6 minute read
Floored by Flooring Options
FLOORED BY FLOORING OPTIONS
Tile is an incredibly durable option of flooring, though the cost to install and installation process are greater.
Durable flooring that holds up in a ranch home
Like most things on the ranch, flooring in ranch homes, especially mud rooms and kitchens can take a beating, showing wear far sooner than those in urban homes. Tracking in of mud and small stones and consistent use yield worn-out surfaces, though carefully choosing a higher-quality material can result in a floor that lasts longer. By Savanna Simmons
“This is a great time to be selling flooring,” said Theresa Hershey of CLT Floorings and Furnishings in Newcastle, Wyoming. “I couldn’t be more excited about the floorings we have now than any other time.”
Luxury vinyl tile (LVT) was the most recommended flooring material by both Hershey and Desireé Monger, a project manager at Quality Floor Covering LLC, in Gillette, Wyoming, and Rapid City.
The readily-available material has replaced laminate flooring from days of old, but in more modern patterns and colors. Most often, LVT is seen in rustic or rich wood tones, and some LVT has realistic wood grain imprints on the product.
“You’re able to do wilder patterns that you can’t typically do with hardwood like white-washes or grays,” Monger said.
The almost rubbery surface is soft and warm underfoot, unlike its hardwood counterpart, Monger said, and is waterproof, mold-proof, easy to install, and cost-effective. LVT can be installed over nearly any floor type or subfloor—just not carpet—and
Hardwood isn’t the most durable flooring option, but if it’s absolutely desired for the home, then hickory and oak are the strongest choices.
it requires very few tools for installation. It floats over other floorings and is not adhered to anything below.
“If you have flooring that is kind of a problem, but you don’t want to glue the flooring down, solid vinyl click flooring is great,” Hershey said. “The other thing is the core they put in it makes it to where it’s a lot harder to indent.”
The cost ranges from $1.89 up to about $5 per square foot. Most of the LVT products in stock at Quality Floor Covering have a 25-year to lifetime residential warranty, but Monger said, in a ranch setting, “Realistically, you can expect it to have its shine and natural luster and still look good for about 15 years.”
Tile is Monger’s next recommendation in terms of flooring indestructibility, however, the installation of tile is a far greater undertaking versus that of LVT.
“Tile offers a traditional look that increases value, is super resilient and strong, and doesn’t scratch very easily,” she said.
Installation of tile requires a tile saw to cut tiles to fit the space, then they are mudded to the subflooring below, leveled, spaced, and grouted. Grout is being
Luxury Vinyl Tile is the most recommended of flooring options for ranch homes due to the ease of install, cost, and durability. Photos courtesy of Quality Floor Covering
offered as already waterproof, so the final step in waterproofing the grout has been eliminated. While tile is possible for a DIYer to install, it is not as easy to accomplish as laying LVT.
Tile is sold in a variety of designs, sizes, shapes, and price points, and it can be taken up a wall to create a completely waterproof area, such as in a mudroom. It generally ranges from $6 to $15 per square foot, though cheaper options are available. With tile, Monger said, you get what you pay for.
“Tiles are great and beautiful, but they’re kind of cold,” Hershey said.
Click-together tiles have entered the flooring scene in the last decade as a flooring option that is easier to install but has the durability and look of tile. The tiles are clicked together rather than bonded to the subfloor, but they still require a tile saw for installation.
The flexible grout that accompanies click-together tiles ensures they move as needed, but the porcelain tiles offer the durability to last. The click-together tiles run around $6 per square foot and concrete board doesn’t need to be laid below this product.
Hardwood options are as plentiful as colors of horses, it seems, but not all hardwoods are created equal. Hickory and oak are amongst the most durable of hardwoods, Monger said, and she recommends staying away from alder and pine in high-traffic areas of homes.
Monger advises against pre-finished hardwoods and instead encourages her clients to opt for installing unfinished raw woods that can be finished out after.
“If you go with the sand and finish option, you save money on the raw wood and you save money on the installation,” she said. “With the cost that you pay for pre-finished, you could upgrade your wood and still pay for it to be stained and sealed. If, in 10 years, you don’t like it, you can sand it and refinish it in a different color.”
Most pre-finished woods can’t be sanded and refinished or are more costly to do so.
Engineered hardwoods withstand conditions in this region better than in more humid-areas. When hard
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For areas where carpet is desired, choosing a highdense polyester carpet that matches the dirt to a degree can make for a flooring that can withstand ranch traffic.
woods dry out, Hershey said, they can separate, leaving hard-to-clean, dust- and debris-filled cracks.
“In a ranch house, find a hardwood with a lot of character, so it isn’t a real smooth, shiny finish,” Hershey said. “Otherwise it will show the scratches.”
Hardwood varies in cost up to about $10 per square foot.
Carpet is undeniably the coziest of flooring option, however, the cleanliness of it can be questionable. Monger recommends a dense carpet, whether short or long pile, in polyester, which is incredibly stain resistant.
She also recommends, for ranch houses, choosing a color that works with the dirt outside. “If you have a red mud color, pick that,” she said.
Hershey recommended Arrow brand by Mohawk as a great option for cleanliness. The pad is already attached to the carpet, and it is the most hypoallergenic on the market, she said.
Carpet costs from about $2 to $4 per square foot, but generally must be professionally installed.
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