If you’re like me and can’t stand the cold, despite loving the overall feel and energy of winter, you may want to consider flooring that retains warmth. In this article, I want to share a list of the best types of floors for cold weather.
Anyone who grapples with health ailments like arthritis understands the impact the cold weather has on your body. To lubricate your joints and promote a sense of comfort, it’s helpful to create an environment that is soft and warm.
In general, you want to avoid ceramic tiles, porcelain tiles, or stone floors. Despite stone having the capacity to heat up, it has the same affinity for cold.
With that being said, the following floor recommendations will take quality, pricing, and insulation into consideration so that you can invest in a type of floor that suits your preferences in terms of texture, aesthetics, and budget.
Which Flooring Is Best For A Cold Climate?
Hardwood Floors
Regardless of whether they’re engineered or solid wood floors, they will always be affected by the temperature and humidity levels in your home.
This is a good thing because it means that with intervention, we can affect the temperature of hardwood floors irrespective of what the weather is like outside.
Hardwood floors offer this advantage in addition to being durable, rustic, and long-lasting. The only issue you may face is the expansion and contraction of the wood floor due to fluctuations in temperature. It’s important to take measures during the installation process to avoid buckling or warping.
Species of hardwood floors:
- Oak
- Maple
- Burch
- Hickory
- Mahogany
- Cherry
- Walnut
- Elm
- White Ash
- Wenge
- Sydney Blue Gum
On average, the cost of sourcing and installing hardwood flooring per square foot is between $6 to $21 for engineered wood and $11 to $25 for solid wood.
Check out this article for a full price comparison.
Carpet
Carpet will always be the warmest and comfiest type of flooring for a home. This makes it perfect for cold weather, despite being hard to maintain and easier to damage compared to other types of floors. When selecting a carpet, choose one that is dense and thick with a good underlay for added insulation.
Types of carpets:
- Nylon
- Wool
- Polypropylene
- Olefin fiber
- Shag
- Polypropylene
- Berber
- Polyester
- Cotton
- Sisal
- Triexta
Polyester, nylon, cotton, wool, polypropylene, and olefin are the most popular types of carpets used for floors. On this list of carpets, wool is the most expensive type of carpet material, while polypropylene and olefin are among the cheapest.
On average, carpeting a floor costs about $2.50 per square foot and goes up all the way to $12 per square foot. The price will vary depending on the type of carpet, print, and pile.
Check out this article for a full price comparison.
Luxury Vinyl Floor
If you’re in the market for a synthetic but affordable and insulating floor for cold weather, consider luxury vinyl.
It’s a popular choice among homeowners due to how simple it is to install. Luxury vinyl comes in plank form or in sheets that can be trimmed and adjusted as needed.
Most luxury vinyl floors consist of a print that closely resembles that of hardwood floors.
Due to the thick synthetic material, it doesn’t really experience a great deal of fluctuation in temperature, making it an ideal type of floor for the cold season.
On average, it costs approximately $3 to $10 per square foot of luxury vinyl. Regular vinyl sheets or tiles can cost as little as $1 to $2 per square foot.
Bamboo
A common mistake is to assume that bamboo floors are part of hardwood floors, but that’s actually incorrect. Bamboo floors are made from grass, giving them a strong base with more pliability and flexibility than hardwood floors.
Unlike ceramic and porcelain tiles, bamboo floors have a natural insulating ability while offering the rich texture of wood floors.
Types of bamboo floors:
- Engineered
- Strand woven
- Solid
On average, it costs approximately $2 to $6 per square foot of bamboo flooring, including installation.
Final Thoughts
From what it appears to be, vinyl floors happen to be the most affordable floors for cold weather, but if I wanted something more comfortable, warm, and plush, I would lean towards carpet or hardwood.
The only issue I have with carpet is that it’s not stain- and dirt-resistant like every other option on this list. You will need to clean the carpet weekly, if not more, in high-traffic areas.
Keep that in mind if you don’t have the time or energy to clean frequently.
I hope you enjoyed this article on the best types of floors for cold weather. Which option would you choose for your home, and why? I’d love to hear your thoughts, so let me know in the comment section below.
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