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Footprints Floors is here to answer your flooring contractor FAQs in St. Paul / Woodbury.

Flooring Installation FAQs


Flooring Contractor FAQs in St. Paul / Woodbury

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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 St. Paul / Woodbury 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 St. Paul / Woodbury 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 St. Paul / Woodbury.

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Footprints Floors provides flooring installation services in St. Paul / Woodbury 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

Gary took on a difficult project after the previous contractor quit. He did first class work at a very fair price and in a reasonable time frame. He had to install underlayment in my entire home, including adding sisters to most of the joists. He made the floor perfectly level and it does not squeak! He then installed LVP throughout the home. It looks great! I'd hire him for any job without hesitation! (Ignore mess in photos, remodel not done yet.)
James G. 02/12/24 — google
Courteous, knowledgeable, and proficient. We had a problem caused by the builders of our two-plus year old house: there was a depression in the subfloor, causing our vinyl plank flooring to begin to fail. Gary had seen the problem before, and knew how to proceed to find the cause of the problem, and repair the subfloor. Joel, the technician, was very capable and did a fine repair with minimal replacement of planks. We would recommend Footprints Floors highly.
K Johnson 01/21/24 — google
I had such a positive experience with Footprints Floors. From start to finish Gary and his crew were so very professional. Gary talked me through the process and gave me the information to make the right decision about my home. He introduced me to a supplier and I was able to find an affordable flooring option. Joel and Paul, the installation crew, were timely and talented. They did a beautiful job installing my floors in such a short amount of time. I cannot recommend this company enough! You will be so happy with the quality of work and customer service you receive!
Stacy Fox 09/25/23 — google
Gary’s and his crew did a great job for us. He was flexible in scheduling. Most important, he sent a true craftsman to do our bathroom tile job. It was a small project but required skill to add on to previously laid tile without it being noticeable.
Mary Kay Kanninen 09/18/23 — google
Gary was very professional and very easy to work with throughout the entire process. I appreciated working with him and would highly recommend.
Debbie Steenson 08/17/23 — google
Gary and his team went above and beyond. I would hire them again without any hesitation.
McCormick family 08/17/23 — google
Company was very accommodating to a compressed time frame on my part. All of the employees I interacted with were professional. My floors look great. Very happy with the work completed.
Jason Cook 08/8/23 — google
Gary was very knowledgeable and ensured our outdoor tile would be installed properly with the best products to last as long as possible. It looks fantastic.
Molly FitzPatrick 06/23/23 — google
Gary is great to work with - would definitely recommend!
Jillie Whitford 06/2/23 — facebook
Gary and his team at Footprints did an excellent job with our flooring project, laying nearly 1k feet of new flooring in a single day. The result was phenomenal, the team was very easy to work with. They will be my first call for our next project. I can't recommend them highly enough!
Richard Payne 05/18/23 — google
Refinished my wood floors. Got it done on my schedule and turned out great. Thank you.
Jim Umb 05/6/23 — google
Gary was very professional and knowledgeable. He explained the process well and was patient with questions. The floors look beautiful.
Kurt Cottier 02/28/23 — google
My new tile floor is beautiful! Gary and Jeff were both very helpful after a bad experience with another contractor. They exceeded my expectations in every way. Definitely recommend!
Emilie Werner 01/19/23 — 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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