What condo flooring options should you consider for a high-rise building? Do you know the strengths and weaknesses of your various choices? What about the market that you’re selling to? These are all important considerations, so let’s go through the most popular choices and what they communicate:
Hardwood
Hardwood is strong and durable and lends a condo a feeling of increased living space. Younger people and families love hardwood because it brings in a touch of the outside world. This helps them feel less stressed and more at home. That said, it’s also the most expensive option you’ll generally consider. Its strengths are unparalleled; just make sure it fits the aesthetic you’re aiming to create.
Tile
Tile is reliable, strong, and durable. It can be used as a highlight for smaller rooms, but you may want to alternate for hallways – it does echo a bit. It can also be cold. If your market is young families, they’ll enjoy its aesthetic and high quality. If your market is older, cold tile may be less appealing to them. Tile’s water resistance makes it most ideal for bathrooms, kitchens, etc.
Laminate
Advances in technology and design have made laminate very popular. It’s incredibly affordable and it can emulate the look of many other materials, from wood to stone. It’s reasonably soft underfoot, and won’t get cold like tile. It’s also very easy to maintain – just don’t use it for bathrooms, kitchens, or other areas where water might get spilled. Its soft qualities, warmth, and ease of maintenance make it a good choice for a more elderly market. Because of its floated installation, it’s also ideal for saving money on retrofit projects.
Carpet
What about carpet? After decades and decades of thinking carpet’s on its last legs, it’s time to admit that carpet is pretty timeless. It’s soft and padded, ideal for families with young children. It’s particularly useful for helping to keep the noise down from one level of a high-rise building to the next. Just be aware that it stains, and if you want to provide hypo-allergenic options, seek out carpets constructed with more recent hypo-allergenic materials and techniques.
Vinyl Plank
Luxury vinyl flooring has come a long way. The newest generation of luxury vinyl tile – vinyl plank – is as durable and attractive as any other flooring product on the market. Advances in printing techniques have produced amazing finishes that are increasingly difficult to distinguish from granite, marble, hardwood, slate, bamboo, or limestone flooring. In other words, luxury vinyl plank is the best option when you want a floor that resembles stone or ceramic tile, or if you desire a realistic, wood-look plank floor. More good news – like hardwood flooring – vinyl plank flooring is available in various widths and lengths. By staggering these vinyl planks just as you would the planks of a hardwood floor, you’ll end up with a floor that can fool even the experts. It’s no wonder then that, because the design possibilities are limitless – and because luxury vinyl flooring is one of the easiest materials to install, vinyl plank is a widely popular flooring choice, especially among those in favor of a modern-contemporary design aesthetic.
Like laminate flooring, vinyl plank flooring is made up of layers of material, starting with a core of vinyl over a backing of felt or fiberglass. Decorative designs are printed on the next layer that sits on top of the core. That decorative design layer is what makes vinyl plank so versatile. It can be made to look like almost any material. The final layer – and the most important – is also vinyl and is called the wear layer. This top layer of vinyl is about 10 mils thick on average. The thicker the plank and the thicker the wear layer, the more durable the flooring. The flooring industry is constantly experimenting to find wear layers that are tougher and more resistant, but still beautiful and practical. Thus, vinyl plank flooring is durable and resists scratching, denting, and tearing. It also cleans easily and doesn’t need to be waxed. That’s one of many reasons why we love luxury vinyl flooring for condos and high-rise buildings.
No matter the type of flooring you want to install, it’s best to work with an expert who knows how to handle the material and lay it properly. Have questions about condo flooring options for your high-rise building? Contact East Coast Flooring & Interiors today!
