Flooring (design)

Michael Holigan: When you're considering a hard surface for your floors, there's a lot of choices to make. We've got wood, marble, ceramic tile, linoleum, where do you even begin? We've got Larry Grussendorf back from Gabberts to help us out. Good to have you with us Larry.

Larry Grussendorf: Nice to be here, thank you.

M.H.: Where do we begin Larry? There's too many choices once again.

L.G.: Well there's several considerations in beginning to select your flooring. One would be aesthetics, how it's going to appear in your home. And secondly, what area is going to get the most use? There are a lot of brick products out right now. The Maybrick can be applied to any surface.

M.H.: And they look just like pavers but they're very thin.

L.G.: It's actually a brick cut in half.

M.H.: Price-wise, how does it compare to others?

L.G.: Price-wise, it's actually going to be around the range of wood. Marbles and slates are another category. Marble is a more porous product. Slate is used often times in kitchen tile surfaces. There are a lot of benefits to ceramic tile. In fact, they're probably the most versatile in that it's a hard surface. It's a very low maintenance product. It also is lower in costs. You can actually simulate a ceramic tile to simulate a slate look, but not have the slate price.

M.H.: Well I like that. It looks good and saves money, so that's a big plus.

L.G.: Exactly.

M.H.: How about our old standby linoleum? You see that everywhere.

L.G.: It's one of the lower cost products that you can offer. A consideration for vinyl and a good quality vinyl, make sure that would be an inlaid product, which means that the color is actually all the way through the vinyl, so if it does tear, if it does, then you know that your color's all the way through.

M.H.: And if we wear through it over they years, then we will have the same color all the way through?

L.G.: Exactly.

M.H.: How about wood? It always looks great, normally a little pricey though.

L.G.: Well, most of the woods today are prefinished, so that you don't have to go into the sanding and don't have to go into the waxing process. You still can do that.

M.H.: As a builder, I've got to tell you I do love the prefinished plank. It goes down quickly and it lasts a long time. It's a very nice finish.

L.G.: And the nice thing about a wood product is that it conducts the heat better than anything else that you do. So, unlike a ceramic tile that will be cold to your feet, a wood product will be warm and inviting.

M.H.: Let's go back through one more time Larry and tell me the benefits and the pricing structure on how they fit, starting with linoleum.

L.G.: Linoleum is a lower priced product. It's going to be anywhere from two to say six dollars a foot.

M.H.: How about the ceramic tile?

L.G.: The ceramic tiles are anywhere from five dollars to $11.00 a foot. They're probably one of the best universal products that you can use.

M.H.: And how about the marble?

L.G.: The marble product is in price range a little bit higher than ceramic. It has price range of anywhere from six to $18.00.

M.H.: And how about the Maybrick?

L.G.: The Maybrick, the product is going to be about the same price as marble.

M.H.: And back to one of my favorites, wood.

L.G.: The wood product is probably the upper end in price, but again, it conducts the heat better. It's aesthetically a more appealing, I think, floor covering.

M.H.: Do you have to be worried about the wood in wet areas around bathtubs and sinks?

L.G.: With the sealants that we have today, it's pretty universal and can be used anywhere.

Episode 011 1995 - 96 Season

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