Home renovation projects are on the rise. In fact, it is reported that three in four homeowners planned to renovate their homes last year. One reason homeowners are now more inclined to renovate their homes is because the pandemic has forced the majority of Americans to stay indoors for long periods of time. This has inspired many to rethink their interior design.
Getting a new floor is one key renovation that homeowners have been investing in lately. However, this particular undertaking can be intimidating, especially if you don’t have any experience doing renovations or construction work. That said, we’ve laid out some considerations that you need to think about before purchasing new flooring for your home.
Will your new floor fit with your home’s interior design?
Before jumping the gun and buying a new floor for your home, you have to think about what the rest of your home looks like and the options that go along with it. For example, if your home has a modern and cozy aesthetic, you can choose carpet floors that provide warmth and texture to your space. On the other hand, hardwood floors may be better for classic and contemporary homes. To ensure that the floor you pick complements your home, make sure you look for a trusted interior designer, as they will be able to guide you through the process.
Can you shoulder the costs of your new floor?
For high quality flooring, you can find carpets starting at $8 per square foot and engineered hardwood floors at $18. This means that if you own a 2,000 square feet home, you can expect to pay upwards of $16,000 for new flooring. Aside from thinking about the cost of your new floor, you also have to factor in delivery, installation, underlayment, and additional materials. These costs can easily add up and severely hurt your wallet. If you’re not sure where to get funds for your new floor, you may want to save up first. For one, you can put funds inside a high yield CD account, which has a high annual percentage yield and can be cashed out in six months. Be sure to use a high yield CD calculator to see how much you can get over different periods of time. If you don’t want to save up and wait, you can always choose to take out a personal loan, which usually has a lower interest rate than credit cards and allows for a structured payment schedule. A personal loan will also allow you to start renovating straightaway.
Will your new floor add value to your home?
Another thing that you should consider is if the flooring you choose will add value to your home. Of course, you wouldn’t want to replace your old flooring with something that might reduce your home’s price on the market. For this reason, be sure to do your research and look for flooring options that can raise your home’s value. For instance, hardwood floors have an ROI of at least 7 percent, which means that spending $10,000 dollars will add $7000 to your home’s sales price. However, choosing vinyl flooring may not increase your home’s value, even though it always looks well maintained and neat, as it isn’t as popular with buyers as it once was.
Will you be able to maintain your new floor?
Your new flooring needs to be maintained regularly if you want it to last. However, different floors have different maintenance requirements. Carpeting needs to be vacuumed at least once a week if you don’t want allergens to accumulate and make your family sick. On the other hand, laminate and vinyl flooring just needs to be swept regularly. If you don’t mind heavy maintenance, you can choose hardwood flooring which can’t get wet, needs to be swept daily, have to be waxed regularly, and requires re-finishing every 3 years.
Getting a new floor can elevate your home and make it feel new. If you are planning this renovation we hope the above tips have helped.
Article Author: Tracy Evan | Written for fromtheforest.com