Home Design Articles

Buying an affordable carpet for your household purpose can be a daunting task as the prices of the carpet depends upon several variables like price per square foot, qualities of the carpets, size of the room, designs and various others factors. Price per square foot is the most common method to find the total cost of the carpet. Besides this, different kinds of carpets (such as outdoor carpet) have different cost and hence it is essential to determine the type of quality you expect from the carpet.

The average price of the carpet is 2.25 dollars per square foot though the cheap and ordinary quality of the carpet can be bought in the range of 1-2 dollars per square foot. The price of the carpet increase with the quality and we find many luxurious carpets being sold in the range of 8-10 dollars per square foot. A simple nylon carpet may be priced at 1 dollar while the Berber carpet can cost up to 4 dollars. Other factors like padding and installation charges add up to 1 dollar to the cost of the carpets.

Though there are no fixed rules for determining the quality of the carpets but certain guidelines may be helpful in determining the quality of the carpets. The carpets that are backed by a warranty period of 5 years are generally of good quality. In addition to this the width of the carpet also determines the quality of the carpet. The standard width of the carpet for residential use is 12 feet while for the commercial use the standard width is around 13.5 feet to 15 feet. In order to calculate the carpet specification perfectly, you should know the total width of the carpet. For example, if you want carpet for the room with 10 by 10 feet dimension, the area of the carpet must be less than the total dimension of 100 square feet. This will help to reduce the cost of purchase and the carpet may not fall short from either end for the room.

After calculating the total available area, calculate the carpet specifications in square yard or square foot. To calculate the carpet prices per square feet, multiply the room’s length with its width.  For example, a 16’x7’ room is equivalent to 112 square feet. To find out the figures in square yards, divide 112 by 9. In this case it is 11.5 square yards.

Regardless of whether you’re looking for outdoor carpet tiles or luxurious indoor flooring, always remember to take into consideration shipping costs when shopping online. Items such as flooring are extremely heavy and can add significant costs to your project.

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Many beautiful homes have similar attributes when it comes to floors…solid oak flooring. Oak floors stand up to the test of time and they add elegance and a feeling of warmth to a home. Quality floors adds value to a home and homeowners that have children or pets find oak easier to clean than carpet.

Hardwood floors are highly recognized for durability. This flooring is constructed from trees that are over a decade old. After the trees are cut down, they are allowed to fully mature for at least 5 years at which time the tension in the wood reduces. Once they are ready, they can be cut into planks and then dried for another full year. After they are fully dry, they are made stable in a kin and then, finally, fashioned into flooring.

If you like the look of oak, check some local stores for samples. There are two general sized of oak flooring, regular and wide. If you go with wide you can then choose from engineered oak flooring or solid oak flooring. The solid oak is made from whole wood. The engineered is even more durable and stable than the solid models. Either style is beautiful and functional.

White and red oak are yet more options. White is a harder wood and more resistant to fungus. Red oak is highly shock absorbing so it is less likely to split. Either of these types of floors would be great in a bathroom or a kitchen.

Once you choose your oak floor and install it in your home, maintaining it is quite simple. You will want to sweep it a few times a week and that should be all it takes to keep it looking nice. Over time, buy some cleaning products that help protect the wood to ensure it will look nice for years to come.

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Instead of having your home’s unfinished hardwood flooring replaced, you would like to have them professionally repaired instead. That’s definitely a smart decision to make but only if you’ve exhausted all possible DIY remedies you can perform on wood plank flooring. Have you? If so, here are a few facts and figures to consider about flooring repair.

Size of Damaged Area – You’ll rarely find a flooring repair professional that’s willing to work on a per-hour basis. In most cases, that’s understandable since their costs are also dependent on the amount of supplies they’ve consumed for the repairs needed.

Location – Don’t expect average repair costs of unfinished hardwood floors charged in Los Angeles to be similar to what’s normally being charged in a small town in Utah. Cost of living will inevitably play a role in the overall costs of your home’s flooring repair.

Who You’re Dealing With – Hire locals as much as possible. Those who are working freelance or own small businesses in the area won’t charge as much as repairmen from large corporations.

