Get floored: Revamp your home’s visual foundation

By Camalot Todd

Sunday, Oct. 29, 2017 | 2 a.m.

The argument for investing in a good mattress is that we spend a third of our lives sleeping. Apply that idea to the time our feet spend in contact with floors, and you might plot your next upgrade more strategically.

Ready for a new foundation?

1. Know your lifestyle. Are you a homebody who likes to luxuriate or a chronic coop-flier looking for a functional space? Do you have a massive family, or is it just you and your parakeet? What rooms do you spend the most time in? How much money and energy are you willing to spend on maintenance?

2. Have a timeline. Consider how deep you’re planting roots before you invest. It might not be wise to splurge on marble in your two-bedroom when you’re pregnant with triplets.

3. DIY when possible. Before you hire someone to install new flooring, remove the old covering if you can (get tips from YouTube or a home improvement store).

4. Save by settling. As much as you might fancy ordering something custom, you can get great deals on carpet remnants or other inventory that’s already in stock.

5. Don’t stagger projects. If you’re planning a revamp of your floors, it’s best to do all the rooms at the same time to cut down on the inconvenience and avoid a situation where you have one beautiful new floor next to several scuzzy old ones.

6. Avoid the "quilt." Limit the number of different types of flooring in your home — too much variation can hurt resale and the visual flow from room to room. It’s generally best to keep it to three, though very large homes can accommodate more, and very small homes look bigger and better with just one or two. Either way, stick to a single color palette for the sake of transitions.

Flooring strata

• Top layer/floor covering: The surface you see, that your feet touch.

• Second layer/underlayment: Helps provide an even, smooth foundation for the floor covering, oftentimes made of plywood. However, not everyone will have an underlayment because it is optional.

• Third layer/subfloor: This structural base is usually the concrete foundation slab in Las Vegas homes, but it can rest on the joists, lengths of timber or steel that support the floor, depending on the design of the home.

Vinyl/linoleum

• Cost*: $1,371

• Resale value: Low

• Ideal rooms: Bathroom, laundry room, basement. Vinyl is waterproof, but it is made from petroleum — a nonrenewable resource. Linoleum is water-resistant, so excess water may leak through to the subfloor, but it is made from environmentally friendly materials such as linseed or ground cork dust.

• Maintenance: Sweep and mop whenever dust, scuffs or smudges accumulate.

Carpet

• Cost*: $1,588

• Resale value: Low

• Ideal rooms: Bedroom, playroom, den. These rooms are designed to be cozy, and they typically aren’t exposed to high traffic and the stains that come with it.

• Maintenance: Vacuum once a day and get a professional cleaning once a year to remove dirt, mold and pollutants that get trapped in the fibers.

Laminate

• Cost*: $2,856

• Resale value: Medium

• Ideal rooms: Any. These synthetic surfaces mimic stone, wood and tile at a fraction of the cost. They can warp if exposed to drastic humidity and can be slick when wet, but the material stands up well to children, pets and a big-family lifestyle.

• Maintenance: Sweep and mop whenever dust, scuffs or smudges accumulate

Tile

• Cost: Varies widely per material, from solid marble to ceramic

• Resale value: Medium to high

• Ideal rooms: Bathroom, kitchen, entryway, mudroom. Tile surfaces can stand up to some of the roughest treatment, such as dropped pots or dripping raincoats. But they might not be the best choice if you have unsteady footing or are fragile because of age.

• Maintenance: Sweep or vacuum weekly; mop with hot water and a mild detergent monthly. To clean grout periodically, buy specialized cleaner and let it sit on the floor for 10 minutes before scrubbing with a toothbrush.

Bamboo

• Cost: Comparable to hardwood

• Resale value: High

• Ideal rooms: Living room, dining room, kitchen. Bamboo is preferable to hardwood for pet owners because it’s stain- and scratch-resistant.

• Maintenance: Sweep and vacuum regularly and mop (only damp, not wet) with specialized cleaner when needed.

Hardwood

• Cost*: $4,403

• Resale value: High

• Ideal rooms: Living room, dining room, kitchen, bedroom — basically anywhere that isn’t exposed to harsh light (which causes discoloration) or dampness (which causes warping/rotting). It lasts the longest and ages better than other floors.

• Maintenance: Dust-mop or vacuum and treat with wood-specific cleaners weekly. Refinish when needed, maybe after a few decades.

*Costs listed are general guidelines and not intended to be specific to any particular project. They are national averages per project (installation included) reported to HomeAdvisor, which acknowledges that many variables, including square footage, could affect pricing.