The entrance floor material requires a decision when you are constructing or remodeling a house. It might appear to be a no-brainer to proceed with wipe-down tile, however there are excellent reasons to select hardwoodfloors Comfort, visual appeal, integrated decor and market are compelling arguments to stay with switch or — to — wood. A well-maintained hardwood floor increases the value of your property.
Slide-‘n-Slide
You are one step away from the weather inside the entrance; rainy, snowy and otherwise less-than-balmy days will all impact the floor — and whomever walks on it. Tile can be quite slippery when wet, and it’s not very forgiving when you slip either. Wood is more textured, gives shoes and feet better friction, and wood is friendlier. It’s smart to use walk-off mats at the entrance, regardless of what the surface, to eliminate the majority of the grit and dirt on shoes before it can scrape and scrape the floor. In moist weather, an indoor mat or rug collects more moisture and, if it’s secured, offers safer footing. Absorbent mats are essential for hardwood floors which get wet, although rubber backings stop the floor from “breathing” and so are not suggested. However, dry or moist, wood is not as slippery than tile, so it’s a practical choice for more stable footing.
Keeping the Flow
Many homes are floored completely in hardwood planks; the rooms, halls and staircases are hardwood and, in most cases, it all fits. An entry may open into the living room, a hallway to the remainder of the house, and the staircase to your second floor. Keeping the same flooring is logical. Hardwood on the entrance flooring flows smoothly into the rest of the decor. However, the entrance traffic, and dirt tracked in from outside, can be rough on any floor. So avoid softer woods such as bamboo or pine for flooring that can see heavy usage. Harder forests — pine, maple, hickory, cedar and cedar — minimize dings from sharp dropped items, scratches and scrapes from shoes, wheeled cases and umbrellas, plus general wear from continuous use. Deliberately distressed forests such as wire-brushed or hand-scraped finishes hide daily wear as they add a decorative element for your flooring.
Fixing the Buffer Zone
A home’s entrance is a barrier space, a portal site which funnels traffic in the rough-and-tumble world into the serene retreat of a house. Even if a transition to tranquility seems like an perfect your rambunctious crowd won’t ever attain, the entrance is a buffer which gets its share of abuse, and it’ll require routine maintenance and occasional repairs. If you design your entrance with fabulous tile, at a hand-painted Moroccan, Moorish mosaic or irregular terra-cotta pattern, replacing a cracked or chipped tile might be cluttered, expensive or difficult to match. Hardwood planks can be sanded and solved fairly easily; a single board can be replaced if the damage to it is irreparable. Wood is also easier to pull and replace entirely if you are prone to dramatically switching decor or changing the layout of the entrance and adjoining spaces.
Warm and Welcoming
Grout gets grungy and can develop mold or just become badly discolored by continuous dirt and moisture. The plan and hues of clay or ceramic tile have wrapped and degraded as the glaze or finish wears off. So, the tile floor in the entrance doesn’t “wear” magnificently over time. It will call for frequent resealing, cleaning and re-grouting. In an old house which will settle or flex at floor joints, tile can crack, as it can if a heavy object is dropped on it. Tile floors are tough, inflexible and cold. Wood is more forgiving and wears its age well. It’s easier on your legs and rear, absorbs sound rather than bouncing it around like ceramic, and is a lot warmer, even without an area rug or a hallway runner.