bathroom flooring Archives - Inspired Remodels

Orange County Flooring Contactor Sheds Light On Common DIY Flooring Mistakes

By Inspired Remodels / Home Improvement / No Comments

Are you thinking about installing new flooring in your home? It’s tempting to take the DIY route to save a few bucks. But before you dive in, consider this: DIY flooring projects often end up costing more in the long run. Why? Because without the proper know-how, you’re bound to make easily avoidable mistakes. Ask any seasoned Orange County flooring contractor about common DIY mistakes. You will hear about these common mistakes.

Not Understanding the Importance of Preparation

DIYers often underestimate the importance of preparation. Skipping crucial steps like proper subfloor preparation or moisture testing leads to flooring disasters. Without a level surface or proper moisture protection, failure waits in the wings. The flooring fails sooner rather than later.

For example, that fabulous wood flooring that’s all the rage now requires acclimation. Whether installed by a DIY’er or a pro, wood flooring material needs time to acclimate to the environment before installation. Pros know how to open and stack flooring planks and understand how long the acclimation process takes.

Many DIY enthusiasts overlook this critical step. Their floors warp or buckle over time and only then do they call in a pro.

Orange County flooring contractor uses wood-look tile to create spa feeling with white marble walls and white soaking tub

Wood-look tile offers a waterproof alternative to wood in the bathroom

Picking the Wrong Flooring

Selecting the right flooring material for your space is crucial for both aesthetics and functionality. However, many DIYers make the mistake of choosing based solely on appearance, without considering factors like durability, maintenance requirements, or suitability for the room’s purpose. They end up with great flooring in the wrong room or the wrong house. Environment and lifestyle matter.

When you work with an Orange County flooring contractor, they serve as advisors as well as installers. These pros won’t put wood floors in the bathroom, they’ll advise you to pick wood-look porcelain or ceramic.

Pros know what flooring stands up to high foot traffic from people and pets. DIYers lack this expertise.

Flooring contractor after picture: Hardwood flooring on stairs and landing

Stair flooring is not a DIY project

Poor Measuring and Installing Tools

Every flooring pro knows the maxim “Measure twice, cut once”. Unfortunately, many DIYers fail to heed this advice. This equals wasted materials, material shortages, and a patchy appearance to the final product.

Even a small measurement error can result in gaps, uneven seams, or misaligned tiles or planks. Even if they measure correctly, DIYers often lack the skills, precision, and attention to detail required for proper installation. Complex techniques like pattern matching, seam sealing, or proper adhesive application require practice.

Poorly measured and installed flooring looks amateurish and fails to stand up to wear and tear.

after bathroom remodel flooring contractor shows grey and white pattern tile flooring and blue vanity

This tile pattern is no problem for an Orange County flooring contractor

Go With a Seasoned Orange County Flooring Contractor

Sure, the allure of DIY seems appealing. But, tackling a flooring project without the necessary expertise leads to costly and unattractive mistakes. From improper preparation and measurement errors to poor installation techniques and material selection, the risks far outweigh the potential savings.

Avoid these risks. Work with a professional Orange County flooring contractor like Inspired Remodeling. These pros bring the knowledge, skills, and tools to get the job done right the first time.

Flooring Contractor Dishes on Top 3 2024 Flooring Trends

By Inspired Remodels / Home Improvement / Comments Off

Whether you plan to renovate an entire room or just update the flooring this year, you’ll want to select something trending. Inspired Remodels, an Orange County flooring contractor, shares the top 3 trends for Orange County flooring

Hardwood Still Hot

Nothing can be finer than to be with Carolina hardwood in the morning. Well, that’s not exactly how the song goes, but the sentiment remains strong.

Nothing is finer than hardwood flooring in the morning, as well as mid-day and night. And the wider the plank, the better.

Ask any Orange County flooring contractor and they will tell you hardwood flooring tops the list for durability and beauty.

These days, hardwood flooring adorns kitchen floors too! Advances in floor finishing create hardwood floors that stand up to the rigors of kitchen life.

In almost any room except the bathroom or laundry room, hardwood reigns supreme, and wood-look porcelain tile serves as its queen.

Warm Tones Heating Up

Using warm tones heats up in 2024. Cool tones still make an appearance, but now they are used in cabinets and countertops.

Look no further than the floor to find a little warmth.

Warm tones found in tile, stone, and wood make their mark on 2024 designs. They set a table where even little pops of color stand out.

Whether it’s the floor of the bathroom shower or the kitchen or entryway floor, you’ll find warm tones abound.

Neutral Tones for the Bathroom

Move over greige, taupe takes the lead. While grey and warm tones continue as the base of popular palettes, taupe takes the market head-on.

Any flooring contractor in the know understands taupe brings a super-power few other colors possess. Its chameleon-like characteristics allow it to transform color based on the colors around it.

