When you imagine yourself sitting by a cozy fire in the family room of your new house or cooking in the kitchen, you’ll have some kind of flooring in this picture. But if you’re like most people, it won’t be a major element. Your mind’s eye is more likely to be focused on the cabinets, the food you’re preparing, or how you actually would roast those chestnuts in an open fire.
The truth is that beyond choosing a material and a color, most people don’t think much about the floor. They should, though, because it’s the element that ties all the spaces together, especially when a house has a very open floor plan. Similar colors, if not the same material throughout, will also make a smaller house feel bigger. If your furnishings stylistically differ from one room to the next, the right floor will produce a smooth visual segue.
The flooring products that you select are likely to be man-made, because the natural ones, such as wood, cork, and wool, are usually top-dollar. But the quality of man-made flooring is excellent and the choices, broad. Because carpet is the most cost-effective way to finish a floor, you may select it for most of your house. For bathrooms and your kitchen, floor tile, a man-made material that has been around for millennia, is always an option, but an expensive one. If your budget is tight, a sheet vinyl for rooms that need a waterproof floor may be your best option, though the higher grades of vinyl can be as pricy as tile or the natural materials.
If you want to create an outdoor room by building a deck, you may decide to avoid the natural look altogether because wood is high maintenance flooring when in the great outdoors. Man-made composite decking materials that mix sawdust with recycled plastics have the look and feel of wood but require less maintenance. Recycled plastic and virgin-vinyl decking are nearly maintenance free aside from hosing them down once a month or so to clean off the dirt that will collect there.
Flooring is also one of those options, like countertop materials, that can be upgraded after you move in. You won’t be able to fold that hardwood floor into your mortgage as you will if you get it when you buy the house, but getting a hardwood floor later and the four-foot extension to the family room now could be the more sensible choice. You may also find that an outside vendor such as your local flooring store can offer you the same flooring that the builder does for a lower price (this flooring would also not be included in your mortgage). The flooring salesman may even be able to take measurements off the floor plan shown in the builder’s sales brochure. If not, he would have to come and measure the model.
As for the deck, it is one option that many homeowners add one or two years after they move in. If you do this, however, you must insist that your installer check the framing underneath the siding to make sure that he can attach the deck properly. Some builders erect the framing one way if you are getting a deck and another way if you are not. The only way to verify what your builder did is to check it before you start. (See Resources for more information on the types of flooring discussed here.)
carpet
Carpet may be the sensible choice for most of your living space. Your builder will offer plenty of colors, but as you look around his sample room, you’ll quickly realize that the number of choices increases with price. Indeed, that is part of the builder’s marketing strategy. Only six to ten colors are usually offered in the lowest, base carpet grade that is included in the house’s base price. The carpet supplier typically sells the base grade to the builder at or below cost, and invariably it is of minimal quality. But as many as twenty-four colors may be offered in the highest upgrade category, where the builder’s (and his supplier’s) profit margins are greatest. Beyond color and price, there are additional but more subtle differences between carpet grades that can make one choice prudent (you’ll get more wear out of it) and another extravagant (it looks and feels luxurious but doesn’t last appreciably longer).
When comparing the carpet samples, the first thing to note is the fiber type. Your builder will most likely offer nylon, polyester, or olefin. Of these, nylon is the most widely used and the strongest. A nylon carpet never becomes threadbare, and in this conventional sense it never wears out. But nylon will “ugly out” and look ratty if not properly maintained or installed with inferior padding. Nylon will also stain if the fibers are not treated with a stain-resistant product such as Dupont Stainmaster. Higher quality nylon fibers are “branded,” and the carpet label will list the fibers as “100% nylon Monsanto” or “100% Dupont Masterlife.” Lower quality, unbranded nylon fibers are listed simply as “100% nylon.”
Polyester carpet fibers are less strong than nylon and tend to shed some, but they are more stain resistant and the colors are brighter. Polyester is also cheaper than nylon and more environmentally benign. Some or all of the polyester fiber material, depending on the manufacturer, is made from recycled plastic bottles. Image Polyester, a division of Mohawk Carpets, manufactures polyester carpet made of 100 percent recycled material. Phil Cavin, Image’s national procurement officer, estimates that the firm’s manufacturing activities consume about 5.5 million bottles a day. Before you buy a whole house full of polyester carpet, though, try to see a room with it. Some people find it sounds odd when they walk on it, and it has a different sheen because it is plastic.
