Photo by Max Rahubovskiy

The Handshakers are the right pick for flooring repair and installation options in Hamilton, Ohio. That’s why they’ve set this handy guide for anyone interested!

Now, everyone here’s familiar with what a floor is—how can’t you be? We stand on them all the time! Most of the time, rather. Can’t be standing on floors if you live inside a cave. Does the bare ground count as a floor? Anyways, let’s get technical about things for a bit.

If you’re talking about “flooring,” what you’re talking about is the material by which a floor is made; basically, the surface that covers the bare ground for people to walk on without discomfort and prevents creepy crawlies from popping out of the soil and the rock beneath homes. Flooring is mighty beneficial, it seems. And it comes in a variety of shapes and sizes and styles, too—from timber to mosaic tiles! 

Flooring, in its gerund or verb form, can also refer to the process of laying down the flooring material to be finalized as the floor later. 

The Basic Guide to Types

Although, theoretically, one can imagine endless permutations of flooring—mixing and matching materials with styles and combinations and the like, practically speaking, there are only a few that have become common enough. Materials are hard to look for, so this is quite understandable.

Unless, of course, you have one of those replicators from Star Trek stashed up in your garage somewhere—which, if you already have that kind of thing, then we don’t know why you’re reading this basic guide to flooring.

And if it’s because you’re looking for a more complex guide to flooring, maybe we’ll have that in the future.

Fingers crossed!

For now, here are the most common flooring types that you’ll find anywhere and anytime:

Wooden flooring. A reliable choice and a hit at rich houses looking for a feel of authenticity and rustic charm. The appeal of timber or wood as flooring is its distinct pattern that evokes a specific kind of atmosphere. It is also quite durable, though the grain might get scuffed or scratched if there are high amounts of foot traffic expected. Moisture is its biggest enemy, although not something to worry about too much.

There are also several methods to apply wooden flooring, from wooden tiles to solid boards to engineered timber.

Costs for wooden flooring are highly variable—they can be quite cheap to quite expensive, depending on the type of wood and the method of flooring.

Wooden flooring is typically found in dining rooms or living rooms to establish a welcoming and down-to-earth atmosphere.

Laminate flooring. One of the more popular options (at least in affordable housing in modern times). This kind of floor is actually made up of compressed fiber-board planks over another material, whether it is stone or wood or anything in between. After things have been stacked, a protective coating is applied to bind the materials and give them better durability.

Laminate flooring has a similar aesthetic quality to wooden flooring and others (its artificiality makes it easy to mimic other appearances) but is often seen as a poor man’s copy of whatever flooring type it is similar to. It is also much easier to apply and requires little to no maintenance.

Its surface is also quite sturdy and isn’t prone to marks.

Laminate flooring is more often found in hallways or corridors, spaces in a building that has high traffic, and connects to more specialized partitions.

Vinyl flooring. This is a special type of flooring material in that it isn’t a block or a firm material, at least not without help. Generally bought as rolls of material or tiles, vinyl flooring is applied by gluing the material over pre-existing flooring.

Because of its plasticity, it can easily withstand moisture and other water pressures.

Among the flooring types mentioned in this article, vinyl flooring is by far the cheapest.

Vinyl flooring is very useful in bathrooms, generally in areas that are expected to get a lot of water.

Tile flooring. Perhaps the fanciest of all types, aside from marble flooring (which we won’t touch on). Tiles bring homeowners a wide range of variety to choose from–materials, color, shapes, finishes–these are all within the purview of tile flooring.

Tiles are very durable and are known to scratch easily; their easy and smooth surfaces also make them reliable for wet spaces.

Depending on the combination of material and shape and other factors, prices might vary.

Looking for flooring repair and installation options in Cincinnati Ohio? The Handshakers team has got you covered with this basic guide to flooring.