Blog - PRO! Flooring

Carpet, Flooring
July 22, 2015

The Importance Of Good Padding With New Carpet

Carpet padding isn’t an afterthought; in fact, it should be considered in the same manner as when you choose your carpets. After all, the padding is what sets the stage for how well your carpeting will perform over the years. Carpet padding should be soft enough for comfort, yet sturdy enough to support the traffic that crosses over it each day.

When purchasing and installing new carpet, start by checking the manufacturer’s specifications regarding pad thickness. If you choose one that is too thick or thin, it can cause the carpet to wrinkle, buckle, and wear before its time. And in some cases, choosing a padding that doesn’t meet the manufacturer’s specifications can null and void the warranty.

Although each manufacturer will provide its own specifications, for most residential carpets, the pad should be between ¼ to 7/16 inch thick and should have a density in the 8 to 8 pound per cubic foot range. A thinner loop cut pile carpet will require a more stable pad than a thicker, plusher carpet built for warmth.

Carpet padding comes in a variety of styles, including felt, urethane, rubber, as well as memory foam. While padding comes with its own performance ratings with some far outlasting others, your main focus should be on complimenting your carpet, not choosing solely for longevity. Some padding comes with a lifetime warranty and will extend your carpets life to the fullest, providing you maintain it according to guidelines.

Keep in mind that you should never lay a new carpet over an old pad. In most cases a pad has provided its useful life with the old carpeting, and because all carpets require different levels of support, its rare that your new carpet requires the same provision.

If you are laying new carpet in your home to combat health or allergy issues, also keep in mind that both padding and carpeting can come with green label certification. Look for both with low levels of volatile organic chemicals (VOCs) and choose the lowest possible.

Have additional questions about padding?

Flooring
July 18, 2015

How To Clean Summer’s Toughest Carpet Stains

It’s summer time. Which means the kids are out of school, the days are longer, vacation time is sprinkled throughout the weeks, and everyone is inside and outside more than ever.

With all that activity, accidents are bound to happen more frequently. A fudgesicle here. A spilled soda there. And before you know it your carpets are in their worst condition.

But no matter what ends up on your carpets, always remember the first rule of stain fighting: the faster you remove it, the better chance you have of removing it completely. There are a few tricks depending on the type of stain your family brings in: give these tips a try.

Blood – With kids running around barefoot, and more time spent playing and having fun, every once in a while someone will run into the house with a few cuts and bruises in place. When blood penetrates your carpet, start by scraping off dried blood. Then apply a cool detergent solution. Blot dry. Then apply a cool ammonia solution. Blot again and rinse. Always test your carpet for color fastness before tackling large stains. If the problem is large or in a prominent place, it may be time to call in a professional.

Candy – Scrape off dried candy and sugar from carpeting. Sponge detergent solution onto the fibers. Blot and rinse. Be sure to pick up all remnants of sugar, as sugar will cause carpet to rapidly re-soil.

Chocolate – Scrape off dried chocolate. Sponge on a detergent solution. Blot and rinse. It stain remains, blot with hydrogen peroxide. Then rinse and blot dry.

Grass – Apply a detergent solution. Blot and rinse. Apply vinegar solution. Blot and rinse.

Ice cream – Ice cream comes in all sorts of styles and can quickly puddle into the fibers if not cleaned up immediately. Start by blotting away as much as the ice cream as possible. Sponge on a vinegar solution. Blot and rinse. Sponge on a detergent solution. Blot and rinse. Depending on how big the area is, you may need professional carpet cleaning to get the entire area clean.

Mustard/Ketchup – Apply a vinegar solution and blot. Apply a detergent solution and blot. If stain remains, apply a hydrogen peroxide solution. Do not use ammonia or alkaline cleaners.

Soft Drinks – Blot away as much of the soda as you can. Then apply detergent solution, blot and rinse. If stain remains, use a hydrogen peroxide solution. Rinse.

Fruit Juices – Blot away the bulk of the fruit juice. Then apply detergent solution, blot and rinse. If stain remains, use a hydrogen peroxide solution. Rinse. Depending on the color of the fruit juice, it may require professional cleaning, especially if the area is large.

