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Flooring Installation FAQs


Flooring Contractor FAQs

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There’s no better way to freshen up your space and add value to your home. But before you update your flooring, there are many choices to make. We’ve rounded up some flooring contractor FAQs in to help you with your decision-making process. If you want more information, check out our web pages dedicated to different kinds of flooring.

No matter the flooring you choose, you can trust the qualified contractors hired by Footprints Floors to do the job right.

FAQs

The first thing to figure out when updating your flooring is what flooring is right for the space. For a bathroom or kitchen where there will be lots of moisture and potentially water on the floor, something like tile or vinyl flooring is ideal because it’s durable and water-resistant. Hardwood flooring is a classic choice for other areas of your home, but you still need to choose between solid or engineered hardwood. Consider the upkeep of different flooring and the wear — do you have young kids or pets? Does the room receive much sun? Answer these questions first to help you decide the kind of flooring that will suit your needs.

It depends! Laminate and vinyl flooring can be installed directly over existing flooring, and solid hardwood can be glued directly onto concrete. Consider factors like the age and condition of your existing flooring and whether it will serve as a sturdy base for new flooring.

Contrary to popular belief, it is not difficult to care for wood flooring. You can simply vacuum hardwood floors to remove grit and debris and use a damp cloth or mop to wipe away dust. To reduce potential scratches, ensure footwear (i.e., heels) has proper plastic caps to prevent scratches, or ask guests to remove their shoes. As a bonus, you can switch up the look of your hardwood floors at any time through staining or refinishing.

You probably bumped into three terms when looking up hardwood flooring online: "painting," "staining," and "refinishing." "Painting" is obvious, but what about the others? A wood stain, usually applied by hand, is used to darken the color of the wood. The "finishing" process involves applying varnish and a coating of sealant, which adds gloss and protects the wood. "Refinishing" is the process of redoing your current flooring finish, revitalizing, and rejuvenating it.

Refinishing or restoring existing wood floors can save you tons of money! If you have old wood flooring that doesn’t look great, it can be tempting to rip it out and start over. But wood flooring is resilient and made to last. Most damage can be repaired, and refinishing or restoring can make wood floors look new. If you’re unsure whether your wood flooring can be saved, the experts at Footprints Floors can assess it.

This is another “it depends” situation. Solid hardwood flooring is more expensive than engineered hardwood. However, solid hardwood can be sanded and refinished more than engineered hardwood, so it may last longer. Engineered hardwood is more affordable and is more resistant to moisture and humidity. If you live in a place with high humidity or greatly varying temperatures, engineered hardwood flooring may be the right choice. Both look beautiful and are easy to take care of.

Laminate flooring is a budget-friendly type of layered flooring that can be made to look like pretty much anything. It’s typically made up of wood fibers compressed into a board or a plywood board. The board is then covered in an “image” layer — basically, a photo of whatever you want the flooring to look like (stone, wood, etc), and a “wear” layer, or protective layer. Some laminate may also have a backing layer made of cork or felt. Laminate is an affordable way to get the look of more expensive wood or stone flooring. It’s pretty durable, making it a great choice for homes with pets or kids, and it’s easy to clean. However, prolonged exposure to water can cause the wood part of the laminate to warp, making it unsuitable for rooms like bathrooms.

Laminate’s wood component makes it susceptible to water damage. Vinyl is an entirely synthetic material, which means it’s waterproof. As long as laminate is installed correctly, it’s fairly water-resistant, but still probably not a suitable choice for bathrooms or mudrooms where water might linger. Vinyl is extremely durable and comes in various of colors, textures, and styles. Both laminate and vinyl are great choices for homes with high traffic from kids and pets, and they’re easy to take care of — but whereas vinyl can go in any room in your home, remember to keep laminate out of the bathroom.

There is a much wider variety of colors, textures, and designs in tile flooring than in hardwood. Tile floors have a lifespan of over a century. Whether you're looking for a traditional or modern look, there is a tile pattern to suit you. Regarding durability, aesthetics, maintenance, and cost, tile is an excellent choice. It's also considered one of the most eco-friendly options for flooring in your home.

Ceramic tiles are made up of clay or other minerals that have been tightly compressed and heated in an oven. They can be glazed or unglazed and come in a variety of colors, shapes and sizes. Porcelain tiles are ceramic tiles that have been heated at an even greater temperature, making them more durable and less porous. Porcelain tiles are better suited for rooms with high moisture content like bathrooms, but their durability makes them an excellent choice for any room. However, ceramic tile is more affordable and still offers great durability.

We hope these flooring contractor FAQs have been helpful to you as your start your flooring journey. Contact Footprints Floors for a free estimate when you've found flooring you love. You can feel confident in a job well done with our licensed and certified contractors.

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Footprints Floors provides flooring installation services for both old and new homes. We handle the demolition and removal of the old flooring, as well as the necessary prep work for new flooring. We will even remove baseboards and reinstall them after completing the flooring installation.

Covering everything from design and installation to clean up, our team helps increase the value of your property with brand new hardwood floors. Contact us today to request a free estimate!

