Fix Your Flooring Flaws

*This is a collaborative post on fixing flooring flaws

Are there flaws with your floor? Issues with your flooring could be having a negative impact on your home’s appearance and comfort. Flooring problems may even be a hazard in some cases. Below are just a few ways in which you can be the most common flooring flaws.

Creaky floorboards

Floorboards can creak as a result of being too loose. The creaking sound caused by boards rubbing against each other. It could also be the sound of a loose board rubbing against a nail or a joist.
Common reasons why floorboards may become lose include:

• Incorrect nailing
• Shrinkage
• Damage or decay to floorboards or joists

A skilled carpenter or flooring company may be able to easily fix the issue. Old floorboards that have not been well maintained may need to be replaced in some cases, which can be an expensive job.

It may be possible to temporarily stop creaky floorboards by sprinkling talcum powder onto the boards.

Stains, chips and tears

Stains, chips and tears are all aesthetic problems, but they can still be a nuisance. They may make you less proud of your home and could affect its value. There are various different ways to deal with these marks and blemishes.

Get your carpet professionally cleaned

If you’ve got a carpet that’s stained, it could benefit from being cleaned with a carpet cleaning machine. You can buy carpet cleaning machines for home use – however, if you want the best chance of getting those stains out, you may want to hire a professional carpet cleaning company for the job.

Consider having your floor resealed/refinished

Both wooden floors and stone floors can get scuffed, scratched and stained. It may be possible to reseal or refinish this flooring in order to make it look brand new. With wooden flooring, this usually involves sanding it down and then adding a new coating or protective sealant. With a stone floor, you can buff it and polish it. In both cases, it’s usually easier to hire professionals in order to get a high-quality finish.

Cover damage with rugs

Got a big stain on your living room floor. A simple solution could be to cover it with furniture or a rug. This could be a lot less expensive than having to professionally clean, refinish or replace the flooring.

Know when to invest in a new floor

If the flooring is severely marked or damaged, the better option may be to simply replace it. When installing new flooring, think about what type of new flooring is best for your lifestyle. For instance, if you’ve got kids or pets, you probably don’t want a white thick pile carpet. Easy-to-maintain options include:

• Short pile carpet: This is much easier to clean than a thicker carpet. Opt for dark colours to help hide marks and stains.
• Carpet squares: These are carpets made up of squares. If one square gets stained or ripped, you can replace the square instead of replacing the whole carpet.
• Laminated wood: Laminated wood can be easily swept and mopped and doesn’t mark easily. It’s ideal for pets and kids.
• Polished stone: Polished stone can be similarly swept and mopped. It’s a much harder surface, so may not be suitable for kids.

Cold feet

Laminated wooden flooring and tiles can get very cold. On top of making your feet cold, this could affect the overall temperature of your home. Fortunately, there are a few ways in which you can combat cold feet.

Switch to carpet

This is the most obvious solution. Carpet stays warmer longer and can help to insulate your floor. It is harder to clean and maintain, which is something to weigh up when trading hard floors for carpet (carpets are generally unsuitable in kitchens and bathrooms).

Use strategically placed rugs

Adding rugs onto hard floors could allow you to keep the same flooring while making it warmer underfoot. A large rug beneath a sofa could be ideal for making a living room cosier. Large rugs can also make bedrooms cosier – a cowhide rug such as this one found here https://www.cowhiderugslondon.co.uk/blog/cowhide-rug-use-in-different-enviroments.html could provide an earthy touch. Rugs may also be able to cover cold spots in your home, such as places where drafts may be coming from between floorboards.

Invest in underfloor insulation

Adding insulation to flooring could help to reduce heat loss and block out drafts. There are lots of different types of floor insulation such as insulation boards, insulation spray or even filling the crawlspace beneath floorboards in an older home. Insulation could improve the overall heat retention of your home, preventing you from having to turn on the heating as often and saving you money!

Opt for underfloor heating

Underfloor heating involves laying underfloor heating pipes beneath the floor to warm it up. It can be a great way to keep tile or wooden floors cosy without the need for rugs. In a bathroom, it can also be useful for helping water on the floor to evaporate, reducing the risk of mould.

Trip hazards

Flooring that is easy to slip and trip on is not ideal if you have kids or you have mobility issues. There are a few ways in which you can eliminate slipping and tripping.

Fix up dents and tears

A rip in a carpet or linoleum floor could be a fall waiting to happen. Bumps and dents in wooden or stone flooring could similarly pose a trip hazard. Get this damage fixed up to reduce any risk.

Add non-slip rugs

Many people place rugs on stone and wooden floors to prevent slipping. These rugs ideally need to be non-slip, otherwise, the rug may just serve as an extra trip hazard. You can add rug grippers to rugs to stop them from slipping.

Don’t use a soaking mop

When cleaning a wooden or stone floor, avoid putting too much water on it. The majority of injuries on hard floors are because the floor is wet. Try to use minimal water or consider manually drying the floor afterwards with a towel or dry mop.

Water damage

Water damage to flooring can lead to mould growth. It could also damage the structural integrity of the building by possibly causing rot in wooden flooring.

Sources of water damage could include underfloor pipes or flooding. As soon as flooring becomes damaged, it’s worth hiring a restoration company to assess it and repair it. If you live in a high-risk flood area, you may want to stick to waterproof flooring options in your home like ceramic tile and vinyl. This site https://uniquecarpetandfloor.com/2018/06/27/4-types-of-flooring-for-flood-prone-basements/ offer a few good flooring options for flood-prone basements.