Few challenges, for new homeowners or home renovators alike, are quite so frustrating as old, worn-out floors. You can paint the walls to liven up the place, add accessories to spruce up your areas, and even replace furniture on a budget, but replacing an entire floor is a much bigger – and costlier – job.

That doesn’t mean you just have to live with your ratty old carpeting or scuffed-up vinyl. These days, there are lots of different flooring options, including several that are very affordable.  As with anything about your house, however, you can’t just pick up one of these cheap flooring choices at random and expect it to work in whichever space where you plunk it down. Each type of flooring has advantages and disadvantages as well as its ideal location, and a type that’s ideal for one room could be a terrible choice for another.

In this article and the succeeding articles, we will look at different types of flooring, their pros and cons, and which one would be right for you and your home. 

Hardwood 

Solid wood has been one of the most popular and lasting flooring types for decades. Wooden boards or planks installed by nailing them to a wooden subfloor has long been one of the standards in flooring. 

Advantages 

Most people love solid wood flooring because it goes well with any style of home and with any decor; that is why this is referred to as the more classic type of flooring. Installing them yourself is also reasonably simple -- an added benefit for those DIY-types or those who would like to save a few pesos.  It is also long-lasting as you can refinish it a few more times to remove surface scratches. Experts say adding hardwood floors can also improve the resale value of your home, should that ever be a concern. 

In terms of cleaning, just regular sweeping will do the trick; and as long as you mop up all spills without delay, you should be good to go. 

Disadvantages 

Their most glaring downside is that they don’t stand up well to rough handling. Moisture can warp them with prolonged exposure, hence them being a bad idea for bathrooms or laundry rooms. Temperature changes can shrink and swell them as well, and scratches and dents will probably be one of your main concerns. Refinishing them once every 10 years is the way to go in terms of maintaining their look and feel.

Engineered Wood 

While it looks much like solid wood, it is made in a different way. A thin veneer of natural wood on top with layers of less expensive plywood make this iteration both cheaper and sturdier than hardwood. Some even have more stability with backing from recycled wood fiber mixed with stone dust. 

Advantages

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   1. Engineered wood gives you the look of solid wood at a marginally lower price. Exotic woods on top give them more resistance to scratches and dents, while allowing them to be more stable and less sensitive to temperature changes, unlike hardwood. You can also install them directly over concrete, which isn’t something that’s always available with solid wood.
      
      

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   3. Disadvantages 
      Because it is still wood, it can still scratch and dent easily, albeit with better resistance. In the long run, it is less durable than hardwood as they can only be refinished one to three times; after that is the risk of wearing through the veneer and plywood underneath.
      
      

3. Bamboo

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5. Available in solid strips and engineered planks, bamboo flooring comes in several different patterns: flat-grain bamboo has darker stripes; vertical-grain bamboo flooring has long, narrow strips packed tightly together; and end-grain bamboo has many short strips.

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   1. Advantages

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   3. Usually described as tough and durable, bamboo flooring is available in many forms that are easy to install. Some people also consider it a more eco-friendly alternative to wood flooring as it grows faster than most trees, and absorbs carbon from the atmosphere quicker.
      
      

   4. Disadvantages 

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   6. While the tree itself is a renewable resource, the process may be the more problematic side of the process. Manufacturing and shipping it from Asia adds to its carbon footprint, as well as fertilizers and pesticides that are harmful to the environment. The glue they use for the flooring contains high levels of formaldehyde, a toxic chemical. Research is recommended if you choose to purchase this flooring. 

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8. Ceramic Tile

9. It is made from a mixture of clay and shale that is heated and shaped like pottery. A hard material that comes in a variety of colors and hues, there is a buyer beware when using this as not all ceramic tiles are tough enough for flooring.

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       Advantages

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    3. Tiles come in many colors and shapes, allowing for a more versatile fit; you can easily mix and match styles with your home. Modern printing technology allows for ceramic tile with any pattern, without the feel of the original material. Porcelain tile is the most durable type as it is resistant to scratches, dents, and moisture; the upkeep and cleaning is also very hassle-free. This is also true with glazed ceramic, while other types will need a bit more.

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    5. Disadvantages

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    7. Tile feels cold and hard underfoot, and it makes footsteps sound louder (this may be an advantage as well, depending on how you look at it.) It can also be quite slippery unless specially coated with an anti-slip finish. The durability depends on the type of ceramic tile you choose. Some variants of tile will require more regular sealing quite often, and the lines of grout between the tiles can stain without the aforementioned regular sealing. More complications will also arise if a single tile happens to crack, as replacement is not the easiest with this flooring.

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    I have covered four types of flooring this week: hardwood, engineered wood, bamboo, and ceramic tile. Also is a shortlist of their relative advantages and disadvantages when compared to the other. In the next article, I will go over a few more of these such as laminate, vinyl, and cork.