10 Different Types of Flooring Materials Used for Your Home and Office

Last Updated: 2021-08-12By Steven H.

With thousands of reviewed remodeling projects our team has decided to discuss all potential types of flooring for your home. There are plenty of options and depending where you live and your choice of style will define how to remodel your home flooring.

Some floors are literally impossible to install in certain conditions and some we recommend not doing for simplicity or possibility of damages.

Here are top 10 popular floors in America for our discussion:

Type of Flooring	Benefit	Installation Cost	Material Cost
Laminate	Easy to install	$1.2 / sq ft	$2 / sq ft
Hardwood	Can Refinish	$1.6 / sq ft	$5 / sq ft
Engineered	Withstands weather	$3 / sq ft	$6.5 / sq ft
Carpet	Soft and worm	$1 / sq ft	$2.5 / sq ft
Tiles	Very Durable	$8 / sq ft	$6 / sq ft
Stone	Fashionable	$10 / sq ft	$7 / sq ft
Concrete	Easy to maintain	$- / sq ft	$7 / sq ft
Vinyl	Cheap and strong	$1.2 / sq ft	$2 / sq ft
Cork	Noise resistant	$2 / sq ft	$4 / sq ft
Rubber	Protects from liquids	$1.5 / sq ft	$6 / sq ft

This data may not be relevant to your region. It is based on average costs across the country.

On Point Remodeling can suggest your local suppliers and installers for flooring of your choice.

1. Laminate Floor

We can say that the most popular and used types of flooring material used for condo buildings is laminate. To someone not in the industry of flooring or remodeling it may look exactly like hardwood, but there is a big difference.

Even though laminate flooring is cheaper than hardwood, it is more practical in use. It’s more flexible and often used in basements. Laminate does not react to cooler and moist air as hardwood does.

The benefit of laminate floor installation is that you do not need to nail it or glue to surface underneath. It is installed on click mechanism at each side of laminate plank. Since it floats the expansion due to wet and dry air is held much better.

The average cost of laminate flooring is $2 per square foot but you can always find something on sale for less.

2. Hardwood Floor

Good old hardwood can be seen in most of older places throughout US houses. Very rarely hardwood installed in new condos or any commercial spaces. It is not recommended to be used in environments that often change in temperature, air concentration and humidity.

One of the qualities that set this material apart from everything else is the ability to refinish floor years after it is installed. There are floors in some homes that are sanded and stained after 30-50 years of being there.

Regular hardwood is usually nailed to subfloor with tiny nails. Subfloor for hardwood floor in best case scenario is plywood for ability to nail. Hardwood can be installed on poured concrete with glue.

The average cost for hardwood material is $5 per square foot. It can range from very cheap material at $2 per square foot to exotic wood with price tag of $12 per square foot.

3. Engineered Hardwood

Inventions of new materials happen all the time and engineered hardwood was one of the most popular. It came on market about in 1960s and initially was designed for moist and cold areas.

Later on this types of flooring materials caught up with new home builders and home owners with popular colors, designs and sizes of wood planks. Great feature of engineered hardwood that it can be glued, nailed or both with planks larger than 6 inches.

Yes this floor has more resistance to different temperatures and water, but the problem with engineered hardwood that it can be refinished only once or twice if lucky. This work is very precise and in some situations is not even doable.

Engineered hardwood is one of the most expensive products for floor finishing and goes on average for $6-$7 per square foot.

4. Carpet

New construction carpet flooring installed.

If you talk about materials that go out of style and getting used less in home remodeling projects than carpet is definitely one of them. Very much used in condominium bedrooms and cheaper quality homes.

What carpet is good for is definitely ability to change it easily. It does not cost much as materials and installation is not complicated. You can cover larger areas of floor in not time with little knowledge.

Stairs can be covered with carpet as well. Home owners with small kids like carpet versus other types of flooring materials, because it is softer for landing when kids fall down.

