Choosing the Best Flooring for You

The inside of a beautiful modern home feauturing a bright living space and kitchen, as well as a spiral staircase steps from the entry way

Replacing flooring can instantly elevate the overall look of your home. However, choosing the best flooring for you isn’t as simple as selecting the best-looking or most affordable option. Several factors such as moisture, durability and ease of maintenance should be factored into your final decision. Here are the top 3 things to keep in mind when choosing the right flooring for you.

If you have kids and, or pets, you already know that a highly durable flooring material may be the best choice for you. You’ll likely want to avoid a solid hardwood that can easily scratch and opt for something more wear-resistant like ceramic tile, laminate, or luxury vinyl.

The right flooring for you will also depend greatly on which rooms you are installing them in. It’s especially critical to note if the flooring will be in a high humidity or moisture-prone area of your home. Here are a few examples of rooms that have specific considerations to take into account with flooring:

Bathroom

Bathroom flooring must be suited for wet, humid conditions and regular exposure to water. We recommend choosing from tile, luxury vinyl or vinyl sheet flooring for maximum durability and water resistance.

Kitchen

Your kitchen needs flooring that is strong enough to handle heavy foot traffic, frequent spills and changes in humidity. Laminate, hardwood, tile and luxury vinyl flooring are great options. You’ll want to avoid flooring materials like natural carpets.

Basement

Depending on how consistent the temperature is, you can choose most types of flooring for your basement. However, if your basement experiences drastic changes in temperature from season to season, avoid installing hardwood which will expand and contract as the temperature rises and falls.

This factor is more of a personal preference when making a decision. Any flooring – even the least durable – can be used for decades if properly maintained. If ease of maintenance is a top priority for you, any form of luxury vinyl or laminate is the way to go.

If your main priority is the final look over the maintenance level of your new floors, nothing can compare to the timeless look of solid hardwood. To keep hardwood looking its best, it will take frequent cleaning and protecting high-traffic areas with rugs to prevent scratching. Learn more about proper maintenance to prolong the life of your new floors here.

After you’ve considered what you need, you can then choose the flooring material that suits your style and preferences. Here is a summary of each of the floor coverings we carry and the advantages of each option.

Carpet

Carpet is a long-time favourite flooring option for homeowners, especially for bedrooms. We recommend it for anyone whose top priority is comfort and affordability.

Advantages of Carpet:

Having a carpet in your home can increase insulation and heat retention in the winter, saving you money in heating costs year after year.
The insulating properties of carpet help make your home more sound-proof, which is helpful when you live in an apartment or have young children running around.
On average, carpeting is much less expensive than many other popular flooring materials.

Tile

Tile is a popular choice for high-traffic and moisture-prone areas in the home, such as bathrooms, kitchens and entryways.

Advantages of Tile:

It comes in many finishes, sizes and materials to choose from.
Tile is very durable. Even staining and chipping can be mitigated by proper maintenance and sealing.
With tile, you have the option to install it over a radiant heated floor so it can be heated for extra comfort during those cold winter months.

Natural and Engineered Hardwood

We recommend hardwood to anyone wanting a timeless look that will never go out of style and long-term ROI. At YYC Floor Coverings, we carry both solid and engineered hardwood in a variety of classic or modern colours and finishes.

Advantages of Hardwood:

It is an excellent investment for the value of your home. Hardwood floors hold their value over their lifespan and can even increase the resale value of your home should you decide to sell in the future.
Hardwood can be restored. We offer site-finished hardwood to bring the brilliance back to your faded existing flooring.
Available in a wide variety of finishes and widths. One of the many advantages of hardwood flooring is the incredible variety.

Luxury Vinyl (LVT/LVP)

If you like the look of wood (or stone) but don’t want the installation hassles, cost, or the associated maintenance; the perfect compromise might be luxury vinyl flooring. We carry luxury vinyl tile (LVT) and planks (LVP). The primary difference between the two is that LVP is made to look like wooden planks, and LVT gives you the look of ceramic or stone tile.

Laminate

Laminate is an affordable flooring option for homeowners who prefer an alternative to carpet but want to avoid the cost of hardwood or tiles.

Advantages of Laminate:

Laminate is cost-effective and easy to maintain.
Laminate floors are “floating floors,” meaning they can be installed right over top of your existing floor.
Laminate is scratch-resistant, making it great for high-traffic areas.

Vinyl Sheet

Vinyl sheet flooring is highly water-resistant and won’t sustain damage even if water sits on the surface for an extended amount of time.

Advantages of Vinyl Sheet:

Sheet vinyl is versatile in design and virtually impenetrable by water – making it a practical choice for bathrooms, kitchens, laundry rooms and other high moisture areas of your home.
Unlike vinyl tile that has seams running between the individual pieces, vinyl sheet calls for easy assembly.

A new floor can be a major investment, so you’ll want to make sure you balance your needs with your style. When you visit our showroom, you’ll get the chance to view our materials up close and talk to our team of experts to help you choose the best flooring option for you!

Talk to our team to learn more about our flooring options or book an appointment at our showroom today!