Polypropylene, commonly called olefin, is the weakest of the three synthetic fibers, but this material works well when made into a looped berber-type carpet with a knobby weave. Its knobby berber texture conceals dirt, even in light colors. For this reason, olefin berber carpeting is often selected for high-use areas such as family rooms.
After you’ve noted the fiber type, check the twist level of the individual carpet fibers. All carpet yarns are twisted together to form lengths of yarn, but the degree of twisting varies. The higher or tighter the twist, the better and generally more expensive the carpet. A twist rating refers to the number of times the fiber is twisted together in a one-inch length. With a loop-pile carpet such as a berber, the twist level is less critical because the fibers are looped in and can’t unravel.
Now check the density, a measure of how tightly the fibers are attached to the carpet backing. The closer together the fibers are attached, the less wear to each individual fiber, and the longer the carpet will last. To test for density, see how easily you can move the carpet tufts to see the backing. The harder it is to see, the higher the carpet’s density.
Face weight measures the number of ounces of fiber per square yard of carpet. It is a significant quality determinant, but harder to distinguish by visual inspection. The higher the face weight, the more yarn, and the better the carpet, with this caveat: A carpet with a longer fiber can have a higher face weight, because face weight simply measures the weight of all the fibers above the primary backing. But a longer-fiber, higher face-weight carpet can still have a low density, and it will not wear as well as a carpet of identical face weight but shorter, more numerous fibers and higher density.
To determine overall carpet quality, you need to look at both face weight and density as well as the twist level. As a general rule of thumb, carpet with a twist level of 4.0 or better, a density of 3,000 to 4,000, and a face weight of 35 to 40 ounces will hold up well. For production-built houses in the middle or lower price ranges, such a carpet may be two or three upgrades above the builder’s standard. For production-built houses in the upper price ranges, some builders may offer carpets with face weights that can range from 45 to as high as 70 ounces.
Maintenance should be another consideration in selecting a carpet. A velvety plush can look and feel luxurious, but it will show every footprint and vacuum mark. A textured saxony weave may look more plebeian, but its footprint-hiding surfaces are more practical for busy households.
Durability is another important factor in selecting a carpet, but it is difficult to ascertain by visual inspection. Many carpet manufacturers assign a durability rating to each carpet style after testing it by simulating wear conditions over time. For example, Shaw Industries has a 20,000 Step Contract Walker Test facility at its headquarters in Dalton, Georgia. The 20,000 steps, the equivalent to about three years of normal residential use, are taken by six to eight people walking in shifts for eight hours a day over a five- to seven-day period.
The higher the durability rating of a carpet, the slower it will lose its like-new appearance. Shaw measures the durability of its carpets on a scale from 1 to 5, with 5 being the most durable. For a very active household with more than four adults or any household with toddlers, children, teens, household pets, or one that entertains frequently, a durability rating of 3.5 and above for heavily used areas is recommended. For other households, a durability of 2.5 for most rooms will be adequate.
While Shaw uses the sliding scale, other manufacturers describe their carpet’s durability by rating its performance in individual rooms—bedroom, living and dining rooms, family room, hall, and steps. Still others rate their carpets by their suitability for light, normal, heavy, and extra-heavy foot traffic.
Besides helping home buyers evaluate an individual builder’s carpet offerings, all of these factors enable buyers to compare one builder’s carpet offerings to another’s on an apples-to-apples basis. There is no industry-wide standard for disclosing this information, but many manufacturers voluntarily list it on the back of their samples. Manufacturers who do not will usually give out the figures when asked. If you don’t see any ratings on your builder’s samples, ask the sales agent to track it down from the builder’s carpet supplier.
Yet another characteristic that distinguishes different grades of carpet and can serve as a quick test is the backing. An inexpensive, low-end carpet has big squares on the back. Better grades will have smaller, tighter squares; the best quality carpets have a woven backing.
