When you’re selecting the type of flooring you want in your home, you’ll of course consider the cost of materials and installation.
But as you tally up the expense of each option, you’ll also need to take into account the ongoing costs of owning the flooring.
How Long Do You Plan to Be in Your Home?
The first question to answer is how you long you plan to own your home. Your beautiful new floors not only have value to you, in that you get to enjoy them, but certain flooring can actually increase the value of your home. A highly sought after type of flooring, such as hardwood floors, can be a selling feature many home buyers expect to pay extra for.
Maintenance Costs
Flooring maintenance costs vary greatly. Carpet needs cleaning at least annually. Tile grout will need some serious cleaning over the years and some need resealing. Laminate floors will eventually wear out and need to be replaced. Hardwood floors will need to be recoated on occasion, and possibly completely refinished.
Replacement Costs
If your floors are solid plank, you can generally expect them to last as long as you’ll be living in your home, even if you live there the rest of your life. If you tire of the color, they can be sanded to bare wood and refinished for a whole new look.
A really good engineered floor (with a nice thick wear layer) can also be a great option and can also remain in place for the life of your home. A word of caution when looking at a less expensive option, you will be replacing it if the wear layer is too thin to be resanded.
According to a study by the National Association of Home Builders: Study of Life Expectancy of Home Components, the average life expectancy of flooring is as follows:
- Hardwood ~ Lifetime
- Carpet ~ 8 to 10 years
- Laminate ~ 15-25 years
- Linoleum ~ 25 years
- Tile ~ 75-100 years
Conclusion
To make a truly informed decision about which type of floors to buy, you need to consider each option's initial costs, maintenance, and complete replacement that will need to be done while you still own the home. Increase in home value should also be factored in.
