Hardwood Flooring Blog - My Affordable Floors

Best Kitchen Flooring Options For Your Home

July 30, 2021 by My Affordable Floors

Before deciding to renovate your kitchen, it’s important to consider what types of kitchen floors you’re going to use. While it’s fun to pick out cabinets, hardware, and countertops, your kitchen flooring is important, too! When you think about it, the floors are the one thing that stands out the most in a kitchen.

There are many types of kitchen floors, from budget-friendly vinyl to natural hardwood floors, there are plenty of affordable kitchen flooring options for you to choose from! It’s all about what the best kitchen flooring options for your home.

Here’s our list of kitchen flooring options to get you started:

Hardwood

Hardwood flooring is timeless and classic. It’s by far the most sought-after flooring. It brings an immediate sense of elegance and unmatched beauty to not only just your kitchen but your entire home.

Due to their gorgeous, warm aesthetic, hardwood floors are an incredibly desirable flooring material, and this is no exception for homebuyers. Installing hardwood in your kitchen can skyrocket the value of your home. Other kinds of flooring products come close but they can never completely replicate their glowing natural beauty. They’re also durable and guaranteed to last for centuries.

On the downside, hardwood floors require a good bit of maintenance. They’re more difficult to clean and susceptible to scratches. These types of floors are also incredibly porous, so when they’re exposed to water or moisture over the long term, they can warp. Lastly, there’s the cost of hardwood. High-quality hardwood flooring runs from $ 4 – $12 a sq. ft., so expect this material to be a bit harsher on the wallet.

If you’re thinking of installing hardwood in your home but feel it may be out of your budget, engineered hardwood is an option rather than solid natural hardwood flooring. Engineered hardwood is more water-resistant, friendlier on your wallet, and better for the planet. Plus, it looks pretty close to the real thing!

Laminate

Laminate has been a go-to in the flooring world for quite some time now. Nowadays, there are tons of laminate designs to choose from, and they’ve become the perfect cost-efficient alternative to hardwood flooring.

While laminate flooring is not an exact match to wood, with the help of modern technology, it can look pretty close to the real thing. It’s also easy to install and takes no time at all to do as a quick DIY project, since laminate floors are made to lock together, making it consumer-friendly.

Laminate flooring is very affordable and will usually cost around $2 – $5 per sq. foot. That comes in significantly cheaper than other flooring types, and especially hardwood. It’s also a good investment as laminate flooring is typically pretty durable and very easy to replace.

Some of laminate flooring’s lesser qualities can be justified by its affordability. Of all the downsides of laminate flooring, installing it in your kitchen could result in it having to be replaced sooner rather than later. This is because laminate is not very moisture-resistant, so spills or any sort of contact with water over time can be detrimental to your laminate floors. Unfortunately, the lifespan of laminate and the risk of exposure to too much moisture can make it undesirable for a lot of homebuyers, which means it wouldn’t add a lot of value to your home.

In conclusion, laminate flooring is an amazing choice for someone who just wants flooring to get the job done. It’s affordable, it looks great, and it’s easy to install. However, because of its lack of durability and how prone it is to being damaged by moisture, it isn’t the most ideal material for a kitchen.

Vinyl

Vinyl is the most popular form of residential kitchen flooring. This is primarily because it’s very low-maintenance, moisture-resistant, budget-friendly, and long-lasting. It’s also pleasant to walk on due to the ability to insulate under the material. Even better, vinyl flooring is able to look better than ever these days due to advanced technology, giving you a seemingly limitless amount of options to choose from.

That being said, vinyl flooring does have its downsides. It’s a little easier to scratch than the alternatives such as tile. It’s also vulnerable to water penetrating the top layer of the flooring (the top of vinyl is water-resistant, underneath is not), so being rough with your floors or overcleaning could produce some unfortunate results. On top of this, vinyl flooring is rather difficult to repair.

To sum it up simply, vinyl flooring is an incredibly cost-efficient option for your kitchen and it doesn’t look too bad either! On the other hand, if you have pets or you’re in general a bit rough with your floors, it may not be the right choice for your kitchen.