A carpet manufacturer’s warranty is also telling, especially the mat-and-crush clause that attests to the carpet fibers’ “memory retention”—their ability to retain their twist level and return to their original upright shape after being walked on. A fifteen-year mat-and-crush warranty is offered on more expensive carpeting, and top-quality carpets offer a twenty-five-year warranty. A production-home builder is unlikely to offer this, but you should try to get carpeting with at least a ten-year warranty. If the warranty is shorter than this, the carpet will show wear in a few years. A production builder’s base-grade carpet will likely have only a five-year warranty, but check the upgrades.
Carpet pricing has traditionally been given in square yards. After January 1, 2000, however, the federal government began requiring that all carpet prices be given in square feet instead, so that consumers can more easily compare carpeting prices with those of other flooring materials that are given in square feet.
carpet padding
Besides offering myriad carpet choices, most builders also offer several carpet-padding upgrades. Since a good pad will increase the life of the carpet substantially, you should upgrade the padding beyond the lightweight 3/8-inch foam pad that most builders offer as standard, even if you can’t afford to upgrade the carpet itself. The padding upgrade is likely to be a 7/16-inch thick rebonded foam product; to be effective it should have a density of at least six pounds per cubic foot, but eight to ten is preferable. Most carpet manufacturers will not warrant their product if the padding is less than six pounds, so you should upgrade at least to this level. If you are getting a cut-pile-type carpet, a six- or seven-pound pad will be adequate. If you get a berber-type carpet with looped fibers for your family room, you should get a firmer, eight-pound pad. If you are concerned about volatile organic compounds (VOCs) off-gassing from your carpets, ask for a synthetic-fiber padding instead of the rebonded type, which the builder’s carpet supplier can also get easily (for more on this, see Chapter 14).
hardwood
Considerably more expensive than carpeting, hardwood flooring is a perennial favorite. Some upper-end production builders now offer hardwood flooring made from such exotic species as Brazilian cherry (it looks fabulous but is expensive) and Australian Jarrah. The most readily available, least expensive hardwood, and what your builder will certainly offer, is oak. Most production builders offer two types—a ¾-inch solid-oak hardwood and a 3/8-inch to 5/8-inch thick engineered oak laminate that can be glued to a concrete floor. Both types are plank-flooring, not parquet.
As far as durability goes, all the grades of solid-oak hardwood are similar and more than adequate for normal household use. The variant affecting price is appearance. Lower-priced, builder-grade oak flooring, usually offered in the middle to the lower end of the market, is a mixture of “select and better” and “number 1 common” grades of oak. It has more “character”—small knots, mineral marks, and pinholes. The more expensive “select or better” grade, more often found in higher-priced houses, will be a clearer wood. For many people, the visual difference in grades is inconsequential. If you find the “character” aspect of a builder-grade oak floor irritating, consider adding a darker stain to make the knot and stripes less visible (but see a sample and preferably an entire floor first), or get an upgraded, clearer grade.
Maple, long used for gymnasium floors, is a now a popular choice for houses, especially kitchens, because many buyers want to match their cabinets with the floors. Maple is clearer than oak, so it’s easier to match cabinets and floors.
Plank hardwood floors are either prefinished or sanded and finished in place after installation. The latter, which gives a smoother surface, is considered “strictly custom,” but it’s actually less expensive. The prefinished floor, which will have small v-grooves between each plank, though more costly, is preferred by production builders because it’s faster to install. The other one takes several days to finish, during which no other trades can be in the space.
Engineered laminate hardwood, which is close in price to the solid hardwood, can be glued rather than nailed into place, an obvious advantage if you want to install a hardwood floor over a concrete slab. The engineered laminate floor consists of a hardwood veneer that is glued to two to four layers of plywood. More layers of plywood costs more, but they make for a better floor that is more dimensionally stable.
Depending on how the hardwood veneer layer is cut off the log, an engineered laminate floor can have a grain pattern that looks like a solid hardwood floor or one that looks wavy. A floor made with the wavy type may be more of a visual feature than you want, so try to see one before you order it for yourself. Another significant distinction between different types of engineered laminate hardwood flooring is the thickness of the hardwood veneer on the topmost layer. More expensive ones have a 5/32- to 1/6-inch thick veneer layer that usually can be resanded and refinished twice. Some less expensive laminate floors have a thinner veneer layer that cannot be resanded. If you get scratches on it, the only way to get rid of them is to replace the flooring.
ceramictile
Four-by-four-inch ceramic tile has long been used for bathroom floors, but tiles as large as twelve by twelve inches are now a popular choice for bathrooms as well as kitchen or breakfast areas and entry foyers. The color possibilities are endless and largely a matter of taste and price. Two other tile characteristics to include in your calculus are durability and slip resistance.
