Painting Older Floors is a Budget Friendly Option

Getting close to reaching the budget limit, Redwood had to consider all the options in order to finish the flooring in this house remodel. Although it isn’t the most conventional option for hard wood flooring, painting the floorboards became a viable option. Painting would still seal the floorboards, preventing moisture or further damage from occurring to the floor. This is also a good option for older floors that won’t take to staining as well as newer floors do.

Budget Remodeling is Possible

Using paint on the flooring was a great option to stay within budget and to also bring some color into the home. Painting hardwood floors may not be as common as staining today, but it can provide the same benefit as staining does. This is just one example of Redwood working with a homeowner’s budget to ensure a new and complete remodel is finished, despite the size of the budget. 

There’s no need to tap into your home equity to pay for your project. We made it easy for you to find monthly payment options for your project with: loans beginning at $1,000 up to $100,000, affordable monthly payment options, funding within 1-3 days, no repayment penalties, and no home equity required!

When it comes to getting financed, there’s no need to take out thousands of dollars. We’ll work with you for what you need, whether that be the full amount for your remodel or to simply supplement your current budget. The best part is that you can explore your options without damaging your credit score. You can see your personalized monthly payment options within minutes WITHOUT affecting your credit score with a soft credit check. 

Check your personalized rates here!

Price and Quality of Vinyl Flooring

Vinyl flooring is one of the cheapest options of flooring, especially when it comes to finding a more economical substitute to hardwood flooring. Both engineered wood and solid hardwood flooring are comprised of different amounts of actual wood. Although vinyl flooring can look nearly identical and can be mistaken for real wood floors to the untrained eye, it isn’t comprised of any wood. This contributes to a lot of the benefits that vinyl flooring has. 

Vinyl flooring is actually sturdier than other forms of hardwood. It tends to be a first choice for high traffic areas, even in public places. The planks are highly resistant to the common scuffs, scratches, and dents that pure hardwood flooring suffers from. In terms of sturdiness, vinyl flooring is also much more resistant to moisture. Not having to worry about your floor damaging from common splashes or spills is not a concern with this kind of flooring. There are versions of planks that can be 100% waterproof, which can be a huge win over hardwood, because it means vinyl flooring can be installed in more places than hardwood. 

Vinyl Flooring Maintenance

You still shouldn’t use a steam cleaner on vinyl flooring, much like hardwood, but they are much easier to clean due to their resistance to moisture. You can mop your vinyl floors, just be sure not to use an overabundance of water or any kind of abrasives. Sweeping and mopping the floors should be enough to keep your floors in tip top shape, because it will keep any pieces of debris that could be abrasive to the surface of your flooring from actually causing damage. 

What are the negatives of Vinyl flooring?

Even with proper care and maintenance, vinyl flooring won’t last as long as engineered or solid hardwood floors. They also won’t add any value to your home like solid hardwood floors will. In terms of comfort, vinyl flooring also tends to be colder than other choice due to how thin the planks are. With the planks being so thin, that means generally vinyl planks can’t be repaired. The planks will need to be completely replaced, unlike engineered or hardwood floors that can withstand repairs, sanding, and refinishing. 

Vinyl flooring is a good choice for most homeowners, especially if they are on a budget. They come in a variety of styles and can look nearly identical to solid hardwood floors. They just won’t last quite as long as the other more expensive options, even though vinyl flooring is sturdier in most situations. 

Redwood takes pride in working within the Northwest community, so we wanted to do more than just hand out candy. There were some restrictions this year, because we wanted to make sure everyone stayed safe. We didn’t let that stop us though! If you were able to get out and visit your local businesses for some tricks and treats, then you probably saw Redwood’s table being overrun by spiders! 

If you were brave enough to get close enough for some candy, then you probably walked away with our scavenger hunt and coloring pages! Since we couldn’t have traditional games for the kids, and even adults, we wanted to make sure everyone still was able to do something fun together. Perhaps the scavenger hunt wasn’t your cup of tea. We still gave everyone a chance to enter our raffle! All you had to do was get close to accurately guessing how many candy corn pieces were in the jar. We made sure to make the prizes worth is for both children and adults! 

Thank you to everyone who came to visit Redwood, as well as our other local business neighbors on Lincolnway! We can’t wait to see what spoOoOoOoky things next year has in store.  