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What Our Customers Say

Amazing customer service and excellent job on flooring. Footprints Floors Clearwater was extremely accommodating with scheduling and always picked up the phone when I had questions. Will never go with any other company for flooring!
Cody Fryrear 10/2/24 — google
My floors look awesome! Footprints installed LVP in 2 rooms in our home. They were quick and neat, couldn't even tell they'd been there, except for my new floors. From start to finish it was a professional and pleasant experience! Tim came out and did the bid and Kyle was our project mamager. Both of them were great to work with, understood what we needed and made suggestions that were helpful. We'll be replacing all the flooring in our basement next spring, will definitely call Footprints to take care of it. HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!!
Paulette Hoipkemier 10/2/24 — google
Five Stars for sure for FOOTPRINTS FLOORS EVERETT/BELLINGHAM! After many exhauting trips trying to match our master bedroom floor to our existing wood floors, I contacted Nate at FOOTPRINTS FLOORS. That was all it took. After one visit, Nate found the flooring, arranged for installers, removed and hauled away existing rug, helped us move furniture, left the room clean.....Nate was amazing. We cannot thank him enough and highly recommend him and his team to all. THANKS NATE!
Cheryl E 10/2/24 — google
We had discovered a water leak in shower . Tom was out the next day with a quote and had us on schedule following Monday . He kept in contact with us and was available to answer any questions! Ward was his employee that came out and when they finished , I was in love 😍 I have never been happier with an outcome it is absolutely beautiful!! I received other quotes that were outstanding! Tom was very affordable and I couldn’t be happier with the work . Please if you’re looking for a tile job contact this company they won’t disappoint!!
Cheryl McDonnell 10/2/24 — google
Wow! Top notch service and professionalism from initial walk-through and estimate with JR to completion with Alex. A 3/4 inch slope was found in the floor before the tiles were installed and they handled that too. Check out the photos to see our perfect, new bathroom for our children.
Jenn Porter 10/2/24 — google
The owner Sean is great to work with. Professional, reliable and engaged in the project from the beginning. His hardwood installers are craftsmen, attending to every detail.
Roland Bercume 10/2/24 — google
We loved working with Footprints Floors. They were easy to work with, and we love the way our floors turned out. They took their time to make sure it was just how we liked it, but they also completed the work quickly. We would definitely work with Footprints Floors again.
Natalie Ockey 10/1/24 — google
They came and did the job. Most flooring companies wanted me to redo the entire floor, they were able to replace 4 or 5 boards. Professional and courteous.
Jenny W 10/1/24 — google
The entire team was awesome! Sales process was on-point, demolition and install was professional and the crew was amazingly helpful and accommodating - with excellent workmanship, and the spot check and follow up by owner was an added plus! Did a great job on the update to the master bath!
Patricia Corby 09/30/24 — google
Footprint Floors were fantastic. They were professional and much faster than expected.
Dustin Whitmire 09/30/24 — google
Excellent work done efficiently and carefully, with appropriate dust mitigation/protection and furniture movement prior to the start of refinishing. Reasonable price.
T B 09/30/24 — google
Responsible, Reliable, Respectful and Reasonably priced too! Mike and his crew did a wonderful job flooring our entire home (except bathrooms). They always arrived on time and moved our furniture with care. They cleaned up as they worked and definitely take pride in what they do. We are thrilled with the results! We would definitely recommend them to family and friends.
MEL 09/30/24 — google
The best service I’ve received since starting my bathroom project. Alissa and her team were prompt from start to finish . The floor completely changed the room and my wife and I are happy with how it turned out. I would recommend and plan on future projects with this company. Thank you!
Sean T 09/30/24 — google
John was a very talented tile man and a great guy to talk with. All in all he did a bang up job and did it well. I now have a new tile guy.
William Menne 09/30/24 — google
Definitely recommend Footprint Floors these guys does great work and have integrity
Aaron Higginbottom 09/30/24 — google
We are very pleased with the care Footprints took with refinishing all of the wood floors in our 100 yo home. They communicated and managed our complex, multi-day project well. During their work, we discovered numerous parts of the floor needed to be replaced. Footprints' lead, Leo, made sure his team did an excellent job. Footprints also worked with us to use a base shoe that matches the original base shoe of our home, and it looks so nice with the newly refinished floors. We highly recommend Footprints.
Stacy Graves 09/29/24 — google
Job well done. Looks great
larry pfeifer 09/29/24 — google
This is the first time I am totally satisfied with flooring installation. Demolition revealed severe problems. Brice and his crew Joaquin and Luis, replaced 900 sq feet of engineered wood and ceramic tile with rectified 24 x 24 tile. They did a perfect job. I have read about the difficulty of installing rectified tile, and Joaquin and Luis stayed focused and organized for days. They did a perfect and beautiful job !
Janet 09/29/24 — google
Super job!
TomandBarbara Hartsell 09/28/24 — google
Jeff and his team at Footprints were such a pleasure to work with. They were dependable, very communicative, and did an excellent job on my floors. Would highly recommend them to anyone!
Jennifer Lawrence 09/28/24 — google

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Customer Satisfaction


Footprints Floors is a one-of-a-kind residential flooring installation and restoration business. We offer high quality flooring installations and, with over a decade of dedication, we have quickly become the largest flooring contractor by striving to bring a higher level of customer service and sophistication to an industry where it was severely lacking. Our family-owned business is focused on customer satisfaction and quality results, all while passing savings on to you and yours through our low overhead model.

Footprints Floors is a one-of-a-kind residential flooring installation and restoration business. We offer high quality flooring installations and, with over a decade of dedication, we have quickly become the largest flooring contractor by striving to bring a higher level of customer service and sophistication to an industry where it was severely lacking. Our family-owned business is focused on customer satisfaction and quality results, all while passing savings on to you and yours through our low overhead model.

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