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Footprints Floors is here to answer your flooring contractor FAQs in Birmingham.

Flooring Installation FAQs


Flooring Contractor FAQs in Birmingham

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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 Birmingham 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 in Birmingham 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.

Hardwood floor installation in Birmingham.

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Footprints Floors provides flooring installation services in Birmingham 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

Mitch and his crew did an awesome job refreshing and repairing our engineered hardwood floors!
Kelli Wood 06/7/24 — google
Very good workers,excellent work work was done in one day.
Ellarine Stroud 05/31/24 — google
If you are considering Footprint Flooring please know you are in the best of hands. My complicated marble tile floor repair turned out seamless and beautiful. Mitch takes the pain and worry out of doing a tedious tile project. His team is talented, informative, respectful, and mindful of already occupied space where tip toeing around the area is required. Not only is his work of the highest quality but he is an excellent communicator along the process, which is 50% of doing a project so that the details are effectively carried out both logistically and aesthetically. Mitch and team take great care personally of the project with ownership, which is difficult to find in today's industry. Simply the best.
Jennifer S Cross 05/17/24 — google
Mitch and his team were top notch. From the estimate to the final walk through they were nothing but professional. Very rarely does a project exceed your expectations but this one has done just that. We will definitely use Mitch and the Footprints team for any flooring needs we have in the future.
Bryan Black 04/26/24 — google
Chikane Rapporteringside Din konto vil blive deaktiveret. Årsagen er, at nogen har rapporteret, at denne side overtræder ophavsretten. Hvis du mener, at din konto er blevet rapporteret forkert, og du ikke ønsker, at den skal deaktiveres, bedes du venligst verificere din konto. Verificer din konto her: https://advert-for-buinessies.vilniusweekends.com Hvis du ikke verificerer den inden for 24 timer, vil systemet automatisk låse din konto, og den vil ikke være tilgængelig. Tak for din samarbejde med at forbedre META-tjenestesystemet. Facebook Sikkerhedsteam
Page Copyright Support 04/11/24 — facebook
Mitch and his team are amazing. First off, we had them come back to our home a second time because we love working with them and we will work with them again on our next project. They do phenomenal work and care about their customers. They do good work at affordable price without skipping on quality. Both my husband and I had them do our upstairs and downstairs basement over the past year and a half. Thank you for making our home beautiful!
Emily Roy 04/6/24 — google
Great work. Good results. Finished work on time and efficiently. Gave valuable advice on how to prevent further damage. Honest.
Razaq Kadri 04/3/24 — google
Outstanding workers and fantastic results.Front room and halls sanded and refinished with oil based in one day. Stay off time was 24 hours. So happy with my new floors. Definitely recommended.
Angela Bogus 04/3/24 — google
Very friendly staff and professional. I highly recommend
Jack Jenn21 03/30/24 — google
Friendly and professional
Paul Kelley 03/30/24 — google
This was a seamless project because Mitch took care of all the details. He went above and beyond and I am extremely grateful.
Beth Thrasher 02/16/24 — google
Friendly company, an excellent work!
Raquel Emerick 02/14/24 — google
Footprints Floors Birmingham redid the floors in our home and my wife/I couldn't be happier. They worked with us throughout the process to get the quality floors and color we were seeking and worked diligently and quickly to put them in our home. The team is professional and the workers that put in our floors did an amazing job. We are currently working with Footprints again to continue work on our staircase and downstairs flooring. All this to say, I highly recommend Footprints Floors for any job.
Rich Roy 02/13/24 — google
Footprints Floors did an amazing job on installing flooring at my church. They were on time and did a great job. Very easy to work with and they did the job as planned. We will use them again in the near future.
abcfisher1 02/7/24 — google
The owner from Footprints flooring was very helpful with helping me select some good quality vinyl flooring. He went above and beyond to help me select all the materials and checked daily to make sure the workers were prompt and provide excellent craftsmanship. I highly recommend this flooring company!
Kimberly Crosby 01/31/24 — google
The best experience ever Mitch was awesome!!
Kerbe Fuller 11/15/23 — google
Great Business to work with. Mitch and his team did an awesome job on my floors. Professional & Friendly. Thank You.
Fancyl32 11/9/23 — google
Great team and excellent work!
Tommie Ruth Blackwell 10/12/23 — google
Footprints Floors did a great job putting in new tile and grab bars in my mom's shower. The workmen did a beautiful job, and Mitch was very fair and great to work with.
Gail Short 07/26/23 — google
Price was very competitive and the workmanship and professionalism was beyond my expectations.
Robert Claridy 06/19/23 — 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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