Flooring refers to the entire act of laying down a solid surface, whether it’s a carpet or wooden flooring, and the application of sealants to help it last through time. Flooring is the broadest term to generally define the work of laying down a floor covering, or for that matter, a permanent underlayment. The broadest sense of the word ‘flooring’ brings to mind the laid-down wooden floors of your childhood, which are thankfully now replaced by modern glazed or tile floors. However, if you’ve always wanted to lay wood flooring yourself, it may be easier said than done.Different types of flooring exist in the market today.

Each type can be classified into several types, depending on their application and their suitability to different circumstances. For example, we have hardwood, bamboo, laminate, marble and ceramic tiles.

Let’s have a closer look at each one of them: Hardwood flooring refers to the most popular and widely used flooring types. It includes maple, oak, ash, birch, beech, pine, oak-stained cherry and many other species.

Hardwood flooring has become increasingly popular with every passing year, partly due to their long lifespan, which boasts of above average durability and resistance to decay. Hardwood flooring is also suitable for both light and dark colored surfaces and comes in different color tones such as light brown, ash blonde, honey brown, oak, beige and others. Moreover, they look great on a range of furniture styles such as contemporary, traditional, rustic and many others. Another benefit of this type of flooring is that they are relatively easy to maintain, unlike carpets and some types of ceramic tile.

Carpeting and rugs are the next most common types of floor covering used by homeowners; yet, they are not that commonly used anymore due to the fact that they are not as durable as hardwoods and some types of ceramic tile. In fact, the carpet is not considered very resilient flooring by most homeowners. Carpeting is composed of pile (a number of small balls), yarn or any other synthetic material and has been commonly used on floors and other surfaces as a temporary floor covering. Carpeting also tends to absorb dirt easily.

Then, we have the third type – laminate flooring. As the name suggests, laminate is made of paper, synthetic material or a combination of both. As it is made of paper, it is more stain resistant than the other types of floorings mentioned above. However, it is not that easy to keep clean, as it needs to be vacuumed often. Furthermore, they tend to discolor over time due to constant contact with acidic substances like juices and wine.

In addition to these three types, there are also many types of recycled flooring materials that you can use as your ideal flooring solution. These recycled types include linoleum, red oxide tiled flooring, ceramic tile, stone, wood, and brick flooring. Bear in mind that brick flooring has the highest level of durability, but it is the most costly among the types of recycled flooring. Bear in mind also that when using brick as a flooring option, it is important to apply a sealant after installation.