Spring is in full swing on the Crystal Coast, bringing lots of sun, sand, and surf along with it. As folks are making the final touches on their vacation home renovations, some are still trying to determine which flooring is the best fit for their home away from home. You’re bound for adventure this summer, and you need to make sure your floors are up for the challenge. If you’re one of those who are still in the process of selecting their flooring, read on to discover which flooring is the best fit for your beach home!
Factors to Consider When Selecting Flooring for Your Coastal Home
Location
The geographic location of your home can play a key role in determining which flooring is the best fit for you. Areas with higher levels of humidity are more likely to experience floor warping, which occurs when your floors absorb moisture from the air and swell and expand as a result. This expansion can cause floorboards to warp, cup, and even crack. This is most likely to happen with hardwood floors.
It’s also important to note what area of your home you are reflooring. Entryways are more likely to collect sand, dirt and other grit that can result in scratched floors. A high-traffic area, such as a living room or hallway, will require a durable floor or physical protection like an area rug.
Durability
Summer vacations are for adventure, and your floors need to be able to keep up! Children and animals are particularly rough on floors, which can increase your chances of scratched, damaged floors. Any house that will regularly see children and animals should have a more durable, no-fuss flooring solution.
Maintenance
If there’s one thing we know about vacations, it’s this: beach vacations are meant for relaxing! The last thing anyone wants to do is spend their summer vacation cleaning. Ditch the extra fuss and opt for a low-maintenance flooring in your beach home. There are many different options that look like natural materials without the high-maintenance schedule!
Cost
We’ll let you in on a secret: the best way to save money on flooring is to invest in good flooring. It may sound a little backwards but if you do it right the first time, you can prevent yourself from spending even more money redoing your floors later. There are plenty of low-cost flooring solutions, but those can result in less durable floors in your home. Here at Eastman’s, we offer high-quality, cost-effective flooring solutions.
Best Flooring Options for a Coastal Home
Engineered Hardwood
Offering more resistance than solid hardwood flooring, engineered hardwood is suitable flooring for a home located in low humidity area. This flooring option is a better fit for a home without small children or pets, as this flooring is more prone to scratches than other flooring materials. We recommend that you don’t install engineered hardwood flooring if you expect regular contact with water or sand.
Luxury Vinyl Planks (LVP)
LVP is a very low maintenance flooring option for beach homeowners. Vinyl flooring is water resistant, making it perfect for areas prone to spills, moisture, and wetness, such as a beach home. Due to its water-resistant nature, it also makes LVP a suitable flooring solution for a home located in a high humidity area. LVP requires less maintenance than hardwood floors, and many LVP flooring solutions can replicate the look of natural hardwood for a fraction of the price. Our flooring experts highly recommend LVP for beach homes.
Ultimately, the perfect flooring for your coastal home is the one that best fits your needs. If you’re not sure where to begin, stop by our showroom and speak to one of our flooring experts today!