Donating Over 200 Gowns From Heroic Hearts

During the month of July, Redwood Remodeling partnered with Heroic Hearts to donate unique hospital gowns to children in the La Porte Hospital and Franciscan Health in Michigan City. A gown was donated for every roof, deck, bathroom, and kitchen remodel contracted with Redwood. Also, on July 17^th, the LEAP hosted their annual golf fundraiser where Redwood donated a gown for every birdie at the event.

Heroic Hearts strives to make children’s hospital stays enjoyable by adding a touch of fun in their uniquely designed hospital gowns. As a child, being in a hospital, regardless of how long, can be an intimidating and every draining experience. Swapping the drab hospital gown for a superhero or princess gown adds a spark of joy to children by providing a sense of normalcy to their situation. Heroic Hearts provides the opportunity for a child to feel so much bigger. After all, everyone feels at least a little empowered when they get to wear a cape!

Redwood specializes in residential interior and exterior remodeling including decking, flooring, kitchens, and bathrooms. With over 50 years of combined experience, Redwood thrives on working with its customers to assure optimal satisfaction with the finished product. As a small business in Northwest Indiana, there is a true desire to serve friends, family and neighbors. Because of these values, Redwood is ecstatic for the chance to help children within our community feel more comfortable and empowered during their hospital stays with our donations to both the La Porte Hospital and Franciscan Health in Michigan City!

Backsplash Aesthetic Functionality

Paint has come a long way and can withstand a variety of abuses. Regardless if the high level of durability, being paint, there will come a point in time where the paint is visibly duller or maybe even flaking. Having to wipe the wall down from hot oil splatters or scrubbing off toothpaste spots will eventually wear the paint on your kitchen and bathroom wall down. Having a backsplash can help more easily maintain a clean space while not having to worry about whether you’re wearing down the paint just from general maintenance. 

Not only will the backsplash tiles be easier to clean than a bare wall, they’ll last much longer. Because the tile lasts longer and doesn’t visibly wear down like paint might long-term, your space will stay looking brand new for much longer. Speaking of looks, a backsplash is a great way to add a striking design element to whatever space you decide to use one in, or you could decide to have a backsplash that blends in with the paint. Either way, backsplashes can easily add an aesthetic functionality to your space. 

Tile Backsplash Maintenance

Although a tile backsplash won’t wear off or dull like paint, the grout in between the tiles could potentially get grimy. The tiles in a backsplash are relatively easy to clean, regardless of the material used, but cleaning the grout lines can potentially be tedious. If cleaning the grout occasionally isn’t a problem, then having smaller tiles part of the design element of your kitchen or bathroom won’t be a problem.

The smaller the tiles, the more grout lines there will be to get dirty and clean. If the goal is to have a lower maintenance space, then having larger tiles for your backsplash will be the better option. It will minimize the number of grout lines there are, resulting in less cleaning when it comes time to brightening up those grout lines. 

Just like everything else in your home, backsplashes require at least a little maintenance. However, with their longevity and the added design element it can give to your kitchen or bathroom, the occasional cleaning it requires is rather minimal compared to the benefits. 

Cost of Hardwood Floors

Solid hardwood floors are undoubtedly more expensive than engineered hardwood. Solid flooring is completely comprised of wood, using more material, versus engineered wood that only has a top layer of the chosen wood. Regardless of deciding on unfinished or prefinished wood, solid hardwood is going to be more expensive. The price differences may be justifiable to some due to how much longer solid hardwood floors can last.

Longevity of Hardwood Floors

One of the benefits of solid wood flooring is that it will last for hundreds of years, especially if cared for properly. Engineered wood, specifically of higher quality, can last about 80 years at best. This is related to how often the floor can be sanded and refinished. If the floor is solid wood, it can be sanded much more than engineered wood due to the whole plank being comprised of wood versus only a thin layer. Solid wood can more reliably be sanded and refinished if possibly damaged, and this might not be an option with engineered wood, playing a large factor in the different woods’ longevities. 

Placement Options for Different Hardwoods

Both hardwood options cannot be used in the same ways. Climate and environment impact solid hardwood much more than engineered wood. In places where there is a lot of moisture or humidity, solid hardwood probably isn’t your best option. Different kinds of warping, like cupping or gapping can occur to solid wood  if exposed to areas with high humidity.

