Expert advice to guide you in finding the best one for your trip.
Hardwood Floors
There are two main types of hardwood flooring: solid wood flooring, which, as the name suggests, has a thin layer of real wood veneer bonded to multiple layers of plywood, and engineered wood flooring, which has a thin layer of real wood veneer bonded to multiple layers of plywood. There are about fifty species of these two types of wood, the most popular being oak, ash, maple, and walnut.
Vinyl Flooring
Vinyl, also known as resilient flooring, is the fastest growing type of flooring. It ranges from inexpensive, DIY-friendly peel-and-stick tiles to luxury vinyl tiles, or LVT for short, which are made up of multiple layers, including a design process with high-translation printing, a heart-stable layer, and several layers of cushion.
carpet
While carpet has lost market share to carpet, it is still the largest flooring material in the United States. There are also carpets made from yarn, usually wool, which are more common in Europe. Woven carpets are several times more expensive than tufted carpets.
Stone Flooring
Stone, like wood, is another regular flooring material that almost always adds value to a home. Three types of stone are used for the floor. Sedimentary rocks, such as travertine and limestone, are formed by the dissolution of minerals and the accumulation of marine sediments. Igneous rocks, such as granite, are the product of hot weather and volcanic activity. Metamorphic rocks, such as marble and slate, transform from one form to another under extreme heat and pressure.
Concrete floor
This home improvement material is favored by high-end builders and designers as a trendy material for flooring and countertops. Cast-in-place concrete floors can be a gray work surface or colored with paint. It can also be processed in different ways, from acid etching to rubber stencils, to create special effects.
Tile floor
There are two main types of tile flooring: ceramic and porcelain. Ceramic is usually made from a mixture of water and sand, so it is softer but less expensive. Porcelain is made from fine clay, is denser, and fired at high temperatures, so it is hard and non-porous.
Cork Flooring
Cork is another niche flooring product, a sustainable product made from the bark of the cork tree. It has its fans (Swedlow calls it “the best thing in the world”), but it’s a group with a lot of potential, so it’s best left to the people who make it. Flooring can help you find the best-performing products.
Linoleum Flooring
This all-natural flooring is made from linseed oil and wood products. It comes in blocks or sheets like vinyl, but it’s not as flexible as its elastic cousin. “This is attracting some high-end customers who are installing linoleum in their kitchens, bathrooms or playrooms in their new homes,” Swedlow says.
How we choose the best carpets
Our experts are constantly monitoring the market to identify flooring materials that you can find at home centers, independent showrooms and online. We also regularly attend trade shows and industry events such as the Surface Finish Show, Kitchen & Bath Industry Show (KBIS) and the International Builders Show to stay up to date on the latest innovations.
