What Types of Flooring Are Best For Condos?
Are you planning to move into a new condo? If you purchase a bare condo, you have free reign to do whatever you want with it. You can add shelves on the kitchen walls for your cooking utensils, place furniture, expensive appliances, or carpets.
However, the appearance of the condo's flooring might not suit your needs, so you plan on replacing it with something better. Replacing the flooring in your condo is not an easy task, and you may need help from professional flooring contractors before you make any final decisions. It's also a good idea to learn the best floorings that most condo owners install to expand your choices.
1. Hardwood Flooring
The first type of flooring that's excellent for your condo is hardwood flooring. It's milled using a single layer of timber, which is best if you want lightweight flooring. It's also the most used flooring because it comes in different varieties, including walnut, maple, oak, and hickory. You can say that hardwood flooring stands out the most because of its variety.
The great thing about hardwood is its durability and ease of maintenance. The material can withstand water. And when hardwood gets old over time, you don't have to replace it with a newer one because you can sand off its old surface to reveal a clean, fresh surface.
If you want to keep sustainability in mind, hardwood flooring can achieve that since it’s made of wood materials. An example of a material that manufacturers use to create flooring is from bamboo trees.
2. Cork Flooring
The next type of flooring for your condo is cork, and they come from the bark of the cork oak. Condo owners prefer cork because it provides an earthy atmosphere, and it also resembles hardwood flooring. Choosing cork as your condo flooring helps the environment because it helps clean the air.
Cork flooring is a non-absorbent material, which is perfect for condos near the sea. Every time you go inside after swimming at the beach, you don't have to fret about the flooring getting damaged. The only downside with cork is that it's the most expensive option because of its non-absorbent and easy-to-clean properties.
What’s great about cork is that it’s considered sustainable for many flooring experts since most of its material comes from the cork tree. Looking for cork flooring isn’t too hard because many flooring suppliers nowadays focus on sustainable construction materials. Most newly built condos have cork flooring because it’s slightly less expensive than most hardwood flooring, ensuring they get a bang for their buck.
3. Laminate Flooring
If you want an inexpensive substitute, you can always go for laminate flooring. It can emulate the appearance of hardwood flooring perfectly, which can fool anyone that enters your home for the first time. However, laminate flooring does not feel the same way as hardwood, and it's also not as durable as its authentic counterparts.
Condo owners prefer laminate flooring because it's easy to maintain whenever it gets damaged. Flooring contractors can remove the damaged part of the flooring and replace it with a new one without a problem. And if there are floor hatches within your condo building and yours has one, maintenance personnel can remove the flooring without damaging anything.
4. Tile Flooring
Instead of using planks on your condo floor, maybe tile flooring can suit your needs. Usually, people install tiles in bathrooms, kitchens, or areas that get wet often. It's not the best choice for living room flooring nowadays because they don't work well aesthetically. But when you use your kitchen a lot, it's best to install tile flooring rather than a laminate or wooden flooring if you want to avoid any flooring damage.
Tile flooring is also excellent whenever a specific part of your condo experiences high foot traffic all the time, such as the kitchen or bathroom. It also comes in many variants, such as marble, granite, porcelain, or travertine, so choosing one that will match its space won't be an issue. Keep in mind that tiles can also crack or chip easily, so you have to prevent heavy or sharp objects from falling to the tiles.
If you’re worried about tile flooring harming the environment, you don’t have to because it’s a sustainable material. Many tile flooring manufacturers get damaged tile pieces from demolition projects and garbage companies, which prevents them from creating tiles from scratch.
Since you now know the different flooring types for your condo, the next step is to look for a professional flooring contractor to replace the old flooring with a newer, better-looking one.