It certainly depends on the situation. There are a lot of questions to ask, mainly where is the flooring going to be installed?

Basement Flooring

When installing over a concrete slab, you have a lot of great options. And basements are known for having a high moisture content.  Whatever type of floor you install, it’s always advised to install a moisture barrier. If you would like wood flooring, you can choose click engineered hardwood flooring. Of course, the quality of the wood floor is key, but this type of flooring isn’t as prone to expansion and contraction due to moisture changes.

Though if moisture is a larger issue, consider click vinyl planks. Some types of these floors are impervious to the effects of moisture and simply loose lay on the floor. A click locking mechanism connects the planks and dependent on the quality, click vinyl planks can be the perfect solution in spaces with known moisture issues.  And if you’re looking for kitchen flooring or bathroom flooring, you’d be doing yourself a favor by taking a look at click vinyl flooring.

Laminate flooring has long been a popular choice for diy floor installers and specifically in basements. These floors float over flooring underlayment and click together. It used to be glue was required to install these floors, but now click laminate flooring is the norm and it looks better than it ever has. Today’s laminate floors look much more like the real thing than the laminate floors of old.

Another more eco-friendly option is engineered click bamboo flooring. These floors are perfect for installations over concrete subfloors and can be very durable. Bamboo is actually harder than red oak and made well can provide many years of great service in high traffic areas.

Bedroom Flooring

Any of the above choices are excellent for use as bedroom flooring and most living areas (many install all of the above mentioned floors in kitchens), but something even better is click cork flooring. Cork has a ton of benefits; it’s naturally hypoallergenic, an excellent thermal insulator and it’s quieter than other hard surface floors. The sound deadening properties of cork make it act like an acoustical barrier, helping limit the annoying echoes that bounce from room to room.

Living Room Flooring

Carpet has long been a popular choice as living room flooring, but let’s face it: It’s not very easy to install and carpet tiles are expensive. wall-to-wall carpeting needs to be stretched into place or seamed, neither job being for the novice flooring installer. Beyond that, even high quality carpet won’t provide the same durability or ease of maintenance as a click hard surface floor. Any of the above mentioned hard surface floors are an excellent choice as flooring for a living room, and if you need something soft, use area rugs in the spaces where you sit.

The options in do-it-yourself flooring are nearly endless and technology has made these floors last longer than ever. These diy floors are readily available on the internet, you can typically save (or even buy factory direct diy floors), and just have them shipped right to your home.

Many will default to cheap laminate flooring in order to get the job done. And in many cases, while it probably looks better than what you replaced, many prospective buyers will still look at the floor and think, “Well the first thing we’re going to do is have to replace the flooring.”

This is when the floor you’ve chosen actually becomes a disadvantage in your home, but what are you going to do? You don’t have a lot of money to spend, but it would be disappointing to spend all that money only to have to give a flooring allowance.

You could also just give a flooring allowance, but that’s not going to help sell your home, either.  You don’t want people making a list in their heads of all the things they’ll have to do when they move. Moving is enough of a pain without the prospect of having to also move everything back out to replace flooring. It’s more than the money, it’s the headache.

So what do you do? You have a limited budget and the competition is fierce right now. With the amount of foreclosures and available homes on the market, you have to make your home stand out amongst the crowd. The right flooring choice can help, and if you’re diligent you might just find the perfect floor that will help you sell your home.

What you’re looking for are discounted floors that, for a variety of reasons, have been reduced in price.  For example, manufacturers are always producing different lines of flooring, different looks, different colors, different finishes, etc.  Just like the clothing industry, some floors aren’t as popular, are over-priced to begin with or not marketed correctly. These floors won’t sit in warehouses for too long before they are moved into liquidation. Sometimes these floors will be sold for pennies on the dollar.

Depending on the amount of flooring you need, you can also pick up what’s known as an “odd lot flooring” inventory.  This is when there’s only enough to do one or two rooms left in inventory and the flooring might be discontinued. In the flooring industry, lines are constantly discontinued. It’s not an indication of the quality of the floor or even its popularity.

If you need to do a few rooms and they aren’t adjoining, it’s not uncommon nowadays to have different floors in different rooms. Each room can make its own statement and a floor makes a huge impact on that statement, especially in an empty or staged home for sale.

Lastly, you can also choose second quality floors, or “seconds”.  Some actually sell these floors as first-quality, and these floors might have a minor manufacturing defect. You typically don’t notice, but there might be slight blemishes in the finish, its color is slightly off or some other minor issue.  And in some cases, like with second-quality hardwood floors, these minor imperfections might even add a little character to the floor.