Glazed tiles, the type most frequently offered by production builders, are rated for durability. Grade one is intended to be used only as a wall tile; grade two can be used in bathrooms; grade three can be used anywhere in the house; and grades four and five are considered commercial grades to be used in areas with heavy foot traffic. The durability rating is rarely listed on the back of builder’s tile samples, but an on-site sales agent should be able to get this information from the tile supplier. Quarry tile, which has color all the way through it, is more durable than a glazed tile and can be used anywhere in the house.
Tiles are also measured for their degree of slipperiness—that is, their slip resistance or coefficient of friction (COF) when new. Though no tile is slip-proof, generally speaking a tile with a COF of .5 and above under dry conditions is considered to be slip resistant. For entry foyers, a tile with a .5 COF or better is recommended. For kitchens or bathrooms, a lower slip resistance is acceptable. As a general rule, textured tiles that look like stone have more slip resistance than smooth ones, and smaller two-by-two-inch tiles with more grout joints are less slippery than larger tiles, because any water runs into the joints.
Though a tiled floor has a great look, the tile grout can be a maintenance headache. If not sealed properly, mop water will seep into the porous grout, turning it dark. Even with a good sealer, some surface dirt will still collect on the grout lines. One solution is choosing a darker grout color to begin with.
Tiles may not be the best flooring choice in a temperate climate with large annual temperature fluctuations if you intend to put it over a wood subfloor. In these regions, the structural frame of the house expands during the summer and shrinks during the winter, and this movement can cause the tiles to crack. In warmer climates such as California and Florida, tile cracking is not a problem.
sheet-vinylflooring
Tile can enhance the look of almost any kitchen or bathroom, but your budget may dictate sheet vinyl. Try to upgrade the builder’s standard base-grade sheet vinyl, which will invariably have a shallow wear surface, will be susceptible to nicks and tears, and look worn after only a few years. More expensive sheet vinyls are thicker with a stronger wearing surface. They will hold the gloss longer than the cheaper ones, which tend to lose their luster and show traffic patterns.
Upgrading a sheet vinyl to the equivalent of a Mannington Silverado or an Armstrong Starsteps—usually a second or third upgrade—will significantly increase the wearability and durability of the flooring, and you will get more pattern choices. The higher grade of Armstrong sheet vinyl has inlaid color that goes all the way through the material, imparting a different look. With all other vinyls, the pattern is printed on the surface.
Some sheet vinyls have embossed designs, and the embossed surfaces provide more slip resistance when wet. These designs look appealing on the sample, but when installed, dirt can easily collect on the ridges of the patterns, making the floor harder to keep clean.
laminateflooring
Invented in Europe, laminate flooring has become increasingly popular since it was first marketed in the United States in 1994. This type of flooring has a wear surface and a look that is similar to the plastic laminate used in kitchen countertops—hence the name—but it is much harder and more durable. Most laminate flooring patterns mimic natural materials such as stone, ceramic tile, or hardwood. It makes for a nice-looking floor, but it does not look like the real thing—the almost eerie smoothness of the surface, and the subtle repetition of patterns, and joints at regular intervals are the giveaways.
Besides the difference in its manufacture, laminate flooring is installed differently than other types of flooring. It is neither glued nor nailed to the surface below. Instead, it floats: When properly glued together, laminate tongue-in-groove floor planks become a single unit, essentially a floor above a floor. This type of floor can be easily installed over a concrete slab, making it a favorite with apartment dwellers. It can also be installed over an existing floor, a great advantage in remodeling.
Laminate flooring was initially marketed as an alternative to sheet-vinyl flooring for kitchens and bathrooms. But with its distinct look, as well as its easy maintenance and resistance to stains and fading, it was soon regarded as a flooring alternative for the entire house.
In most cases, the laminate is fused to a core layer made of high- or medium-density fiberboard. The underside of each plank has a backing that provides dimensional stability, so that once installed the plank won’t bow or “banana up,” creating an uneven and unsightly surface.
