Antonio Piromalli Home and Art

If you are looking for an easy maintenance option in flooring, laminate flooring would be ideal. It adds beauty and style to your home and is preferred by a vast majority of homeowners. Laminate flooring provides the same kind of classy appearance that is offered by natural stone, tile and hardwood floors. In addition, compared to the natural products, it is more affordable.

Durable Flooring Requiring Minimal Maintenance

Right from the origin of laminate flooring, its ease of maintenance has been one of the contributing factors behind its popularity. This type of flooring is designed with several different layers. The wear layer normally referred to as the overlay layer is made of special melamine resin saturated cellulose. Laminate flooring can be cleaned without using any costly cleaning materials. It does not require frequent refinishing and replacements; laminate flooring can maintain its freshness for several years.

Ideal for All Areas of Your Home

Laminate flooring is resistant to stains, moisture, dents, twists and scratches. Therefore it can be used in almost all the areas of your home which are frequently accessed. You can use it as a safe and durable flooring option for your hallway, living room, kitchen, bathroom and other rooms.

Laminate flooring comes in a variety of textures, colors and patterns to match all kinds of home décor. At present laminate flooring designed using interlocking technology is available in the industry. This kind of flooring completely avoids the use of glues and can be installed within a short span of time.

Recognized Dealers Offer Quality Products, Installation and Maintenance

Laminate flooring can be purchased from authorized dealers who take care to make available genuine products from leading manufacturers. These dealers also take care of flooring installation and maintenance, and offer hassle free services.

The right kitchen flooring can not only make your life easier, but it has the ability to set the mood for the entire room. The three main factors to consider when deciding on the type of flooring for your kitchen are durability, use, and style. We’ll start by taking a closer look at some of the most popular choices in kitchen flooring.

With its warmth and inviting tone, hardwood flooring creates a traditional feeling in any kitchen. Hardwood floors are known for their beauty and prestige and are sturdy surfaces that are easy to clean. One of the most popular types of hardwood floors is oak which is neutral in color and very durable. Other popular types of wood used for flooring are ash, cherry and walnut.

Hardwood floors come in two types: solid and engineered. Solid flooring is cut from single pieces of wood and worked into desired shapes. Solid hardwood floors come in strip flooring which are nailed to sub-flooring, plank flooring which has wider boards, and parquet flooring which comes in squares or geometric shapes to create different patterns.

Engineered flooring is created by laminating thin sheets of wood together in a crisscross pattern for strength. They are then topped with a veneer of hardwood to add strength. Engineered flooring holds up better than solid flooring when exposed to changes in moisture and humidity. This makes it a good choice for below-ground floors. Engineered hardwood floors come in strips and planks.

When purchasing hardwood floors for your kitchen, you want to make sure that it has already been finished. Pre-finished hardwood is your best bet for several reasons. First of all, pre-finished wood flooring is less prone to damage and easier to maintain than its unfinished counterpart. Secondly, it is more durable and will in most cases come with long-term manufacturer warranties. Lastly, pre-finished hardwood floors are offered in a wide variety of stain colors and can be easily re-stained to match future remodeling projects.

Laminate is a cost-effective choice for kitchen flooring that is both long-lasting and easy to maintain. Although not considered to be on the same level as wood and marble flooring, laminate can be created to imitate such looks. It is made of several layers and can be installed over existing floors.

Laminate flooring has an impressive life span. In the lifespan of one laminate floor, carpet would need to be replaced 2 to 4 times, solid hardwoods would need 3 to 5 refinishing treatments, and vinyl flooring would need to be replaced 3 times. Most laminate flooring comes with a manufacturer’s warranty of 25 years or longer.

Laminate flooring is extremely durable, which makes it a great choice for families with busy kitchens. It will resist damage from traffic, spills, and scrapes and it makes cleaning and maintenance very simple. Laminate flooring will not lose color over time, while flooring such as hardwood tends to fade. It is offered in many different styles and patterns, and can imitate other types of flooring such as wood, rock, gravel, and concrete.

Vinyl flooring is an affordable and aesthetically pleasing choice for kitchen flooring. Because of its durability and moisture resistance it is primarily used in busy areas of the home such as kitchens and bathrooms. Another reason for its popularity is that it can, much like laminate, be made to imitate other flooring materials such as stone, marble, and wood. Vinyl flooring is often referred to by the popular manufacturers’ trade names Linoleum® and Congoleum®.

Vinyl is made of plastic, or more specifically polyvinyl chloride – abbreviated PVC – to which other compounds are added. It can consist of either multiple layers of material or just one layer.

It is manufactured using one of two processes: inlay or rotovinyl. With inlay vinyl, color and pattern are imbedded into the vinyl layers, while with

rotovinyl only a single layer of vinyl is printed with color and pattern. Both manufacturing processes require a protective coating overlay in order to boost durability.

Inlay vinyl flooring, which is only available in tile form, offers great wear resistance since the colors and patterns go all the way through the flooring material. Rotovinyl comes in both sheet and tile form. Resistance to wear is dependent on the type of protective coating used during the manufacturing process.