Many of these floors are click floors and can be installed by someone with no experience installing floors. Then you can save even more.  It’s not crazy to be able to install a 12’ X 15’ room for just a few hundred dollars. When you’re talking in the tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars for a home, a few hundred invested is well-spent.

Many times, this is a similar strategy that house flippers will use, as nothing’s more important than staying on budget while making big impressions on prospective home buyers.

If your home has been on the market for a while and you’re looking for tips to sell your home more quickly, this installing a new floor can make a huge difference and maybe even tip someone in your direction.

The fact is, the springtime is when demand goes up for flooring and it’s a great season for those looking to perform a do-it-yourself flooring installation.  It’s also a great time to be shopping for diy flooring, because technology has reached the point where there are more diy floor choices than ever before.

Laminate flooring

Laminate floors were the most popular diy flooring choice for most due to their ease to install and their durability. Today they are better, longer-lasting and look much more like real wood floors than they ever have.  Laminate floors used to be the go-to choice for the do-it-yourselfer, but now you can get click floors in almost every kind. You can even now get laminate flooring that looks like bamboo.

Click Hardwood Flooring

This is mostly engineered hardwood and can usually be installed a variety of different ways, like be floated over an existing subfloor, nailed or glued. It depends on the manufacturer recommendation. But one that can be floated is very similar to installing a laminate floor, the planks just locking together with a click locking mechanism.

You can get these click wood floors in a variety of plank widths, thicknesses, wood species and just about every type of click hardwood floor is out there to be had.

Click Bamboo Flooring

Bamboo floors were all the rage when they entered the marketplace in the United States, and it has just gotten more popular. Bamboo is an earth-friendly, sustainable resource and it grows at an unbelievable rate. It’s harder than most woods and extremely attractive. Like wood, most click bamboo floors are engineered, vary in thickness and in width.  You can get a natural bamboo look, a darker more caramel-like color that is achieved through carbonizing (steaming), or more stained bamboo looks in every color of the spectrum.  Click bamboo floors are amongst the most popular flooring choices in the world and there’s plenty of it to go around.

Click Cork Floors

Cork flooring is the answer to a lot of questions. It’s made from the bark of the cork tree, so the tree itself remains upright and in the ground. Cork has an amazing list of qualities, starting with how it feels.

Cork is very porous and holds a lot of air. That air acts as an insulator, so it feels warmer to the touch. It also has a little more give than your average hard surface floor. Cork flooring will actually help you retain heat or cold, depending on what you’re trying to do. It’s also quieter to walk across, an issue that can be difficult for some families who don’t share sleep patterns. And lastly, cork is naturally hypoallergenic, resistant to mold and mildew, and just an all-around great floor.  It’s not as durable as other hard surface floors, but there are a lot of benefits that make a click cork floor hard to look past.

Click Vinyl Planks

Also known as “Luxury Vinyl Planks”, these floors don’t resemble their predecessors at all. They are thicker, more durable, click together and look like real hardwood floors. You can get them in a variety of wood looks in smooth or textured finishes. They’re great as bathroom floors or kitchen floors and extremely easy to install with just a couple of tools.

The great thing about all the floors listed is that they are all easy , can be installed by almost anyone(regardless of experience) and can last just as long as tongue and groove floors installed with glue or nails.  And when you do a diy flooring installation, you can save tons of cash. If it’s easy to do, why not do it?

No one likes listening to their neighbors pace across a room or listen to the rumblings of life over our heads. And if you live in a condo or even a multi-level home, the type of floor you choose can greatly reduce the sound that travels through the floor.

Some condominiums have insulation requirements and if that’s the case, be sure to check with your association before making any definite plans. That being said, if you want to get the best acoustics, there are now a lot of floors from which to choose.

Many who live in condos assume that carpet is the best choice, and there’s no question that carpet is quiet. When a high density pad is used, well-made carpet can do an excellent job. But what if you don’t want carpet?

As much as we’ve become accustomed to carpet for its warmth and soft feel underfoot, we’ve grown tired of its staining and the traffic areas becoming matted and crushed. All the vacuuming in the world won’t do and while today’s carpets have improved, wear-proof carpet isn’t yet in the cards.

This is why many opt for hard surface flooring and more specifically, floating floors for condominiums. Laminate floors are known for being a little noisy, but that’s largely due to the thickness of the laminate, the type of flooring underlayment used and the type of subfloor. If a basic foam underlayment is used, you’re certainly not doing anyone who is living below you any favors.  When you choose a higher density, insulating underlayment or even high quality cork underlayment, you not only limit the sound a laminate floor makes when you walk across it, but the sound that travels through to the room below, the echoing effect, and any noise travelling up from the room below.

