Cleaning Your New Floors

Floor Maintenance Essentials in Florida

/in /by

Certain climate issues affect Floor Maintenance in Florida. Humidity, moisture, heat, and sand are a few things that make it a challenge.

Floor Maintenance - cleaning

Floor Maintenance: CLEANING

It is very important to keep your floors clean. Regardless of the type of floor, keeping it clean ought to be a regular activity. The time invested is well worth the reward of beautiful floors.

VACUUMING

Modern technology has made it easy and fun to vacuum your floors. The iRobot is affordable and makes vacuuming nearly effortless.

(For more information go to: irobot.com)

CLEANERS

  • Liquid

(For more information go to: bona.com)

  • Dry or wet

(For more information go to: swiffer.com)

Floor Maintenance: REPAIRS

Oh no! We damaged our floors!

Think when you bought your first car. It was perfect. Shines bright in the sun. Looks great under the stars at night. Then you got your first ding. Or your first scratch from someone in the grocery store parking lot that didn’t care about letting their cart roll free. This can be agonizing. However, when it comes to your floors, you have two good options:

Contact your installer

There might be a way where they will fix or replace the floor section at no cost. Again depends on your warranty and your agreement. This is great for any floor type.

Do It Yourself

If you have hardwood floors, and it is a small nick you can pickup a Minwax marker and cover up a blemish. The Minwax® Wood Finish™ Stain Markers are ideal for that small scratch on floors or furniture.

Carpets

Bissell carpet cleaner makes cleaning up spills and stains relatively simple, either by hand or with a Bissell carpet cleaner. (For more information go to: bissell.com)

Floor Maintenance: USAGE

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of care.  – Benjamin Franklin

This is common sense. If you want to continue having beautiful and functional floors, you need to be thoughtful about what you allow to happen on them. Allowing the kids to roller blade on hardwood floors in the living room would not be wise. Moving furniture without smooth footing would also be a mistake.

These are choices the responsible home owner needs to make. If you regularly control the manner in which your flooring is used and faithfully maintain it, you likely will never have to think about repairing it. Then you can enjoy your beautiful flooring without stress or worry.

flooring trends 2016

3 New Flooring Trends in 2016

/in /by

Radio stations this time of year are playing the greatest hits from the past year. 2016 is upon us and instead of looking back we want to help you look forward to what is to come in flooring trends. Some flooring trends are timeless others are very modern, while others seem to be put a new spin an a traditional technique. Call us (813.605.1204) for a free consultation on any flooring trends you see below.

flooring trends 2016

Here are three flooring trends for 2016 we will be looking at:

  • Creative Flooring Combo Trends
  • Modern Angle Flooring Design Trends
  • Luxury and Stone Flooring Trends

Creative Combo Flooring Trends

The first image in the gallery below is a simple combo with concrete and wood. This organic look is simple yet still honors sustainable design. This combination is perfect for any style home but works best in a modern space.

Aparici double fired tiles and bathroom

Aparici moving tiles double fired show style and elegance. They are not for the faint of heart or those not willing to take a risk. The tiles are busy, but mixing them properly can be a talking piece for guests when entertaining. Bathrooms cannot benefit from mixed material as well as mixed color and seamless transitions. Aparici Waterford Castle Hotel bathroom is a fabulous example using black and white tiles on trend for 2016.

41zero42 adding character to a space

This Italian design combines two materials to exude style. Pay attention to the unique use of mixing piece colors. This is a great approach to helping add character to a large space.

Creative flooring combo gallery

concrete wood combination flooring for 2016
concrete wood combination flooring for 2016 aparici moving tiles double fired Aparici Waterford Castle Hotel bathroom gudy stunning transitions

Modern Angle Flooring Trends

Parquet floors have been making strides over the last decade. 2016 will bring floors composed of short trips, unique patterns, and inlays of diverse woods and materials to the forefront.

Tex Hex tiles in porcelain in matte and mixed-finish black and cream by Artistic Tile. These are great for smaller space as they will give an appearance of a larger space. Take note to lay them out in a diverse and random order for a truly unique look. Also, symmetrical large tile pieces can be angled to add a unique style to an otherwise boring space.

