Low Maintenance Flooring Options for Your Home

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Low Maintenance Flooring

All of us want to come home to a clean home. Dust-free furniture, fresh-smelling home, and sparkling floors are just some of the most wonderful things any homeowner would love to come home to.

However, sometimes, no matter how much we love having a clean home, not all of us have the time to scrub our floors clean every single day. But that doesn’t mean that we are left with no other choice but to leave our floors dirty.

The solution? Low maintenance floors.

Flooring materials that require low maintenance are a godsend to many exhausted homeowners who want to keep their homes clean but simply don’t have the energy to do so.

Here are some of the flooring materials that are quite easy to maintain:

Ceramic tile – Ceramic tiles are durable and are easy to maintain. On top of that, they are resistant to water and stain. Any spill on ceramic tiles can easily be wiped clean with a regular rag. Dust can be removed from ceramic tiles by sweeping.

Natural stone – Natural stone flooring don’t just look spectacular, they are also incredibly hard-wearing and strong. And the best part? They are very easy to maintain. Just like ceramic tiles, they are resistant to water and stain. Natural stone floors have high resistance against scratches, too. Light mopping would be more than enough to clean natural stone flooring.

Concrete – Concrete is very strong, long -lasting, and easy to clean. Just a little bit of dusting and occasional mopping will be able to remove any dirt from concrete floors. While some might regard concrete as a boring material for floors, that’s actually not true. You can add beautiful, customized patterns to concrete floors through stamping.

Laminate flooring – Laminate flooring looks like hardwood, but can even be better than genuine wood in terms of ease of maintenance. Hardwood may be easy to clean, but are vulnerable against scratches and can be damaged by water. Laminate flooring can be cleaned by a regular mop, is water resistant, and is scratch proof. Also, it is significantly cheaper than hardwood flooring. If you’re looking for energy saving tips for your home please check out our energy saving blog.

Energy-Saving Home Renovations

Sherry My Blog
Energy-Saving Home Renovations

Many homeowners go through with a home improvement project with one goal in mind: make my home look more beautiful.

There really is nothing wrong with that, especially if it’s been a while since you have updated your home design. But, while you’re at it, you might want to take advantage of making your home an energy-saving one. Besides Saving energy and money, you may even apply for some rebates from BC Hydro and other companies like Fortis BC.

Nowadays when people are continuously looking for new ways to save energy, it is the best time for anyone to take the opportunity to save energy in your home, too. An energy-saving home won’t only increase the value of your property, it could also help you save money as it will make you cut down on your energy consumption and bills.

There are many ways you can make your home energy-saving:

  • In your next renovation, switch to windows and doors that are energy-efficient. Energy-efficient doors and windows are much more effective in keeping the home well-insulated. Thermal insulation also has an added benefit of sound proofing your home as well.
  • Replace your light bulbs with energy-saving models. LED lights, for instance, consumes 75% less energy or electricity than incandescent lights.
  • Switch to energy-efficient home appliances. Lights aren’t the only items in your home you can replace with energy-efficient alternative options. You can buy energy-efficient refrigerators and air conditioners, too.
  • Have insulated pipes installed? Insulated pipes will help make your water warm faster, therefore reducing energy use.
  • Apply a roof coating on your roof. A roof coating will help your roof reflect heat, thus keeping your home cooler during summer.
  • Replace your roof with cool roofs. If you really want to choose the most energy efficient roofing option, switch to a cool roof, if possible. Cool roofs are highly reflective and can be very effective in reflecting heat away from your home. When your home is cooler in the summer, there would be no need for you to adjust your air conditioning system.
  • During the renovation, have your contractor check your existing home insulation for any faults. The sooner you detect any problem with the insulation, the sooner you can fix it. Any fault in the insulation means wasted energy.

Reasons You Should Consider Soundproofing Your Home

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Soundproofing

Proper thermal insulation is one of our top priorities of most homeowners when their homes are being built. Effective thermal insulation can ensure that you and your family will remain warm and comfortable inside your home even when the weather is too cold outside.

But if thermal insulation works perfectly in giving you comfort when it comes to temperature, there’s also acoustic insulation – which is sometimes also referred to as sound insulation.

Thermal insulation works by retaining the temperature you have indoors; acoustic insulation, on the other hand, works by containing the noise and quietness you have – inside your home. So it has a double benefit that includes energy efficiency as well as sound proofing.

What’s great about sound insulation is that it is beneficial for both the individuals behind the soundproof walls and the people on the other side of this wall.

Having soundproof walls means that you can enjoy the peace and quiet inside your home and not be bothered by excessive noise outside. This is probably one of the best reasons to get a soundproof wall on your next home renovation.

And, when you have walls that are soundproof, the noise you create inside your home – especially if you have kids who love playing loudly indoors – won’t bother your neighbors.

Soundproof walls are also a big help if you have teenage kids who are into playing loud musical instruments such as drums or electric guitars. You wouldn’t want to hinder your kids from exploring their hobbies and talents, would you? But you can’t blame your neighbors if they start to complain about the noise. The solution? Soundproof your walls!

Apart from these, there are many other reasons for you to consider soundproofing your home (or at least some of your rooms). For instance, if you have a home theater, having soundproof walls is almost a necessity. When you have a home theater, you want to enjoy watching movies as you would in a commercial theater (minus the other viewers), right? Having soundproof walls will give you the freedom to watch the movies the way they are meant to be watched.