Accidents happen; that’s a part of summer life. But if you’re prepared for the inevitable and have solutions ready at hand, clean up will be an easy process. And you’ll save your carpets in the process.

Have any other carpet stains you’re dealing with? Let us know in the comments.

Flooring, Hardwood Flooring
July 16, 2015

How Much Wood Does It Take For Wood Flooring?

Are you one of the many homeowners who is trying to create a sustainable environment with the products you bring into your home? If wood is high on your list as a flooring choice, you’re on the right track. As long as you purchase wood floors through a manufacturer that uses sustainable practices, you’ll be doing your part for the environment.

Add in the fact that quality wood flooring can last years longer than other types of flooring, and you’ll quickly find hardwood floors leading the way as your top choice.

Have you ever thought about how much wood goes into creating hardwood floors throughout your home?

Let’s start with how much wood it takes to build your home from the ground up.

The typical home is around 2,400 square feet. To build a home of this size, it requires around 16,000 board feet of framing lumber, and around 14,000 square feet of other wood products, which would include plywood, particleboard, wood joists, hardboard, and so on.

A board foot is a standard measure of usable wood in a tree. A board foot would result in a piece of lumber one inch thick, one foot wide and one foot long.

That’s a lot of wood in the structure of your house! And while much of this wood is hidden behind the drywall and underneath your flooring, it takes a special kind of wood to wind up on your floors and become a part of your room’s décor for years on end.

The typical home will have around 1,200 square feet on the main level, with an additional 1,200 square feet on the upper level. How many trees would be needed? The answer may surprise you. To gain enough wood for one level of a home, you would need 12 trees, each one around 18 inches in diameter and at least 10 feet long to make enough boards to cover your area in hardwood flooring. For the entire house, double the amount of wood.

Of course if a tree is wider in diameter, the number would go down.

There is quite a process from forest to laying the wood in your home. From felled tree to floorboard, the process takes around four to five months for processing. Yet it’s definitely worth the wait!

Once you have them installed and see the beauty shine through, you’ll be more than happy you chose hardwoods as your flooring of choice.

Flooring, Hardwood Flooring
July 11, 2015

Here’s What You Didn’t Know About Cork Flooring

If you’ve been doing any research on flooring choices, chances are you’ve come across an article or two on the benefits of cork flooring. Cork flooring is a good choice for every room in your home because of its soft features, its sustainability factor … and it looks great.

But as much as you may already know about cork flooring, there are probably a few things you didn’t know that can help you make choosing cork flooring a little easier.

Cork flooring is made from the bark of a Cork Oak Tree. Taking the bark doesn’t kill the tree, the tree simply regrows the bark again and again. Because a Cork Oak Tree can live as long as 500 years, this makes cork flooring a renewable and sustainable flooring choice that’s good for a variety of reasons.

The Cork Oak Tree can be found throughout the Mediterranean region of Europe and in Northern Africa. As cork is harvested from the tree, it is ground, processed into sheets, and baked in a kiln to create the final product.

The final cork sheets are created from the cork itself, and from air. The air pockets within the flooring make it impact resistant, soft to walk and stand on, and help insulate against both heat and cold. Because it’s warm to the touch, you never have to worry about hopping out of bed and landing on cold tiles again.

Cork flooring has a longevity factor that can match other popular flooring choices such as woods and tiles. Cork can easily last 25 years and more with the proper care. It’s a durable choice that requires little maintenance and clean up.

Because each cork flooring sheet is made from a natural product, no two sheets will ever be the same. This provides you with a unique, one of a kind choice that will add to the overall beauty of your home.

Cork flooring is a great choice to keep your home healthy and clean. Cork is hypoallergenic, resists mold, mildew and bacteria.

Think cork flooring may be the right choice for your home? Start by seeing your options. We can show you the many styles and colors available, and answer all of your questions before you make your final decision.

Flooring
July 7, 2015

How To Keep Marble Floors Looking Their Best

Marble flooring can add elegance to any room in your home. But if you choose to install marble floors, how do you keep them clean and looking their best for years to come?

