Are you thinking of refurbishing your floor? Well, no doubt you’d like an excuse to save some money in the process. A place where you can save a chunk of money is in the labour. Read our guide to see if you need to hire a professional to put down your floor.
LVT flooring
One very durable, very affordable, and very stylish option is LVT flooring. It is an affordable option against all the rest, with added benefits like the fact that it is waterproof and comes in a variety of styles. Because it is vinyl, rather than wood, it can be adapted to look like stone, marble, patterned tiles, and more.
And to add to this affordability is the fact that it comes in click-in-place options that allow you to install the entire floor yourself without too much bother. Because they’re so durable you’re in for less of a chance of damaging your vinyl tiles and installing them takes little more than some prep and a love of jigsaws.
Conclusion: you can handle this.
Solid wood flooring
Solid wood flooring is very temperamental. It will last for years and raise the value of your house, but it doesn’t like water, it doesn’t like humidity, and it doesn’t like not having the space to breathe.
When installing your solid wood flooring, you will need to inspect the site conditions, including testing the air humidity with a hygrometer, plus the moisture and level of the sub-floors. After that you will need to acclimatize your solid wood floor to balance moisture levels and ensure that your floor doesn’t expand or shrink too much, causing warping on the floor.
Even after all that, the process doesn’t offer a click in place option and you will have to allow for expansion as you lay your tiles and the process will be different depending on what you are laying your tiles on.
Conclusion: Yes, hire a pro.
Laminate flooring
Laminate flooring is more durable than solid wood, and a lot more affordable, without the authentic look of solid wood flooring. However, this means that it does, in fact, have click-in-place options.
However, laminate flooring also doesn’t like water, which will cause it to bubble up. So, again, you will need to check the humidity and moisture of the subfloors. Other than that, it’s a similar process as LVT laying: lay your underlay, align your floorboard, click in place, done.
Conclusion: We defer to your good judgement there. Can you handle it?
Engineered flooring
Engineered flooring is a middle ground between laminate and solid wood flooring, where some of the practical benefits are added to a more authentic finish. However, they come in a range of practical styles. You might get outright floorboards that are more extensive to lay, or the click-in-place tiles that you can lay yourself.
Plus, it’s worth mentioning that engineered flooring is suitable for underfloor heating – as is LVT – where solid and laminate flooring isn’t. If you like the idea of tiptoeing across a warm floor you might want to consider hiring a professional.
Conclusion: it depends.