All About Flooring

By Jim Ames

Interior remodeling has seen quite a boom in the last year. Since the real estate market has slowed so much, people are re-evaluating their homes and deciding to remodel instead.

One of the quickest ways to upgrade your home is to install all new flooring. If you cannot afford to replace the flooring in your entire house, try just the kitchen and a bathroom, that is a quick and relatively inexpensive way to give your space a fresh new look. Or, if you find that your family room is where you do most of your entertaining then look into revamping the floors in there. You can certainly warm up your home by adding rich hardwood to the family room floors. There are tremendous amounts of product available for your flooring needs. All you need is a budget and a little education on what is best for your space.

We’ll start with the kitchen and bathroom because they are the most popular rooms to remodel. In “wet” areas, or rooms that have plumbing supplies, it’s very common to have some sort of tile. Tile generally comes in ceramic or porcelain, but is also available in many natural stones as well. Of course, your choice will depend on the overall look you’re trying to achieve and how big of a dent you are willing to put in your wallet. When dealing ceramic or stone surfaces, it’s best to go through an experienced tile setter to get the best results.

A less expensive way to acquire a tiled look is to use vinyl sheet flooring. This is a material made of vinyl that comes in a twelve foot wide roll and can be ordered in any length you need. This is usually available in many different colors and patterns in stock at your local home improvement store, and is fairly easy to install. Some of the same colors and patterns also come in easier to handle 12” x 12” self-sticking squares.

Hardwood floors are not recommended for use in those “wet” rooms, but make a fabulous statement in your formal dining room, or are a great alternative to carpet in your homes bedrooms. Hardwoods also come in many different species and stains, as well as different installation options. Hardwood is a little more tricky than tile, and there are a few more things to think about when choosing it as a floor covering. Hardwoods need to acclimate, or sit in your home for at least seventy two hours before they are installed. This greatly decreases the risk of shrinking or swelling to a degree that will cause damage to the entire floor after it’s been laid. It’s also important to pay attention to the recommendations for sub-floor as well. Like I said, hardwoods are very expensive, and more complicated than tile, and should never be installed by someone who is a novice.

The best alternative to hardwood floors are laminated wood flooring or engineered wood floors. These are two different types that often get confused with one another, and they are vastly different. Laminated wood flooring or a “floating floor” is made of melamine with a very good photograph of a wood grain on it. Many people find that they do not prefer this as an alternative because it has a hollow feeling and sound when you walk on it. This is due to the fact that it is laid on a pad, but is interlocked together so it is very literally floating a little bit off the sub-floor, and the hollow sound you hear is the give that it is producing as you step. Engineered wood floors are usually made with a melamine core, but with an 1/8” to a ¼” wood veneer on top. A wood veneer is a thin slice of real wood, and depending how thick it is determines how often it can be sanded and refinished.

There are obviously several things to consider when choosing a new floor. First, determine what rooms are most important and what you would like to see in it. Then figure out how much you want to spend and you should be on your way to a brand new floor!

For more information about flooring, visit: http://www.tipsonflooring.com

About the Author: Learn more & get a free newsletter at http://myhomeimprovementtips.com & for more tips & resources on flooring, head to http://www.tipsonflooring.com

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Cleaning Carpet Stains - Harmless And Simple!

By Jodie Philips

Did you know that quite a few of the common household cleaning agents you would normally reach for to clean a carpet stain will actually damage your carpet forever?

Did you know that clear liquid detergents are better for carpet stain removing than opaque ones?

How about this: When blotting to clean a carpet stain, should you work outward or inward?

Check out the tips for cleaning carpet stains below. You'll be surprised how enlightening they are, and how much sense they make.

TIPS FOR CLEANING CARPET STAINS:

1) Keep the right carpet stain cleaning supplies handy in a place all their own.

Collect the following items:

A clear, see-through liquid detergent (non-transparent liquid detergents can leave a residue that attracts yet more dirt).

At least one spot remover that cuts grease, such as Energine.

Ammonia, mixed one tablespoon to one cup of water (not to be used on wool).

Non-oily polish remover.

One part white vinegar mixed with one part water.

Club soda.

White paper towels or cloths.

2) The correct way to clean carpet stains is to first collect as much of the offending spill as possible, then blot inward (blotting outward can make the stain bigger). After that, use one of the items you have gathered together specifically for cleaning carpet stains. A lot of other common cleaning products contain chemicals that can damage the rug. Rinse well with the least amount of water necessary, and then pack the stained area with white paper towels or white cloths. Weigh the area down and leave it for 24 hours.

3) You can help extend the life of your carpets by using the following preventative tips:

Use a good carpet pad. Put "walk-off matting" at all entryways, and keep them clean. Set up a system for cleaning carpets of dirt and stains regularly, and stick to it!

And remember, when it comes to cleaning carpet stains, it's like being a paramedic… the carpet you save may be your own!

About the Author: Jodie Phillips is a successful Webmaster and publisher of Effective-Carpet-Cleaning.com where she provides more advice in her cleaning carpet stain tips.

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Why Does Carpet Cleaning Cost So Much?

By James Carlson

If you are ready to have your homes carpeting cleaned you might have called around for cleaning estimates already. If you have you might wonder why does it cost so much to clean my carpets. Read this article and learn what is involved in carpet cleaning and see where the price comes from.

Carpet cleaning can be expensive but as you know it is a necessary expense to take care of your flooring investment. With the prices of cleaning you might be tempted to just go do it yourself. Before you do that though you should know exactly what is involved in carpet cleaning. This might help you see what the price is actually quite fair. It will also help you see how ridiculous those $9 a room con artists are. One factor that affects the cost of carpet cleaning is the equipment. Carpet cleaners spend thousands of dollars on cleaning equipment. A moderately priced truck mounted carpet cleaning machine can cost up to twenty thousand dollars and requires a thirty thousand dollar van to move it around. That means that they bring a fifty thousand dollar rig to your home, not including the chemicals and specialty cleaning tools they have. This is just for a moderately priced cleaning machine, some carpet cleaning rigs can run up to a hundred thousand dollars. Another factor to consider is the training. A quality carpet cleaner will have years of training behind their belt and will undergo regular continuing education. This is necessary to keep up with changes in the industry and to stay familiar with all of the new products produced by the carpet mills. Lastly you need to consider the cost of fuel, advertising and insurance that the cleaner pays. There are countless other expenses but this covers the majority of the big ones.

When you put all of these factors together you can see that the carpet cleaners you hire are not making quite as much money off of you as you thought. In fact you can see that most cleaners are quite reasonable in price and you can see that those low ball carpet cleaners must be up to something.


About the Author: Learn more on this and on Hollywood CA carpet cleaning at the authors website.



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