There are many choices for remodeling, you can use wood, tile, or linoleum. These all come in many different styles, colors and designs. Each type requires a different skill set to install but the preparation is the same for any type of upgrade. The type and style you decide to use all depends on your taste and desires for your home.



Hardwood comes in thickness from 1/4" to 3/4" or (6 mm, to 19 mm). The hardwood planks can be solid, or engineered wood. The planks can be tongue and grove or interlocking. They can be pre-finished planks or unfinished, so they must be sanded and finished after installation. The engineered hardwood should have a wear layer of 2 mm to 4 mm thick. The planks can be attached to the sub floor by nails, glue or interlocking floating, 1/4" thick planks cannot be floated.

Which method is recommended or required for the flooring you want to use. What is your sub-floor, cement or wood? Cement sub-floors are normally on the ground or below ground level and need to be checked for moisture content. If they exceed the recommendations, a moisture barrier must be installed over the cement. Check for the manufacturers recommended practice.

If you are going to install this as a do it yourself project, study all the available recommendations, and talk with knowledgeable people before starting. Determine which type of material you are going to use and how you are going to attach it.

If you are going to glue the floor down, check out the process, does the manufacturer require that you use their glue, they may put a tracer element in their glue to verify if you have used their glue if there is a warranty claim on the installation. Do they require that a professional installer installs it?

Tile floors can be purchased in ceramic or vinyl. High traffic area such as hall ways or entrance or high moisture area such as a bathroom should be considered for tile flooring.

Ceramic tile can have a glazed top layer that is very pretty but can be scratched easily in high traffic areas. Other kinds or unglazed tile will have the color clear through the tile and are resistant to scratching. Ceramic tile can be installed over a sub flooring of cement or wood which must be structurally stable. A cement board recommended for wood sub floors can be installed and fastened to the sub floor per the manufacturers recommendation.

Vinyl tiles can be the least expensive tile and easy to lay down. They can be placed over old vinyl flooring, over plywood on wood floors or on concrete. The sub flooring should be clean, dry and level, you need to remove all oil, wax and grease. Study all the rights and wrongs for the flooring material you have selected for the job.

Linoleum can be produced from environmental natural things such as linseed oil, wood or cork powder, resins and ground limestone. It can be made in many rich colors and patterns and comes in a sheet that is usually 2 meters wide (6' 7") A 2.5 mm thick sheet is suitable for home place use.

It can be installed over most sub floors but if installing over concrete, the moisture emission rate must be with in limits set by the manufacturer. A high pH level of the concrete can ruin the adhesive and the adhesive may not bond to the concrete if it has a sealer on it. If two sections of linoleum are butted together, they must be sealed either with special seam sealer or a color coordinated linoleum rod that is melted with a specialized welding tool.

Linoleum tends to expand in width and shrink in length over time so this needs to be taken into consideration when installing it.