Tile

Tile is a great flooring option for the kitchen. It not only looks elegant and clean, but it’s also a breeze to maintain and incredibly durable. There’s a vast selection of tile options to choose from-including quarry, marble, porcelain, and ceramic. To make matters even better, modern printing technology can generate pretty much any design you can think of on your tile floor! Tile is incredibly versatile, so it’s sure to fit the ideas you may have for your kitchen.

Tile flooring has a nearly impenetrable surface that’s extremely tough and durable. Tile flooring will last for an extremely long time, is water-resistance, and cannot easily be scratched. A tile floor needs very little cleaning unless something is spilled on it, making it the perfect material for kitchens. Perhaps the best part of this is that tile flooring is also cost-efficient; making it possible to get a quality porcelain tile for $4 per square feet or less!

Nothing is perfect, so there are of course a few cons that come with tile flooring. The biggest downside to tile is that it can get especially slick when wet, creating safety hazards in your kitchen, especially if your tile is glazed. Tile flooring is also susceptible to cracks and chips if heavier items are dropped on them. Lastly, older homeowners and those that suffer from knee or foot problems might have some difficulty standing tile, as they’re solid and rough surface and provide no support, unlike hardwood or vinyl flooring.

In all, tile is the ultimate option for kitchen floors. Though it has its flaws, it is still to this day the kitchen flooring option that offers the most durability, aesthetic value, and it can save you a lot of money compared to the other options!

My Affordable Floors is Here to Help Find The Right Kitchen Flooring Option For You

There are a lot of different flooring options and making a decision can be difficult, so if you’re looking to have new floors installed for your kitchen, we would love to help! Our ultimate goal is to meet your budget needs and providing you with the best kitchen flooring options for your home. If there is anything we can do to help you, please feel free to contact us!

How To Prolong The Life of Your Tile Floors

October 31, 2019 by My Affordable Floors

Tile floors are great for any room in the house. They clean easily and last a long time. However, some people don’t always take great care of them. Here are some tips to help you out.

1. Refinish Your Tile Floors Often

The best thing you can do for your tile floors is to get them refinished often. The protective coating on your tile floors wears down over time. Sometimes, depending on how well you take care of the tiles, they can wear down quicker or slower.

If you notice that high traffic areas like entrances seem to be dull, the finish has faded. Regular refinishing treatments extend the life of your tiles floors and make them look great. A refinished tile floor looks just as good as any brand new tile floor.

2. Keep the Tile Floors Clean

Another important measure to take is to always keep the floors cleans. Dirt, dust, and other particles can quickly dull the shine and protective coat on tile floors. Keeping your floors clear of debris will extend their lifetime significantly. If little rocks or stones are dragged in from outside, they can scratch the tiles too. You need to keep up on the cleaning to keep the tiles in top condition.

3. Do Not Use Abrasive Cleaning Supplies

If you are cleaning the floors regularly, then you want to make sure you’re doing it correctly. Here are a couple of tips:

Don’t use cleaners that contain bleach or acid.
Don’t use any cleaning aid that contains metal, including steel wool pads and copper scouring pads.
If you have an unglazed tile, do not use any cleaning supplies that contain color.
Don’t use wax-based cleaners, oil-based detergents, or oil-based sealants on your tile (although you can use sealants on the grout joints).
If using a new cleaner or sealant, be sure to test it on a small area before using it everywhere.
Thoroughly rinse the entire area with clean water after every cleaning to remove all cleaning solution residue.

4. Buy Several Extra Tiles Right Away

When you first get your tile floors installed, we recommend you buy several extra tiles just in case. You may need to spot-replace a few tiles after an accident and will want the exact same kind that you already have in the floor. However, brands change the color and finish of tiles all the time.

A tile of the same exact kind bought a couple of years later can look very different. As an insurance measure, just buy some extra and keep them close in case of an emergency.

Contact My Affordable Floors Today!

If you feel your floor is looking a bit dull, it may be time for a tile refinishing treatment.

The experts at My Affordable Floors in Wisconsin can take a faded tile floor and make it look like a brand new floor was installed.