Because laminate flooring was introduced to this country by Pergo, the European firm that invented it, many people use the terms Pergo and laminate flooring interchangeably; but now a number of American firms, including Wilsonart and Formica, make it. Another unusual characteristic of laminate flooring that you should note is the hollow sound made when anyone walks across the floor in a heeled shoe. The sound is not loud, just different; but many people find it disturbing. Some manufacturers offer underlayments that can dampen the sound. Before you make a final selection, try to find an installed laminate floor and give it a sound test. If your builder is offering it as an upgrade, there may be a finished house that you could look at.
Scratches are another issue with laminate floors. The surface is very hard, but it’s only scratch resistant, not scratch-proof. If the floor becomes scratched, it cannot be sanded or buffed out. The only solution is to replace the plank. For this reason, Doug Carlson of Ann Arbor, Michigan, who has supervised the installation of hundreds of laminate floors, urged buyers to consider their particular circumstances as well as how the space would be used. In his experience, laminates do not work for every household.
As with every other type of flooring, laminate comes in different grades. Besides price, grades are distinguished by durability, water resistance, and warranty period. In general, “good” is warranted for ten years; “better” for fifteen years; and “best” for twenty to twenty-five years. The “best” grade is usually installed in commercial installations with heavy foot traffic.
The first difference between grades that you will notice, is the number of pattern choices. The “good,” or builder-grade, category has only six to ten, depending on the manufacturer, but the upgraded “better” category can have twenty-five or more.
From a use standpoint, the other differences between grades are more significant. With “good,” the wear layer is less hard and more susceptible to dents, and many manufacturers do not warrant their low-end laminate flooring against water damage. If you want to install laminate flooring in a kitchen, laundry room, or bathroom, check the manufacturer’s warranty first. With the “better” grade, the floor has a harder wear surface so it’s more dent resistant. Most manufacturers claim that the better grade is water resistant as well. Formica goes the farthest in its claims for water resistance, warranting its Formica against “ANY water damage” — the firm is so confident that it displays an overflowing bathtub with water continuously cascading down over several levels of flooring at trade shows.
The core material of laminate floors is made of wood fibers that will swell if they become saturated with water. In any room with water, the installation is critical, especially in bathrooms. Not only must each piece be glued correctly, the edges must be carefully sealed with a silicone sealant. Proper installation also prevents water from getting underneath the floor and causing mildew, which can eventually create indoor air problems. Buyers who like the idea of a laminate floor for their bathroom, but are concerned about water damage to its core, should consider Wilsonart’s Performance ProFX, which has a core that is 100 percent plastic.
Because the installation is critical and laminate flooring is still a relatively new product, make sure that your installer has had the proper training.
“Any of the laminates will hold up fine if you have clean foot traffic on it. But if you have a gravel driveway, for example, everyone in the household will track in grit, which is like having sandpaper on your shoes. It will mar the surface of a laminate floor in no time. In this situation, the homeowners will never be happy with a laminate and probably shouldn’t use it.”
outdoorflooring:thedeck
wood decking
If you’re like many homeowners, you find yourself gravitating to the great outdoors and want a deck. But which material decking to get? If you have never owned a deck, wood might seem the obvious choice. If you have, it’s not. You know only too well that wood decks weather, turning gray with exposure to the sun, darker gray in shade, and even black if not regularly maintained. Most species of wood used for decks will also warp, check, and crack if not resealed regularly. Tiny slivers that distress young children are always a potential hazard, and the surface eventually “corduroys”—it forms little ridges just like the cloth.
The least expensive decking material available, but also the one that requires the most upkeep, is pressure-treated southern pine. The pressure treatment protects the wood from decay and insect infestation but does not prevent the wood from swelling and shrinking as it is exposed to the elements. The swelling and shrinking cause the wood to check, crack, cup, pop up on ends, and even lift up nails; the resulting uneven surface can become a trip hazard. The rate of swelling and shrinking can be vastly reduced by sealing the deck regularly. Sealing will also lessen wood’s discoloration.
You can get pressure-treated pine with an upgraded preservative that includes a sealer. This improves the performance of the wood initially, but after one or two years, washing and sealing must still be done on a regular basis. How often? On average, about once a year. But this varies with climate, and you should ask a local firm that installs or cleans decks. In many places, if you stretch out the intervals between cleaning and sealing too far, you end up with a black algae buildup that makes the cleaning and sealing even harder—and more expensive if you hire a cleaning firm to do it. You can spend a weekend washing and sealing your deck yourself, but after one or two years many homeowners elect to have it done by a professional service.