Why carpets are getting turned away by most of home owners is they get very dirty and dusty quick. These things create health problems and allergies.

Regular carpet should cost around $2 – $3 per square foot in local chain stores and suppliers.

5. Tiled Floors

It’s very rare to have a house or condo without any tiles on the floor. We see it everywhere. Tiles are in bathrooms, entrances, laundries, hallways, kitchens, basements and sometimes throughout entire houses.

There are tons of styles, shapes and sizes of tiles and it is easy to find something you will like. Tiles are very durable and easy to clean. If you have pets at home, tiled floors would be the least of your worry.

Basement and bathroom floors with tiles are often get heated with electrical or radiant water pipe heated floor systems

It is not practical to use tiles as material of floor finishes in main living areas in cold weathers without heated floors. Tiles get cold quickly and walking on them during the winter is not pleasant at all.

There is no average material cost for tiles as range is quite high. They go from like a dollar per square foot to several hundred dollars per square foot.

6. Stone Flooring

Natural stone is very similar to tiles in installation functionality. It’s installed in most of areas where regular tiles are installed and on top of that natural stone is used for outside.

Stone is durable and usually larger in thickness than ceramic. It transfers heat but does not react to it. Because it is not mass produced by humans, but rather found in nature and refinished, it will have different shape and lines all the time.

Warmer climates are perfect for stone tiles inside and outside of your home. The downside of this flooring is it may be rough and even sharp on your feet. The other downside of stone it is extremely heavy and delivering it to remote places.

Average costs for natural stone and same category types of flooring materials for your floors are around $7 per square foot.

7. Concrete Types of Flooring Materials

Modern concrete stained and polished as floor surface.

The floor that everyone used to cover with other materials but now becomes popular on its own is concrete. Largely used before in commercial properties and now in many residential homes.

Concrete is greater transmission of heat and even with thought out heating system for home, even in cold weather cities concrete heated floor can be seen in modern homes as finished material.

It is easy to maintain and colorful finishes can be used. Lifespan of concrete is insane comparing to other materials and lasts for many decades.

Problems with concrete are it is very hard and cold. Without proper heating you will not like it with barefoot. In multiple stories home concrete becomes loud if there is no other noise resistance system.

To pour new concrete with material and installation it costs on average $7 per square foot. Keep in mind other listed materials are averaged without installation costs.

8. Vinyl Tiles or Plans

Next to carpet, easy to install material for homes is vinyl. It can be used for many purposes with tons of style options. Vinyl products can imitate laminate wood flooring as well as tiles. It is very good for surfaces that get wet or damaged all the time.

Normally we see vinyl as different types of flooring in high traffic areas such as local businesses, stores, home that are built on budget. It is cheap and easy change weather it is tile shaped or planks similar to hardwood. It is 100% resistant to moisture and will not change shape if exposed to water.

With all these great features the issues with vinyl come as well. Even though its used in traffic areas, vinyl gets scratched and damaged easily. It is also very hard to remove due to artificial material being glued to subfloor.

Vinyl is relatively cheap flooring option and it goes for $2 per square foot

9. Cork Mats

Soft and noise resistant cork flooring material.

Not often you see these floors in new homes, but there are home owners that install cork floor in few parts of home. It absorbs water and other moistures, therefore not popular in kitchens, entrance areas and obviously bathrooms.

Cork floors are soft to walk on block noise very well. It has very similar good and bad qualities of carpet flooring, but rarely installed because it costs more. You wouldn’t ever guess but cork floors can be refinished.

Changing color will disappoint home owners that install cork or similar types of flooring materials. It is also hard to clean and reinstalled once damaged.

The cost of cork flooring in America is $4 per square foot.

10. Rubber Floor

We have never seen rubber floors installed throughout the house, but some areas or rooms may definitely have that. Commercial areas rubber floors often used for gyms, yoga studios and entrances to stores.

