Remodelling any home is an investment in future comfort or a high sale price, and there are many considerations. Most people look at appliances, windows, and doors when they think about efficiency. Those are all great options, but a look at flooring might be another possibility. New flooring can combine long wear and tear, easy cleaning, and it can contribute to saving money on heating and cooling costs. Carpeting stretching from wall to wall is no longer a popular option, but it does have its own rewards. Ceramic flooring, wood, and vinyl floors are all the rage today and they offer homeowners new choices when it comes to efficiency.
Cleaning has always been a time-consuming task, and many modern homeowners are looking for materials that are easy to clean. They want to be able to get the job done quickly so they can enjoy time with family, and new flooring can help. Ceramic and vinyl floors offer the residents fast mopping, and they can be swept or vacuumed. New wood flooring does have the same options, but some older floors need special cleaning options.
Bathrooms and kitchens are often floored with ceramics due to the heavy traffic, and many of them are chosen because of water spillage. They also offer an opportunity to save on cooling costs during the hot months of the year because the tiles feel cooler. They do not trap and hold the heat like carpets, so they can offer some energy savings.
The difficulty of keeping carpets clean has relegated them to the past in many modern homes, but they do offer a slight energy savings in the colder months. A carpet on top of a wood floor will tend to retain more heat, and it could possibly save a bit as the thermometer drops. While that may not be balanced completely against the cost of professional cleaning, the feeling of warmth under bare feet in the winter could be the deciding factor.
