Why You Should Not Install Hardwood Floors in Your Home

For many homeowners, remodeling a home is an exciting, and stressful, event. For some, changing the flooring style of the home is a dream remodeling project that has taken many years to plan and complete. When considering a flooring remodel in your home, there are many options available from carpeting to hardwood flooring to tile and even concrete.

Since there are many advantages and disadvantages to each type of flooring, it is important to look at each element and then gauge the potential conflicts against the needs of your home and family.

For hardwood flooring, there are many reasons not to install it into your home. First, in homes with high humidity levels, hardwood flooring is not recommended as it will cause the new hardwood flooring to expand, warp and deteriorate far more quickly. Homes in drier climates tend to handle hardwood flooring more successfully.

While hardwood floors are the most simple of all flooring to keep clean, they do require regular maintenance. In most cases, the maintenance can be done with relative ease. However, to maintain hardwood floors well, the use of sealants and waxes must be addressed every few months. Because hardwood floor do wear down with traffic, the sealant on your hardwood floor should be durable. If you are purchasing a hardwood floor, remember the regular application of sealant, every few years, and the use of wax, every six months, can be a major project for your home, especially if it is in a high traffic environment.

Hardwood floors will also crack and squeak. With changes in temperature and changes in traffic through the home, the floors will, eventually, crack and squeak which can lead to a highly frustrating living environment. The issue with cracking and squeaking lies in the need to make repairs immediately as, without repairs, the flooring will quickly deteriorate. If you are not familiar with general home flooring repair, this type of repair can be costly. As a result, if you plan to install hardwood flooring, be sure you have become well educated in the processes to repair squeaks and cracks in flooring before the hardwood flooring because extremely damaged.

Sagging floors can be of concern whether you install hardwood floors or carpeting. Most often, a sagging floor is found in a home that is built on pier and beam and the floor joists are loose or deteriorated. This can be a costly repair. The impact on hardwood flooring may result in not only the replacement of the flooring in the area where the sagging occurred, but also the inability to ever alleviate the sound of cracks and squeaks to that area of the home. For a home with a history of floor sagging, using carpet may be a better option as it will buffer the sound of the unstable, or repaired, flooring.

As with any home remodeling project, the key to successful remodeling lies in your careful research and planning for your home needs. With so many types of hardwood flooring on the market, if you choose to install the hardwoods, be sure to become well educated in the maintenance, restoration and repair techniques required for your particular hardwood floor type.