How to Choose the Right Flooring for Every High-Traffic Area in Your Home

The majority of renovations go wrong not because of paint colors or kitchen faucet finish but because of flooring. Too often do homeowners pick out one finish for the whole house and then spend more than just the cost of the flooring on correcting a bad decision. To avoid such disappointment, it is essential to plan each room’s floor individually and not rely on the same material throughout the house.

Decision 1: map your traffic flows before shopping

It is essential to understand what traffic flows are present in each room and how they influence the choice of material. Before looking at what material options are available at the store, it helps to think through how much activity there is in the room and what influence it has. Is your living room the place where the kids are allowed to play the whole time, is your golden retriever allowed to lay on the carpets of the entryway or did you give up carpeting altogether because of the traffic it sustained? These are the factors that determine the load that has to be sustained.

Decision 2: know the abrasion class for the laminate or other resilient products

When shopping for laminate or other wood-look resilient flooring, it is easy to get caught up in the marketing on the box but it is crucial to remember that the abrasion class, also indicated as AC, is what determines the durability. According to the European standard EN 13539, laminate flooring is graded from AC1 to AC5, with each level indicating the recommended application for the product based on traffic.

For the majority of homeowners, the recommendation is to choose AC3 rated products for general use in bedrooms, living rooms, dining rooms and AC4/AC5 for the areas identified in the first step. The additional costs for harder laminates are much more tolerable when you realize how soon the more affordable options will start looking like worn-out old floors.

Decision 3: treat the Janka scale as the basic requirement, not the final indicator of wood floor quality

When it comes to species, many homeowners wrongly believe that the hardest woods equal the most durable floors but that is simply not the case. The Janka scale measures the pounds-force needed to embed a .444 steel ball into a piece of wood and is, at least partially, used for this very reason: it is not possible to test the ability of the floor to resist dents from falling objects (such as vases) once it is installed. What homeowners should be considering is the factory finish (and its’ thickness), not the Janka hardness. A soft species with a good factory finish will perform better than a hard species with poor factory finish. To understand what factory finish and species combination to choose, it is essential to understand what scratch and wear warranty the floor offers.

Decision 4: select tile considering its PEI rating and water absorption, not just aesthetics

When shopping for tile, the two most important characteristics are the PEI rating and water absorption. The former determines the tile’s resistance to abrasion while the latter indicates how much water it will absorb. The PEI ratings (from lowest to highest) indicate the type of surface: decorative wall tile, light residential traffic, residential traffic, commercial traffic, and heavy commercial traffic.

For residential use, especially in the areas identified in step 1, porcelain tile with PEI 4,5 and water absorption of 0,5% or lower is a must. It is important to note that porcelain is fired at higher temperatures and is harder than ceramic tile making it more resistant to wear and tear while not allowing water to penetrate its surface. This makes porcelain tiles a superior option in areas where moisture may be an issue and ceramic tile’s appropriate use is in smaller areas with low foot traffic. Unless a homeowner is ready to pay substantially more, it is safer to stick to porcelain tiles in the high-traffic areas and use other materials elsewhere without risking a replacement down the road.

Decision 5: never underestimate the importance of a slip resistance in wet areas

One of the choices that is easy to overlook is a slip resistance grade of tile. Any floor surface exposed to moisture such as entryways, mudrooms, kitchens, and bathrooms must have a wet dynamic coefficient of friction (DCOF) of 0.42 or higher according to the tile industry standard ANSI A326.3. This requirement, together with visual appeal, helps choose between glossy tiles (which almost never qualify) and matte/rough-textured tiles (which almost always qualify). Most manufacturers indicate the DCOF on the specification sheet for the tile but if the desired tile does not indicate it, that is the answer right there. The same goes for LVP: rough-textured wear layers as opposed to glossy finish layers offer additional protection in high-traffic areas and a better slip resistance in wet areas.

Decision 6: determine whether the workhorse will be LVP or engineered hardwood based on location and intent

When it comes to the workhorse, there are two popular options: luxury vinyl plank (LVP) and engineered hardwood. Both are great in terms of wearability and suitability for modern homeowners but each has its own strengths that make it preferable in certain locations.

Homeowners comparing these options can also look at the flooring ranges available from Giant Carpet & Flooring before deciding which material best suits the room, expected traffic and overall design.