Vinyl floors are very easy to maintain. Sweeping or using a dust mop is often all that is needed.

Marble flooring is known for its natural beauty and unbeatable durability. Marble is a type of metamorphic rock that is formed beneath the earth’s crust. Although the preferred choice for some, marble flooring is not the optimal choice for kitchen flooring as it is porous and prone to staining.

Marble flooring comes in many styles and always adds a unique look to a room because no two slabs of marble are identical. It comes in a variety of colors such as pure white, deep green, brown, grey and blue. It is ranked in grades A through D, A being the strongest with the least natural imperfections and D being the softest with most faults. Although grade A marble is the most expensive, it is the recommended choice for kitchens because it is the most durable.

When choosing marble for your kitchen floor, there are a few things to keep in mind. Since marble surfaces can become very slippery when wet, you should choose finishes to help create traction for your floor; these include tumbled and honed finishes. Marble flooring also requires regular maintenance to last a long time. Because it is porous, marble is susceptible to stains from common household liquids so it is important to apply a sealant to protect it.

Ceramic tile flooring is a very popular type of kitchen flooring in the United States – it is one of the oldest and longest-lasting flooring materials known. Ceramic tile is

especially well suited for areas with high traffic and exposure to water and dirt, such as entryways, bathrooms, kitchensand hallways.

There are four basic decisions to make when choosing ceramic tile for your floor: size, shape, color, and finish. Ceramic tile ranges in size from 1/4″ square to 12″ x 12″ squares and even larger. Shapes include square, rectangular, diamond, hexagon, octagon, triangular, round etc. – depending on your budget, you can get ceramic tile in any shape you can possibly imagine. Color choices are endless, from black and white to everything in-between, and as far as finish is concerned most people opt for the glazed finish. Glazed tile is simply more water resistant and easier to clean than any other finish. It does tend to be more slippery when wet, but you can easily get tiles that are glazed with a non-slip material, which should take care of that problem.

Ceramic tiles are very strong, durable, cost-effective, and require little maintenance – making it an attractive alternative to many other flooring materials.

Stone tile flooring has a natural look and is strong and durable. It comes in several textures and colors and no two pieces are the same. Stone tiles can look traditional and rustic or contemporary and elegant. Although this flooring option can be expensive, stone tiles have the potential to last a lifetime.

Stone tile floors are generally easy to maintain, usually requiring only a mop for cleaning. For extra durability, stone should be periodically sealed. Since kitchens can become busy and messy places, you should choose stone tiles that are resistant to moisture damage and staining.

Granite tile flooring is one of the better options for kitchen flooring because it is denser and more durable than other stone options. Granite is still susceptible to stains so it should be sealed and periodically resealed for regular maintenance.

There are few things that make a home look more beautiful and add more value than wood floors. They are more popular among homeowners than flooring of stone or slate. Beautiful wood adds a lovely color and warmness a home that you do not get from any other flooring.

There is a wide variety in choices of wood flooring. You can choose anything you like, depending on your taste or the kind of decor you have chosen. Wood flooring looks good in any area of the house, except perhaps the kitchen or bathroom where there is a lot of moisture.

One of the most popular choices for wood flooring is hardwood. Hardwood is a certain kind of wood that comes from trees that are more dense than others. These include bellawood, walnut, maple, hickory, cherry and oak. You can stain hardwood to just about any color you like, or you can leave the wood in its original. There are hardwoods, like walnut or cherry that have such a rich texture that you do not even have to stain them.

After you choose the type of wood you want, you have to decide upon how you want it finished. You can purchase prefinished wood, which has been pre-stained and covered with a coating of polyurethane. It is more expensive than unfinished wood, but it saves a lot of time.

Or, you can install the wood and do the finishing yourself. In this case, you have to do the sanding, staining and finish coat such as urethane. You let dry and sand the wood between coats, so this whole procedure will take several days. If you decide to put on extra layers of polyurethane, the process will be lengthened, but you will have more protection on the wood.

Some people liked the option of reclaimed flooring, sometimes called distressed floors. These floors have their own unique character, with a rough finish that does not show every little scratch and nick as a smooth surface will.

Outside of using traditional wood flooring, you can also choose laminate flooring. These resemble hardwood and with the best laminates, you will have a hard time telling the difference between the laminate and a real hardwood floor. Such well known flooring companies like Armstrong make quality laminates. Some other choices in wood flooring are cork floors, or bamboo.

If you take care of your hardwood flooring, it will last a lifetime, no matter what you choose: real wood, laminate or one of the other choices. Caring for them is essentially the same for all of these.

Make sure you dust or vacuum your floor frequently to reduce dust and dirt. These scratch the surface which, over time will wear away at it.

Put mats down at all of the entrances. This will remove a large portion of the dust and dirt from coming into the house at all.

Dust the floor lightly when required. Use a mop that is only slightly dampened when you mop; water sitting on the surface may leak between the boards and damage the floor, which will cause warping as the backing of the floor is damaged. It may also cause mold to start growing under the floor.