Engineered wood is becoming one of the more popular hardwood options due to its similarity to solid hardwood flooring. When deciding on which type of hardwood flooring to purchase, aside from personal preference, it ultimately comes down to where you want to have the hardwood installed and your budget.

What is engineered hardwood?

Unlike solid hardwood floors, where the entirety of the floor plank is comprised of wood, engineered planks only have a top layer of real wood. What you walk on and see is only a top layer of the wood of your choice. The underlayers of the plank usually consist of a cheaper plywood and or another layer of hardwood.

Engineered hardwood is becoming more desirable, because it has most if not more of the benefits that solid hardwood floors have. This type of flooring can also be cheaper than if you were to go with a solid hardwood floor. Just because this floor option is cheaper, does not mean the there is any lesser quality. 

Quality of Engineered Hardwood Floors

There are quite a few factors that play into what hardwood flooring options are best for your desires and uses. Don’t discredit engineered flooring in your decision making solely because the planks are not completely comprised of the top layer wood. Engineered flooring can still last for a very long time, but that depends on the quality of the flooring purchased.

The quality depends mainly on how thick the top layer of wood is. Thinner top layers won’t be able to be sanded or refinished and will only last around 30 years, maybe less. However, flooring with a thicker top layer can be sanded and refinished a couple times and can last for as long as 80 years. Aside from how often the floor can be sanded and refinished, there isn’t a huge difference in quality between solid hardwood floors and engineered hardwood floors. 

If you’re considering hardwood flooring, engineered hardwood floors are a great option. With having similar qualities, being cost effective, and lasting for quite a long time, not have solid wood flooring shouldn’t dissuade you from going with engineered flooring. 

Solid Hardwood Choices

There are a variety of options when it comes to choosing what type of hardwood floors are the best for your purposes, and there is more than just solid wood plank flooring. When focusing on solid hardwood flooring, however, your main two decisions will be what kind of wood to choose and if you want the planks pre-finished or unfinished.

Your options can be anything from your more common Oak to an exotic wood like Australian Cypress. The types of woods you can choose from are rather vast, and the majority of the decisions depend on how much you’re willing to invest in a new floor. 

Exotic flooring can create a bold statement in any room, but also consider that some of the more common flooring types can have similar affects. Once the wood is chosen, then you’re left to decide on pre-finished or unfinished flooring.

Both options have their appeal, seeing as going for unfinished flooring allows you to decide the specific kind of treatment your wood will receive versus pre-finished, which limits you to what your retailer provides.

Unfinished wood requires some more work after being installed but can be easier on your wallet. Pre-finished wood costs a little more, but once it is installed, you get to enjoy your new floors right away. Depending on your budget, deciding whether to go with unfinished or pre-finished could also impact what kind of wood you decide on.

Longevity of Solid Hardwood Floors

If taken care of properly, solid hardwood floors can last for hundreds of years. This may seem like an exaggeration, but as long as it is maintained properly, there’s no reason for you to have to replace your hardwood floors. Even if there is an accident and your floor gets a deep scratch in the surface, you can simply sand it and refinish it.

One of the benefits of the solid wood shines through in not having a limit to how many times you sand it, unless of course you completely sand the floor away. Because the entirety of the plank is solid wood, you don’t have to worry about sanding through the actual wood to another layer in the plank. 

Easy maintenance, moderate pricing, and styling flexibility are all reasons why solid hardwood floors are becoming one of the most popular types of flooring to choose from.

Heroic Hearts strives to make children’s hospital stays enjoyable by adding a touch of fun in their uniquely designed hospital gowns. As a child, being in a hospital, regardless of how long, can be an intimidating and energy draining experience. Swapping the drab hospital gown for a superhero or princess gown adds a spark of joy to children by providing a sense of normalcy to their situation. Heroic Hearts provides the opportunity for a child to feel so much bigger. After all, everyone feels at least a little empowered when they get to wear a cape!

For every roof, deck, bathroom, or kitchen remodel contracted with Redwood during the month of July, Redwood will donate a Heroic Hearts gown to either the La Porte Hospital or Franciscan Health in Michigan City.Redwood thrives on working with its customers to assure optimal satisfaction with the finished product. As a small business in Northwest Indiana, there is a true desire to serve friends, family and neighbors. Because of these values, Redwood is ecstatic for the chance to help children within our community feel more comfortable and empowered during their hospital stays!