LVP is the superior choice in areas with moisture (showers, kitchens, mudrooms), pet traffic (claws) and extreme traffic (basements, households with several people) due to its complete waterproof nature, resistance to pet-related damage and general durability without sensitivity to humidity. On the other hand, engineered hardwood should be the preferred choice in areas where the resale value and refinishing flexibility are a priority because it offers the best balance between durability and the ability to refinish (up to 3 times depending on the thickness of the top layer). When it comes to showing off “real wood” in the main areas of the house with consideration for potential buyers, the engineered hardwood would be the preferred option over LVP.

The answer to this question is actually based on the first decision. If the intention is to make a decision based on room, the previous answer should indicate the rooms that require extra protection from pets or moisture as well as the rooms that require an authentic wood appearance.

Decision 7: do not forget to account for the maintenance when falling in love with a material’s aesthetics

Every floor finish requires some maintenance that can feel surprising or inconvenient when the owner finally moves furniture back to see the finished room. The easiest way to avoid falling in love with the aesthetics of a certain type of finish on paper is to consider if it is actually possible to care for in reality. For example, natural honed stone and large tiles require a lot more maintenance in terms of regular sealing and frequent cleaning but the benefits of beauty and easy removal of stains are undeniable. Grout is a separate consideration for most tiles but it is important to keep in mind that if a homeowner is not going to do that annual cleaning and sealing nobody else will do it either. On the other hand, contemporary prefinished luxury vinyl and engineered hardwood require minimal maintenance: occasional regular sweeping and occasional damp mopping. The same goes for the ability to maintain the finish of the floor. An everyday floor that is slightly lower quality but well-maintained will typically outperform a beautiful floor that is poorly maintained.

The small detail that makes it look put together: transitions

The second that any transition between materials appears to be out of place is the moment that a renovation stops looking put together and starts looking slapdash. From tile to hardwood, from LVP to area rug, the transitions between different materials are almost always the first detail to catch the eye when they are wrong. It is essential to consider transition strips, t-mouldings, reducers and other transitions before shopping and before finishing in order to create flush thresholds (which always look nice!) instead of leaving it to the last minute (when the wrong materials may have already been chosen).

Order real samples and see them in the light in which they will be seen

The lighting in the showroom is specially designed to make everything look better than it will at the client’s home. In other words, the natural daylight will never be as good as the fancy showcase lighting and the overhead fluorescent lights (which no one has at home). The LVP will always look richer, the tile’s gloss will always be shinier, the wood tones will always be warmer in the showroom. There is a reason why manufacturers design their showrooms that way: to convince you to purchase materials even though they may not look as nice at your house. To counter that, it is important to first identify what you want and bring plenty of brochures with you to the showroom. Then it is essential to demand full-size samples (not swatches!) to be sent to you and to look at them in the room where they will be used. If possible, try to do that in the morning and in the evening and under the lights that will be present in the room (especially if there are windows).

If the room has windows it is important to be extra careful since UV light damages wood finishes (even though it has been 30 years since manufacturers have been adding UV inhibitors to their materials). Sourcing through a full-service supplier makes that much easier as it allows comparing materials from different categories (such as LVP and hardwood) in one stop and seeing how they will look together in your house before having to order anything.

The final budget decision: room/zones, not whole house

The final decision is, in fact, the simplest one: instead of thinking about the whole house, think room by room or zone by zone (see the previous decision). Determine what areas need heavy investment based on traffic and the overall value that they bring to the house. Do not try to balance the whole house but rather invest more money in the areas that offer the most value. Think through the balance between aesthetics and function as well as the maintenance requirements. The most expensive upgrade that is destined to get scratched anyway will look beautiful if it is in a room with minimal function and high aesthetic value. It is possible to splurge on a wow factor as long as it is balanced with a sacrifice.

A budget dedicated to the best-performing permanent floors across the connecting zones will ensure maximum value in terms of long-term enjoyment as well as the investment in the home’s value. Area rugs and runners will extend that value further by taking the wear while presenting another wow factor across the high-traffic connecting areas of the home, especially the entryways.

With these decisions made, a homeowner can rest assured that the flooring is no longer a burden but an investment that makes the renovating process feel complete.