The Best Flooring Options for High-Traffic Residential Areas

The Best Flooring Options for High-Traffic Residential Areas

The living spaces in your home that are frequented the most such as the hallway, living room, kitchen, etc. are commonly referred to as high-traffic areas. When you’ve to make a purchase decision regarding a flooring material for these high-traffic areas in your home, several factors need to be considered.

First off, you should understand the kind of treatment and damage your flooring will have to endure. Since these are the busiest spaces in your home, the flooring should be able to withstand scratches, scuffs, dents, wear and tear, and hard impacts for years to come. In today’s blog post, we’ve put together a list of some of the best flooring options for high-traffic areas in your home.

• Vinyl Flooring

Vinyl is exceptionally durable, versatile, and cost-effective which makes it a very popular flooring choice among homeowners and builders. It feels soft and comfortable underfoot. Vinyl flooring also helps dampen sound. However, one of the major advantages is that it’s very easy to clean and maintain. High foot traffic areas commonly see a lot of dust, dirt, and grime which can damage the floor surface over time if not properly cleaned. It usually requires regular sweeping and occasional mopping with a damp mop to keep it in good shape.

• Laminate Flooring

Laminate flooring is another good option to consider for high foot traffic areas because of its durability. It’s composed of several layers including:

• A back layer for strength and stability,
• A core layer made of HDF (high-density fibreboard) or MDF (medium-density fibreboard) for structural support against foot traffic weight,
• A decorative layer to mimic any surface such as wood, stone, tile, and
• A top wear layer to protect the surface against scratches, general wear and tear, and discolouration.

When purchasing for your busiest rooms, make sure to opt for laminate flooring with 12-15mm thickness and that the top wear layer is composed of a thick coat of melamine resin. Visit a reputed local dealer offering top-grade flooring materials to get superior quality laminate flooring at the cheapest price.

• Solid Hardwood

Solid hardwood is a classic flooring choice. Besides durability and comfort, it also offers an enhanced aesthetic appeal to practically any room. For hard-traffic areas, you should choose a high-quality version with a thick wear layer and superior polyurethane finish. An appropriate finish is the key to a longer life cycle and low maintenance regime for this flooring material. Make sure to ask the manufacturer or the dealer about these features before buying it for your home. Note that you can also sand and refinish it periodically to give it a facelift.

However, if you have kids and more than one pet, it means that there are increased chances of bringing grit and gravel inside your home from the outdoors. You may consider other flooring options in such cases.

• Engineered Hardwood

It’s one of the top picks when it comes to choosing a flooring material for high-traffic areas. Engineered hardwood isn’t a single piece of wood. It’s composed of several layers of wood veneers that are bonded together. This multi-layer structure makes it an extremely stable flooring material by preventing it from cupping or warping that’s caused by expansion and contraction with temperature and humidity changes. You also don’t require to sand and refinish engineered hardwood as frequently as solid hardwood.

Keep this list of flooring in mind when determining your choice for high-traffic areas in your home. Contact AA Floors at (416) 201-9611 for a free assessment or visit our showroom to buy the best products related to flooring in Toronto.