Allie Turck | Author
Elyse Johnson | Editor
Published 10/23/2020
The flooring throughout your home can have a large effect on your lifestyle, especially for people with mobility limitations, The majority of serious fall injuries occur in people over 65, and many of our 65+ population have stayed in their same home for prolonged periods of time. Because of these long periods of time with homeowners who are unable to repair or replace damaged or inadequate flooring, many of their homes are full of fall hazards. According to the CDC, each year, 3 million older people are treated in emergency departments for fall injuries. Over 800,000 of those people are hospitalized. With that large number, around 75% of the costs are shouldered by Medicare and Medicaid, which in 2015 totaled more than $50 Billion Dollars.
There are plenty of different types of flooring and even different styles or installations within those types. Listed below are a few different types of floorings you can install into homes. There are pros and cons to every type of flooring, some are better in certain rooms, some are better in certain climates, once you discover some that you are interested in you can research them a bit further.
Laminate: Made for Life
Vinyl: Made to get Wet
Tile: Made for a Mess
Hardwood: Made to be Beautiful
Cork: Made to be Renewable
Bamboo: Made for Mother Earth
Laminate
Made for Life
Laminate flooring is made for almost any room of your home, it is a hybrid flooring consisting of multiple layers; a particle board wood base, an image layer, and a transparent top layer made for wear and tear. Laminate flooring typically is installed in combination with an underlayment layer that provides additional soundproofing and insulating properties. It is engineered to look, feel, and endure better than almost any other flooring.
Laminate is our most commonly installed flooring type used in dry areas in the home due to its price and durability. Laminate allows us to decrease the likeliness of falls, it’s hypoallergenic, and is much easier for someone with limited mobility to keep clean. In one of our recent projects, one home went from uneven and dangerous flooring to smooth, beautiful laminate after our contractor leveled the large crack in the concrete in their kitchen.
When You Should
- Laminate flooring can give you a variety of aesthetics at a cheaper cost.
- It’s Easy! Installation can be done by a DIYer with some basic experience. Many of our volunteers have installed beautiful laminate with some guidance!
- Durable, scratch-resistant surface making it childproof and pet-proof.
When You Shouldn't
- Most types of Laminate flooring are not made to get wet. Water resistant laminate may put a strain on your wallet and a more economical alternative would be vinyl.
- While scratch-resistant, the more low-budget laminate can chip pretty easily.
Vinyl
Made to get Wet
Vinyl flooring is very similar to laminate but is better suited for bathrooms and other high moisture areas. Vinyl flooring is either fixed to the floor by an adhesive or clicks in place with a tongue and groove system. Vinyl flooring can be purchased as a continuous sheet, long planks, or tiles and can be made in a wide variety of colors and patterns.
Vinyl is one of the most common floorings we use in bathroom remodels or kitchen remodels. Bathroom remodels are very common in our repairs, either to make an unusable bathroom clean and healthy again or to make a common bathroom ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliant.
When You Should
- Vinyl incomes in a plethora of different styles while staying modest in price.
- It’s durable, easy to install, and easy to maintain and keep clean.
- It’s great for kitchens and bathrooms as it can handle spills and moisture.
When You Shouldn't
- Adhesive based installation makes the flooring difficult to repair or remove.
- If you are trying to be eco-friendly, Vinyl is difficult to recycle and you’d be better off with Bamboo or Cork.
Tile
Made for a Mess
You often see tile flooring in places where messes are expected to happen. That’s because you can clean almost anything off of tile flooring with just water and a mop. While most floorings are merely water-resistant, tile is almost impervious if you install it right!
We often use tile in showers for our critical repairs projects. For our homeowners with mobility limitations, using small tile patterns allows for significantly reduced slips and falls thanks to the increased amount of grout and grooves.
When You Should
- If you are looking for a tough, durable surface for your kitchen, bath, or mudroom, Tile’ em!
- If someone in your home has mobility limitations laying small tiles can help them keep a better grip on the floor.
- If you or your family have seasonal or dust allergies, it’s easy to see allergens on tile and it’s easy to get rid of them.
When You Shouldn't
- If you’re looking for quick and easy installation, tile isn’t the way to go. Laying down tile can be difficult and take a lot longer than other types of flooring.
- Tile is not exactly warm or soft so if you live in a colder area it may not be the ideal choice for your home.
- When you have small children, tile is a very hard surface and may not be nice for their heads when they inevitably fall.
Hardwood
Made to be Beautiful
Hardwood is a favorite of many homeowners and contractors. It looks amazing and raises the resale value of a home. While it isn’t an economical option that we would typically install in any of our critical repairs homes, for people with a larger budget, hardwood flooring is a great investment. It will truly last a lifetime!
When You Should
- If you are looking to improve the resale value of your home and have an easier time selling your home.
- If you want a floor that you can change to match your changing styles, hardwood floors can be sanded and re-stained to match your style.
- If you have some money to spend and want a long-lasting floor that is easy to clean and can be maintained to last decades.
When You Shouldn't
- Hardwood can be scuffed and damaged without too much difficulty depending on what type of wood you use.
- If you don’t have a large budget, hardwood itself is costly and even more expensive with the cost of installation.
- Hardwood can be fairly difficult to install and is not recommended for those who are inexperienced, and the cost of installation is not cheap.
Cork
Made to be Renewable
Cork is a guilt-free flooring choice as you don’t have to worry about cutting down trees; it is actually harvested and easily replenishable and biodegradable. While we don’t usually install cork flooring into our homes, it’s still a great option for yours.
When You Should
- It’s a great insulator, as well as more cushioned than hardwood or bamboo flooring.
- Cork is the perfect choice for homeowners looking for a DIY flooring solution. Cork is easy to install and simple to maintain. Like hardwood, you can re-stain cork flooring to suit your style.
When You Shouldn't
- If you have pets, cork is not the best, while keeping their claws trimmed can help, it’s inevitable that your pets will damage cork.
- Cork isn’t made for extensive amounts of water or humidity. Without proper sealant, water can easily stain cork flooring if left untreated.
Bamboo
Made for Mother Earth
Bamboo is a beautiful, relatively new flooring that is often categorized as hardwood flooring but is actually a unique type of grass! If you’re interested in a niche, environmentally friendly flooring, bamboo flooring is the way to go!
When You Should
- Bamboo has an appearance similar to hardwood, yet unique and is relatively low-cost. It can also raise the value of your home.
- If you are looking for a durable material that’s very strong and more water-resistant.
- Bamboo is easily renewable and harvesting has little environmental effect.
When You Shouldn't
- Bathrooms and rooms with a lot of moisture change aren’t ideal for bamboo as large changes can cause shrinking in the flooring.
- Extensive exposure to direct sunlight can cause discoloration.
