The floor represents one of the largest surface areas in the room and is also a surface with a high level of contact. Ultimately, renovating a floor requires the investment of time, money and effort. Achieving the right flooring can dramatically enhance the appeal of a property and increase its value.
In a rental property, when choosing flooring surfaces, it is important to consider the following: legal requirements, safety, durability, maintenance, cost, warmth, quietness and aesthetics.
You should also consider the existing or planned flooring for the entire property, to avoid unsightly clashes in design and help improve the way rooms transition.
Legal requirements
For multiunit residences, strata bylaws will stipulate the use of underlay with acoustic properties, to reduce sound transmission. It is important that you do not nail down the installations, as sound will travel through the nails, reducing the effectiveness of the underlay. It is vital to check the building codes and strata guidelines.
Safety
Trips and falls can be serious, especially with young children, elderly tenants or tenants with physical disabilities. Flooring can pose a hazard and should be selected and laid down appropriately.
Slippery surfaces such as polished linoleum, terrazzo, glazed ceramic times or waxed wooden floors can be dangerous in the kitchen and bathroom where they are prone to getting wet and more slippery.
Steps and stairs are an obvious place to be cautious. Non slip insets or coarse natural fiber stair runners should be placed securely to minimize the risk of tripping or slipping.
Poor maintenance can further cause safety hazards. Loose floorboards must be nailed down, wobbly tiles should be re-adhered and stair carpets should never remain frayed.
Over polished floors are dangerous, it is better to work with a less glossy surface. Furthermore, all rugs should be laid on non slip mats to prevent them sliding over hard surfaces.
Maintenance
Regular cleaning is required on all flooring surfaces to remove dirt, grease and grit. Certain surfaces, such as hardwood, would require polishing, resealing or waxing.
Tiles may require grout cleaning and refinishing. Carpets tend to stain and would require carpet cleaning solutions and machines.
All surfaces will require maintenance, so you would need to weigh up how much expense and effort you are willing to invest. Above all, it is necessary to determine the intended tenant and what their flooring requirements are.
Cost
The cost of flooring extends vastly beyond the cost per square feet of the surface. When selecting a surface, you would need to calculate: cost of finishing the floor, cost of installation, subfloor preparation materials including underlay and junction strips, cost of sealing the finished floor and the regular maintenance costs.
When assessing the costs, you need to look at the long-term verses short term costs associated with each flooring material. If your property is likely to be a long-term investment or your personal home, choosing wooden floors or terracotta tiles would have a longer life. They would generally require some restoration to prolong their life, however replacement won’t be needed for a long time.
If the property is a rental property or you plan to flip the property soon, it may be more economical to use a cheaper material such as carpet.
In all cases it is vital to make sure the preparation and underlay are done to a professional quality, as a poor-quality underlying surface would wear and cause the flooring material to also wear.
At the Address Property Management, we can take care of your flooring renovations. We can help you to choose the most efficient flooring surfaces, finishing and preparation materials. We take pride in having renovation projects carried out to a good quality standard. For more information, contact us: info@theaddresspm.ca or call +1-647-400-0690.
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