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Footprints Floors is here to answer your flooring contractor FAQs in Wilmington / Southport.

Flooring Installation FAQs


Flooring Contractor FAQs in Wilmington / Southport

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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 Wilmington / Southport 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 Wilmington / Southport 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 Wilmington / Southport.

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Your Floor Installation in Wilmington / Southport Today


Footprints Floors provides flooring installation services in Wilmington / Southport 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

Jeff with Footprints Flooring was quick to reply, get me a quote and do the job in a tight time frame. He was communicative and easy to work with!
Claire Luft 05/31/24 — google
The owner Jeff Barnwell was delightful to work with. He and his team have excellent skills and attention to detail. They were all very accomodating and completed 3 different flooring areas perfectly!
Karen Hughes 05/5/24 — google
Jeff was very helpful to identify the cause of some squeaky wood floors.
David Lipscomb 05/2/24 — google
I am a picky DIY'er and in most cases, when I hire someone to come in and do things like cabinets, flooring, countertops, etc., I am not totally, completely, satisfied. However, I have to say that Footprints Floors knocked it out of the park with replacing the flooring in my whole condo with a new Luxury Vinyl Flooring product that we got from Floor and Decor. We just love the new floor, and the workers at our place were very pleasant and diligent about making it perfect. I would recommend Footprints Floors to EVERYONE who lives in this area and needs floor work. We are very pleased!!
Phil Wright 04/15/24 — google
Jeff and his team were prompt, professional, and the work was done very well. Very satisfied.
John Pascoe 04/12/24 — google
Jeff worked with us from day 1 and did what he said he would do. Great recommendations, reliable, timely, and the quality of work was just what we expected. Would recommend Footprints Floors for fair prices and quality work.
Jeff Bickford 04/12/24 — google
Great tile backsplash work.
Lori P 02/29/24 — google
Was a great experience. Jeff really worked with with us due to our timeline and that was really appreciated.
Pam Plesnarski 02/12/24 — google
Excellent detail work. We are vey pleased. Thanks Jeff.
Patrick Nelson 02/7/24 — google
I am very happy with my recent floor installation. Jeff was extremely pleasant, knowledgeable and easy to work with. The installers were very thorough and made sure it was installed properly. Would definitely call again should the need arise.
Lauren Heffernan 02/2/24 — google
Very dependable!! Jeff showed up exactly as promised to give me a quote for the floor installation in our new house. He was very professional and very patient, answering all my questions. He worked with me on securing the date for installation. The fellows who installed the floor could not have been any nicer. They were very neat and very respectful of our property. 10 out of 10 recommend!
Angie Whitley 01/2/24 — google
We recently had them install a vinyl tile floor in our 3 season porch. The installation took less than 4 hours. Jeff coordinated everything to accommodate our schedule. We are very pleased with the installation.
Jana Swan 12/3/23 — google
Awesome job and beautiful results. Five star rating all the way. ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Charles Wilkinson 11/21/23 — google
Jeff arrived on time to measure and provided us with a quote in a very timely manner. The crew he had installing the floors did an excellent job and finished in one day. Everything was cleaned up before they left and the new engineered wood floors look beautiful! We highly recommend Footprint Floors of Coastal Carolina for anyone looking to have floors installed.
Richard Weiss (Rich) 10/20/23 — google
Very professional! The project was completed on time and it looks outstanding! The workmanship was exceptional! Very neat and accurate! Job well done Footprints Floors! Would we use them again, Absolutely 👍
Cheneta Fennell 09/25/23 — google
I have seen Footprints Floors' work in a number of places both commercial and residential and each and every time I have been thoroughly impressed with the work I have seen the quality of the both materials and the installation and in talking with those whose flooring it is, I have come to believe that they are an incredible value too. I can't wait until my next flooring needs as they will be my first call!
Michael Bearak 09/7/23 — google
I had stair treads, bannister & newel post restained & updated to match new wood floors. Work was done quickly & professionally. I wasn't home when the work was completed, after the fact, I saw a few small that I thought needed a touch up. Coming back to touch up was not a problem, scheduled immediately & touch up was finished in no time. Excellent work.
shirley mayfield 08/21/23 — google
Jeff and his team are the BEST you will ever come by! Thank God we met him, his quotes and professionalism beat any quote and flooring job we have ever had done on any of our rentals. Jeff is our flooring guy going forward 👏 we're so happy to find honest professional work at affordable price ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Lisa Perez 08/18/23 — google
I can't say enough good things about Jeff and Footprints Floors. Although our needs were minor, Jeff was courteous, engaged, and professional when no one else was. He truly went above and beyond to help us when we needed help. He was responsive, prompt in reply, and communicated with us effectively too. All in all, we definitely recommend Jeff and Footprints Floors to anyone who needs flooring work done.
Lauren Wipfield 08/15/23 — google
Outstanding customer service and personable. Would use them again.
Tambra Jackson 07/31/23 — 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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