Many owners of condominiums are now choosing cork flooring for its warmer feel and shock absorption. Cork floors are quieter than traditional hard surface floors like hardwood, ceramic tile and even vinyl, so they can be an excellent choice when installing new flooring in a condominium.

Cork floors aren’t only made from a sustainable and renewable resource, but they serve a valuable purpose in our homes. Cork is a great thermal insulator and as a sound deadener, nothing matches cork flooring.

Many cork floors are click cork floors and have an attached cork underlayment, giving you two layers of cork on either side of an HDF core. They are designed for floating floor installations and can even be installed over another layer of underlayment for the best acoustical barrier you can have.

Many assume that laminate flooring is the best way to go for a basement. And laminate floors are great for basements, but they’re certainly not the only way to go. If budget is a concern and you’re installing a basement floor yourself, you might think it’s the least expensive option. However, you’d be amazed at the online flooring deals you can find on hardwood flooring, bamboo flooring and even vinyl planks.

If you want hardwood in the basement, look around. You can find engineered hardwood fl;oors, even click hardwood floors for considerably lower than you might expect. Solid hardwood floors aren’t recommended for basements, and though there are solid wood floors you can install in basements, today’s engineered wood floors are durable, beautiful and just plain better for hardwood installations on concrete slabs.

Another option is a new type of flooring that has a recycled HDF core and a veneer of real wood or bamboo. This click engineered HDF core flooring combines the impact resistance and ease to install of a laminate floor, but also gives you the natural material on the surface. Great for basements, these floors give you the best of both worlds.

In many basements, moisture is the enemy. This is also the case in many low-lying areas near the coast where the groundwater levels are higher. Whether it’s a basement or a living room in a Florida beach house, moisture is an issue that can wreak havoc on a floor.

While the above listed floors are basement approved floor covering or approved for hardwood installations over concrete subfloors, basements with excessive moisture or that are prone to flooding will need a moisture barrier. It’s wise to install one, anyway, as concrete contains water which it releases with climatic change. Installing a moisture barrier will catch that evaporation and keep the water from penetrating the floor.

If you love the look of wood, already know that moisture is an issue and are concerned about floor damage, you’re not without hope. Luxury vinyl planks or click vinyl planks might be the right flooring for you. These vinyl floors far exceed the toughness of conventional sheet vinyl floors and are considerably easier to install. In fact, it wouldn’t be recommended for the non-professional to install sheet vinyl, but almost anyone can install click vinyl planks in a basement or anywhere.  Furthermore, the wood patterns available look more like real hardwood than they ever have. In many cases, you can’t even tell the difference.

Many of these click vinyl floors are guaranteed against moisture damage and virtually impenetrable by water. They’re great for kitchens, bathrooms or anywhere moisture is a problem. They can be found in dozens of wood looks, species and colors. If you’re looking for waterproof flooring but still want the look of wood, check out click vinyl flooring. You’ll likely be very impressed with how far it’s come.

Long has ceramic tile or sheet vinyl been the choice for bathrooms and many even install laminate floors in the bath. However, laminate floors aren’t the best choice, especially in bathrooms with showers or bathtubs. It’s not just the moisture that can spill out of the tub, but the moisture that permeates the air when you take a hot shower or bath.

That’s why many choose ceramic tile for the bathroom, but these floors also leave a lot to be desired. They are cold, hard, not the easiest to clean and the grout can become discolored over time.

While the coldness issue can be addressed with radiant heating, it significantly increases the cost and if you ever have a problem with the heating underneath the floor, it’s not an easy fix and usually you can tell when a tile has been replaced. And replacing the tile is exactly what will have to be done.

Many choose sheet vinyl flooring because it’s not as cold as tile, easier to clean and not easily penetrated by moisture. However, vinyl is not easy to install, even for professional flooring installers, and if too much or too little adhesive is used, the vinyl can discolor or bubble. Also, the subfloor needs to be perfectly smooth and usually a lot of floor prep is required. Many times, this floor preparation can cost as much as the cost of installing the floor, and if you ever need to replace the floor, scraping vinyl that’s been glued to a subfloor is a difficult and laborious job.

The disadvantages of these floors will always be disadvantages, but there are now floors that have none of these issues. Today, you can install click vinyl planks or luxury vinyl planks in the bathroom and you won’t run into the same problems.

Click vinyl installs in a floating floor installation and requires no glue whatsoever. The planks lock together and they are virtually impervious to the effects of moisture. They don’t absorb water, therefore you’re not going to get the bubbling, buckling and swelling that moisture can cause in other floors. And the best part is, they look much more like the natural materials they intend to recreate.