Marble is softer than other stones such as granite or travertine. Because it is less dense, it will more easily absorb liquids and can stain quickly. When you first have your marble flooring installed, be sure to apply a sealer to create an impenetrable shell that will keep the surface shiny and looking good. With this shell in place, you have some time to work with spills and stains before they permanently set in. Also keep in mind that depending on the wear and tear of your room, you may need to reapply sealer on a regular basis. Be sure to speak with your flooring consultant as you have your marble floors installed for guidelines.

Once installed, upkeep is easy.

Polish Regularly – Marble floors have a shiny look unique in every way. The only way to keep that look is to polish regularly. Polishing your marble flooring will bring out the color of the stone. Get on a regular schedule, depending on the traffic to your room, and keep your floors looking shiny and new for years to come.

Clean Spills Immediately – Marble stains easily, and therefore should have any spills wiped up and cleaned as soon as possible. Marble can be sensitive to acidic substances like wine, coffee, fruit juices, tomato sauce, soda, and cleaning products. If spills are not cleaned in a timely manner, you will begin to see the surface dull.

Use a Soft Cloth For Cleaning – Leave harsh abrasives and cloths for other jobs; marble should always be cleaned with gentle cleaning products and soft cloths. Use hot water and a formulated stone cleaner for best results.

Watch What You Place On Floor – Treat your marble floors like they are fine pieces of furniture. Avoid placing bottles or cans containing acidic beverages on the floor without a coaster for protection. Likewise, avoid potted plants with rough bases. Not only can these items leak onto the floor, but they can also scratch the surface when moved.

Dust and Mop Regularly – Use a clean, dry, non-treated mop to clean on a regular basis. Be careful about using vacuums as dirt can accumulate on the wheels and scratch the surface. Also avoid harsh chemicals in the cleaning products as they can wear through the sealer and cause damage quickly.

Use Rugs and Mats – If your marble floor extends to outside doors, place mats or rugs near entryways to protect the flooring from damage. Grit and sand on the bottom of shoes can quickly turn into a problem as people walk across your flooring; a mat can encourage people to wipe their feet, and encourage them to take off their shoes before they enter.

Flooring, Vinyl Floors
July 4, 2015

Dealing With Seams and Your Vinyl Floor

Depending on the size of your room, chances are you’ll have a seam somewhere in your room after you install your new vinyl floors. When seams are handled in the proper way, you’ll have a floor that looks great and lasts a long time without any problems. Yet if you’ve ever had vinyl floors where the seam begins to pull back and fray, you know the problems that can quickly arise if not handled correctly.

Like any flooring, there is a proper way to install and maintain your new vinyl flooring for the longest life possible.

How wide is vinyl flooring?

The standard width of a roll of vinyl flooring is 12 feet. It comes on a roll, so there is no set length. If your room is wider than 12 feet, the room will be pieced together to create one seamless look.

How do you conceal vinyl flooring upon installation?

When vinyl flooring is laid, the best way to conceal seams is by treating them with a seam coater. This creates a virtually seamless floor and prevents the seams from opening through wear.

Where should the vinyl seems be in a room?

When it comes to piecing together vinyl flooring, there is no right or wrong answer. In most cases the seam will lie in a spot agreed upon between the installer and the homeowner. Try to seam the pieces of the vinyl flooring in a low traffic area. It should never lie where furniture will be moved across it continuously, such as under a kitchen table.

Do I need extra vinyl if it requires piecing together?

It depends on the pattern of your flooring. In order to match patterns at the seams, it may require an additional amount of vinyl flooring at the time of purchase. Talk with your flooring consultant to make sure you have enough for finishing.

Do vinyl flooring seams require extra maintenance?

In most cases, no. Vinyl is a low maintenance flooring, that requires regular sweeping, vacuuming, and a damp mop to remove stains and spills. However, you may find over time the edges of the seam coming loose. If you have an open seam, don’t procrastinate. Repair it quickly to maintain the look of your vinyl flooring longer. You can do so by using a seam sealing kit, apply adhesive to the edge of the seam, and press it back into place. Remember, the faster you fix the problem, the less likely it will have of escalating into a larger problem overall.

About Pro Flooring Brokers

We are a one stop shop for all of your flooring and installation needs. Located in Denver, CO, we have been family owned and operated for over 30 years! Our passion is your project.

Have a Flooring Project in the Denver Area?

