Interior Finishes: Flooring

Last updated July 22, 2022
By Emma Howland

General Overview of Hard Surfaces

  • Wood (solid and engineered)
  • Bamboo
  • Cork
  • LVP/ LVT
  • Sheet Vinyl
  • Concrete
  • Tile
Wood
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Solid wood is a classic choice for it’s inherent natural beauty, durability, comfort, and warmth.

Common species:

  • Hardwoods: Oak, maple, birch, pecan and cherry.
  • Softwoods: Southern pine, Douglas fir, and hemlock.

Appearance grade wood is used for flooring, specified as “Clear” (highest grade) or “Select” which delineates the wood product as having little variation in color and average board length, as well as no defects such as knots/ streaks, checks or torn grain.*

  • *Maple is graded either 1st, 2nd, or 3rd grade
  • *Walnut and cherry have distinct sapwood and heartwood, so select grade of these species often contain color variation that is highly desirable.

Wood floors come in two options: Solid Wood planks or Engineered wood.

  1. Solid Plank Flooring: flooring boards 3 1/4″ + in width. Wood flooring is most often finished with clear polyurethane, varnish or penetrating sealer (high gloss to satin). Stains are used to add color without obscuring the grain. It can also be waxed, painted, or stenciled, but painted surfaces require more maintenance. The wood should acclimate in the building for several days before it is installed. During installation a space should be left along the perimeter as the planks will expand and contract. Solid wood flooring can also be sanded and re-finished.
  2. Engineered Flooring: this product is a hardwood composite. Layers are typically laminated with acrylic or urethane/vinyl. The basic structure contains a top “wear” layer that is fused to a series of cross-grain “core” layers that create a very stable structure. The stable core layers reduce the required acclimation period prior to installation and the chances of buckling you might see with solid wood. Engineered wood can also be glued directly to a concrete subfloor.
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Typical Material Cost:

  • Solid: $10-$14/SF (April 2022)
  • Engineered: $6-12/SF (April 2022)

Total Installation Cost (1200 SF): $10k-12k

Home Value Increase Estimate: $7k

Bamboo
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Bamboo is a type of grass and can be harvested every 5 to 6 years from the same plant. This makes it a very sustainable choice because it is more renewable than wood. However it is important to note that the manufacturing process typically uses some amount of urea-formaldehyde (UF) in the adhesives similar to engineered hardwood, LVP and MDF (usually cost indicates how much formaldehyde is used: the lower the cost, the more formaldehyde).

The visual characteristics of bamboo flooring resembles unfinished maple or birch, but darker tones are created through an oven-curing process known as “carbonizing”. Carbonizing changes the entire color throughout the plank, unlike a stain. This process also causes slightly degradation in the durability of the product.

There are a few ways bamboo can be turned into plank flooring:

  1. Stranded: bamboo is shredded, then compressed into sheets using heat and resin.
  2. Horizontal: strands are cut into strips then glued together- this has a visible grain.
  3. Engineered: a thin bamboo veneer is bonded to plywood or MDF. It is the least expensive (and least durable) and cannot be refinished.

Typical Material Cost: $7-$10/SF (April 2022)

Total Installation Cost (1200 SF): $8k-$12k

Cork
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Similar to bamboo, cork is a highly renewable resource because it can be harvested every 9 years from the same cork oak tree (and up to 20 times during the life cycle of the tree). Cork is highly valued for a host of qualities that make it a great building material:

  1. A natural insulator- offers both thermal and acoustic insulation
  2. Non-toxic
  3. Highly elastic and durable
  4. Water resistant
  5. Naturally Fire retardant
  6. Antimicrobial
  7. Hypoallergenic
  8. Recyclable
  9. Biodegradable

Cork is soft and warm to the touch, and provides great cushion and support underfoot- which makes it an ideal flooring option for designing spaces to accommodate aging-in-place.

Cork is also budget-friendly, very simple to install, and has a unique and natural visual appeal similar to wood.

