A home remodel can be a daunting process. That’s why we at Hudson Remodeling, your Bellingham design-build contractor, have been attempting to demystify the process over the past few months, sharing info on the overall remodeling process and looking specifically at the decisions involved in remodeling bathrooms and kitchens (with a special focus on kitchen cabinets).
Today, let’s take a look at flooring options for your Whatcom County remodel.
Luxury vinyl plank
Thanks to recent advances in technology, it has become much more cost-effective to produce plank-style luxury vinyl plank flooring with surface designs and embossing that help it emulate real wood or even stone tile.
LVP, as it’s often called, stands up well to traffic and is generally waterproof, making it an excellent option for a wide variety of uses in modern homes.
Wood
When updating an older house here in the Bellingham area, existing wood flooring will probably be one of two woods: fir or oak. Fir, a relatively soft wood, is common in Bellingham, Ferndale and Lynden because of the abundance of fir trees in Whatcom County. Fir is damaged more easily than oak, but it’s a gorgeous wood and worth refinishing if it’s in good shape. Oak is more durable and equally as beautiful.
When considering whether to refinish an older wood floor, consider the state of the wood relative to the look you’re going for (can it be sanded smooth, or are there deep gouges and water stains throughout?) and the final color you’d like (fir tends to be more on the redder side, but stain options are numerous).
Hudson Remodeling’s flooring installers also can install new solid wood floors, and the options are plenteous: oak, maple, walnut, fir, bamboo and many more.
Engineered wood
Engineered hardwood, characterized by a thin wood veneer glued to a plywood substrate, can be a more cost-effective option than standard wood flooring. Because the surface is genuine wood, it can look just like solid wood flooring, but it has the disadvantage, in most cases, of not being able to be refinished.
Laminate wood
Laminate flooring is made of a synthetic material typically designed to resemble wood. It’s relatively inexpensive, but the cheaper options are typically not as durable.
One benefit of laminate flooring is that it comes in just about any color or pattern you’d like, from a barnwood look to deep-red cherry. Laminate also can be designed to resemble stone or ceramic tiles, so it’s not uncommon to see laminate floors that resemble travertine, marble or granite.
Tile
With its large variety of styles, materials and uses, floor tile is a popular and durable option for homeowners. Many choices are available, including the color, material (natural or man-made), shape (square, rectangular, hex, etc.), finish (matte or gloss) and more.
Carpet
Carpet excels at providing underfoot comfort and in deadening sound (great for upper floors and kids’ play areas). There’s simply nothing like wall-to-wall carpet for increasing comfort and coziness. As with any flooring option, it’s important to install good-quality carpet that will resist stains and wear so that it still looks good 10 or 20 years down the road.
For help deciding on flooring options, give Hudson Remodeling a call. Our Bellingham home remodeling experts and flooring installers will walk you through the choices and help you decide on something that fits your budget and the overall feel of your Whatcom home renovation project.