Perfect tile trends for 2016

Ceramica Sant’Agostino porcelain tiles can have a grain texture that can portray carpet while still having the durability of tile. To conclude our look at modern angle flooring trends we look at the featured image. Markmcclurestudio.com is an artist that has decided to bless us with angular design fit for 2016. Call us (813.605.1204) for a free consultation on any tile flooring trends.

Artistic Tile porcelain mixed tiles hex
Artistic Tile porcelain mixed tiles hex markmcclurestudio symmetry tile wood Ceramica Sant'Agostino Porcelain Tiles

Luxury and Stone Flooring Trends

The last, but certainly not least, flooring trends we will look at today is about the richest most elegant of styles. There are two stunning examples of luxury flooring and precious stone work that we’d like to share with you. Remember that Go Mobile Flooring has many options. We can always find alternatives to meet your budget, but gold has innate value, so keep this in mind as you explore trends below.

Sicis, the world is a mosaic

Sicis is more than just flooring. They are a design brand that has products ranging from doors to jewelry and watches to furniture… and everything in between. They are trailblazers of the mosaic and have built a company and a brand around that style. The images below show the Sicis gold collection. This consists of mosaic for walling decor to compliment tile flooring.

Lapicida the stone specialist

Lapicida is from English origin and in its origin is acclaimed stone cutter. They cut, prepare and maintain the finest stones in all of Europe. Lapicida has served royalty and are a brand of elegance and bravado. We have listed a video below to show more about this amazing company and brand.

Luxury and stone flooring gallery

Sicis Gold Room Decor Sicis Gold Room Decor
Sicis Gold Room Decor Sicis Gold tile glass with 24-karat gold leaf Lapicida Sweeping Stone Entryway Lapicida Grande Tiles Lapicida Peaceful Stones

Lapicida has beautiful work that can be seen here (feel free to rewind or watch the entire video if you are interested in the history of these fine craftsmen):

Best installers for modern floors in 2016

Go Mobile Flooring (AKA TampaFlooringCompany.com) would love to help you with your project. We have stunning tile, hardwood, laminate and many more options to make your home on trend for 2016 and many years to come. Remember that upgrading your floors is the best way to increase home value. Contact us today for a free consultation.

Call us (813.605.1204) for a free consultation.

Call Now

 

Entryway flooring design

Entryway Flooring Design: 3 Amazing Options

/in /by

The first impression is the most enduring one. So as you begin planning your home, remember the entryway. This article will explore entryway flooring design and how to create a welcoming atmosphere for your guests.

Start with the type of flooring that is best for your Entryway Flooring Design.

When considering entryway flooring design, there are beautiful options. Keep in mind that entryways have a high traffic volume. It is wise to create this special location with durable materials.

Hardwoods

Everybody loves hardwood floors. Businesses and boutiques make sure they have hardwood entryway flooring. They know it will be noticed by their prime clients and customers. In the home it may be even more noticeable because it makes a statement.

Laminate

Easier on the budget and often indistinguishable from real hardwood, laminates offer another great choice. The finishes on laminates are extremely durable and resistant to scratching and fading. It is less slippery and is a good choice for high-traffic areas.

Ceramic Tile

When guests enter your home, they will be impressed by ceramic tile. It holds up well in extremely high-traffic and there are many designs to choose from. Ceramic is colder, harder, and more slippery, but it is hard to beat its natural beauty.

Entryway Flooring Design Increases the Resale Value of Your Home.

There are other options that can be explored such as natural stone, densely packed nylon carpet, and luxury vinyl tile (LVT). These three are the most popular for a wide range of homes and at every cost level.

The importance of entryway flooring design cannot be stressed enough. Many consider this aspect of the over-all home design to be the most critical for value and resale strength.

Most buyers know they are going to buy it when they see the foyer of a home. (Kay Barchetti, Coldwell Banker, Western PA, Beautiful Floors YouTube)

The expert quoted points out that her comment applied to homes in the 300K and up, but it validates the importance of entryway flooring design in any home.

If you are fortunate enough to be able to make these choices at the beginning stages of  your entryway flooring design, enjoy! It will give you the satisfaction of knowing you made the right choice to improve the beauty, functionality, and value of your home.

Call us today for a free consultation.

