Wear and tear are common in every structure. It happens regardless of the quality of materials. Just like the outside of the house, the inside of the house suffers from this over time too. One part that is likely to be worn out in any house is the flooring.
The floor probably takes the most wear because of its high usage. It usually has a long life that can be prolonged with timely maintenance. But if you find any of these points true, it is time to suggest your client get the flooring changed.
Cracks
If a client contacts you to examine their floor, the first thing you look for is visible damage to the structure. This is in the form of scratches and cracks.
Scratches are common if they have a pet with sharp nails in the house. If the scratching is minimal, they can repair the flooring with some polishing. Cracks are not so easy to deal with. With wooden plank flooring, we can replace the faulty component. Other floor types can be repaired with caulk. However, too many cracks can cause problems later.
Loss Of Colour
Colour or shine is something that floors lose. Outside flooring can lose color because of the constant exposure to sunlight. This can also stand true in parts of the house where windows remain open for long hours of the day.
Roof leaks can be a reason too. Leakage in the roof causes drops of water to fall on the floor. This increases the moisture content of the area. The physical structure weakens as soon as it crosses the amount of moisture it can hold. In the duel of wood vs marble flooring, the latter’s loss of color can be solved with marble floor polish.
Uneven
Use a spirit level to check if the floor is running even or not. Over time, parts of the floor sink because of continuous pressure.
Uneven floors are dangerous as they can collapse. One simple sign to identify this is that the area around such weakened parts is squeaky. If your client has a carpeted floor, try to remove the carpet before inspecting the floor.
Water Damaged
This is most commonly found in bathroom and kitchen flooring. These are the rooms with more moisture content than the rest. Wooden flooring suffers the most. Water molecules get between the structure, causing it to weaken. This also promotes the growth of fungus, which further complicates the problem. Telltale signs include weak floor, tender surface, foul smell, etc.
Water damage on the floor is a very common issue. Flooring type matters in the battle against water. There are ways to repair this temporarily, but we consider better a full change of flooring.
While your client is working on their flooring, there is something that you can suggest. Underfloor heating is a feature appreciated by many homeowners. It has a system of pipes/wires that disperse heat evenly through the floor. This is very effective for winters.
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