Floored by choices

Flooring: Floored by Choices

By Jane Paige

floor

Triangle homeowners have a myriad of modern choices when installing flooring in a new home or renovating an existing space for a fresh spring fix-up. From the natural earth tones of tile to traditional plush carpeting, flooring options never looked so varied or so good for today's families.

In the Triangle, there is a choice in flooring for every taste, every lifestyle and every budget," says Kevin Corsini, vice president of sales and marketing with Selected Surfaces in Raleigh. "Homeowners just have to do their homework and look around to find what works best for them."

Tile: If it was good enough for Rome?

Before linoleum, vinyl and hardwood, there was tile. In fact, tile is pretty old. It was actually used to build the cities of ancient Rome and Pompeii, according to the Tile Council of North America, Inc.

But for a long time making tile was expensive and labor intensive. Homebuilders turned to other types of flooring to save money. That?s changing. Today?s technologies enable large kilns to fire 30 million square feet of tile each year?compared to just 7 million square feet twenty years ago, according to the Council. What that means for consumers is a larger and more affordable selection of tile and, often, a more durable product.

Today, tile is making an appearance throughout the home, not just in kitchens or bathrooms. With all the

varieties, tile usage is a major trend in home design?with no sign of slowing down. Tile can be formal, casual, decorative or simple. From ceramic to porcelain to stone, tile is a natural product that can offer a new look with easy care.

Ceramic tiles are available in a wide range of prices and styles, so it?s difficult to pinpoint an average price, but experts say on average $12 per square foot for both materials and installation should be adequate unless you get extravagant. Tile may be more expensive than other flooring types, but it?s long-lasting and is easy to maintain.

Tile often represents greater ease of upkeep than wood or carpet,? says Kim Miller, a partner with Tricia Burchette in Preferred Flooring of Raleigh. The store has an extensive line of ceramic, exotic hardwoods and carpet. Miller and Burchette used their creativity with tile in NHI?s 2004 Dream Home, placing faux marble porcelain tile in the home?s foyer. Floors in the kitchen, breakfast room and family room also had the look of stone.

Porcelain tile is often attractive to homeowners because they typically are scratch-resistant and naturally hygienic. Porcelain tile is made of a fine mixture of clay and minerals similar to what you might find in durable

dinnerware. Because of its ingredients, the tile can be fired at a much higher temperature than traditional ceramic tile, which makes it much denser, resisting moisture, stains and cracks.

Porcelain is very durable,? says Miller. "It is much stronger and more durable than ceramic tile, and there are endless opportunities to create different looks." Mark Wilson of Florida Tile also knows all about the increased interest in tile in all parts of the home. Today?s products offer an array of sizes, colors, textures and designs that can extend from the bathroom all the way into the family room.

"I would say that larger tiles are very popular in homes right now," says Wilson. "The most significant recent trend is the use of these larger tiles in kitchens and dens." More tiles today are being made of porcelain for a variety of reasons. Porcelain that looks like stone but doesn't have to be sealed to avoid stain and odor absorption is easy to maintain.

"Porcelain also is much more affordable than it used to be," Wilson says. "Homeowners today are so busy and many want a maintenance-free floor. Tile has no substitute when it comes to its ease to clean and maintain."

Wood? you like it?

Ever popular in today?s homes is the traditional hardwood floor, the classic choice for homeowners across the Triangle. Hardwoods offer an air of elegance and taste to any room, complement any furniture and d?cor and, with proper care, can last a long time, according to local flooring experts.

Hardwoods are always going to be popular due to their long-lasting appeal," says Jerry Looker, store manager of Floors Today in Raleigh. ?We sell about 40 different types of hardwoods, and they just never lose their elegance." Hardwoods, typically used in living and dining rooms, can be used in kitchens as well. When carefully chosen and well sealed, it can work well in one the most active parts of the house.

In terms of trends, homeowners today are going more toward distressed hardwood planks, planks in wider widths and exotic woods. Plain Maple and Oak are no longer the assumed norm. Homeowners today are using Mahogany, Cherry, Teak and Walnut?and, in some cases, mixing woods.

Exotic woods also are making an appearance throughout the Triangle, according to Corsini with Select Surfaces. These woods include African Rosewood and other specialty woods. Bamboo also is becoming a popular choice with some environmentally- sensitive homeowners.

Karla Slocum with Manor House in Wake Forest is selling hand-scrapped hardwood that gives the flooring a more antique and rich look.

"We have placed some of the new hand-scrapped wood in our showroom entry way and it is just beautiful,? she says. "Everyone is asking about it." One note about installation: many hardwood flooring today is pre-finished, which eliminates the messy process of sanding and staining the boards once in the home.

According to Wood Floors Online (www.woodfloorsonline.com), materials can range from $3 to $7 per square foot, but that doesn?t include prep, installation and necessary moldings and trims. The site recommends getting three estimates from reputable companies before making a decision.

The Wood Alternative

For those homeowners who are more budget-conscious, but still like the look of hardwood, laminate floors are popular and offer more variety in color and style than traditional hardwoods, says Looker with Floors Today. "We have more than 80 styles of laminates which are extremely durable and popular," he says.

Laminate flooring is actually made of plastic attached to high-density fiber or particle board. The backing is typically a durable paper or another layer of laminate. Although laminate flooring is extremely durable, it cannot be refinished or recoated as wood floors can. So if you're planning on staying in your house for longer than 7 to 10 years, you may want to consider the real possibility that you?ll have to replace your laminate flooring if it gets scratched and worn over time.

Today's manufacturers, more than 100 according to online expert Do it Yourself (www.doityourself.com), are producing an array of traditional, rustic and exotic wood grain designs, averaging roughly $3.50 per square foot or less for materials only. Regarding installation, some laminate floors lock together without the use of adhesive. Patterns also are available that resemble natural stone.

Flooring Sometimes you need soft and luxurious?

While tiles and hardwoods offer durability and often ease of maintenance, carpet still is popular in the bedrooms of most Triangle homes, according to flooring experts.

"Face it, people want to step out of bed in the morning onto soft, plush carpet," says Slocum with Manor House. "They may have stone or hardwoods in the living room, but most people want carpet in the

bedrooms." Neutral tones in carpet also remain popular year in and year out, she says.

In recent years, two old-time carpet favorites have been making a comeback ? expensive but long-lasting wool carpet and the old shag-look of carpet now known as frieze. "We are selling more of the carpet with the old shag look to it,"? says Slocum. "People have always liked the feel of it and now it seems to be making a comeback."

Carpet pricing varies depending upon quality, style, padding and brand, but an average price is roughly $2 per square foot and .50 per square foot to install, according to the Carpet Buyers Handbook (www.carpetbuyershandbook.com). A new trend in carpet is carpet tiles, easy to install for do-it-yourselfers; they cost an average of $2.45 per square foot.

Lastly, if you're pining away for carpet, don't forget that it requires cleaning every 12 to 18 months and spot-cleaning in-between, which can run a few hundred dollars for the entire house.

Jane Paige is a freelance writer and Christa Gala contributed to this story.