The Most Common Flooring Mistakes That Homeowners Regret the Most

Your home’s floors are among the biggest investments you’ll make in your property. They create the perfect invitation into your space, bring your overall design into shape, and withstand everyday wear and tear. Choosing the right floor is crucial for your home’s overall well-being and for saving you from incurring repeated maintenance and repair costs. 

While homeowners understand the important roles a floor plays, a majority still make mistakes that catch up with them sooner than they expected. Below, we’ll look at the most common flooring mistakes homeowners make that they regret the most, and which you should avoid in your next flooring project.

Focusing More on Style Than Lifestyle

While the floor style you choose significantly impacts your home’s overall aesthetics, your lifestyle should matter as well. A glossy hardwood floor may look impressive on display, but it may not withstand consistent muddy boots, kids’ spills, or pet claws. If you live in the countryside and lead an active farming lifestyle with pets and children, some stylish tiles may not be ideal for your floor.

It’s important to strike a balance between style and lifestyle, enabling you to achieve a solution that’s both aesthetically pleasing and durable. You can accommodate both your pets’ and children’s active lifestyles by investing in scratch-resistant surfaces, such as tile, luxury vinyl, or engineered hardwood floors with protective finishes.

Shopping for Flooring Online

With the growing number of online shoppers, it’s only expected that even flooring shoppers would want to get their floors online. While you can definitely purchase genuine flooring online, the issue is that you don’t always have the opportunity to preview physical samples before making a purchase. 

If it’s your first time shopping for flooring, there are many things that can go wrong if you don’t involve experts in the flooring selection process. Some common, expensive risks for shopping for flooring online are:

• Receiving damaged products upon delivery
• Being exposed to false advertising about the available quantity and the product’s quality
• Inability to verify product measurements
• Unprofessional after-sales services, such as poor installation
• Receiving inadequate products
• Insufficient information about the benefits and disadvantages of the flooring for your lifestyle

Most online flooring options entice buyers with attractive offers and affordable installation services, but often fail to clearly detail the true features of their products and their quality standards.

Not Allowing Floors to Acclimatize

Flooring acclimatization is the process of storing your floors in the respective rooms where you wish to install them, allowing them to adjust to the new environment. The changes in temperature, altitude, and other environmental conditions may affect how your flooring fits into the space. 

If you don’t allow the floors to acclimatize and proceed to install them immediately after delivery, you may expose them to the risk of expansion or contraction. When floor materials like vinyl, wood, and laminate expand or contract after installation, they may not perform as well as intended, leading to premature reinstallation. You can address this issue by storing your flooring materials in their respective rooms for up to 72 hours before installation, allowing them to acclimate to the new environment.

Not Consulting With Professional Flooring Experts

Professional flooring and installation experts offer personalized and high-quality services that ensure the success of your project. Skipping valuable consultation with flooring professionals can put the entire project into jeopardy, leading to expensive losses, especially if you are handling an entire room’s flooring. 

Many flooring experts offer free, no-obligation flooring consultations before the project to cushion you from making bad flooring decisions. You don’t have to stress yourself about what questions to ask or how to package the flooring concerns you may have. Simply walk into any flooring showroom and ask for beginner-friendly guidance that may involve you taking the professionals with you to your home for a detailed review of your floor. 

Forgetting About Maintenance Requirements

Effective maintenance is crucial for the optimal performance of any floor material. When choosing your flooring, consider materials that perform well with minimal maintenance, especially if you won’t keep up with regular maintenance demands. Be honest with the amount of care you’re willing and able to give your floor and choose options that align with those maintenance expectations.

If you prefer a simpler cleaning and maintenance routine, tile or luxury vinyl may work best for you. However, if you’re a committed refinisher and cleaner, hardwood floors can work best for you. The trick is finding your perfect match and remaining true to its maintenance demands.

The above flooring mistakes can prevent you from enjoying your home’s floor performance. By avoiding them, you can protect your investment and achieve excellent flooring performance without the worry of continual repairs and maintenance.