Planning Your Home Flooring Project
If you are planning a home flooring renovation it will take more than just buying and installing the floors. Be sure that you’re prepared at all stages of the process by following our handy dandy guide to planning a home flooring project.
Measuring Your Space In Square Footage
The first step should include measuring all rooms that you are reflooring and calculate their areas. For a rectangular room, simply multiply the length and width in feet to calculate the square footage needed. It is important to always add an additional 10% in square feet needed to account for flooring waste as it is installed.
Determine Your Flooring Needs
Consider the type of wear and tear your new flooring will have to undergo once it is installed. Meaning, do you have pets or children? If you do, you may want to consider flooring that is highly water resistant such as waterproof flooring solutions, rather than hardwood floors.
Location can also affect your flooring solution selection. Will the flooring be installed in a common area that will be regularly used? Consider finding a floor that is durable and can withstand high traffic. If you’re installing new floors in a bathroom, consider tile or other waterproof materials.
Get Inspired
A great way to get inspired is to browse home design magazines, visit local home renovation shows or use helpful online tools like Houzz and Pinterest to get your creative juices flowing.
Figure Out Your Budget
This may be an obvious step in the planning process, but sometimes homeowners neglect to take into consideration the total cost of a flooring renovation project. Budget planning should not only include the flooring materials, but also the necessary tools and additional materials needed to install the floors.
Also take into consideration the cost of removing your old floors and the cost of hiring a contractor if you do not plan to install the flooring yourself.
Once you have set down all of the additional costs, determine how much you can afford in flooring material per square foot. This will help you stay on budget, without any surprise elements once you order your new flooring.
Research Flooring Companies & Request Samples
Find a few local flooring companies that carry the flooring solution that you need and fits within your budget. Most companies, like Kirkland's Flooring, will allow you to order samples of the flooring product for free or at a low cost. The sample will be a small portion of the actual product to give you an idea of color, thickness and texture of the product.
Bring Your Vision To Life
When you visit one of our showrooms in the Bay Area, our friendly and knowledgeable staff will encourage you to share your vision for your home, will listen to your ideas and guide you through the entire process so that you can make the best choices for your lifestyle and budget.
Set Your Plan & Stick To It
Create a general timeline and a deadline of when you expect to have the work completed. The timeline should include time to remove and dispose of the old flooring, potential subfloor preparation, delivery of the new flooring materials, acclimation of the new floors in your space and the overall installation time.
Equally, since flooring renovations can get messy, and depending on how large of a project it is, be prepared to have you and your family potentially displaced for several days during the course of your project.