If you’re intent on a real wood deck, but insist that it be maintenance free, Brazilian tabuia is a possibility. The hardwood, sold in the United States under the trade names Ipe, Ironwood, and Pau Lope, weathers to a light gray, and it does not require any sealing.
Cedar has long been a favorite decking material, but it is definitely not low maintenance. In many climates, it can turn gray, and a cedar deck that gets shade can turn black and icky if not regularly cleaned and sealed.
nonwood decking
If the maintenance is already beginning to sound like a headache or you’ve already been there, nonwood decking alternatives abound. You can choose among numerous brands of recycled plastic, virgin vinyl, and composite (a mixture of recycled sawdust and plastic that comes the closest to the real thing).
A composite decking product called Trex was one of the first nonwood alternatives to be widely marketed; it is so well known that consumers all over the country use the term Trex to refer to any composite decking product. But other manufacturers now also make it, including US Plastics, Inc., the manufacturer of SmartDeck, who has partnered up with Georgia-Pacific, one of the largest manufacturers of wood building products in the country; and Boardwalk is manufactured by CertainTeed, the largest manufacturer of vinyl building products in the United States.
All three of these composites are made with sawdust and recycled plastic—either milk jugs, plastic bags and pallet wrap, or vinyl building-product scrap. Much as the manufacturers emphasize their differences, the consensus of installers all over the country is that they are very similar. The only major difference that most buyers will notice is the colors offered. When installed, Boardwalk is gray-brown but it weathers to a light gray. SmartDeck starts as brown and weathers to a different tone of light gray. Trex now sells four colors: Natural weathers to a driftwood gray; Winchester Grey, to a darker, battleship gray; Woodland is dark brown and colorfast; and Madeira has a medium reddish brown color that weathers slightly. If a composite product sounds appealing, be sure to look at a weathered sample; if possible, see a deck installation that has been up a year or two and weathered a full seasonal cycle. All three manufacturers offer a ten-year warranty, although Trex claims that its accelerated testing shows that its product can last as long as thirty years.
The dimensions of the different brands vary slightly, but the installers say each is easy to work with. They did note, however, that the composite materials behave differently from wood. For example, with all three of these products, the material tends to form a slightly raised “mushroom” or “dimple” around nails or screws. The installers’ advice on this point was to “whup it” with a hammer and the material would flatten out. In some areas with seasonal changes and a freeze-thaw cycle, the dimples can come back, but a whup with the hammer will flatten them out again.
When the wood fibers of some composite decks get wet, they pop up and the surface gets “grippy.” In fact, Trex, Boardwalk, and SmartDeck all meet the ADA requirements (Americans with Disabilities Act) for a slip-resistant surface. Another plus is that the composite materials are flexible and the surface feels like it’s padded when you walk on it.
Even the prices of these products are similar, though freight charges can affect the cost. The quotes given by installers around the country for the decking boards for a twelve-by-twenty-foot deck averaged at about one thousand dollars. By comparison, the cost of pressure-treated wood for the same-sized deck would range from three to four hundred dollars. When the cost to maintain the wood deck over time is added in, however, the wood is more expensive. The average cost, if the annual cleaning and sealing procedure is done professionally, runs about $1 per square foot or $240 a year for a twelve-by-twenty deck. Unless you elect to clean it yourself, the cost to maintain the deck for five years at current prices will be $1,280, and the annual cleaning cost will run onto into the future, as long the deck is owned.
Although composite products are often billed as no-maintenance, the installers emphasize that they are actually low-maintenance. Because they are partially wood, they do absorb grease, and owners need to clean greasy food spills promptly, using a degreasing agent if necessary. The composite materials may also get mold or mildew, which can appear as black spots or gray circles. A Chicago-area installer who specializes in nonwood decking materials cautions that this doesn’t happen with all decks and it is more common if shade trees are present. Owners get understandably upset when the little black spots appear, but they can be removed by spraying with a fresh bleach solution, he said. To avoid the problem altogether, he recommends washing the deck about once a month during the warmer months of the year.
