If you are replacing your floor covering your choices are tile, carpet, linoleum or wood. Before tearing up your old floor covering you will want to decide on a new floor covering. You also may want to purchase the new floor covering and have it readily available before taking the old floor covering out to ensure you can obtain the new.
If you are concerned about price, before even committing to taking the old floor covering out, you will want to price new floor covering. The first thing you will need to do is decide on the type of floor covering you want. With price being a factor you may want to price your choices then decide.
You can purchase inexpensive carpet and linoleum for about the same price. Tile is usually a little more expensive unless you choose the “cheap” kind. On average, tile at Lowe’s is about $2.15 per square foot. You can purchase vinyl peel and stick tile for as low as 78 cents per 45 square feet. That is less than 2 cents a square foot. If you are looking for a bargain I would go for the peel and stick vinyl tiles. They are great for bathrooms and kitchens. As for carpet it’s a little more expensive. Carpet can be found for about 99 cents a square foot. This includes the inexpensive carpet padding.
When you are looking for flooring you may be interested in comfort. You will be living on the flooring so it needs to be comfortable for you. Tile and Vinyl peel and stick tiles are hard on the body. (Tile is a little worse). Both tile and vinyl cause feet, knees, and back discomfort. If you are only putting tile in an area you don’t frequently walk on it would be find. Tiling a whole house including the living room and bedrooms is a bad idea. If you are young and don’t have back problems this may cause them. Carpeting is the best flooring cover to use because there is padding underneath which eases the impact on your body’s joints.
If you are replacing your floor covering you should also consider the ease of installation and the care of the flooring you will be using. Most floors are easy to care for with a vacuum. Carpets you have to shampoo every year or so because of spills and high traffic areas. Vinyl and tile have to be vacuumed and mopped every time you clean in order to keep them looking and feeling clean. Vinyl and tile have cracks that grime just seeps into and is hard to get out. Your floor will feel gritty or sandy. I personally don’t like housework so I choose carpet when shopping for flooring cover.
1. Pricing:
Tile – $2.15 a square foot
Vinyl peel and stick tiles – less than 2 cents a square foot
Carpet with padding – 99 cents a square foot
2. Comfort:
Tile – Hard on knees, back and feet
Vinyl peel and stick tiles – Hard on the body but not as bad as tile
Carpet – Plush, feels good on the bare foot and doesn’t cause aches like tile or vinyl flooring.
3. Ease of Installation:
Tile – The hardest and most work to install is tile. It’s messy and cleanup is required.
Vinyl peel and stick tiles – Not as messy to install, still more work than laying carpet.
Carpet – Of the floor coverings, easiest and cleanest to install. Have carpet fibers to vacuum up.
4. Care:
Tile – Easy to care for but feels dirty because of the cracks. Has to be vacuumed to remove little grime.
Vinyl peel and stick tiles – Easy to care for but like tile you still feel it’s dirty because of the cracks.
Carpet – With carpet instead of vacuuming and mopping, you vacuum and sometimes shampoo. If you frequently shampoo carpet, then it is more work than you need to do.