Moisture Barrier – Is moisture the reason why you have rotting and damaged floor boards? If so, you might want to consider having a moisture barrier installed. This will cost you a little over a dollar per square foot.

Waste Removal and Disposal – This rarely figures in the work of flooring repair professionals but if it so happens that you require this type of service, expect costs to vary on a case-to-case basis. It’s possible that your flooring professional will bring in additional help and this would cost you extra fees.

Floor Removal – What if you have other kinds of flooring installed in your home and you’d like to have them replaced with unfinished hardwood flooring? If you are using ceramic tiles, its removal is rated at around $3.50 per square foot. Carpet removal is more expensive at around sixty dollars per step.

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Are you in the mood to challenge yourself with DIY American walnut flooring installation? Beware, though: installing any variant of plank hardwood flooring is a lot more difficult than it looks. The smallest misstep could not only damage your flooring but it may your home’s entire flooring unsafe to tread on as well.

Power Tools You Will Need for American Walnut Flooring Installation

If it’s your first time to use power tools in your DIY project, keep in mind that power tools are exactly what they appear to be: powerful. You can easily end up cutting off your finger or even your entire hand if you’re not careful. You could even be in danger of electrocution if you don’t use the appropriate voltage. So before you start worrying if you know what to do with hardwood flooring installation, make sure that you’re just as prepared and knowledgeable with using power tools.

Fein MultiMeister

It’s quite a mouthful, isn’t it? But it’s actually a small but powerful tool used especially for sanding and small cutting projects.

Festool

This isn’t actually a tool per se but more a tool brand. If you’d like to invest in a power tool set or kit, you should consider purchasing those labelled with the Festool brand as this represents durability, high quality, and exceptional precision.

Routers

Routers are best known for their work with insets or inlays. But when it comes to hardwood flooring installation, they are also effective for re-grooving plans.

Saws

You will need a variety of saws if you wish to install American walnut flooring safely and properly. You’ll need toe kick and jamb saws, table, circular, and jig saws, and lastly, a regular 10” and sliding compound Miter saw.

Nail Guns

These are essential because they expedite the normally tedious nailing process. It’s also used for trimming areas that aren’t accessible to staplers and nailers.
With these tools, you are well-equipped to start installing American walnut flooring in your home.

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Have you chosen to install solid oak flooring in your house? If so, here are three key things to remember.

Higher Market Value

The National Wood Flooring Association or NFWA states that properties with wood plank flooring installed always fetch a better price in the market. Real estate agents certainly agree. They consider such properties hot commodities that generally guarantee a 3:1 margin compared to homes with carpeted flooring installed.

A Perfect Complement

You can ask all the interior designers you know and majority of them are sure to confirm the fact that solid oak flooring can go with just about any type of interior scheme. According to a report made by the NWFA, approximately 75% of interior designers had considered natural wood flooring as the most versatile of all types. They can look rustic or country in one home and then look very modern or even avant garde in another home.

Designers had also enumerated the qualities they like about wood plank flooring. Firstly, they simply like the look of it. Natural wood flooring has an understated but elegant and powerful beauty to them that can’t be imitated by engineered or man-made types of flooring. Secondly, they love the prestige that comes with it. Everyone will no doubt agree that solid oaks aren’t the most affordable materials for flooring, but everyone will also agree that using solid oaks gives their home a certain kind of elevated status, one that makes their home’s décor more luxurious than others.

Urethane Finishes

Many experts and homeowners prefer to use urethane finishes for natural wood flooring because they provide better protection against high traffic and other unfortunate effects of time. Urethane finishes are also ideal for DIY homeowners since they’re a lot quicker to apply, having no need for waxing or buffing. With just a few hours of your time, you can finish the job and have your home’s solid oak flooring properly coated with a urethane finish.

Wooden floors give a home a more welcoming feeling and there is a sense of cleanliness about them. As long as the floors are properly maintained and cared for there should be no problem in keeping them looking their best. No matter whether you install wide boards or narrow ones, if they are properly sanded and finished with a quality stain and sealant you floor boards will look terrific and serve you well for many years.

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