Fabulous Floors New products join classics to help you create durable, versatile style underfoot
by Marianne C. Bird
Thinking about a new floor in your home remodeling project?
There are numerous options for your consideration—some newer styles and features as well as the good, old-fashioned standbys. Regardless of what you are seeking, there are resources out there to help meet your flooring needs.
Consider interior concrete, a flooring option that has been making its way to the Tri-Cities within the last year and a half. Concrete underfoot is most associated with outdoor flatwork such as driveways, sidewalks, and patios. Now concrete is being introduced as a stylish, durable choice for interior living spaces.
Shelly DuCharme, of Freeland’s Du-Charme Concrete Construction, a second-generation, family-owned business, says interior concrete provides new and cutting-edge designs for clients looking for something beautiful and unique.
“There are special additives incorporated within the concrete to increase its flexibility and strength, which allows for a variety of applications and finishes within a house,” she says.
These products facilitate designs that can produce beautiful and creative sinks, countertops, and flooring, DuCharme adds.
“The finished options include stamped (to look like stone, brick, slate, or tile) and troweled to a smooth finish, and are available in basically any desired colors. Each floor, countertop, and sink is uniquely customized to meet the needs and wants of individual customers,” DuCharme says. “Interior concrete fits any design style, from contemporary to rustic. All products are sealed with FDA-approved epoxy that is heat rated for up to 200 degrees.”
DuCharme notes that countertops range from $30 to $50 per square foot, depending on shape. Sinks start at $400, and flooring prices begin at $50 per square foot.
Tom Benkert, general sales manager in the flooring division at Northeastern Paint Supply, Inc., says the company provides typically all types of flooring options that consumers might be interested in. The home improvement firm started operations in 1959, and has locations in Bay City, Saginaw, and Midland.
“We have carpet, vinyl, laminate, wood floors, ceramic tile, and some of the newer options out there, such as cork and bamboo. There are many different options available for people to consider when they are thinking about new floors,” says Benkert.
Some of the newer technologies include recycled options (resista-polyester), soft yarns (sporting a cotton-like feel), and “green” styles (used more often in commercial applications rather than in homes).
Benkert says that wood floors, always a versatile classic, continue to be a popular choice for customers. Another big seller is large area rugs to complement wood-flooring options.
“People really do like their hardwood floors,” Benkert says.
Buyers can expect to spend about 79 cents per square foot to $12 per square foot for carpet. Laminates range from 99 cents per square foot to $6 per square foot.
“Prices will vary, and consumers are cautioned to be mindful that they get what they pay for,” Benkert says.
When it comes time to update your floors, know that there are functional, unique, stylish, eco-friendly, durable options afoot.
Resources:
DuCharme Concrete Construction, 5696 N Thomas
Rd., 692-0123
Northeastern Paint Supply, Inc.
3950 N Euclid Ave, Bangor Township, 989-686-8190
2883 McCarty Rd, Saginaw Township, 989-799-8190
7814 Eastman Ave, Midland, 989-633-8190
