If you’re in the enviable position of being able to design or redesign the flooring for your home, what type of floor would you use? Many would choose vinyl flooring or if they could afford it, hardwood floors. Some would think of carpeting, but it may be the case that not many would immediately think concrete. This is because concrete is often thought of something exterior and is too brutal or industrial for interior decor. However, with the right design and floor epoxy coating for concrete, you can have a modern looking floor that’s perfect for your home.
Concrete floors come with an array of benefits
Low costs
Concrete is cheap, certainly cheaper than hardwood flooring. The labor needed to install a concrete floor is also relatively cheap as there are many builders who are capable of laying down concrete. Laying down wooden floors or floor tiles is considered a tougher job and this may reflect in labor costs.
Durability
Concrete is extremely tough, tougher even than hardwood. It’s durable and is more resistant to scratches and other forms of damage. If you drop something heavy on a concrete floor, you wouldn’t flinch too much about the floor but worry about the object you dropped.
Drop a heavy item onto a wooden floor and you’d immediately also be afraid for your floor. It’s unlikely that in a residential setting you’ll ever have so much traffic that there’s a danger of erosion through use. A concrete floor in a home can last indefinitely.
Easy of maintenance
There’s nothing easier than cleaning a concrete floor. Compared to a carpet, it just needs to be swept to remove most dirt. Unlike wooden floors where you must be careful with moisture, wetness, and humidity, you can use as much water on concrete (if it has been sealed properly). You need to take a little care as concrete can be slippery even when it’s dry and more so when wet. However, concrete can be textured to create more traction, making it less slippery.
If you apply annual sealing and waxing, that should be enough to maintain a residential concrete floor; you may not even need to do it that often.
Breaking old notions
So why with all these advantages are some people still hesitant about concrete floors? The impression is that concrete is unattractive and gray. Designers are now able to use a multitude of techniques to make a concrete floor much more attractive. Concrete can be dyed, polished, stained airbrushed, and even multi-layered to create incredibly beautiful floor finishes. It can even be argued that you can now do more with concrete than you could with other types of flooring.
Concrete is cold and might be more suitable for regions that remain predominantly warm throughout the year. But if you must have a concrete floor in colder climes, there is the possibility of using radiant floor heating, a system that radiates heat from your hard floors. It’s expensive to install but efficient to run.
Concrete should now be considered as one of the first options for homeowners wanting to revamp or build a new home. There are many pluses and the less appealing aspects of concrete such as aesthetics and cold have largely been solved.
