Maintaining an apartment could be quite a challenge, and when choosing the type of flooring option, you should consider something that could withstand wear and tear. Tenants move in and out of the property and one thing that property managers or landlords want to avoid is to increase repair expenses due to cheap planks sticking out or major hard to remove carpet stains. At the end of the day it’s a business and if it’s still an empty apartment, you would want potential tenants to like what they see and some are really picky about their floors. You need something cost effective and durable for the long haul. There’s no “right” or “wrong” options when choosing the floors for your property, just assess the situation and issues it’s currently facing or the needs of your tenants then you’ll save up tons of money in the long run.
Let’s see what choices are in-store for you for your apartment flooring:
Carpets
Although there are more cons than pros in choosing a carpet flooring, it is still one of the most inexpensive choices in the market, you just have to find the right one suited for your floor plan and apartment type. Let’s start with the pros — Carpets are best to install in the bedroom for added insulation and also for apartments that are situated in higher floors since it minimizes foot noise. If you want to cover up existing and expensive original flooring in your rented property, you could have a carpet to protect it, it’s easy to remove with a minimal cost and labor. Just make sure to choose a durable and high quality carpet to avoid it from tearing up so easily.
Now the cons — Carpets easily attracts dirt and dust, and if it gets stained it’s hard to clean. Most of the times you need to hire a professional carpet cleaner to throughly clean and remove stains from your carpet, you could do this on a monthly basis. It also one cause of odor and allergens inside your apartment, since it’s textile based it works like a sponge and traps anything that’s spilled in it and that might result to molding in the future.
Tiles
Tiles are usually installed in wet spaces, but some tiles have elegant designs that needs to showed off in the living or dining room area; much better if you live in an area when it gets hot in the summer, the coolness of the tile helps you get through that heat. Tiles are a little expensive, but there are available price ranges that suits your budget. It could be tedious to install, but it definitely works well in kitchens and bathrooms since it’s moisture-resistant. It is pretty easy to clean after and it’s durable. Tiles could last through several tenants. However, over time, tiles could crack or come up, but you can just replace one tile at a time rather than replacing all the flooring. You have to watch out for grout and may need to be sealed and polished, don’t worry there are a lot of effective cleaning agents to do the job for you. Ultimately tile flooring is one of the best choices, except in your bedrooms of course.
Luxury Vinyl
Luxury Vinyl flooring can be customized to look as if it was a tile or even hardwood flooring. It's easy to clean and can tolerate quite a bit of abuse. Poorly installed Luxury Vinyl flooring can be pulled up relatively easily. Water resistant finishes are getting more and more sophisticated, you would want to opt for a commercial grade vinyl since it’s much more durable and thicker. These planks comes in a variety of colors, finishes and textures and installs much like wood flooring. An adhesive backing secures the material to the floor and is resilient enough that planks can be easily replaced. In terms of cost, Vinyl flooring can cost anywhere from $2-$5.50 per square foot for commercial-grade material, a separate fee is for installation but still cost-effective than hardwood flooring. Over time, Vinyl offers reduced maintenance costs, which allows for greater value for your money. It’s best to use in the living room and kitchen.
Hardwoods
So tenants are quite picky when it comes to flooring and some have the luxury to pay extra bucks just to have hardwood flooring in their apartments. Hardwood flooring is relatively the most expensive option among these choices since they are very premium and durable, it could last a lifetime and could really withstand harsh situations. Consequently, hardwoods can raise your property value. While hardwood floor is durable and easy to clean, it does require reasonable care and proper maintenance. While it is super luxurious to put on hardwood flooring, it takes some time and professional skill to install. The floor is susceptible to water damage and there are only limited number of times you can refinish your wood based on its thickness.
There are still a lot of flooring options in the market that you could explore, these are just the usual and best ones you may consider. You may have not thought of it but you may definitely check out these other flooring.