Cork Flooring

We reviewed many types of flooring in the two previous blogs.  One option not yet reviewed is cork flooring, an increasingly popular choice.  Cork flooring is attractive, easy to clean, and reasonably priced.  Cork tiles and planks are available in many colors and patterns.  Cork flooring is hypoallergenic and resistant to mold and mildew associated with some other types of flooring.  Cork is a natural renewable product obtained from the bark of trees generally located in the Mediterranean.  Cork flooring is typically more durable than wood and provides more give than hardwood, and is warmer to the touch.  Typical installed costs are $5.00 to $10.00 per square foot.

The resilience of cork flooring is also its weakness.  Sharp or heavy objects left on the floor for long periods of time can permanently damage the floors.  Since cork is a natural product direct sunlight will cause color to fade over time.

You cannot wet mop to clean cork floors as any water absorption can damage cork flooring.  The floors are kept clean with regular sweeping and dry mopping.

In general cork flooring holds many benefits with respect to a healthy environment in your home and is an environmentally conscious choice.  We recently installed a cork floor in a kitchen remodel.  Pictures are on our newsletter and website (www.adrbuilders.com).

Comparing Wood Flooring

We reviewed options other than wood flooring in the last blog.  This blog will review the pros and cons of three types of wood flooring. 

Laminate Floors - First a qualifier; laminate wood flooring is not really wood.  Pergo is the most commonly know brand name, but there are many options and companies supplying laminate flooring. Laminate flooring is a facsimile of wood with a remarkable ability to stimulate wood; it is very durable, easy to install, easy to clean.  Laminate flooring is resistant to staining and fading, does not scuff or wear through, get scratched by pets, or indent from normal family wear.  It will also hold up against light moisture.  They are floating floors; each piece attaches to the one adjacent and it is held down by gravity and perimeter trim.  Laminate flooring is not typically installed under cabinets or fixed appliances.  The major drawbacks are laminate floors cannot be refinished, will not hold up to heavy moisture, and are not real wood.  Typical installed costs are $5.00 to $9.00 per square foot.

Engineered Wood Floors - Engineered wood flooring is a fairly new product and a combination of laminate and true hardwood flooring.  There are a wide variety of wood types available in wood strips, wider width planks, or parquet squares.  Engineered wood floors consist of two or more layers of wood laminated together with a plywood bottom layer.  They are typically installed as floating floors with the panel edges attached to each other rather than to the subfloor.  Engineered wood can be sanded and refinished, but only 1-3 times.  The scratch and dent resistance is fair to good depending on the wood selected.  Light moisture will not damage the floor although heavy moisture can cause warping and damage.  With a natural wood top layer the flooring is not as dent or scratch resistant as laminate wood floors, and is also a bit more expensive.  Typical installed costs are $8.00 to $14.00; the biggest variable is the actual wood selected.

Natural Hardwood Floors - Hardwood flooring is rich, elegant, all natural, and creates a warm look to your home.  It is the most traditional of floors.  Solid wood flooring consists of one-piece boards that are typically nailed to a subfloor and comes unfinished, allowing you to apply a variety of finishes.  It is also available pre-finished, trading off additional purchase costs for less labor costs.  Solid hardwood flooring can be sanded and refinished multiple times, is durable, and not as cold or noisy as tile or stone.  Water of any type, light or heavy moisture, is not a friend of solid wood flooring.  Besides warping when wet it can fade in sunlight, can be easily dented depending on the species of wood chosen, and is difficult to install.  This is definitely not the first choice of the do-it-yourself installer.  There is a wide variation in types, hardness, and widths of wood available in wood strips, wider width planks, and parquet squares.  Oak hardwood flooring, the most typical wood for residential use, costs $8.00 to $10.00 per square foot installed.  Other woods can easily range up to or beyond $15.00 per square foot.  Wood floors can be installed in any room in the home.  Because of moisture concerns bath installations are not common.  With the better sealers and finishes now available kitchen installations are much more common than they once were.

Comparing Flooring

There are several good choices for floor finishes.  In a residential home the use of the room, installation requirements, and costs are major determining factors in selecting the floor finish.  In this blog I will review the most common non-wood options.  In the next blog I will review the wood options.

Carpet - It is soft, warm, and offered in a broad range of prices and selections.  There are a variety of fiber type {nylon, polyester, wool, etc} with varying degrees of wear and stain resistance.  In general carpet is better suited to low traffic areas such as bedrooms and living rooms.  It also a good choice for basements as a carpet with a good pad will provide a warmer basement floor than many other choices.  Carpet is also a good money-saving alternative.  With such a variety of carpet available it is hard to generalize but a mid-range carpet installed can be one-third the cost of a traditional oak floor installed and finished.   Moisture and wear are the enemies of carpet.  With that in mind carpet is rarely the choice for kitchens, baths, mudrooms, or basements that do not stay dry.

Area rugs - They are the cousin of carpets.  They can bring instant warmth to hard surface floors, cut down on noise, and may protect and enhance décor.  Similar to carpets, they are available in a wide range of sizes, color, patterns, textures, etc.

Ceramic tile - Tile is the traditional choice for kitchens, baths, foyers, and mudrooms.  Tile is a good choice for high traffic areas.  Tile supplies an elegant look, is durable, moisture resistant, and is offered in a variety of textures and colors.  Costs installed are typically in the $10.00 to $20.00 per square foot range including the required subfloor. 

