In this video, This Old House general contractor Tom Silva and host Kevin O'Connor discuss the wide world of flooring products.
Flooring options
- Traditional oak-strip flooring is nailed to subfloor, and requires sanding and finishing.
- Prefinished hardwood can be glued or nailed down, and walked on immediately after installation.
- Engineered-wood floating floors come pre-finished; the long planks snap together and aren't fastened down to the subfloor.
- Plastic-laminate planks comes in a wide variety of realistic wood-grain and ceramic-tile patterns. Laminate flooring is durable, but it can't be refinished.
- Floor tiles come in ceramic, porcelain and natural stone.
- Vinyl resilient flooring is available in tiles, strips and sheets.
- Linoleum is made of natural materials and comes pre-sealed to eliminate waxing.