Protect Floors from Holiday

Holiday Floor Protection

/in /by

In Tampa Florida there is not a lot of worries from salt, snow and dirt coming into your home this holiday season. However, we believe in a holiday floor protection strategy. The following article will help floors look and feel great during and after the holidays, especially if you live near the beach. Sand from the beach can be just as damaging as salt or snow. Some of the benefits of having a holiday floor protection plan:

Protect Floors from Holiday with a holiday floor protection plan

Protect floors from the holidays

We suggest doormats, furniture pads and shoe trays for the best protection of your floors this holiday season.

Doormats

The best way to keep dirt outside is with a festive doormat. Doormats greet your guests and protect your floors. Remember do not get too creative. Guests might think it is to festive for them to wipe their feet on. A simple but fun holiday greeting mat will suffice. Frontgate has some beautiful options. For the budget conscience check out Overstock for doormats.

Furniture Pads

Save your back, get furniture pads. Amazon has a plethora of offerings and fast shipping. Part of protecting your floors is thinking ahead to what your guests might do. Moving a couch that has padding instead of grinding it along your new wood floors can ruin the mood. Plan ahead and make a small investment for your floors.

Shoe Trays

As guests arrive you need to tell them where to place shoes. If you have a household rule stick to it and make it clear. The best way for this to be comfortable for everyone is to have an area with a shoe tray for your guests. We suggest a rubber shoe tray. This might not be large enough, so make certain to accommodate all of your guests. Be careful about purchasing a shoe tray with a drip grid unless you plan on keeping it outside.

Also, for the pets that just “magically” appear in addition to your guests… shoe trays can be great for containing dog and cat bowls and the spillage that will accompany them.

Benefits of holiday floor protection

Remember a simple, but often forgotten step. When preparing to entertain guests save cleaning the floors for last. Whether you have carpet, tile, wood or a combination, cleaning your floors first only to then have a spill before your guests arrive can be very frustrating. Save the stress and wait until the last minute to clean the floors.

If you follow these simple steps your holiday floor protection plan should be effective and seamless to your home, your guests and the festivities that bring us all together. Following these steps will help you keep floors looking new and clean for many holidays to come.

Give the gift of new floors!

Get a free quote for your new floors. This can be a perfect gift for the holidays and new year. Or call us: 813.540.5958

Schedule a Free Flooring Consultation
Home Buyers Prefer Hardwood Floors

Home Buyers Prefer Hardwood Floors

/in /by

Home Buyers Prefer Hardwood Floors

The party was going great. People were having fun. Toward the end of the evening someone left an impression that you and your carpet will never forget. Bob spilled their wine glass and for the rest of time your carpet will remember this spill. There has been a dramatic change over the past decade where younger generation buyers are specifically looking for hardwood floors.

54% of home buyers are willing to pay more for hardwood floors and feel it is very important – National Association of Realtors, USA Today

Hardwood floors are wanted

Not only do hardwood floors increase the value of a home but they also increase the life of your flooring environment. Good carpeting typically lasts around 10 years. While some hardwood floors can last 30 years (or more). This is an easy way to improve home value. There might be a slight increase in costs over carpet flooring, however, if the floors last three times as long then it is worth it.  Here is a quick math example:

Hardwood floors cost $9,000

Carpet floors cost $5,000

In the above example, if we assume the carpet lasts 10 years and the hardwood floors 30 years, the financial investment of hardwood floors is worth it. The carpet floors will need to be replaced at year 10 (now your cost is $10,000) and then again at year 20 (now your cost is $15,000) while your hardwood floors are still fine. You add value with a time based investment — smart.

Hardwood floors are easy

Entertaining guests is less stressful with hardwood floors. Cleaning a hardwood floor spill compared to a carpet spill just isn’t fair. There are a few products that can make your life easier: Bona floor cleaner products and the Roomba iRobot are both must have tools to maintain your floor. Check back soon as we have an article coming out on products for maintaining your hardwood, laminate and tile floors.