How To Extend The Life of Your Hardwood Floors

October 20, 2019 by My Affordable Floors

Hardwood floors aren’t hard to take care of. For the most part, people love them because of how easy they are to maintain.

However, there are quite a few things you can do to ensure your wood floors are in top-notch condition for years to come.

1. Refinish Your Hardwood Floors Often

The number one way you can extend the life of your hardwood floors is to refinish them regularly. We recommend about every 5 years or as soon as you notice the current finish is fading. You may notice easily worn spots from foot traffic. Moving furniture yourself also leads to scratches that break down the finish on the floor.

Instead of waiting to replace the floors after a couple of decades, you should refinish them now. It’s much cheaper to refinish a worn floor than to completely replace it. The finished product looks as good as new, so it’ll feel like a brand new hardwood floor.

2. Keep Your Hardwood Floors Clean

Keeping the floor clean is also a great way to ensure its longevity. You never want to let dust, dirt, or moisture of any kind sit on the wood floors for too long. This can quickly dull the finish and make them look unattractive.

In addition, any spills should be cleaned immediately. Sitting water will be absorbed into the floors, causing them to warp, stain, and even rot. Stones and dirt particles can also scratch the floors in high traffic areas. It’s a good idea to get rugs for entrances and exits.

3. Avoid High-Pressure Points

High-pressure points are the most common problem caused by heavy furniture. Couches and large cabinets hold a large amount of weight concentrated on very small legs. This increases the pressure per square inch, which if too high, can damage the floors. They are many different weight distribution pads that lessen the negative effects of heavy furniture on the hardwood.

4. Protect the Floor from UV Light

One underestimated problem you face is UV light. The harsh UV light that shines from the sun through windows can fade the floors finish. A nice dark hardwood can quickly start looking a little blonde when UV light hits it every day. Refinishing your floor can protect it from the sun’s harmful and costly rays.

Contact My Affordable Floors Today!

If you feel your floor is looking a bit dull, it may be time for a hardwood refinishing treatment.

The experts at My Affordable Floors can take a faded hardwood floor and make it look like a brand new floor was installed.

Benefits of Hardwood Floor Sanding

September 26, 2019 by My Affordable Floors

Hardwood floors are our life’s blood. We commit ourselves to this industry because we care. A beautiful hardwood floor elevates the beauty of your home. One way to optimize how elegant your floor looks is to get a hardwood sanding and refinishing treatment.

Let’s take a look at some of the benefits of hardwood floor sanding.

1. Save Money

One way to really save money in the long run? Hardwood floor sanding treatments. Why? Because sanding your hardwood floors increases their lifespan. If your floor is showing minor signs of damage, then a sanding treatment will significantly slow the damaging process. Getting your floor professionally refinished with a sanding treatment also costs less than completely replacing an old hardwood floor. Neglecting damage to save money up front can actually end up costing you much more in the long run.

2. Increase the Value of Your Home

Whether you are selling your home or looking to buy a new one, a refinished hardwood floors increases the home’s value. Not only does it make an impression on anyone who sees it, but also shows proper homeowner behavior for keeping up on maintenance. Potential buyers will love that you practice regular upkeep, especially on endeavors such as hardwood floor refinishing.

3. Decrease Risk of Pests

When you’re floor has cracks and holes in it, pests are known to exploit those imperfections for nesting. A refinished hardwood floor makes it virtually brand new. That means no cracks, holes, or splinters for sneaky little bugs to creep into. There’s nothing worse than an infestation in your home. It’s bothersome, expensive, and frankly gross. No one wants bugs living in their floors. Revitalize your old hardwood floors with a sanding treatment.

Contact Us Today!

We’re proud to offer hardwood floor refinishing service in Milwaukee, throughout Southeast Wisconsin, and Northern Illinois.

With over two decades of experience as professional floor refinishers serving the Wisconsin/Illinois area, we’re proud of our company’s reputation for providing affordable, high-quality hardwood floor refinishing services.