Some manufacturers make click vinyl floors that look just like real hardwood flooring. They can be found in all kinds of wood-looks, from natural to exotic, and they look amazing. They’re easy to install, easy to clean and are much warmer to the touch than ceramic tile. No glue, no mess, no moisture worries, and you can install them yourself with few tools being needed. If you’re performing a diy floor installation, it doesn’t get any easier than click vinyl floors.

Nowadays, you can have everything you want. You can get the look you want, the performance you want and an insurance policy against flooring’s worst enemy; moisture. Do a little internet shopping, have some samples shipped to your home and see for yourself what all the buzz is about.

You might just be looking for a durable, yet fashionable floor that you don’t have to replace, is easy to maintain and provides as much function as it does decorator appeal. Or, you could be looking for all of the above, but you also want a conversation piece and something that will make a statement about your company. If this sounds like you, then strand woven bamboo flooring is the optimal choice.

First, bamboo is one of the greenest floors out there, and that can be important to prospective customers. In fact, no one will condemn your choice for choosing a green floor like stranded bamboo, regardless of whether or not they take active steps to promote environmental friendliness. A strand woven bamboo floor gives you a story to tell and not just something on which you walk.

Strand woven bamboo is made when the natural bamboo is shredded into strips and then bonded back together with intense heat and resins. The construction types can vary just like hardwood floors. There are solid strand woven bamboo floors, engineered strand woven bamboo floors.  When made correctly, strand woven bamboo can be three times harder than red oak making it perfect for commercial flooring applications.

Engineered stranded bamboo is a tough veneer attached to a multi-ply construction of a common wood material. Solid strand woven bamboo floors are bamboo from top to bottom.  Either of these choices is great for commercial floors and perfect for areas that got a lot of foot traffic.

Like hardwood floors, the quality of the finish has a lot to do with how well the floor will perform over its lifetime.  It’s usually a combination of polyurethane and aluminum oxide, and the factors that affect this are both the quality of the chemicals used and how many finish coats are used.  

Inferior chemicals can create toxic emissions and companies who use them likely aren’t concerned about the effect the manufacturing of their products is having on the environment. What you see is a floor, but as you travel down the rabbit hole, you might find that the claims of “green flooring” are largely overstated.

When shopping for strand woven bamboo flooring, you want to be sure you’re buying from a reputable manufacturer with a sound track record of doing the right thing by the environment, because those who take the time to do just that are more likely concerned about quality. They’ll also be the ones that are still around to honor any warranties.

There are a lot of commercial floors out there on the market and several different directions you can go. From commercial vinyl to commercial carpet and even commercial hardwood, all can be practical choices and provide the function you need, but strand woven bamboo floors standout in a crowd for a multitude of reasons. And when choosing anything for your business, making an effort to standout is always a good idea, whether you’re choosing flooring or having business cards printed. 

Stranded bamboo flooring says your company is different, and that every detail is considered before action is taken.

Whether it’s Brazilian Cherry flooring, Tigerwood flooring or any of the various types of exotic wood flooring, the wood is rarer, harder to come by and comes at an additional cost than more common, domestic hardwoods. The very word “exotic” tells us that it’s a luxury and that we will likely have to pay more. And while it does come at a premium, you can use less of it, keeping the cost lower.

Exotic engineered hardwood floors use a veneer of exotic wood over a multi-ply construction of wood. Think of plywood, but the top layer being stained and finished.

There are many advantages to this, from having to use less of the premium, more expensive wood to it allowing you to install it in more areas for your home.

Because hardwood flooring is porous, it absorbs moisture from the air or the subfloor underneath. Since a main component of concrete is water, it releases moisture up and if there’s a hardwood floor there, it will absorb and release that moisture.

This is what causes seasonal expansion and contraction, the reason planks will separate and gaps appear. It can also cause warping, buckling and a host of other concerns. But with engineered hardwood flooring, the construction absorbs less moisture and doesn’t allow for the same kind of expansion and contraction.

While there are solid hardwood floors you can install over concrete, they are few and far between. With the options available in engineered wood flooring, especially exotic engineered wood floors, you can’t have to compromise to get exactly what you want.

You can find exotic engineered floors in all species, styles and that are seemingly no different from their solid hardwood floor counterparts. They look the same, they perform in a similar way and when made correctly, can last a very, very long time.

Many of these exotic hardwood floors are also very easy to install. These are called “click hardwood floors” and have a locking mechanism that attaches the planks together. They require no glue and even the most casual of handymen can usually handle the installation of a click hardwood floor in an afternoon. If budget’s a concern, consider doing it yourself and get the exact floor you want.