Commercial and residential customers love our huge selection of carpet, hardwood, porcelain tile, natural stone, luxury vinyl tile/planks, laminate flooring, and sheet vinyl flooring. Check out our products to learn more. Visit our showroom, meet our team, and let’s start your flooring project together. We offer:

Complimentary on-site measuring
Flooring estimates based on floor plans or blueprints
Installations performed by trained and qualified installers
Full one-year guarantee on all workmanship (in addition to manufacturer’s warranty)

Flooring and installation are made easy with the PRO! Flooring Brokers. Contact us, visit our showroom, or call today at 303.788.0113. We look forward to helping you.

Flooring
July 1, 2015

Tips For Choosing Commercial Flooring With Style

When choosing commercial flooring, you can create a fun and inspirational space for both employees and customers, while blending in practicality for easy maintenance and long wear. Choosing the right commercial flooring depends on a variety of things, including your budget, foot traffic, tastes, care and maintenance requirements.

A medical office will have different needs than a CPA; a retail store will have different requirements than a CEO in a penthouse suite. The most important place to start is by considering how much wear and tear your floors will get every day, then choose from there. With so many styles and options available, there is a perfect choice for every situation.

Carpet or Carpet Tile

Do you need commercial flooring that will provide noise and sound insulation, with an overall softness to walk on? Do you want warm ambiance throughout? Carpeting may be the perfect choice. Carpet or carpet tile is the perfect choice for keeping a low profile and allowing sound to not carry throughout large, open spaces. It’s the perfect choice for hotel meeting rooms, offices and more. Remember that carpet can get stained and may require more maintenance over time. Installing carpet tiles give you flexibility to change out individual tiles on an as needed basis.

Vinyl or Vinyl Tile

Vinyl flooring is durable, resilient, low maintenance, and always at the top of the list when it comes to creating good looking floors. Vinyl flooring offers long lasting performance, making it the perfect choice for high traffic locations, such as hospitals, retail stores, or large open spaces in offices or buildings. When properly installed by professionals, vinyl flooring is resilient and will withstand high levels of wear and tear, dents and scratches. And with vinyl tiles, you can create unique looks that help you create the perfect atmosphere for your business.

Wood Floor

Wood floors provide a timeless, classic look with great aesthetic appeal. Wood floors never go out of style. And with today’s options, you can have any look you desire, from country charm, to elegant sophistication. Keep in mind foot traffic when making final selections. There are many options for installing wood, including hardwood, laminate and engineered. Talk with a flooring consultant to help you choose the right flooring option for your needs.

Flooring
June 27, 2015

Can I Lay New Flooring Over Self Stick Tiles

“We moved into a home where the previous owners laid down self stick tiles in the kitchen and bathroom. I hate them and want to remove them and install something else. Is it difficult to remove self stick tiles? Can we lay other flooring materials over the top? What’s the best way to get rid of this ugly look?”

That’s the thing about buying a new-to-you house. You get a great house with unlimited potential … as long as you’re willing to put in a little work here and there. And when you hate the flooring in certain rooms in your home, its an easy fix to make.

Self stick tiles are often installed because they are easy to do. As a DIYer, its easy to make a quick change anywhere by laying them end to end across the floor. Yet if they aren’t well taken care of, they can begin to show wear and tear almost immediately. Not a look you want your kitchen or bathroom to have.

When self stick tiles are laid into place, the bonding agent on the back adheres to the floor. If they were laid directly on the subfloor, the sticky residue will reside on the subfloor. The only way to remove it is with a little work. For a large tile area, you can rent a stripper machine that uses a steel blade to shear the tile from the floor. For smaller areas, a long handled floor scraper comes in handy to lift the tile away from the floor. And when you get into the really tough spots where tiles won’t come up, nothing works better than a heat gun and a putty knife to pry it off the floor.

Yes, removing tiles takes work. Which usually leads to people asking the next most popular question we hear … can you lay new flooring over old self stick tiles? While you can find many sites online that will tell you how to do it, keep one thing in mind.

