When choosing, flooring material for apartment building, there’s a variety of options to pick from, all having pros and cons that come with the decision. It can get difficult to figure out which flooring is best for your needs. To make the decision, you need to think more about practicality and less about aesthetics. Some flooring options simply will not work because of their fragility. If you’re interested in learning about which flooring options may go perfectly with your multifamily unit, read below and look at the list we’ve provided for you.
Read on to see what the top flooring options are for multifamily units.
Hardwood is Good
Hardwood flooring is a classic choice when choosing a floor plan. It’s easy to maintain and durable for any heavy foot traffic that may occur. There’s also a lot of options to choose from when looking into hardwood. From something as elegant as a rich red oak, to something as environmentally friendly as bamboo, hardwood features a lot of different options available to consumers. It’s important to know it can get damaged by moisture, scratches, and stains, but most finishes can help you protect your flooring from anything major and the wood can be sanded and refinished if needed.
Image from flussflooring.com
The Classic Ceramic
Ceramic tile is one of the only flooring options that seems viable for any room in your rental unit. It’s usually found in kitchens or bathrooms, but can be put in living rooms, bedrooms and hallways too. It’s also one of the less expensive options when choosing a flooring material. The only problems with ceramic tiles would be that they get extremely cold in the winter months, and it aren’t the softest flooring option you could pick. Installing the tile has proven to be difficult, so getting a professional may save you some trouble.
Interested in more inexpensive options? Read more below!
DIY Laminated Flooring
Laminated flooring has the illusion of hardwood, but that’s all it is – an illusion. It installs just like real hardwood. You lay down the boards side by side and join them, but it’s much easier to do, meaning you don’t need professional installation. If done correctly and tightly sealed, it’s waterproof, but if water somehow seeps into the cracks of the laminated floor, it will likely damage the area. Laminate is always installed as a floating floor so you don’t have to worry about nailing down installations like you would with hardwood or engineered wood.
Image from lowes.com
Living The Luxury Vinyl Tile Life
For any property manager that wants hard surface flooring for practical or aesthetic purposes, luxury vinyl tile is a great option to consider. It’s a combination of the benefits that come with hard flooring, without the price or maintenance. Luxury vinyl tile has a protective wear layer that prevents it from needing waxing or polishing; it only needs mopping and sweeping to maintain. Depending on the thickness of the wear layer, it can last up to ten years without needing to be reapplied.
To look into your softer flooring options, keep reading!
A Magic Broadloom Carpet Ride
One of the more traditional options, broadloom carpeting, comes rolled up in a large piece that is cut to size when installing. It’s because of this that the carpet install can be quick and easy to do, and it can cover a vast majority of a room with many different types of patterns and elaborate designs. Bedrooms or living rooms are ideal choices to use broadloom carpet. Wall-to-wall broadloom carpeting requires a separate pad, also known as an underlay, between the floor slab and the carpet. Be mindful though, it also wastes a lot of materials when you cut it up for installation.
Modular Carpet for The Modern World
Modular carpet, like broadloom, is quick and easy to install, but instead of being one large piece you unroll, the carpet comes in tile form that you lay out and connect on the floor. It also has a built-in underlay, eliminating the need for a separate pad. The tiles come in many different colors and patterns so you can design your own floor plan rather than having to stick to one design such as the broadloom. You can also replace any individual tile if it gets damaged without trouble, so you don’t have to rip up or ruin the whole carpet.
Image from FitFloors.com
The Unlikely Candidate: Rubber
Not many people think of rubber as a flooring option, but for high traffic areas, it’s durable and extremely easy to care for. The flooring is heat, water and slip resistant, as well as comfortable to walk on. Rubber is also sound absorbent, so it works well for open concept apartments. You don’t get as many options design-wise as you may with other flooring choices, but depending on the unit you have, rubber flooring may be the ideal type of floor you need.
Now that you know the types of flooring, which one is ideal for you?
Which Area Are You Re-Doing?
To figure out which flooring option is ideal for your space, you need to ask yourself a few questions. One of which would be, what is the space going to be used for? Is it going to be a bathroom or a bedroom? While both of these areas are important in a multifamily unit, that’s the only thing in common they have. You may not have to worry about water spillage in a bedroom as much as in a bathroom. There are different factors to consider with every different type of room you are trying to create.
Quick Fix?
If you unit is already filled with renters, you won’t want to take too long doing any repairs. Whatever flooring you choose, you should make sure it’s easily replaceable if it got ruined. An example would be if you wanted to install carpeting, you may want to consider modular tiles instead of broadloom because of how much easier it would be to swap out a damaged tile for a new one rather than replacing the whole floor.
These last two are vital to consider when choosing your floors!
How’s the Traffic?
It’s important to think about the foot traffic your space is going to get. A place with a lot of traffic will require a more durable flooring, so you don’t have to worry about replacing it as frequently. Something like using bamboo instead of hardwood would help with high traffic areas. It has the same elegant, natural effect wood does. However, bamboo is much more durable than many hardwoods and is less expensive.
Will It Break Your Bank?
The budgets for flooring are always low, but the expectation is always high. Flooring is one of the biggest items in a design plan and property managers usually feel pressure when it comes to choosing the right fit for their space. The flooring needs to be aesthetically pleasing, highly durable, inexpensive and easy to install.
There’s plenty of options for apartment building flooring if you look in the right places, the problem is you need to make sure you’re choosing the best possible option available for your space. Every space is different, just like every flooring is different. Make sure to do your research, take your time and make the best decision for your space and your wallet. re:fab can help! Click here for a free quote.
Sources
https://blog.millikencarpet.com/how-to-select-the-right-type-of-floor-covering-for-your-commercial-space
http://currandesigncenter.com/best-flooring-commercial-spaces/
https://www.servicemasterclean.com/blog/commercial-clean/choose-the-best-office-flooring-ideas-options-for-you/
https://www.builddirect.com/blog/the-best-flooring-for-commercial-spaces-schools-offices-and-restaurants/
https://www.ambientbp.com/blog/considerations-for-selecting-the-right-flooring-for-a-commercial-space