Floor Medallions Turn Hardwood into Artwork

September 11, 2019 by My Affordable Floors

Floor medallions turn regular hardwood floors into wonderful works of art. If you want to do something special in your home, a floor medallion is a great option. In fact, they elevate the status of any room from boring to beautiful. Let’s take a look at some things you should consider before you inlay a medallion to your floors.

In Which Room Do I Place a Floor Medallion?

The room in which you place the medallions is vital to its overall appeal in your home. It would be foolish to place a medallion in a place that has a lot of furniture. You will just end up covering it up. These decorative designs increase labor and installation costs, so you want to be mindful about where it is placed.

You also want to consider the purpose of the room. Small rooms sometimes feel even smaller when too much decoration is involved. You want a room large enough so that the medallion is the focus point of the room. Think of it as art on the floors instead of the walls. You don’t want to do too much to distract from the beauty of the medallion.

Big Rooms Are Best

Your best bet is to place the medallion in a large room. You often see extravagant floor medallions in hotels, casinos, lobbies, museums, and ballrooms. You may consider placing it in your foyer to add elegance to your home’s entrance. This is a great way to impress guests if you like to entertain.

Where Do I Place a Floor Medallion?

Most often, our clients place the medallion right in the center of the room. This acts as the main piece of art and decoration in the room. However, some people place small medallions in bathrooms and bedrooms as well.

Another popular medallion is a family crest right inside the front door. This is a great way to brand your home and do something special for your family. You may already have a family crest, otherwise, you can design your own together!

Consider Extra Costs and Labor

Inlaying a floor medallion is not easy. It can only be done by a flooring expert. The more complex and intricate the design of the medallion, the longer and more difficult it will be to install. Luckily we have veteran technicians who know the flooring industry inside and out.

Contact My Affordable Floors!

At My Affordable Floors, we consider every project to be an extension of ourselves. Our wide range of Milwaukee flooring services and flooring products await you. Our priority is to offer you old-fashioned service and enduring materials at a reasonable cost. We think of our work as our legacy to you and to future generations.

When Should I Replace My Carpets?

August 29, 2019 by My Affordable Floors

Carpets are great. They provide warm and comfort to cold, dull rooms. But, how can you tell it’s time to replace your old carpeting and get something new installed?

My Affordable Floors has been in the flooring business for years. We know when an old carpet needs replacing. Let’s take a look at some of the sure signs your carpet’s way too old.

Your Carpets Are Stained

This is the number one reason you should replace an old carpet. If there are multiple, obvious stains in your carpeting, you should replace it. For one, stains are ugly. Whether it’s the result of an accident or a messy house pet, stains embarrass most people. Even professional cleaning cannot remove tough carpet stains sometimes. We also know that many at-home cleaning supplies can make the problem worse.

If you’re covering up massive carpet stains with furniture or rugs, it’s time to replace the carpets for something fresh. You cannot hide blemishes forever. There comes a time when you need to purge and replace.

The Carpets Are in Poor Condition

Is there excessive degrees of wear and tear on your carpet? If so, it’s about time to replace that old carpet for a new one. Rips and tears in carpets look bad. They also get much worse once you start to notice them. If you notice them early, there may be a chance to preserve the carpet’s lifespan a bit. However, often times once you get a snag in the carpet, it usually just gets worse.

Tears and snags on the stairs of main walkways? If yes, that’s dangerous. You cannot risk the safety of family members and house visitors forever. Eventually, accidents can happen. Someone may get their shoe caught in the snag and trip. If that’s possible in your home, it’s time to get the carpets replaced.

Your Carpets Smell Bad

If your carpet is noticeably smelly, then you need to replace it. Carpet cleaning can help some. However, if you’ve tried carpeting cleaning services and still smell the carpet when you enter the room, replace it ASAP. It could be molding or worse underneath in the carpet pad. Carpets can also be a source of increase allergy symptoms. Older carpets catch and trap allergens more easily, which can cause spikes in allergies.

Contact My Affordable Floors Today

We offer full-service carpet installation in Milwaukee, Chicago, and all surrounding areas. With access to exclusive, high-volume discounts on high-quality carpeting, we’re sure that we can meet or beat the prices of any of our competitors for comparable premium carpeting.