Add Warmth to Your Home with the Right Bedroom Carpet

Add Warmth to Your Home with the Perfect Stain Resistant Carpet

/in /by

Add Warmth to Your Home with the Perfect Stain Resistant Carpet

Deciding on a carpet floor for your home can be a difficult decision. Today that are many options for fibers, stain resistant, color and budget. During a remodel of your bedroom these are all factors that can make this a stressful process. Fortunately, we have listed a few of the options below to help you in making certain that you find the best carpet installation advice possible.

Questions to keep in mind:

  • Is the carpet stain and wear resistant?
  • Are the installers also providing my carpet?
  • Is anyone in the home allergic to the fibers I am selecting?
  • How easy will it be to clean my carpet?
  • What is my budget?

The right carpet fiber for your home

You have two typical options: Natural or synthetic. A carpet made of wool is great for a bedroom due to it luxurious feel and warmth. This is a natural fiber and although it will add to the budget, it is worth it when it comes to warming a room and adding the right feel to a guest or master bedroom. Nylon is synthetic yet typically more costly of the softer feeling carpets. However, a typically options for budget friendly synthetic would be polyester. Polyester is an ideal choice due to it also being nonallergenic.

Stain resistant carpet for your bedroom

Ideally, you should choose a SmartStrand Sorona or Silk have built-in stain resistant carpet properties (we carry these type of carpet’s by Mohawk). These also provide some elements of dirt protection, which in turn yields wear resistance. Try to remember that dirt, stains and grime lead to wear and tear on your carpet. So by getting a resistance carpet you are also adding value to the life of your carpet. The SmartStrand Silk has a new yarn with three times the amount of fiber found in a traditional nylon carpet. This in turn helps sound dampening for your home. These carpets are ideal for a bedroom and add the needed warmth and luxury.

What should my budget be for my new carpet floor?

Your budget for your carpet flooring project does depend on a few items: the size of your space and whether you want natural or synthetic? Click here for a free quote on your space. We do recommend stain resistant carpet SmartStrand due to the luxurious feel and the costs. The SmartStrand Silk (Mohawk) is preferred 5 to 1 over competitive premium soft nylons.

If you have more questions about finding your perfect, warm and affordable carpet flooring for your home schedule your free consultation today.

Buyers Guide Pet Friendly Flooring

Buyer’s Guide: Pet Friendly Flooring

/in /by

Buyers Guide Pet Friendly Flooring

When you’re looking for new floors, you want to make sure they are the best choice for every member of your family – even the four-legged ones. Pet owners, in particular, have a few extra issues to keep in mind when choosing pet friendly flooring.

The best floors for your pets will be:

  • Easy to clean
  • Scratch resistant
  • Stain resistant
  • Textured for traction

We’ve pulled together some flooring options as well as descriptions of their level of pet friendliness below.

Pet Friendly Carpet Flooring

While your furry friends may love the luxurious feel of carpeting, your human guests may not enjoy the allergens that may collect or the difficulty of cleaning up the messes pets can leave behind. But, that doesn’t mean carpet is out altogether.

There are plenty of pet-friendly carpet options that will work in a low-traffic area like a bedroom. There are just a couple of things that pet owners should look out for when selecting carpeting.

First, choose a carpet without loops – a cut pile carpet. Placing looped carpets like Berber in a home with pets is a recipe for damage – to the carpet and your pets claws. Finally, make sure the cut pile carpet you select has been pre-treated for stain resistance. Clean ups will be easier, pet hair will come up better when you vacuum, and fewer odors will cling to the carpeting.

Pet Friendly Hardwood Flooring

Hardwood floors give your home a warm, welcoming feel. They are great for keeping allergens under control, but they may not always be the best choice for homes with pets. Many hardwood floors can be susceptible to stains and scratches, but there are still options for pet owners who love hardwood floors.

When it comes to pet friendly hardwood flooring, the harder the wood, the better it will be at resisting scratches. Wood floors like oak, maple, walnut and bamboo are harder and more pet friendly. Homeowners with large animals should avoid softer woods like pine or chestnut.

You can also preserve your new floors from pet-related damage with a high quality coat of urethane, to offer extra protection from scratches and stains.

Pet Friendly Laminate Flooring

Laminate flooring can bring the look of hardwood into your home, with the added benefit of stain and scratch resistance. Easy to clean and durable, laminate flooring can be very pet friendly with one important caveat: traction. Many laminate floors available to homeowners are slick and smooth, which can make it difficult for your pet to maintain its footing and can lead to injury. So, if you’re looking for a pet friendly laminate flooring option, you will want to select laminate floors with a textured surface to prevent slipping.