Rubber floors are very soft and often resistant to liquids. The greatest benefit of rubber floor materials are being non slippery. To protect themselves from lawsuits for accidents, businesses often install rubber floors.

At home rubber floors are used as well in basement areas and in home gyms. Rubber floors are not attractive and it has very intensive smell.

The cost of rubber floor installation is $10 per square foot.

Conclusion for Different Types of Flooring Materials with Costs

You should select what is suitable for your residence and absolutely works for you in terms of looks and functionality.

Working with different budgets will be a big factor as well but we recommend functionality over money because if you plan to live in your current home for many years.

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Each building has some sort of driveway or at least should have. The main reason is for vehicles to come closer without need to walk all the way. Some homes are residential with small driveway for their car to come in and park before garage or front entrance, and others can be large commercial buildings with loading docks, delivery entrances and casual parking entrances. On Point Remodeling was asked for suggestions on residential driveway for new home construction, and we decided to write detailed article for all our readers. Using this guide you can select the material for your driveway and see what works for your budget. Here are the materials for driveway we will be discussing in our guide:

Asphalt
Concrete
Paver Stone
Crushed stone
Brick
Seashell
Gravel

To find good contractor for your driveway, you can either ask our team by email or try to find someone local that worked with neighbors or nearby buildings.

Installation process of any material surface on your driveway

a) Demolition and Excavation – Before anything is done, your contractor will get heavy machinery and scratch off old layer of driveway. They need to go down at least 5-6 inches to insure proper layering before your final layer of material is installed. b) Material Purchase and Delivery – At this point your contract is signed and you already know how the surface will look. Contracting company purchases necessary materials and delivers them to site. Double check if material is correct and not damaged. c) Preparation of Sublevel – Whatever you place as final material, it cannot just be installed directly on top soil. Gravel is the first choice of material that goes down at this stage. Other preferred material is screen sand that can go on top of gravel and works better with stone and bricks. d) Compaction of Ground – To prevent your driveway from moving and changing shapes, all the layers from bottom up have to be properly compacted. Do not leave any spot untouched while doing this or you can get small holes and cracks in driveway after installation. E) Final Installation – This is when all the magic happens. After all preparations and dirty work the final installation is made literally within hours and you can enjoy new driveway. Stone and brick is set up by hand, while other materials require some sort of machinery with manual labor to even out surface.

1. Asphalt

Probably the most used material for road top surfaces as well as driveways is asphalt. This is a mix of gravel and sand that is mixed in and combined by asphalt cement with crude oil. Pros of Asphalt Driveway

Very popular and easy to find materials/contractor
Completed in 1 day and you can drive on it after
Patches and small holes can be fixed fast

Cons of Asphalt Driveway

Easy to damage and cracks appear in few years
Almost everyone else has same surface
Oily surface and chemicals used in mix

Prepared for asphalt driveway will cost you around $5 per square foot to finish. The contractors that take care of entire process from taking out old driveway surface, install subsurface and compact the ground with new asphalt on top, will charge on average $5500 per regular size driveway at single home property.

2. Concrete

What we call concrete is a mixture of Portland cement, aggregate as well as sand with gravel. Suggested thickness of concrete for driveway is 6 inches. The mixture needs to cure without being touched or driven on top for several days. Pros of Concrete Driveway

Durable material for large weights
Long lifespan if installed properly
Winter and summer friendly

Cons of Concrete Driveway

Has marks and stains over time
Hard to repair without replacement
Super hard to DIY

To hire contractors for concrete driveway it will cost around $7-$9 per square foot. This will include site preparation with gravel spread and new concrete installation. They will order full truck of concrete (or several for larger driveways) to pour inside forming. Smoothening and curing is required after installation.