In hot and humid climates such as Florida’s, the mildew is always an issue, and owners need to wash the deck at least every two months all year long. Boardwalk claims to be more mildew resistant than the competition because it is made with vinyl, but the company acknowledges that mildew can occur in hot and humid climates.
Some manufacturers of composite decking also make railings and posts. But railing systems do not generally take the same beating as the decking surface, so you may opt for a wood railing, considering the nonwood railings can cost two to four times as much as wood ones.
recycled-plastic decking
If you’re not wedded to a wood look and detest even minimal maintenance, recycled plastic is a good bet. Carefree, which is made of recycled gallon milk jugs and detergent bottles, won’t mildew or stain. It is close in price to the composites: for a twelve-by-twenty deck, the decking boards would cost about one thousand dollars. Carefree is sold in six colors and two finish surfaces, plain and knurled. The later, which is less slippery when wet, meets the ADA slip-resistance requirements. The only maintenance required is a monthly hose-down of the knurled surface to remove the dirt that collects there. The Carefree product line also includes a railing system.
virgin-vinyl decking
Virgin vinyl is another nearly no-maintenance decking product, but the grooves in the surface, which make the vinyl more slip-resistant, can be dirt collectors and need a monthly hose-down. Unlike the composite and the recycled-plastic decking materials, which are solid, vinyl deck pieces are hollow. They sound and feel different than a solid deck piece when walked on; some of the two-piece vinyl decking products even squeak or squish. Before purchasing any vinyl decking material, you need to find an installed deck of the same material and test it out.
Although cost and maintenance loom large in most buyers’ minds, another consideration should be the temperature of the walking surface on a hot summer day. According to the installers, plastics, composites, and vinyl are no worse than wood, which itself can feel warm in bare feet. But this is a subjective judgment. When the sun is high in the sky, you need to test the different surfaces in bare feet for yourself.
Vinyl decking tends to be more expensive than the composites and recycled plastics. For a twelve-by-twenty deck, EverNew deck boards, which are also manufactured by CertainTeed, can cost a thousand to thirteen hundred dollars. For the same-sized deck, Kroy deck boards would cost twelve hundred to twenty-two hundred, and Brock Deck Systems deckboards would be about seventeen hundred. Both of these manufacturers also sell railing systems that feature various railing and baluster styles.
glare
The color of the material should also be considered. White vinyl or plastic will always be the coolest color to walk on, but it shows the dirt the most and produces tremendous glare. The grays and tans show dirt less and are easier on the eyes. Because dark plastic colors will heat up in the noon-day sun, Carefree’s Redwood is not sold in areas where this can be a potential problem. The darker Trex boards may also be hotter than the lighter ones.
building permits
Before purchasing any nonwood decking products or others that you may hear about, you should consult your local building department. Building codes for decking are based on all-wood construction, and most building departments require documentation that the synthetic product is structurally adequate before they will issue a building permit. Some may be willing to evaluate a manufacturer’s own testing reports, but most require a National Evaluation Service (NES) report or an evaluation service report from one of the national code bodies: Building Officials and Code Administrators (BOCA), International Conference of Building Officials (ICBO), and Southern Building Code Congress International (SBCCI). The procedure for obtaining an evaluation service report is lengthy and expensive. Trex and Carefree have the NES report; Brock Deck has the BOCA evaluation report; Boardwalk, SmartDeck, Kroy, and EverNew are currently in the NES or BOCA evaluation process.
Some carpets look like new for years and others get ratty in no time. Vic Joffe and Bill Gordon, two carpet-cleaning professionals from Ann Arbor, Michigan, with forty-five years experience between them, have cleaned every type of carpet under every condition imaginable. Their advice: pick a fiber, texture, and color according to the use and amount of foot traffic you expect in each living area, catch spills promptly, vacuum frequently, and clean periodically.
To get yourself off to a good start, both experts said that a good installation and a good pad are essential. Some pads are so thin and insubstantial that they feel “wimpy” and you can tell they won’t do the job, Gordon says. In areas with heavy foot traffic, such as a hallway, a lightweight pad will quickly collapse to the thickness of cardboard and lose its ability to cushion the impact of footsteps on the carpet. When this happens, every step will pound the carpet directly against the floor, causing the carpet fibers to lose their “memory retention,” their ability to spring back after being crushed under a footstep. The carpet will quickly look ratty, and no amount of cleaning expertise can restore it.
