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Flooring Installation FAQs


Flooring Contractor FAQs in Kansas City

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There’s no better way to freshen up your space and add value to your home. But before you update your flooring, there are many choices to make. We’ve rounded up some flooring contractor FAQs in Kansas City to help you with your decision-making process. If you want more information, check out our web pages dedicated to different kinds of flooring.

No matter the flooring you choose, you can trust the qualified contractors hired by Footprints Floors to do the job right.

FAQs

The first thing to figure out when updating your flooring is what flooring is right for the space. For a bathroom or kitchen where there will be lots of moisture and potentially water on the floor, something like tile or vinyl flooring is ideal because it’s durable and water-resistant. Hardwood flooring is a classic choice for other areas of your home, but you still need to choose between solid or engineered hardwood. Consider the upkeep of different flooring and the wear — do you have young kids or pets? Does the room receive much sun? Answer these questions first to help you decide the kind of flooring that will suit your needs.

It depends! Laminate and vinyl flooring can be installed directly over existing flooring, and solid hardwood can be glued directly onto concrete. Consider factors like the age and condition of your existing flooring and whether it will serve as a sturdy base for new flooring.

Contrary to popular belief, it is not difficult to care for wood flooring. You can simply vacuum hardwood floors to remove grit and debris and use a damp cloth or mop to wipe away dust. To reduce potential scratches, ensure footwear (i.e., heels) has proper plastic caps to prevent scratches, or ask guests to remove their shoes. As a bonus, you can switch up the look of your hardwood floors at any time through staining or refinishing.

You probably bumped into three terms when looking up hardwood flooring online: "painting," "staining," and "refinishing." "Painting" is obvious, but what about the others? A wood stain, usually applied by hand, is used to darken the color of the wood. The "finishing" process involves applying varnish and a coating of sealant, which adds gloss and protects the wood. "Refinishing" is the process of redoing your current flooring finish, revitalizing, and rejuvenating it.

Refinishing or restoring existing wood floors can save you tons of money! If you have old wood flooring that doesn’t look great, it can be tempting to rip it out and start over. But wood flooring is resilient and made to last. Most damage can be repaired, and refinishing or restoring can make wood floors look new. If you’re unsure whether your wood flooring can be saved, the experts at Footprints Floors can assess it.

This is another “it depends” situation. Solid hardwood flooring is more expensive than engineered hardwood. However, solid hardwood can be sanded and refinished more than engineered hardwood, so it may last longer. Engineered hardwood is more affordable and is more resistant to moisture and humidity. If you live in a place with high humidity or greatly varying temperatures, engineered hardwood flooring may be the right choice. Both look beautiful and are easy to take care of.

Laminate flooring is a budget-friendly type of layered flooring that can be made to look like pretty much anything. It’s typically made up of wood fibers compressed into a board or a plywood board. The board is then covered in an “image” layer — basically, a photo of whatever you want the flooring to look like (stone, wood, etc), and a “wear” layer, or protective layer. Some laminate may also have a backing layer made of cork or felt. Laminate is an affordable way to get the look of more expensive wood or stone flooring. It’s pretty durable, making it a great choice for homes with pets or kids, and it’s easy to clean. However, prolonged exposure to water can cause the wood part of the laminate to warp, making it unsuitable for rooms like bathrooms.

Laminate’s wood component makes it susceptible to water damage. Vinyl is an entirely synthetic material, which means it’s waterproof. As long as laminate is installed correctly, it’s fairly water-resistant, but still probably not a suitable choice for bathrooms or mudrooms where water might linger. Vinyl is extremely durable and comes in various of colors, textures, and styles. Both laminate and vinyl are great choices for homes with high traffic from kids and pets, and they’re easy to take care of — but whereas vinyl can go in any room in your home, remember to keep laminate out of the bathroom.

There is a much wider variety of colors, textures, and designs in tile flooring than in hardwood. Tile floors have a lifespan of over a century. Whether you're looking for a traditional or modern look, there is a tile pattern to suit you. Regarding durability, aesthetics, maintenance, and cost, tile is an excellent choice. It's also considered one of the most eco-friendly options for flooring in your home.

Ceramic tiles are made up of clay or other minerals that have been tightly compressed and heated in an oven. They can be glazed or unglazed and come in a variety of colors, shapes and sizes. Porcelain tiles are ceramic tiles that have been heated at an even greater temperature, making them more durable and less porous. Porcelain tiles are better suited for rooms with high moisture content like bathrooms, but their durability makes them an excellent choice for any room. However, ceramic tile is more affordable and still offers great durability.

We hope these flooring contractor FAQs in Kansas City have been helpful to you as your start your flooring journey. Contact Footprints Floors for a free estimate when you've found flooring you love. You can feel confident in a job well done with our licensed and certified contractors.

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Footprints Floors provides flooring installation services in Kansas City for both old and new homes. We handle the demolition and removal of the old flooring, as well as the necessary prep work for new flooring. We will even remove baseboards and reinstall them after completing the flooring installation.

Covering everything from design and installation to clean up, our team helps increase the value of your property with brand new hardwood floors. Contact us today to request a free estimate!

