When renovating a property, one of the biggest costs for decorations and installation can be the flooring. Even if you have a small area like a bathroom or a boxroom, a quote for the flooring can be jaw-dropping if you have not done your research properly.
There are, in fact, some ways you can keep the cost of the floors down in the right circumstances. Let’s take a look at why flooring can be so expensive, and how you can bring it in under budget.
1. Choose the Right Floor for Your Budget
One of the most important choices by far will be the material you choose for your floor. Everyone has a preference that they like.
While some people prefer carpet, others might prefer the look of a hardwood floor. Whatever might appeal the most to you, you need to make sure that you are able to find the perfect option at a price that works for you.
It is entirely possible to get a high-quality floor at an affordable price. It might be slightly more difficult to do this with carpet as you need to find one that feels soft and welcoming.
However, choosing something like wood might be a far better option. By heading to a destination like wood floor warehouse, you can browse both solid wood floors and affordable alternatives like engineered wood floors and laminate flooring.
These could help you to achieve the aesthetic you want at a fraction of the price of solid wood flooring.
2. It Will Last a Long Time
One reason why flooring might be expensive is that it is supposed to last you for a long time. Head to any old home and the wood floors there are still likely to be in good condition.
Your floors might not last so long but they are supposed to last you for years. Like other expensive items, they are supposed to represent a significant investment on your part.
Even opting for a more affordable flooring is going to be a serious investment as you want those floors to last a good ten years or even more.
Though you might change the colours of the walls or the decoration in your room, it is unlikely that you will also make major changes to the floors of these rooms.
3. Condition of the Underfloor
Changing your floors isn’t as simple as ripping out the old one and putting the new in. We can hope that that is all we need to do, but occasionally we need to address the underfloors too.
A low-quality underfloor will seriously impact the performance of the floor laid over it. Therefore, you should always inspect the underfloor before you lay a new floor down.
If there is any damp, now is going to be the perfect time to dry out the affected area and try to fix it. You might also want to consider some other small fixes to the floor.
For example, you might want to level the floors if there is a slight slope, or you might want to put in some underlay to make the floor slightly softer.
All of these will add to the cost of the floor overall. If you have a limited budget for the floor, you may want to consider changing these steps unless this is work that cannot be avoided.
4. Cost of Labour
The price of the floor is not the only thing you need to think about. You also need to think about the cost of labour it will take to lay the floor as you might want to pay for someone to do it for you.
If you choose to lay the floor yourself, much of this can be avoided. Even if you have never fit a floor before, you should be able to work out how to do it for yourself.
Carpet is one of the few floors that should probably be left to the experts as they often cut it to fit the room properly as they lay it.
However, you could easily tackle laying a wood or tiled floor for yourself. If you become stuck at any point, even with instructions from the flooring supplier, you will still be supported thanks to internet tutorials and other guides.
5. Other Expenses
When you have the floors up for renovation, it offers you the perfect opportunity to add in some other extras. For example, if you have had a job that would require you to go under the floors of your home, now might be the chance to get it done.
It would be better to get something like this done now instead of pay for the added expense of temporarily removing the floor at a later date.
You might also want to think about underfloor heating. This is a luxurious item to add to your home but it can make a real difference, especially on those colder days.
Not only will you have to pay for the installation of the underfloor heating but you also need to pay for the additional power bills. It can be a great addition to your home both in terms of personal comfort and value of the property.
6. Good Flooring – Worth the Expense
Flooring is always going to be expensive, but there are ways you can make it a more affordable option.
There are so many types of flooring you could choose and you can easily find one that is not going to break the bank for you. If you are going to replace the floors in your home, it will be an expense that is likely to be more than worth it in the long run.
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