Typical Material Cost: $6-8/SF (June 2022)

Total Installation Cost (1200 SF): $7k-11k

LVP/LVT
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Luxury Vinyl Plank and Luxury Vinyl Tile, “LVP”/”LVT”, are marketed as laminated flooring products that have similar physical characteristics to hardwood or tile but without the cost and maintenance. LVP is a composite made of four layers:

  1. Backing: foam or cork
  2. Core: Vinyl PVC (flexible and waterproof)
  3. Design: the digital image
  4. Wear: transparent top coat

It offers easy installation, durability, is water resistant and soft to the touch. It is one of the most popular flooring types today. However, as a synthetic composite flooring, it is not recyclable or bio-degradable.

Typical Material Cost: $4-11/SF (May 2022)

Total Installation Cost (1200 SF): $7k-11k

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Sheet Vinyl
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Sheet Vinyl is another composite material made from felt paper backing, a core layer of vinyl foam (made with PVC resins, fungicide, stabilizers, solvents, and pigments from a printed design), and a protective “wear” layer of UV-Cured urethane to make it durable, water proof and stain resistant.

To create texture in the sheet, chemical embossing and physical embossing is used. With chemical embossing, a chemical inhibitor is added to select colors printed onto the sheets and stop the foam from expanding during manufacturing. Physical embossing involves engraving a roll that presses a relief pattern into the sheet.

Vinyl is typically used because it is very affordable, soft, and easy to care for, and it works great for wet areas like bathrooms. Also, vinyl installed properly can last for 10-20 years, so it does not require replacement at the same rate as other soft flooring materials like carpet. However, it is important recognize that vinyl is not biodegradable or recyclable, and it off-gasses VOCs for several days or weeks after installation.

Typical Material Cost: $1-$10/SF (May 2022)

Total Installation Cost (1200 SF): $4k-5k

Concrete
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Concrete slab floors are integral to the structure, but they can be finished for an affordable, extremely durable, and very low maintenance flooring option. Concrete is made from cement, aggregates and water.

Finish options include a urethane top coat, chemical staining (acid etching), Acrylic latex coat, Epoxy coat, Water based paints, and Quartz Sand Epoxy.

Although limestone, the main component in cement, is one of the most abundant materials on earth, the manufacturing process of traditional Portland cement produces about 8% of the world’s carbon emissions.

There are some start ups are trying to make “greener” concrete products that are made without the use of fossil fuels and can actually capture and contain CO2. However, these products have not yet reached the scale to make them commercially available.

Concrete flooring can have radiant floor heating installed in the slab to make it warm to the touch. A concrete slab is also a key element in passive heating/cooling systems in a home because of it’s ability to retain heat once warmed through. However, the hard surface can be tough on the body, especially the joints, and falling on concrete is likely to cause worse injury than other flooring materials.

Tile
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Tile most commonly refers to clay-based, kiln fired ceramic or porcelain product, but there is also natural stone, glass, and encaustic/ cement tile. Tile has endless stylistic variety, ranging in size, shape, color and finish. Tile can also be used for floor, countertop, and wall applications so it is the most versatile finish on this list.

From my own experience, the most common question clients ask is “what is the difference between ceramic and porcelain?”

Porcelain is crafted with a more dense or “refined clay” and kiln-fired at a higher temperature, making it more durable and water resistant than ceramic. Porcelain can be created with a through-body color, meaning the entire product is the same color throughout. It is common to see porcelain in large format tile (12×24, 16×32, etc.) with designs printed onto the surface of the tile.

Typically when specifying tile you want to pay attention to a few different specification notes that offer guidance on possible installation location. For example, the use code of a tile will tell you how durable the type of tile is and therefore what surfaces it is suited for.

0: Light duty- wall installation only

1: wall use only in residential and commercial applications (typ. shower surrounds)

2: walls and light duty floors, often a residential bathroom floor or wall tile

3: Countertops, walls and floors that receive normal foot traffic (general all-purpose, but not good for commercial uses)

4: All residential applications (wall and floor) and medium commercial applications

5: All residential and commercial locations- this flooring is typically only found in commercial applications because it’s usually pretty plain/ utilitarian.