Call us to learn more about our installation services or visit our floor showroom in Kenosha to see a sales consultant in person.

What Is Engineered Hardwood Flooring?

August 12, 2019 by My Affordable Floors

Hardwood floors are a timeless flooring option, and they look great in any room. Engineered hardwood floors are just one type out of many different kinds of wooden floors. So what makes engineered hardwood floors different than solid hardwood floors?

Engineered vs Solid Hardwood

Engineered hardwood floors are man-made from layering solid wood with plywood. Traditional hardwood floors aren’t layered. They are just solid pieces of wood cut from large blocks.

The lifespan of hardwood floors varies depending on how well you maintain them. If you take good care of any kind of hardwood flooring, it can often last a lifetime. Some things to consider to ensure the longevity of your floors are:

Thickness of the veneer which tops the flooring.
Quality of the kind of floor material used.
How well you maintain, clean, and take care of the flooring.

The better care you take of your floors, the longer you can expect them to last. Conversely, if you don’t treat your floors well, you will see problems sooner.

Benefits of Engineered Hardwood Flooring

Although all types of wooden floors are a great choice for your home, sometimes the engineered wooden floors are a better choice. Consider these benefits when making your final decision on which type of flooring to go for:

Engineered hardwood floors are more durable and last longer.
Because of the layering technique used to make them, these floors are more resistant to warping or bowing.
Installation is much easier, even on different levels of the home.
The veneer finish is as beautiful as a traditional hardwood floor.
Easier care and maintenance.
Available in many different species (maple, oak, hickory).
Available in different finishes (glossy, matte, etc).
Multiple choices for surface effect (time-worn, distressed, wire-brushed).

All these reasons should play into your final decisions when choosing new floors. The great thing about engineered hardwood flooring is that it looks amazing in any room of your house.

Contact Us Today!

My Affordable Floors offers free estimates and consultations on all our flooring projects.

Call us today at 262-653-1120 for a free, no-obligation estimate or just complete our contact form to schedule your appointment.

UV Floor Curing is the Way of the Future

July 28, 2019 by My Affordable Floors

Ultraviolet (UV) curing is the most efficient way to cure hardwood floors. Curing the hardwood floor with UV light takes seconds, not days. Why wait so long when the job can be done quickly using UV light?

How Does UV Floor Curing Work?

Most floors are cured by oxygen, and it takes up to a week to fully cure them. On the other hand, UV cured floors stay soft until the UV light hits them. This is because the finish has photoreactors in them that only cure when exposed to UV light. So once the light hits them, it cures instantly.

What are the Benefits of UV Floor Curing?

Curing your floors with UV light has more benefits than you may think.

UV finished floors are nearly twice as hard as pre-finished floors and floors cured with non-UV finishes.
The UV floor finishing cures in seconds, instead of the 30 days that some conventional finishes can take.
UV cured floors are odor-free and produce zero VOCs (volatile organic compounds), making them a green choice for home and business owners concerned about the environment.
Because they’re harder, UV finished floors are more scratch resistant, scuff resistant, and resistant to marks from shoe heels and soles.
UV cured floors resist stains and chemical intrusion better than non-UV floors.

Tips to Keep Your Floor Looking New

You just had your floor cured by UV light, which means you have one of the most durable floors available. But there are some precautions to make note of so that your hardwood floor is always in the best possible condition.

Don’t let water pool on your floor at any time, and don’t “over wet” your floor when cleaning it. Just use a damp mop or sponge to clean it.
Do not let shoes with spikes or “spike heels” to be worn, as these can indent the wood.
Never wax your floor, as waxes can dull the finish. In fact, if you wax your floor you may need to have the entire floor sanded down again and re-coated.
Don’t use harsh chemicals that could damage the floor’s finish, such as pine soap, ammonia, oil soap, or bleach.

Contact My Affordable Floors Today!

My Affordable Flooring has the best technicians in Milwaukee and the most affordable prices. We would love to talk to you about how we can elevate the quality of your floors with our UV curing service.