Put taupe tiles near off-white or gray cabinets and they appear gray. However, take the same taupe tile and place it near oak or other light wood cabinets (Shaker of course), and voila, you have a brown or beige-looking tile.

Ask the Orange County Flooring Contractor

Got questions about Orange County flooring trends? Ask the experts at Inspired Remodels. Whether it’s one room or the entire house, Inspired Remodels stays on top of Orange County flooring trends as well as design trends in general.

Orange County Flooring Contractor Explains the Differences in Wood Flooring

Nothing beats the warmth and richness of a wood floor. But wood flooring doesn’t fit every room and it certainly doesn’t fit every budget. If you need to buy new flooring and like the look of wood, Inspired Remodels wants you to understand the options you have for wood flooring. That’s why this Orange County flooring contractor put together this guide to the options for wood flooring.

Hardwood Flooring

Hardwood flooring made from natural hardwood is the first flooring that comes to mind when most people think of hardwood flooring. It offers durability and can be refinished. It is the most expensive but offers the longest wear.

What is it?

Hardwood flooring consists of planks of wood that may come finished or unfinished. The wood comes from slow growing trees that create dense wood fibers. Generally, oak, maple, or hickory trees grow the flooring, which is then finished to emulate any other wood.

How is it available?

Hardwood flooring comes in planks of various widths. Strip planks run 2” to 3” wide while wide planks begin at about 5” in width. Generally, use smaller planks in smaller rooms and wider planks in larger rooms.

How is it installed?

Because wood absorbs moisture, always acclimate the product in the room in which it will be installed for several days.

Then the flooring goes down on the appropriate subfloor and is attached with glue or nails.

Where to use it?

Use hardwood flooring above grade in any room that doesn’t use water. Water ruins hardwood flooring so don’t put it in bathrooms and think twice about installing it in kitchens.

Bamboo Flooring

Bamboo flooring is harvested from fast-growing bamboo plants. The bamboo plant belongs to the grass family and is not really a tree. But bamboo ranks higher on the Janka Hardness Scale than many hardwoods like oak.

How is it available

Like hardwood flooring, bamboo flooring comes in planks. The planks run generally anywhere from 3” to 8” wide. Like hardwood flooring, the planks come in different lengths. Bamboo options include solid bamboo or strand woven bamboo.

How is it installed

Like hardwood, bamboo flooring must be acclimated before installation. Depending on the construction of the planks, they may be nailed down or glued down. Because bamboo is so hard, special nail guns must be used to nail the planks in place.

Where to use it

Install bamboo above grade in dry areas. Like hardwood, you won’t want to install bamboo in rooms with water. Also, because you can’t finish bamboo as many times as solid hardwood planks, you don’t want to put bamboo in high-traffic entryways or hallways.

Laminated/Engineered Wood Flooring

Laminate wood flooring is still wood flooring, it just isn’t solid wood flooring. This option is great for rooms below grade where solid wood can’t be installed. You’ll find laminate also referred to as engineered wood flooring. A layer of solid wood is laminated to a layer of plywood. It is much more economical than bamboo or solid hardwood flooring.

How is it available

Engineered flooring comes in planks of various widths and lengths. Because it is used in place of solid hardwood, it follows hardwood flooring trends in plank width and finishes.

How is it installed

A click-lock system allows engineered and laminated wood flooring to float over padding. You can install engineered wood over cement. There’s no need to glue or nail the planks in place. This reduces the labor required for installation too.

Where to use it

Laminated and engineered flooring goes in any room you want. Water isn’t a problem when the planks are properly installed. Put this flooring below grade without worry. Check with the flooring manufacturer before installing over radiant-heated floors.

Wood Look Porcelain Flooring

Everyone loves the spa feel of wood in a bathroom. But water and wood just don’t go together. Enter porcelain tile created to emulate wood. This tile is often indistinguishable from wood flooring by look alone. As you can see, this Orange County flooring contractor creates spa experiences without wood.

How is it available

Wood-look porcelain flooring is available in tile lengths that emulate wood planks. You’ll find the plank widths in the most common hardwood plank sizes as well. So as hardwood plank trends come and go, wood look porcelain flooring trends go with them.

How is it installed

This flooring installs differently from wood because it isn’t wood at all. The tiles are first secured to the backer board with mortar. They may be spaced apart or butted together. Any gaps between tiles are filled with grout.

Where to use it

You can literally use wood look porcelain tile in any room in your house. However, keep in mind that because it is tile, it will be harder underfoot than other wood flooring options.

Orange County Flooring Contactor for Any Flooring

Inspired Remodels is the Orange County flooring contractor to whom you can turn for any type of flooring. Wood, tile, stone, and even carpet flooring options are available.

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