What is the current condition of your flooring? If you have peeling edges, a floor that is coming up or bubbling in certain areas, remember this will be the base for whatever new flooring you choose to lay into place. If you pull off the old layers and bring it down to the subfloor, you can create a subfloor in perfect condition for the new flooring you lay. If you lay over currently laid self stick tiles, you’ll be dealing with existing problems that may either be visible or not to the eye. Self stick floors may be peeling and in disrepair because of years of use … or it may be from problems with the subfloor. Without taking it down to the subfloor, you won’t know.

Is removing self stick tiles extra work? Yes. But to give your new flooring the longevity it deserves, and the peace of mind you’ll have from knowing it’s installed correctly the first time, it’s worth the effort.

Flooring, Hardwood Flooring
June 24, 2015

How To Choose Hardwood Floor Width

For many homeowners across Colorado, deciding on installing hardwood flooring into your home is the easy part. The difficult decisions come in when you realize there are many more decisions from that point forward, such as color, type of hardwood, and width.

Classic hardwood adds an upscale look to any home. And because hardwood is durable, it can be a welcome addition for many years to come. Yet when you’re deciding on what hardwood flooring choice to install, choosing a suitable board width can be one of your major hurdles.

Plank width will convey a different message in different rooms. It will change the look and feel of your room, depending on the room size, and will set different moods depending on the color. A dark, wide wood plank, for instance, will create a very country, natural feel, while parquet flooring can add a touch of elegance to any home.

Strip

For most homeowners, when they think of wood flooring, they think of long natural strips of wood to cover their rooms from end to end. A typical board width used in strip flooring is less than 3 inches in width. You’ll often find strip wood floors in older homes because they used the wood that was readily available to them. Narrow floor boards create a contemporary, linear effect that can open up any room. The elongated appearance can also make a smaller room appear larger. By keeping the boards uniform, all in a lighter color, you can accentuate a modern feel throughout your home.

Plank

Plank wood flooring is a popular choice because of the variety and styles available to compliment your tastes and décor. Plank wood flooring typically is 3 to 8 inches in width. The broader the width, the more rustic in appearance. When dealing with plank wood, originality is only limited by the imagination. You can find wooden planks that keep their original look and feel with knot holes and original grain characteristics, all interwoven into the planks through hand scraping. The weathered appearance can bring out rustic, country, or even a modern look, depending on how you combine it with décor inside your home. Wide planks will make large, open rooms feel more cozy and warm; avoid large planks in small, dark rooms as it will make the look even smaller.

Parquet

Parquet wood floors will add a touch of elegance throughout. Flooring blocks are often created in one to two foot blocks using assorted strips of wood in various lengths and widths. Parquet flooring creates a variety of geometric design options, such as standard, herringbone, block or baroque styles. Parquet comes in solid wood construction, as well as partial wood, depending on your budget choices.

As you narrow down your choices, be sure to see your final selections in your room. Bring home samples to see how the coloring meshes with your décor, how the size looks against your walls. And if you need advice, just ask. We’ve been helping families like yours make flooring choices for years, and are happy to guide you to make the right choice for your home.

Flooring
June 19, 2015

What Flooring Do I Choose To Warm A Cold House?

Do you have a room in your house that never seems to be warm? Do you have a room or a basement with a concrete slab for a floor? When the temperatures dip well below freezing, the ground gets cold, which transfers coldness to the concrete slab. Without the right flooring choice in place, that coldness continues to seep into your room, making the entire environment chilly at best.

Concrete floors are a rather common problem here across the Front Range, and there are several approaches you can take to warm them up.

In some cases, your best choice may be to insulate the concrete slab before a flooring is installed. Depending on your budget, you can install panels of foam insulation along the perimeter of the slab. This will help protect the concrete from the elements, preventing the cold from seeping into your room.

A second choice is to install radiant heat. Radiant heat coils can be added under flooring choices like hardwood and tile, then used on cold mornings to heat the area before you use it. It will not only heat the flooring and make it more comfortable to walk on, it can also make your room more energy efficient by not requiring the furnace to run as hard.

Finally, you can also choose a thick, plush carpet and high quality pad to help insulate the concrete and protect your room from the cold. Remember, padding is equally important to the overall comfort and quality of the carpet. Talk with a flooring consultant about your needs, and have them point you to a carpet choice with insulating qualities, one that will add protection during winter evenings.