Call us today 262.653.1120

How Often Should I Be Vacuuming My Carpets?

July 21, 2019 by My Affordable Floors

Carpets are great. They improve a room’s overall comfort and feel in a way that hardwood can’t. However, they can also hide dirt and germs that would otherwise be cleaned right away. So, how often should you actually be vacuuming your carpets? Let’s take a look to see just how to keep your carpets not just looking clean, but actually being clean.

How Much Traffic Does the Carpet Get?

Understand how much traffic each carpeted area in your house gets. For example, a guest bedroom may only get traffic a few times a month. On the other hand, the master bedroom likely gets the most traffic of all. The frequency that people enter and exit the room should be a major consideration for cleaning purposes.

A room with little foot traffic won’t get dirty as fast because no one will be tracking dirt or germs in. You only have to vacuum these rooms a couple of times a month. However, heavy foot traffic is accompanied by more dust and germs. These rooms should be vacuumed about once a week.

Benefits of Vacuuming Regularly

Busy rooms should be vacuumed often to make sure they are always in the best possible condition.

Improve the look of your carpets
- Vacuumed carpets are clean and fluffy, making them look and feel better. Consider vacuuming before and after having guests over to improve your home’s overall comfort level.
Remove most dirt, germs, and other particles
- Carpets harbor dirt and germs, not to mention glass. Broken glass hidden within a carpet could cause serious injury, so be certain to always vacuum, especially after an accident.
Extend the lifespan of your carpets
- Regularly vacuumed carpets look better and last longer. In addition, you should always clean the spots right away if someone spills to avoid bacteria growth.

In a Serious Case, Call on the Experts from My Affordable Floors

Vacuuming can help keep a carpet looking clean, but it isn’t always a hundred percent clean in reality. You should have all carpets cleaned by professionals at least once a year to make sure you don’t miss any hidden messes.

Call My Affordable Floors to get your carpets cleaned by a pro (262)-653-1120

Why You Should Install Hardwood Floors in Summer

June 21, 2019 by My Affordable Floors

Summer is here and the June air in Wisconsin brings so many great opportunities. One of those opportunities you may not have thought about? Installing a new hardwood floor! Why would summer be a better season than winter, spring or fall?

Of course, we consider any time a great time for a new floor. But summer months bring with them some variables that make installing a new hardwood floor easier and more convenient.

Summer Vacation While Your Floor Gets Installed

We figure that a new floor installation can be somewhat of a burden. The room is not really accessible for a while. It can be dirty, and our professional floor technicians need your space to get the job done right.

If you want a new hardwood floor, and plan on going out of town sometime this summer, why not do both at once? While you are out enjoying the summer with family and friends, we can install a new floor for you. Then, when you return, you’ll have a brand new hardwood floor waiting for you.

This way, you can avoid the inconvenience of the process. There can be some noise and smell associated with the process, the room cannot be used until the job is done, and you may be planning a trip away with your family for a week or so. Make a smart choice, and get both done at once.

Does Summer Humidity Affect Hardwood Floor?

Yes, wood floorboards are hygroscopic. That means that the wood absorbs or expels water depending on its surrounding environment. So, much like a cold, dry winter changes the appearance of your floor, so too do the humid summer months ahead. In the winter, you may notice cracks and spaces between the floorboards. This is because in winter there is less water in the wooden floorboards, so they are smaller.

However, in the summer, there’s more humidity in the air and more water within the wood floors. That means the wood increases in size. Poorly installed or old wood floors can become damaged by this fluctuation in the state of the wood. However, most of the time, a regularly heated and cooled house will not see too much change in this respect.

It is a good idea to keep a dehumidifier around in the summer just to make certain there is not excessive moisture in the air. A smart installation team will also let the wood acclimate in the house for a while to make sure it’s all uniform in size and moisture retention.

Install New Hardwood Floors Today!

Any time is a great time to get new hardwood floors. My Affordable Flooring has the best technicians in Milwaukee and the most affordable prices. We would love to talk to you about how we can make your summer vacation even better by having beautiful, new hardwood floors waiting for you when you return!