It’s certainly possible to have a beautiful exotic floor throughout your home and for not nearly as much as you think. And that’s especially the case if you know where to shop for flooring.

What you’ll find when you’re looking for the right exotic wood floor for your home is that you can have the best of both worlds.

Typically, this time of year is the busiest for the flooring industry, as many are thinking the exact same thing you’re thinking right now. And at this stage, it might be difficult to have your floor professionally installed.

It’s not impossible, but many flooring retailers are booked through the holidays and you might find yourself having to perform the work yourself. Fortunately, today’s floors are very easy to install and many require no glue or nails for installation. These floors are typically known as “click floors” or “click flooring” and can now be found in every type of floor you can imagine.

For example, let’s say you’re looking for a hardwood floor for a formal dining room. Even if you’re not the handiest person on the block and have no experience installing floors, you shouldn’t be afraid to tackle this project. A floating floor installation is easy and doesn’t require many tools to get the job done. Also, no one will ever know the floor wasn’t professionally installed.

Do-it-yourself floors like this can save you hundreds or more on installation costs and are now available in click bamboo floors, click cork flooring, click laminate flooring and even click vinyl flooring that’s very durable and far more advanced than to what we’ve become accustomed.

For the best selection of these floors and the most competitive prices, the internet is usually the place to shop.  It’s now true for most things and certainly true for flooring. The items are usually in stock and shipping, depending on the company, is typically very efficient and will allow you time to have your flooring installed by the holidays.

Shopping on the internet for floors also allows you to compare items side-by-side, along with specifications, warranties, pricing, etc.  And there’s a vault of information on floors and performing a diy flooring installation that will be very helpful. In many cases, associate assistance is readily available and access to qualified help is easy.

Between the time your floor is being shipped and arrives to your home, you can spend that time prepping the area to be installed. Remember to allow time for the floor to be acclimated to the temperature of your home, which typically takes 48 hours.

And maybe most importantly, everyone would like to save as much money as possible.  There’s still time to do that, but not much.  Some companies can fulfill the order in time without your having to pay expedited floor shipping prices, but the longer you wait, the more difficult it will be to complete a flooring project before the holidays.

Many of us have chilly basements or rooms that experience a lot of heat loss through the floor. This is especially the case in older homes with crawlspaces or even those who live in mobile homes. This is often why cork flooring can be a sensible choice for any of these scenarios.

Cork flooring has a lot of benefits, but perhaps what most notice, at least when compared to other floors, that cork floors feel warmer to the touch than hardwood floors, laminate floors, tile floors and even vinyl floors.  Plus, cork is just a little softer feeling underfoot.

The reason that it feels warmer is because of the air trapped inside. This more porous flooring material traps more air and helps act as a barrier for heat loss and even cooling loss in the warmer season.

If you think about house insulation, it’s mostly air. Whether it’s the pink fiberglass you’re associated to seeing to foam insulation and even those made from bubble wrap, the one quality they all have is that they’re loaded with air. And if you’re installing a floor over a cold area, cork flooring can help substantially.

As it’s getting colder, this may be a greater concern. And if you’re shopping for new floors and the area you’re installing your new floor has inferior insulation, cork flooring can help insulate a room and will help limit heat loss in a home.

Also, many cork floors are made using a wear layer of cork attached to an HDF core, usually made from recycled materials. On the underside is a layer of cork underlayment that adds additional impact resistance. Ultimately what you have is two layers of one of the eco-friendliest natural flooring materials sandwiching a core made of 100% recycled materials. All of this combines to give you better thermal insulation and acoustics.

The same properties that make cork floors great insulators is also what makes them great acoustical barriers. They won’t only help a room retain heat, but they’ll also help with the annoying echoes that ping from room to room. This is especially true for rooms with high ceilings where echoes are more prominent and a larger issue. Cork flooring can reduce the noise associated with these areas.

When at one time cork floors were offered in largely natural cork looks and were mostly used in glue down floor installations, many of today’s cork floors are click cork floors. They are primarily used in floating floor installations and can be installed over most types of subfloors. Many choose cork for their basements to warm a naturally chilly room, while others install cork flooring in a bedroom to make that first step in the morning a warmer, more comfortable one.

Cork flooring addresses many issues that bother us about our current floors, from the way they feel, to the way they sound and even how they perform. And now that they’re available in several types of looks, we’re no longer limited to a natural cork or even stained cork look. Many cork floors now look more like other floors, from cork flooring that looks like hardwood to cork that has a bamboo floor feel.

The flooring consumer now has a lot more choices and can find the perfect cork floor that adds comfort, function, style and performance to any space.