When specifying floor tile it is also important to consider the performance of tile in wet locations. For larger format tile, anti-slippage is measured by the “DCOF” or dynamic coefficient of friction (which must be greater than 0.42.) – However *- in a shower there is also the presence of soaps/shampoos, which is not taken into account for a DCOF rating). For smaller format tile, like mosaics, the amount of grout between tiles provides good grip on a shower floor.

Overall, tile is a timeless, durable finish that comes in a range of budget options. Installation for tile requires the most specialized tools and hiring a tile contractor for installation is highly recommended. When considering the environmental impact of tile, there have been major strides to improve the manufacturing process by recycling wastewater, energy, and raw materials. In fact, the Dutch tile manufacturer Mosa was the first of its kind to receive Cradle to Cradle Gold in 2011 and continues to meet this prestigious sustainability certification to this day.

Typical Material Cost for large format Porcelain: $2-12/SF

Typical Material Cost for ceramic/glass mosaics: $2-20+/SF

Typical Installation Cost can vary widely depending on the size, trim type, and lay pattern for the tile, but average costs are between $10-20/SF

Citations:

“The Difference Between Solid & Engineered Hardwood Flooring.” YouTube, YouTube, 23 Oct. 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZqevIOeJXM. Accessed 7 July 2022.

Editors, Porch. “How Much Does It Cost to Install Bamboo Flooring?” Porch, Porch, 3 July 2022, https://porch.com/project-cost/cost-to-install-bamboo-flooring.

Editors, Porch. “How Much Does It Cost to Install Laminate Flooring?” Porch, Porch, 3 July 2022, https://porch.com/project-cost/cost-to-install-laminate-flooring.

Editors, Porch. “How Much Does It Cost to Install Sheet Vinyl Flooring?” Porch, Porch, 3 July 2022, https://porch.com/project-cost/cost-to-install-sheet-vinyl-flooring.

Flooring America, https://www.flooringamerica.com/flooring-faq/vinyl/lvp-flooring.

“Hardwood Flooring Installation in Seattle, WA – Costs 07 / 2022.” Homeyou, https://www.homeyou.com/wa/hardwood-flooring-installation-seattle-costs#:~:text=Traditional%20wood%20costs%20around%20%243,high%20class%20of%20engineered%20wood.

K., Ching Francis D. Building Construction Illustrated: Fifth ed., John Wiley and Sons, 2014.

Lewitin, Joseph. “How Does Vinyl Flooring Impact the Environment?” The Spruce, The Spruce, 10 Mar. 2022, https://www.thespruce.com/environmental-impact-of-vinyl-flooring-1314956.

Rodgers, Lucy. “Climate Change: The Massive CO2 Emitter You May Not Know About.” BBC News, BBC, 17 Dec. 2018, https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-46455844.

Weinheimer, Terry, director. Floor Central, 9 Mar. 2022, https://floorcentral.com/sheet-vinyl/how-sheet-vinyl-is-made/. Accessed 8 July 2022.

“All about Cork – A Natural Born Technology.” SAFE SUSTAINABLE SMART, https://www.greenbuildingsupply.com/Learning-Center/Flooring-Cork-LC/Cork-101.

Wallender, Lee. “The Truths about Carbonized Bamboo Flooring.” The Spruce, The Spruce, 18 Dec. 2020, https://www.thespruce.com/what-does-carbonizing-do-to-bamboo-flooring-1821666.

“What Is Luxury Vinyl Plank Flooring? LVP and LVT Explained.” Bestlaminate, 1 Nov. 2018, https://www.bestlaminate.com/help/what-is-luxury-vinyl-plank-flooring/.

“Environmental Sustainability & the Tile Industry – Ceramic Tileworks , Minnesota.” Ceramic Tileworks, 20 Feb. 2019, https://www.ceramictileworksmn.com/resources/environmental-sustainability-the-tile-industry/.

“About Mosa.” Mosa Tiles, https://www.mosa.com/en/mosa/about-mosa.