Some Home Improvement Ideas

By | April 18, 2020


Are you planning on renovating your house?

You don’t know what new floor style to use? Tiles, waxed concrete, parquet, carpet, there are many coverings, but it is not always easy to decide. You have to find the model that fits your budget, that is easy to maintain and that adapts to the needs of the whole family. Discover our tips for choosing the best flooring for your home.

To choose your new beautiful floor, you are not just interested in the decorative aspect, you also want to optimize the ease of maintenance and solidity. Indeed, not all models can be installed in all rooms. So you have to ask yourself which floor covering corresponds to which room?

Entrance and corridor: these are places of passage. This requires an easy-care, smooth and particularly resistant coating. Opt for tiling, solid floor or waxed concrete.

The living room and the dining room: these are rooms where you are interested in the decorative aspect, but where there is also passage. The coating must therefore combine strength and aesthetics, prefer solid or laminated parquet, laminate, waxed concrete, tiles or linoleum.

The kitchen: in this humid room, there is a lot of passage. The floor must be waterproof and robust, so tiling or linoleum are good options.

The bathroom and toilets: the floor must be waterproof, so opt for tiling, linoleum or solid parquet.

The adults’ bedroom: you can install an elegant, noise-insulating, warm and anti-allergic coating. You have the choice, between solid parquet, laminate, laminated, tiles, linoleum or carpet.

The children’s bedroom: the floor in this room must be resistant and easy to maintain, prefer lino, synthetic carpet or laminate.

Waxed concrete

Waxed concrete has been very successful in recent years. It is composed of cements, resins and aggregates. This coating does not patina in time and it agrees with all styles of rooms. The waxed concrete technique requires the superposition of several layers which are interspersed with drying and sanding times. Do not use bleach or ammonia-based products as this may damage the waxed concrete.

The benefits of waxed concrete: it is very resistant, hygienic and maintenance is easy.

The cons of waxed concrete: the price may seem high, the implementation is complex and it tends to crack.

The tiling

Tiling is very often preferred in dwellings, because it is a robust floor covering and available in a wide choice of colors and finishes. It is offered with different materials: sandstone, terracotta, natural stone. Easy to install and maintain, it finds its place in all rooms of the house.

The benefits of tiling: it fears neither compressions nor shocks and it is easily replaced.

The cons of tiling: it produces a feeling of cold in the room.

Plant fiber

There are several vegetable fibers, we find seagrass, sisal and coconut. Seagrass finds its place in bathrooms, because it is rot-proof unlike the others. The coconut is solid and rustic, it is suitable for places of passage thanks to its tight weaving and it is easy to maintain. As for sisal, it is softer and refined, but also resistant, which is why it is installed in living rooms.

The benefits of vegetable fiber: vegetable fibers reduce sounds thanks to their latex, felt or jute underlayers. They insulate well and are easily installed.

The cons of vegetable fiber: maintenance is compulsory, the reliefs retain dust and stains are difficult to remove.

The carpet

The carpet is warm, comfortable and inexpensive. Easy to install and maintain, it guarantees excellent thermal and acoustic comfort. Despite popular belief, carpet is a healthy covering. It retains allergens and dust in its fibers instead of letting them fly. Just vacuum it regularly to remove it.

The benefits of carpet: there are many types of carpet from an aesthetic point of view, it is inexpensive and easy to install.

The cons of the carpet: the lifespan is average, maintenance must be done regularly.

Laminate

Laminate is an agglomerated support on which a decoration is affixed: wood pattern, concrete, tiles … It is more affordable than traditional parquet and imitates wood very well. Easy to maintain, it is nonetheless less resistant over time than other coatings.

The benefits of laminate: it is affordable, there is a wide range of patterns and colors and maintenance is easy.

The cons of laminate: it has a limited resistance to time, because it cannot be renovated, it is necessary to add an undercoat to benefit from sound insulation.

Vinyl siding

The vinyl coating allows for a patterned floor at a low price. It is suitable for all rooms, especially bathrooms. Easy to install and maintain, it is an essential covering for renovations. It can imitate materials, such as tiles, parquet or concrete.

The benefits of vinyl siding: it is inexpensive.

The cons of vinyl siding: it is impossible to repair, the floor must be perfectly flat during installation and the thickness is limited.

Solid parquet

Solid parquet can be thin, traditional or strip. The thin has a thickness of 9 to 15 mm, the traditional 23 mm, it is very resistant and that in strips is more than a meter long with a thickness comparable to traditional parquet. It is made from a single species of wood, which makes it a noble and very robust coating. It is available in many species, for a tinted, bleached, brushed finish,

The benefits of solid parquet: solid parquet is easy to install during renovations. It is very aesthetic, insulating and warm.

The cons of solid parquet: the price is high, the parquet is fragile and it can squeak if the nailed floor is badly laid.

The laminated parquet

The laminated parquet consists of 3 layers glued together, only the upper layer is made of noble wood. The thicker this layer, the stronger the parquet. This flooring does not crack underfoot and is less sensitive to humidity and temperature variations.

The benefits of laminated parquet: it is easy to install, comfortable and the wood appearance is very natural.

The cons of engineered parquet: low sound insulation.