3. Paver Stone

The most luxurious material that you can use to create driveway path with is paver stone. It is made out of natural stone with uneven rough shapes that have different line patterns. Paver stones are very heavy and are perfect for weights on top of them. Almost every city in Europe has roads and walks made out of stone that were installed centuries ago. Pros of Paver Stone Driveway

Creative designs can be done
Personal looks, can match the house
Can replace single stone in minutes

Cons of Paver Stone Driveway

Weeds growing through
Stone can move over time
Most expensive material

There is wide selection of stone that can be purchased for your driveway. On average we recommend settling with $17-$20 per square foot for stone with installation included. Working with this material is very intense labor and we recommend hiring professionals that do this type of work every day.

4. Crushed Stone

Our readers sometimes mistake crushed stone with gravel, but this is not the same material. Crushed stone material is achieved when machine is mechanically crushing larger pieces of unused stone for this specific purpose. It is larger than gravel and can have smooth finish. Crushed stone can also have a mix of colors, which is much pleasant to eyes than gravel. Pros of Crushed Stone Driveway

Low maintenance required
Fits rural area style
Can be reused for other purposes

Cons of Crushed Stone Driveway

Gets very hot during summer
Can be messy after many drives
Hard to remove snow and ice

Buying crushed stone and installing it on your driveway is as easy as it gets. Similar to other rough materials discussed in this post, only small tools like shovels, dolly and buckets are required to spread it on the road. The cost of crushed stone driveway is between $4 and $6 per square foot from professional local contractors that can finish the job in several days.

5. Brick

The same brick we see being used in wall construction can be installed as top driveway surface. Brick is manufactured by compressing clay with plastic mass. It is heated to extreme temperature and dried up to become as solid as you know it. Pros of Brick Driveway

Variety of selections in shapes and shades
Bricks are recyclable
Slip resistant with rough top part

Cons of Brick Driveway

Needs regular maintenance
Change color over time
Old fashion looking

Installing brick on driveway costs $10 per square foot, which is not too far from masonry brick laying as part of the wall. To save money you can use or purchase old brick, that was part of a wall before. Do not mix these two jobs and contact landscaping professionals instead of masonry contractors that work with bricks.

6. Seashell

This material is popular on the coast line where shells can be found near the water. Construction companies use seashells to add in other materials as well as spread them on driveway in rough condition, without adding anything else. It usually comes in white or pearl color and darkens within year because of mixing with sand and dirt. Pros of Seashell Driveway

Environmentally friendly
Has natural drainage
Creates worm vibe of beach house

Cons of Seashell Driveway

Break and crack under light weight
Sharp and very hard to walk on
Gets stuck in shoes and tires

To deliver and spread seashells on driveways costs below $4, which is only slightly more expensive than rough gravel. As you go further from coast line, cost of material increases due to delivery. This material is elegant and very soft. We recommend adding edge lines with darker color landscape material to create visual path.

7. Gravel

This material is used in other construction mixes and underlayment systems. It’s literally fragments and small crushed stones that are put on top of soil. It is easily spread out by hands and anyone can do it. Pros of Gravel Driveway

Cheapest of them all
Easy DIY Job
Can install another material on top

Cons of Gravel Driveway

Needs to be graded very often
Will mix with dirt and leaves
Washes up with heavy rains

It is rough material and can be purchased in bulk (by metric tons or cubic meters). The cost of driveway with gravel should not exceed $3 per square foot, but you can save tons of money by purchasing materials and doings installation by yourself. You do not require specific tools or heavy equipment for the job and delivery of gravel can be arranged directly to your project.

Conclusion

To properly finish any and all of these driveways requires skills and experience. There is no way you can complete any of these projects without heavy equipment and tools that regular home owner’s just store in their garages. Most of those who will read this post will prefer to install asphalt driveway, because of its popularity and low costs. We want to encourage home owners to go for personal preference and what matches your house, rather than getting the most affordable and popular items. Driveway jobs have to be completed fast; otherwise you will need to park elsewhere while the project is running. To not overpay, ask us for quotation sample on material you prefer in specific region where the work need to be done and our team can provide some numbers.

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