The floor plays a significant role in the décor of a house. A damaged floor can make the house unsightly and seem neglected. It would be pointless to renovate the rest of the house and leave the flooring unattended.
However, renovating flooring can be expensive which may be prohibitive to some and you may be wondering what to do.
But don’t worry, because here at Garden Power Tools we have 5 top tips that you can use to renovate your flooring on a budget.
Choose lower cost flooring materials
Flooring materials are of different types and their costs can differ significantly. They include hardwood, carpet, concrete, flooring tiles, laminate, cork and vinyl.
For instance, hardwood and ceramic tiles can cost more since they require that you purchase the materials and incur installation costs. On the other hand, it is cheaper to buy vinyl, cork and laminate materials and the installation cost is low or you can DIY.
But, before you choose the materials to renovate your floor, ensure that it can be used on the floor you are renovating…
If your floor is tiled, then it is advisable to refurbish using tiles. You can also install tiles on a wooden floor. For example, if you have an engineered wood floor, you can remove the boards, screw ply board to the floor and then tile.
Top Tip: Vinyl tiles provide a cheaper flooring alternative.
Do it yourself
Much of the cost of flooring is incurred in labour. You can reduce the amount if you do it yourself. Just 
make sure you know the flooring process.
For instance, to refurbish your not-so-damaged wooden floor, you can seal the gaps and scratches and then varnish.
Whenever attempting anything new yourself always try out the process in the corner of the room or an area which will be covered so if it goes wrong it is not as noticeable. Over time and with practice you will become better at the process and more efficient.
Don’t remove the old flooring
Removing the old flooring is expensive and time-consuming. If you are on a budget and want to renovate with reduce costs, you can skip tearing out the old floor and install the new flooring on top of the old one. Although it is not a recommended method, it saves time and money.
For example, instead of removing the old tiles, just install the new tiles on top of the old ones.
It might not last as long, but if the odd tile or two needs a little fix and you did it yourself you will know exactly how to fix it and save yourself a lot of money in the process.
Do proper installation or use professionals
Although you are on a budget, you still want that high-end look on your floor. So make sure you install the floor properly so it does not appear cheap.
For a first class DIY finish, ensure you have all the proper tools and you do the necessary underlayment. Check out this post on how to install underlayment for hardwood floors.
You can DIY laminate flooring and luxury vinyl tiles since they just need to be snapped and locked together and are suitable for most sub-floor types.
For floors using ceramic tiles or hardwood, you should consider using the services of professionals to install them since they need more labour, expertise and specialist tools.
Pick your battles…
The key to DIY is knowing when and when not to attempt a job yourself. Do your research first online to see if there are guides already out there. Often, people will have created YouTube videos so you can see what they are doing and how they’re doing it.
You can then judge for yourself if you think it’s possible. Another alternative is to do the prep work yourself and call in the pros for the finishing touches. That saves you money on the labour but still leaves a good finish to your floor.
Consider the suitability of the flooring
Hardwood is not suitable for bathrooms or other areas that have high humidity since it may get damaged. Sheet vinyl is not suitable for areas that it can catch fire such as in the kitchen due to the harmful chemical released when burnt.
Luxury vinyl tiles, luxury vinyl planks, and ceramic tiles can be used in any room.
Therefore, when you are renovating on a budget, ensure you use suitable flooring materials for a given room.
In Summary
There are plenty of options available to you if you want to renovate your flooring on a budget, but you have to be careful to select the right option for you and your situation.
A good amount of research should be carried out online before attempting to start any work. Look for examples of what you want to achieve, find the materials needed, get a quote from a professional and then see how much you think you could save by doing it yourself.
