7 cheap wood flooring options you could try, Home floor design tips, Online property renovation advice

7 Cheap Wood Flooring Options You Could Try

7 Dec 2022

Because of technological improvements, the world of cheap wood flooring has expanded, providing homeowners and do-it-yourself enthusiasts with numerous possibilities. Learn more about low-cost flooring solutions by reading this guide.

Whether you’re searching for kitchen flooring or something to put down in the garage, here’s everything you need to know about common materials, including the typical price per square foot, how labour-intensive they are to install, and how long they should last.

7 Cheap Wood Flooring Options

1. Vinyl

Vinyl flooring is accessible in sheets, tiles, and planks and is mostly made of PVC, resulting in long-lasting, waterproof flooring that can be installed anyplace in your home. It is one of the least pricey flooring options on the market and requires little upkeep, only regular vacuuming or sweeping and the odd mopping. You may expect it to survive for up to 25 years if properly installed.

2. Vinyl Sheet

When it comes to design, touch, and quality, this cut-to-length option has made significant strides. Sheet vinyl generally comes in 6″ & 12″ widths, making it difficult to handle, and an expert best installs it.

The average price is $1.25 per square foot (excluding installation), with luxury brands costing more than $5 per square foot.

3. Vinyl Plank

If you want a real hardwood or stone replacement, plank vinyl is the most affordable option for matching the look of more expensive flooring. In addition, unlike sheet vinyl, planks come in tiny sizes, making the installation process simpler. Vinyl planks can be put using glue or with a peel-and-stick or click-and-lock technique. Installation is often simple, even for people new to home renovation tasks.

Prices vary depending on whether you select a luxury vinyl plank (LVP), engineered vinyl plank (EVP), waterproof vinyl plank (WVP), or stiff core vinyl plank (SVP), which is a composite stone type that is great for high-traffic areas. Prices start at $1.39 per square foot on average, without including installation, and rise from there depending on thickness, quality, and manufacturer guarantees – check https://www.easystepflooring.co.uk.

4. Laminate

Laminate is a composite replicating the look of hardwood or stone with a photographic picture embossed on its surface. While laminate is less expensive than vinyl sheets, it is not as robust, should not be uncovered to heat, is not waterproof, and lasts just 10 years. Installing laminate in high-moisture or water-prone locations such as basements, kitchens, or bathrooms is not recommended.

Laminate is placed as a floating floor, which means the parts click and lock together instead of being attached to the subfloor. It will take some time to prepare the area adequately, but installation is rather quick once you start fitting the components together.

The typical cost of laminate flooring is $2.50 per square foot (without installation), although this will vary based on the materials used and the manufacturer’s warranties.

5. Cork

Cork is a soft, eco-friendly alternative to composite flooring that is also less difficult to install than hardwood.

Made from the cork oak tree, this sustainable material is used to make floor tiles, planks, and sheets, with prices starting at around $2 per square foot and increasing with thickness, quality, and polish.

While one of the benefits of cork is that it is softer than other fairly costly flooring options, its tenderness can also be a detriment because it scratches and dents readily. It also performs poorly in places such as restrooms, where high humidity levels (over 60%) cause the material to fracture and break.

6. Carpet

Carpeting is another inexpensive flooring choice available to homeowners, ranging from wall-to-wall to peel-and-stick. The options are numerous, thanks to a wide spectrum of materials and quality levels. Regardless of the carpet, you can hope it will last 10 years longer if you vacuum frequently and treat stains immediately.

While carpet is pleasant to walk on and excellent at sound absorption, it exhibits wear and tears considerably sooner than other types of flooring. It should not be used in restrooms or other places where moisture can breed mould.

While purchasing wall-to-wall carpeting is a low-cost flooring choice (it can be bought for less than $1 per square foot), installing it is not for the faint of heart.

It’s frequently a multi-person, multi-tool process that requires precision—wrinkles, bumps, and weak seams will harm the finished product. Consider hiring an expert to install wall-to-wall because there is minimal room for error.

Peel-and-stick carpet tiles: Using peel-and-stick carpet tiles is a simpler way to install carpeting. The smaller parts, like vinyl planks, make installation reasonably quick and uncomplicated. Carpet tiles come with their adhesive backing, so all you have to do is free the floor, peel off the stickers, and stick the tiles down. You can also employ a box cutter to cut parts as needed. At big-box stores like Home Depot, carpet tiles cost less than $1 per square foot.

7. Tiles

Ceramic Tile: Durable ceramic tile is a great low-cost flooring alternative at less than a dollar per square foot. Look for produced tile with a PEI rating of at least 3—the industry standard the Porcelain Enamel Institute set. The tile rated lower than a 3 is too thin and brittle to withstand floor traffic. If you aren’t comfortable using a wet saw or tile cutter, leave the installation to the professionals.

Porcelain Tile: Consider utilising porcelain tiles when installing floors in moist areas such as bathrooms and kitchens. Porcelain is denser and better at repelling water than ceramic due to its production process, and while it costs somewhat more per square foot, it wears better than normal ceramic.

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