Pet Friendly Tile Flooring

Tile floors, especially stone tiles, are a wonderful choice for homes with pets. These hard surfaces won’t be damaged by your pets’ claws, are water and stain resistant, and are exceptionally easy to clean. You have the option to use coarser stone tile floors or ceramic tile with a textured finish to aid with traction. You could even select faux wood tiles to get the look of wood, but still have the ultimate pet-friendly flooring.

With tile and any hard surfaced pet-friendly flooring options, you want to make sure you make good use of rugs and pet beds so that your furry friends have places to lay down comfortably.

If you have more questions about finding the perfect pet friendly flooring for your home schedule your schedule your free consultation today.

Best Floors for Bathroom Remodel

Find the Right Flooring for Your Bathroom Remodel

/in /by

Best Bathroom Floors

If you’re considering a bathroom remodel, take some time to consider the flooring that’s right for your room. A well-designed bathroom can add to the elegance and functionality of your home for both your family and guests – and any good design must start with a solid foundation.

Selecting your bathroom floors require more thought than many people assume. There are the normal questions of style and look that you want to address for any new floor in your home. For your bathroom remodel, you’ll want to add questions of functionality to that list. Will your new bathroom flooring hold up to water, heat, moisture and wear? There are also the less obvious questions like, how will the new bathroom floor feel to bare feet on a cold morning? Is there enough texture to avoid slips or falls? How long will my bathroom floor installation take? And are the costs within budget? Finally, you’ll want to ask yourself, will my new bathroom floor stand the test of time beautifully?

Your Bathroom Remodel

To complete your bathroom remodel, you want floors that provide you with the beauty, functionality, and longevity your home deserves in a style that is uniquely you. That’s why we’ve put together this quick guide of the top bathroom flooring options available to homeowners like you – so you can make the best flooring decision for your home.

Ceramic Tile Floors

Ceramic tile floors are often the number one choice for most bathroom remodel projects – and for good reason. Available in a wide variety of styles, sizes, and designs, ceramic tile is affordable, versatile, durable, and can be textured to prevent slips. Ceramic tile is also waterproof, making it an ideal for bathrooms. Homeowners can choose from large square tiles to mosaic that come pre-set on mesh sheets for ease of installation.

Porcelain Tile Floors

Porcelain tiles are harder and stronger than ceramic tiles, and through-bodied porcelain tiles are the same color throughout, making chips or scratches difficult to notice. Also available in a wide variety of colors and styles, this tile’s stain and water resistance make it a great flooring choice for your bathroom remodel, and its porousness make it a good match for radiant in-floor heating.

Natural Stone Flooring

Another wonderful set of water resistant surfaces to consider for your bathroom floor are natural stone flooring options. Great for warmer climates, naturally cool surfaces like granite, slate, marble, and travertine are always a beautiful addition to your home. When selecting your stone, consider the smoothness of the surface and whether or not you may want to sandblast the stone in order to create a more textured floor. Also, while granite and slate are non-porous and low maintenance, stones like marble and travertine will require sealants and frequent cleaning to avoid staining.

Wood Floor Options

Wood flooring is last on our list for your bathroom remodel options because hardwood and water just don’t mix. However, if you have your heart set on wood, there are ways to have the bathroom floors you want, minus the potential water damage.

Hardwood

One option is that you can have the hardwood floors sealed and finished AFTER installation. While prefinished floors may provide a more pleasant flooring installation process, there will still be small cracks and grooves between the planks of wood where moisture can creep in. Hiring professionals to install unfinished wood and finish your bathroom floors after installation will ensure that everything is sealed and water tight, greatly diminishing the chances of water damage in your floors.

Engineered Wood

Another option you have for wood floors in your bathroom is engineered wood. With a water-resistant plywood base, these floors offer longevity for your bathroom floors as well as a real-wood surface that will give you a look that you love.

