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• May 8, 2008 12:00 pm US/Eastern
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  Angie's List: Flooring

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Angie's List: Flooring

Reporting
Jim Donovan

In today's Angie's List report Jim Donovan has advice on what flooring may be best for the rooms in your home.

A nationwide Angie's List poll found that more than 60 percent of home owners have made a change to their flooring over the past couple of years, spending an average of $4,200 and making it the fourth most popular home improvement project.

"The biggest trend we're seeing in flooring these days is moving towards hardwood floors. But keep in mind if you're considering hardwood floors they're not good for basements, and if you live in a high humidity area, you need to go with engineered hardwoods versus solid hardwoods," said Angie Hicks, founder of Angie's List.

But she says many people still stick with familiar favorites.

"Our members are still choosing a variety of floorings; linoleum, ceramic tile are still very common in kitchens and in bathrooms where you have the potential of water leaking. Also carpets are still great for living rooms, family rooms, where you might have kids playing on the floor," said Hicks.

Just be sure to do your homework well in advance.

"When planning for flooring installation, talk to the installer. And understand what you have to do ahead of time. Does the furniture need to be removed; are you handling the removal of the old floor? One of our members learned that lesson the hard way. She was eight months pregnant and the installer showed up and expected the furniture to be moved, but she hadn't done it so she had to scramble to get friends and family to help," said Hicks.

Follow these Angie's List tips prior to the flooring installation:

Even though you may be hiring a professional to install your new flooring, be prepared to do some work yourself ahead of time. You'll need to remove all the furniture in the area and leave room for easy access to materials and in and out of the house. Unless you've arranged for the installer to remove the original flooring, you should do that yourself before they arrive. You may also need to have the gas company disconnect appliances if you're working in the kitchen.

Remember that you'll have to do something with your old flooring when the new one comes in. If you're going to take care of disposal yourself, remove the old flooring at least one day prior to installing the new floor. Starting with a blank slate will help ensure the new floor gets put into place correctly and as quickly as possible.

Once the floor is laid, your work is still not done. Ask how long you'll need to stay off the floors before putting your furniture and appliances back in place. You don't want to ruin your investment on the first day! When you can safely move your furniture back in, put down floor protectors to help prevent gouges and indentations as you move the furniture back in.

Flooring for every room in your home:

Kitchens - high traffic area; spills are common so floors must be easy to clean; non-slip flooring necessary for safety purposes.

Possible kitchen flooring solutions - linoleum, tile, laminate and wood. Rugs can soften a harder material such as ceramic tile.

Bathroom- waterproof flooring is important for sink, toilet, and bathtub overflows; must be easy to clean; non-slip flooring necessary for safety purposes.

Possible bathroom flooring solutions - vinyl, ceramic tile, engineered hardwoods.

Living room - choose flooring to match room's function. Possible living room flooring solutions - carpet and hardwoods.

Dining room - stain resistant floors necessary for floor that is used regularly at mealtime.

Possible dining room flooring solutions - wood, laminate, or tile work well. Be cautious of carpet in light colors because of its tendency to show stains.

Bedrooms - traffic is less of a problem in this area.

Possible bedroom flooring solutions - carpet is traditionally used in bedrooms, but avoid if you have allergies - carpets can trap allergens. Wood or laminate floors also work well.

(© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)