath the floor. The main types are concrete, plywood and particleboard. And, they will determine whether you have wood floors or engineered wood. Concrete, for example, means you will have to install engineered wood because of its hard surface. Plywood, on the other hand, allows you to nail solid wood on top of it because the surface is much softer. Out of all three options, plywood is the most flexible.
What Type Of Wood Do You Want?
As you may already know, there are lots of options when it comes to hardwood flooring. Quite simply, you can have any hardwood flooring you can think of, as long as you can pay the asking price. From oak to beech, the variety is large and wide-ranging. So, before you decide on your favorite, make sure that you view all of the options first. The last thing you want is to realize you have made a mistake after forking out for your initial impulse.
What Style Are You Going For?
It might be that the style you are trying to create does not go with hardwood floors. So, you will want to think carefully before making a final purchase. An older home, for example, is perfect for hardwood floors because they are synonymous with Victorian England. If that is the case for you, check out Victorian Woodworks. Newer homes, however, are synonymous with laminate flooring.
What Is Your Budget?
As the paragraph above alluded to, hardwood doesn’t always come cheap. As a result, you will have to consider how much money you have to spend. You should never pay for something that you cannot afford, even if it is your dream. If you do, you could end up in a situation where you put your financial future at risk all because of an interior design fantasy. Weigh up how much money you have available and don’t go over the final amount.
Before pulling the trigger, rethink all of the above.