Faux Wood Tiles

Finally, the safest option for a completely water-safe but wood-look floor for your bathroom floors will take us full circle to our top bathroom flooring choices – faux wood tiles. Scratch-proof, water-proof, and low maintenance, faux wood tiles offer you all of the benefits of ceramic or porcelain tiles, plus the beauty and elegant look of hardwood.

Your bathroom floors do a lot of work for your home. As you remodel this room, it’s important to choose flooring that has both the look and feel you want, as well as the durability and functionality you need for this high-traffic room.

This post was written by Thais Sousa. Follow Thais on Google.

ubath cabinentry and bath with vanity

Marble Floors: Get to Know Your Flooring Series

/in /by
ubath cabinentry bath with vanity and marble floors

Beautiful marble flooring by Ubath

Used by renowned designers, artists and architects all around the world, marble is among the most lavish and luxurious flooring products out there and nothing enhances the look of a home quite like a sleek, new marble floors!  Marble doesn’t just have the potential to make your home dynamic and visually striking; it’s highly durable when well maintained and its impeccable nature adds value to your home.

While size, style, color and patterns are important details to consider, there is more to marble floors than meets the eye.  Whether tiling your entire house or a room, there are a few critical things to consider before choosing Marble.

Characteristics of Marble Floors

Marble’s unique look and beauty is found in each tiles inimitable shade and whirling patterns.  But this very thing can make it difficult to lay marble flooring that is consistent.  To make sure your patterns match lay out the tiles over the entire surface before the final install; this way you can inspect the tile and double check for any mismatch.  Also, all of your tiles should come from the same original batch.

Another important detail to note is that marble floors, like all natural stone, is high maintenance and highly porous.  It needs to be treated regularly to protect it from spills and moisture.  This is a significant detail to bear in mind when choosing marble tiling for outdoor projects or for higher-traffic, moisture-prone area such as bathrooms and kitchens.  Regardless of the application, however, your installation should be treated with a below-surface sealer as well as a surface finishing treatment in order to offset the marble’s natural vulnerability to stains and spills.  Depending on traffic, surface sealing treatments should be repeated every 6-12 months.

Another thing to consider is the slip resistance or C.O.F. (coefficient of friction) of your marble floors. The coefficient of friction calculates how much force it takes to move a certain weight over a surface.  In other words, the higher the C.O.F. the less slippery your floor will be.  How slippery your marble floors are will depend on the type of finish you choose for the stone. Polished marble floors tend to be among the most slippery, as the coefficient of friction is very low, especially when wet.  Honed, tumbled or brushed marble tiles have much greater traction. Each finish can be a great fit in any space, but foot traffic and how the space will be used should ultimately determine which marble finish is best for your project.

Paying attention to these particulars and following the maintenance rules for stone tiles will ensure that your marble floors set your home or business apart and stay healthy and beautiful for years to come.

This post was written by Thais Sousa. Follow Thais on Google.

Bella Cera Floors

Manufacturer Spotlight: Bella Cera Floors

/in /by
Bella cera Floors

Beautiful hand-crafted and eco-friendly flooring.

Affordable, handcrafted, and green first – three important qualities of Bella Cera flooring. With all ranges of styles and wood, there are no limits to what you can do; 12 types of wood and 5 different styles increases the amount of creativity when creating the perfect atmosphere for your home.

Unlike other flooring manufacturers, each plank of wood at Bella Cera is hand-carved by a skilled artisan to meet every style standard. When put together, the individualized planks are sure to create the best finish for your desired look.

When it comes to the environment, Bella Cera doesn’t overlook a thing; its manufacturers strictly follow environmental protections and the Lacey Act. All hardwood made by Bella Cera derives from self-renewing resources to prevent any environmental damage. Even the wood finishes are eco-friendly; Valspar has aided in creating HAPs-free, scratch-resistant finishes that are one of the greenest of their kind today.

Not even the smallest part of the manufacturing materials go to waste when Bella Cera makes its hardwood flooring. From beginning the process with a tree to the finishing touches on each plank, every speck of extra material is utilized for other purposes. Sawdust, trimmings and smaller wood pieces all find new uses after the hardwood has been made.

When your floors need an upgrade, find the nearest Bella Cera Hardwood Flooring dealer and don’t waste a minute. Every step that is made at Bella Cera will serve to make sure that both you and the environment are happy in the end.