If you are looking to redo your floors, there are so many wonderful options available today. You can choose a gorgeous hardwood, opt for luxury vinyl or laminate flooring or go would a nice comfy carpet. The world is your oyster – or is it?
When it comes to flooring many of the materials and types may cost far more than you are willing to pay, especially when that type may well need replacing after a few years.
Here we will take a look at the cheapest and most durable flooring on the market and help you find that perfect new floor without having to sell the house to buy it.
What is the cheapest way to do flooring?
Within each kind of flooring you will find cheaper and more expensive examples, so shopping around and choosing to buy from a quality yet great value places like DIY Floorboards is your best bet for finding the right deal for you.
In terms of the cheapest possible product, that would most likely be sheet vinyl, which comes in a long roll and can supposedly be swiftly and easily be laid out on top of your current floor (depending on the state of the floor and many other factors). Sheet vinyl can be found for less than $2 per square foot, making it a real bargain, but it does have a few downsides.
Vinyl is waterproof, so you shouldn’t have to worry much about excess moisture, but it can be damaged. If you cut your vinyl, drop something hot on it or otherwise mar or tear your floor, you will have to replace it. Because it is one long strip, you would have to redo the entire floor, whereas if you had gone for planks or tiles you could replace only the offending area.
If you like vinyl, and the price tag, but would prefer it came in a more manageable shape, you can always get plank or tile vinyl instead. These kinds of flooring are easier to install, hard-wearing and still waterproof, making them excellent value for money.
Traditionally vinyl floors could be seen as fake or plastic looking, and there is no point in spending money on a new floor if it looks like it’s been there for decades. However, new technology has improved the look and feel of vinyl in leaps and bounds, and top-quality vinyl planks and tiles can now seem almost indistinguishable from the materials they emulate.
There is of course a variety of price points here depending on the quality of the flooring and which you go for, but a small amount more spent now could end up saving you having to replace your floor later, and can make a real difference aesthetically.
Another fantastic option is laminate, which is again far cheaper and more affordable than real wood flooring, but can look almost as beautiful. You can find laminate flooring for less than $3 per square foot, but for higher-quality products that look more realistic, you may have to pay a little more.
If you look hard enough, you can find low-cost flooring in a variety of materials including carpet and tile, but the cheapest and best option around is really vinyl flooring in whichever form you prefer to buy.
What is the most durable type of flooring?
Funnily enough, the best and most affordable types of flooring also happen to be among the most durable options on the market. Vinyl flooring in general is waterproof, which puts it a step above a lot of other materials that you can buy. Even real wood will warp and can grow mouldy if exposed to too much damp, while vinyl will last and last.
Opting for luxury vinyl means that as well as being waterproof, your floors will also be hardwearing, scratch resistant and able to take heavy foot traffic, pets, and anything else you can throw at them. The protective and wear layers as well as the rigid core make vinyl planks and hybrid floors the best choice in terms of durability.
Hardwood is a great choice for durability, and if it does get scratched or worn you can always give it a sand down or refinish it – something you can’t do with hybrid or engineered wood. That being said, the latter is much less likely to scratch in the first place with its incredible resistant layer protecting the plank.
Laminate can be a great choice, but you should double-check how waterproof the kind you buy is, and it often is not a good choice for bathrooms and moisture-rich environments. You can find waterproof laminate though, and it is worth the extra cost as without this extra protection you could soon see warping and swelling at the joints where moisture has leeched in.
Certain types of carpet and tile are also wonderfully durable, but in terms of the flooring that can take water, wear and tear the best, luxury vinyl and hybrid floors are the most hardwearing and long-lasting options for you today.
What is the most popular flooring choice?
At the moment, the most popular flooring choice is arguably wide planks in grey tones, either laminate, luxury vinyl or hybrid. The colour allows you to easily pair your floor with any furniture, and it gives the room a classy yet neutral look that should continue to look gorgeous for decades to come.
Real wood floors are still revered and longed for by many, but the costs involved can put them far out of reach for lots of people, and with such incredibly realistic alternatives available, it is no wonder that so many people choose to go for luxury vinyl flooring instead.
Conclusion
If you are looking to redo your floors in the cheapest way possible, you will be able to find options for bargain prices in several different materials. If you are willing and able to pay a little bit more, however, you could get yourself a stunning, long-lasting and durable floor that fits the fashions and looks timeless for affordable prices from the right sellers.