Vinyl - Vinyl flooring is easy to maintain and clean, durable, and fairly inexpensive to install.  Sheet vinyl is available in 6 foot and 12 foot widths of any length.  Vinyl tile are typically 12” squares. Vinyl, like tile, is a good choice for kitchens, baths, and mudrooms.  Typical installed costs are $2.00 to $10.00 per square foot in good, better, and best categories.  At the top end of selection with unique patterns and colors installed cost can exceed the $10.00 per square foot installed cost.

Stone - Stone is the Cadillac of  flooring options.  Installed costs can easily be in the $15.00 to $30.00 per square foot range.  Stone is a classic look, natural, elegant, moisture resistant, and easy to maintain.  Besides the cost other negatives are stone can be cold, slippery, difficult to install, and can chip.  Typically stone is used in foyers or formal entries.

The Home Office

The home office is a popular design concept considered for many new and remodeled homes.  There are a variety of possible options for an office: a separate room, area of a room, or a room doing double duty.   The first consideration is how and by who is this room to be used.  Is the room for working at home, for bill paying and home management, used by two or more people, or a homework/study center?  We typically differentiate this room from the control center of the home more typically found in or adjacent to the kitchen, performs a different function, and is best kept separate.  Options for the home office include a planned, dedicated room if one is available or can be part of an addition.  Remodeling can provide this space from an unused bedroom, a converted attic or basement, or even convert a large closet.  The office can be a nook off the master bedroom or hallway, or a dedicated portion of one room serving multiple duties such as a guest bedroom or library.  Sometimes a home office will require an exterior entry, especially if it is a working office that clients may visit.  In any case a home office should have some ability to provide acoustical privacy, typically by closing a door or doors.

The home office is an important consideration in planning a modern home and a request we hear more and more frequently.

Kitchens in the Modern Home

Kitchens have evolved into the heart of the 21^st century American home.  Traditionally kitchens were a work area and removed from the main living area.  In larger homes such as those found in the Guilford or Roland Park areas of Baltimore the kitchen was removed from the living and dining areas, often with back stairs that connected to the maid’s room above.   Now the kitchen is one of if not the main living area.  At parties often everyone ends up in the kitchen, families spend a good amount of time together in the kitchen, and the kitchen is often the operations center of the home. 

With this in mind the “great room” has evolved.  This typically includes an open floor plan with the kitchen, daily dining area, and family room combined.  Larger homes often still have a formal dining room even if it only used on special occasions.  Removing walls and joining rooms can create this interconnection in some homes.  Other homes require an addition; the family room addition with an expanded and remodeled kitchen is one of our most popular projects.

This combination of spaces leads to some important design elements.  It is important to connect the kitchen physically and visually with the other rooms.  Floor finishes, wood trim, painting, and interior decoration all need to work together to create an integrated whole.  At the same time the kitchen work area needs some separation.  Islands or peninsulas are often a good choice to provide the cook a work area while still visually connected to the other spaces. 

Design elements can also separate the spaces even while they are physically and visually connected.  Varying ceiling heights and finishes define each area.  Floor finishes can vary.  Columns and structural beams can replace walls.

Careful planning and good design can go far in making your kitchen the ideal for the 21^st century home.

Exterior Porch to Interior Space Continued

The following is a brief review of important considerations when converting an exterior porch to interior space.  Your decisions and the construction work may include:

· Insulating walls and ceilings.  How much and the type of insulation used depends in part on the existing structure and the room’s function.  Typically the existing porch ceiling will need to be removed.  Often the ceiling joists will need to be added to in order to have enough depth to properly insulate the ceiling.

· Windows and doors.  Adding, replacing, or installing new windows and doors using energy-efficient models is best done now.  Remember to match or complement your home’s existing window styles.

· Plumbing.  The proximity of the room to existing plumbing will greatly impact the difficulty and cost of installing plumbing.

· Electrical wiring and fixtures.  Plan and install all immediate and future electrical lines from the outset to avoid costly revisions later.

· Flooring and wall coverings.  Flooring especially can require planning.  Porch floors are often not level, may not be at the same height as the existing floors in the home, and may need to be raised to allow for insulation, avoiding a cold floor. Most people choose to sheetrock the entire room but other options may include an exposed brick wall or decorative beadboard trim.

· Interior and exterior trim.  Details such as door and window trim and other interior and exterior moldings can make the difference between a room that looks finished or one that simply looks like an enclosed porch.

· Heating and cooling systems.  While some homes may have systems that can accommodate additional rooms, others may need a supplement.  Baseboard heating, while easy to install and inexpensive, is costly to operate.  A mini split ductless system is a quiet and efficient choice.  This is basically a small heat pump without ducts and much quieter than a traditional through the wall system, often found in hotel rooms.  Consider also a wood burning stove or gas fireplace.  New models are efficient, attractive, and can heat a large room easily. 


If you have a home with a porch and need additional space, you have all the ingredients you need to create a beautiful new room with a significant cost savings over building an addition.

Exterior Porch to Interior Space

We just completed a porch conversion in Stoneleigh; some pictures are below, check out our website (http://www.adrbuilders.com/) or newsletter for more images. Enclosing a porch can be a simple, cost-effective way to gain the extra living space you need.  You can gain space without eliminating the yard and often a portion of the structural work is already in place.  Side or rear porches can be easily converted into a home office, playroom, or den/family rooms.  Enclosed porches are also ideal for adding space to extend your kitchen.  The porch’s location, its wall and floor materials, and the condition of the existing foundation will influence the ease or difficulty of modifying a porch.  The next blog will review some important considerations in designing and building a new room using an existing porch.

New family room from converted screen porch

 Family room, showing bench seats, television, and electiric fireplace