Flooring to help warm your home.
Winter and Christmas are merely a snowballs throw away, there isn’t a better time to ensure that you home is prepared for the cold spell that’s coming. It may surprise you to hear just how important flooring is in keeping your home warm, but it’s one of the most important factors. Our guide is going to take you through not only the best types of flooring, but also the best colours, and how different styles can affect the warmth of your home.
The right colour is one of the most important decisions you have to make, the right aesthetic can provide the right feel in your home. Darker colours give off the impression of heat, and create an impression in our mind of actual warmth that translates to our body. Walnut flooring is one of the darkest options on the market, you can get darker oaks as well. There are a wide range of cheaper walnut colours, with the cheapest being part of the laminate range.
Another ideal option is engineered wood flooring, with one of the key benefits being it has the ability to have underfloor heating fitted underneath. We wouldn’t advise you fitting underfloor heating under solid wood as it has a tendency to expand and contract under high levels of heat. Engineered is built using a number of layers, with the main layers made of a number of layers of ply held together, with only the top level actual wood, thus meaning it won’t expand. You can also of course add insulation underneath to ensure that the heat doesn’t escape, and the cold doesn’t enter.
We would always advise before you fit wood flooring that you allow it to adapt to its surroundings. It’s important to conduct proper research before you make your flooring choice as different types fit different rooms. Wood flooring is best kept away from areas of high moisture, and areas that are exposed to water such as bathrooms and kitchens. They are excellent under heavy footfall however, and are ideal for living rooms and bedrooms. Vinyl tiles are an excellent alternative to hardwood, and are far better in high moisture areas.
There are extra measures that you can put in place around the house as well, with draft excluders being an excellent way of preventing drafts and chills from entering rooms. You can make your own simply using long cushions, or items of clothing, both are equally as effective. Any material that can wedge a gap will do the trick.
It is also important to ensure that windows are shut properly, and any cracks are filled. You can if you wish invest in thick curtains or double glazed windows, but those are for the slightly wider budgets.
We hope our guide has helped you to, not only pick the right flooring, but to also ensure that your home is kept warm this winter!
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