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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

Matt and his team installed floors in my home and did an amazing job prepping the floors and installing them and cleaning up afterwards! Highly recommend! My floors are beautiful! So happy I chose Footprint Floors!
Cindy Clonts 06/13/24 — google
Very patient and accommodating when it came to project timelines! Professional service and high-end finishing. Will be using again and recommending to anyone looking for quality work!
Jay Listerman 06/12/24 — google
Tony and his crew installed luxury vinyl plank throughout our condo and we just love it. They did a wonderful job in a timely manner. We would definitely use them again.
Sandy Memmott 06/12/24 — google
Knowledgeable staff and focused on the best approach for the floor and client.
Robert Daniels 06/12/24 — google
Great experience. Very thorough, professional, and at a great price.
Will Gere 06/12/24 — google
Tom and his Crew did a superior job repairing my floor, which had been water damaged. Looks like new!
Marcia Coomber 06/12/24 — google
Tom is very nice, knowledgeable, and very professional. He gave me all the information I needed to make a decision. The gentleman that came out to do the install was also very nice, professional and did a wonderful job. I would recommend them to anyone. If I ever need my floor done again I will be calling them.
Susan Adkison 06/12/24 — google
I can't say enough good things about Mick and this company. I mean the job was done beautifully. I hired his company to do my balcony and I couldn't be happier. He really goes above and beyond. I had surgery during the process and Mick toom care of so many things that were were supposed to do and never complained or charged us extra since he knew our situation. He was amazing, the subcontractors were all very nice and professional. Him and his team are the best!
Liset Casado 06/12/24 — google
The footprint team did an amazing job and was extremely communicative throughout the entire process. Very pleased with their professionalism and quickness in getting the job done right.
Michael D 06/12/24 — google
Had Footprints Floors install the backsplash on my new house. It turned out great! They were very professional and easy to work with. Very prompt in responses and getting the free estimate done and they were able to get the work scheduled very quickly. It took Andy one day to complete the backsplash and he did amazing!
Cayla Bostic-Bixby 06/12/24 — google
Mike and his crew came in and did an excellent job on our hard wood flooring. This was a very big job. They were efficient, honest, great communication during the entire project. Highly recommended.
Tieryn Trissel 06/11/24 — google
Matt, Melissa, Edgar and the entire team at Footprints Floors were awesome. From the minute I submitted a webform with interest to today when I made my final payment, they were responsive, considerate, easy to work with, listened to and understood what we were really hoping to achieve, and DELIVERED! Every time we walk in the doors to our home and see our new stairs we take a deep breath and relax knowing they are beautiful, protected, and done with high quality materials and craftsmanship. They were able to match (as closely as can be expected) the stain of the real wood to our LVP flooring throughout the rest of the home. I even called them back to ask if they could fix a few things that seemed like small misses, but would have bothered me daily, and they didn't hesitate - Edgar even came out on a Saturday morning to button things up. Price was fair - work is outstanding - experience is 5-star! Than you!!
Kelsey Maxon 06/11/24 — google
Aaron, Jose, and Orlando did an amazing job coordinating and resurfacing our prefinished flooring as well as installing beautiful hardwood stairs. The craftsmanship and skill speaks for itself and our floors are beautifully refinished. We will be working with them again for any future projects. Highly recommend
Meghan Ward 06/11/24 — google
Namita was the rep we met with from footprints. She is very knowledgeable, and kind. I was very impressed with her ideas and suggestions.
Michelle Going 06/11/24 — google
We found Footprints Floors through a Google search. We did their online free estimate request and was promptly contacted through a text to set up an appointment. Matt came within two days, sent a proposal within another two days, and was able to start the work within another week. We chose Footprint Floors to do a kitchen backsplash to upgrade our kitchen. The night before the project start date we received a text from Melissa, who was assigned to be the manager for the project. She detailed what to expect the next day. The day of the project, Matt introduced us to Fernando and his son, who did the work. Melissa, came later in the day to check on the progress and to see if Fernando needed anything. Fernando and his son were professional, took great care to protect the surrounding areas, did precise work, and cleaned up almost without a trace, inside and outside. We highly recommend giving Footprints Floors your consideration for your next project.
Chadwick Family 06/11/24 — google
Great experience having my kitchen floors redone by Footprint Flooring! Martin was great about explaining the process to me and recommended specific brands of flooring to achieve the look I was going for. The entire process was incredibly smooth from the measurement/quote to purchasing materials to installation day. I thought the price for the work done was incredibly reasonable and am very pleased with the outcome!
Rachel Slate 06/11/24 — google
Installation was great. Very easy, they do anything to please. Great experience.
Chris Reemmer 06/11/24 — google
What a great experience! Footprints set us up with a great mover that got everything out the day before and back in a week later. Our hardwood floors were a mess after 40 years of traffic. Huge black spots by all the doors have disappeared and the whole floor now shines of beautiful wood! I can’t recommend these guys more - they were great!
Christopher Woodcock 06/11/24 — google
Bob and his crew came out to restore some flooring, a previous tenant in my office building, had messed up. They went straight to work and man did they do an awesome job. Thank you guys for making my office experience that much better.
Christian Saucedo 06/11/24 — google
Joseph and Chris have been amazing to work with. They worked around our schedule and rushed timeline, answered all our questions, and were super responsive, day and night. Even after finishing our floors and being paid, I noticed some tiny holes/cracks that didn't get filled properly, Chris came back and went over our floors with fine tooth comb, filling every crevice.
Noah Berry 06/10/24 — 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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