But don’t judge a pad by thickness alone, Joffe cautions. A thicker pad may look more substantial, but if it doesn’t have enough density, the carpet will flex, stretching up and down like a trampoline when you walk on it. This will eventually break down the carpet backing, and cause it to delaminate. You need at least a six-pound pad and preferably an eight-pound one with a thickness of ⅜ inch. Since a production builder’s base-grade pad many be only a four-pound type, you should upgrade it even if you decide not to upgrade the base-grade carpet itself.
The key to a good installation is adequate stretching, which must be done with a power stretcher. If this is not done correctly, you won’t notice anything amiss when you move in, but wrinkles can appear the first time the carpets are steam-cleaned because the hot water and heat relax the backing. The wrinkles may disappear as the carpet dries; if they don’t, the only way to get rid of them is to restretch the carpeting. This can get expensive if the wrinkles appear in doorways or in areas where the carpet has seams.
You’ll get the most value for your money when you match the fiber type, color, and texture to the use and amount of foot traffic in each area of your house. Wool wears well and dirt comes out easily with cleaning, but this natural fiber also stains easily. Moreover, the stains can be hard to remove and, Joffe notes, some do not come out at all. In a high-traffic area where you won’t be eating such as a hallway or in a low-traffic area such as a formal living room, wool can be a good choice, but he urges you to think twice before putting it in your dining areas, especially if you have pets and small children who spill frequently.
Of the synthetic fibers—polyester, nylon, and olefin—polyester is the hardest to clean and olefin the easiest. It is also the most stain resistant because unlike wool, its fibers do not accept dyes and colors easily. Though not as strong a fiber as nylon, olefin wears well when used in a berber-style carpet with a looped fiber instead of a cut one. Another plus with a berber style—its knobby textured surface and flecks of color hide dirt.
A carpet with a light color will make a smaller space look larger, but you will see every spot. If you really want the lighter colors, Joffe suggests a carpet style that will hide the dirt and spots such as a berber or a sculpted type with a speckled color and a sculpted surface pattern created by mixing cut and looped pile. If neither of these types of carpeting appeal to you, consider the multi-colored pattern approach, a strategy long favored by decorators for heavy-traffic areas such as hotel lobbies and commercial dining rooms. The dirt-hiding subterfuge here: the dirt blends in because you can’t focus on six different colors as once.
Even if you make prudent carpet choices, wear and tear will eventually show in the way that light reflects off the carpet fibers. When a carpet is new, the surface will be flawless because all the fibers are uniform and light reflects off them evenly. But as you walk around your house, the hundreds of thousands of dirt and sand particles that are on your shoes or your dog’s paws will be ground into the carpet. The grinding action cuts the fibers, making thousands of microscopic scratches. As these accumulate, the light will reflect in a million different ways and the carpet will start to look worn.
You can reduce the grinding action with frequent vacuuming. For heavy-traffic areas, some manufacturers recommend doing this every other day. You probably won’t be that vigilant, but you should vacuum at least twice a week in heavily used areas.
Frequent vacuuming won’t remove all the abrasive particles that can accumulate, however. The only way to remove the dirt build-up is to steam-clean the carpets every six to eighteen months, depending on the number of people and pets in your household and the colors that you pick—lighter colors need cleaning more frequently than darker ones.
You can rent a machine and do the cleaning yourself, but an experienced, professional carpet cleaner will have a bigger, more efficient machine, and with it he can remove more abrasive dirt particles. This will help the carpet to look newer longer. If you get a high-density carpet with a face weight above 50 ounces, however, you should engage a professional and not try to do it yourself. The carpet fibers will be packed so closely together that only a professional’s truck-mounted, hot-water extraction equipment will be powerful enough to penetrate all the way through to the backing and get out all the layers of dirt.
Between carpet cleanings, both cleaning experts emphasize vigilance in cleaning up spills—the faster you get them up, the better. Many people interpret “stain resistant” to mean “stain proof,” but, Gordon explains, “The treatment only makes the carpet easier to clean and buys you time; you still must attend to the spill right away.” Since a carpet disaster can always occur, even with the most conscientious care, Joffe suggests that you ask the installers to leave any remnants for future use as patches, should the need arise.