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What Our Customers Say

Floors look great! Jake and his team are great! The finish looks amazing on my 50 year old floors.
Trevor Blaylock 04/17/25 — google
Great experience with Dan and the crew. Excellent workmanship.
Mike Hodges 04/1/25 — google
Dan was friendly, courteous most importantly helpful
Monique Brentlinger 02/24/25 — google
Absolute definition of professionalism. I have used Frootprints for my bathrooms, kitchen backsplash, and hardwood floor installation. Their competitive pricing and timely work is second to none. I’m convinced these guys could have rebuilt the Notre Dame Cathedral in a week.
Matthew Miller 02/13/25 — google
Our project of taking out old tile and vinyl, removal of a portion of carpet, and laying new tile in that area is completed and looks wonderful. Footprints Floors did an amazing job in a short period of time thanks to their "we aim to please" team: Dan, who did the measuring and pricing for the job; Jake, the project manager who came by frequently to make sure the job was going smoothly and to my satisfaction and he answered any question I might have; Juan, our tiler who listened to my wants for the design and did a super job of achieving that. I would highly recommend this team and I will ask for them for my next project.
JC 02/10/25 — google
Excellent service and friendly staff. Very happy with my refinished floors!
Kristi Klein 02/6/25 — google
If you need affordable, reliable hardwood floor work, footprints flooring is the one to call. I had previous termite damage on a few boards, they were prompt, affordable and quickly fixed my problem. Five stars!!!
Sharon Harris 01/24/25 — google
I recently hired Dan Heermansend, of Footprints Floors of KC. I met with several other vendors before moving forward with Dan. I found Dan's level of professionalism and the ease of working with him, quite simply, a very positive experience. I highly recommend working with Dan and Footprints Floors of KC for any flooring selection and installations. Suzanne Mullen
Suzanne Mullen 01/14/25 — google
Good communication and efficient work!
Tori Wiegers 01/10/25 — google
It was great working with Dan and his team. They were reliable and did excellent work.
Melissa Pierson 12/26/24 — google
Dan & his crew added on to existing hardwoods in our home, and it tied in perfectly with our existing floors. The timeline and expectations were exactly what he said they would be, and we couldn’t be happier with their work!
erica o 11/22/24 — google
Dan and his team are the best! They did a floor repair can hardly tell the difference. Always on time and professional with their work. A++
Jean Carlos Bustamante 11/22/24 — google
The hardwood floors in my vintage 1957 house had never been refurbished in all these years. I cannot tell you how beautiful they are, now. Brand new! The team from Footprints were knowledgeable and offered very good advice choosing the final stain color. No surprises, no unnecessary up-selling.
Carol Kotsifakis 11/10/24 — google
Highly recommend Footprints for your flooring needs! Dan and the team were professional, efficient and took care to get the job done the right way. And to add, they were very tolerant & respectful of my over-anxious puppy dog!
Nancy Colburn 11/8/24 — google
Absolutely the BEST! After a long time comparing flooring materials and choosing solid hardwood, it was time to find the right installer. Footprints Floors had so many 5-star reviews that we were actually suspicious - but they've earned those reviews. From the first measuring/estimate meeting, to the scheduling and preparation and acclimating, to removing all of the old carpet and wood and installing our new floors, Footprints was terrific. Dan and his team are great to work with, delivering on everything they promised, communicating and keeping us informed, and tending to every detail. The service was exceptional, with the old floors ripped out and new ones professionally installed in less than a week. Plus, they paid attention to detail, including replacing the trim work, moving all of our furniture and appliances with care, eliminating 100% of the annoying floor squeaks that we had been enduring for years, and cleaning up after they were done. We can honestly say that we wouldn't have changed a thing about this experience: The service was impeccable, the people are friendly, competent and professional, the price was very competitive, and our new floors look beautiful. We'll certainly be back when it's time for more floor work - because Footprints Floors really is just that good!
C C C 10/26/24 — google
Cannot recommend Dan, Jonathan, and team enough, they are simply the best. We were so impressed with our floors that we had them do all of our stairs as well!
Bryan McCoy 10/18/24 — facebook
Absolutely loved my experience with Footprints Floors! Very easy to work with, professional, and their attention to detail was spectacular! Thank you for the beautiful floor you gave me!
Dr. Marcy Adams 10/15/24 — google
Dan, Jonathan & the entire footprints floors team, were wonderful to work with. They were professional, kind, knowledgeable & easy to communicate with. We were very comfortable having them work in our home. The work the team did was exemplary. We’ve had people comment that they were artisans, because the work they did adding new hardwoods to our home & then tying them into our old ones was so seamless. I am ecstatic about the work that was completed in our home by Footprints Floors! I wish I could give them more than a five star review. I highly recommend this company to anyone considering either refinishing their current hardwoods, or adding hardwoods to their home. It was a pleasure doing business with them!
J Massing 10/14/24 — google
We are very pleased with the care Footprints took with refinishing all of the wood floors in our 100 yo home. They communicated and managed our complex, multi-day project well. During their work, we discovered numerous parts of the floor needed to be replaced. Footprints' lead, Leo, made sure his team did an excellent job. Footprints also worked with us to use a base shoe that matches the original base shoe of our home, and it looks so nice with the newly refinished floors. We highly recommend Footprints.
Stacy Graves 09/29/24 — google
Jonathan and Juan were great to work with and did an excellent job installing tile on our fireplace surround. Meticulous and fast. Can't recommend this company enough. Dan, the owner took this job on when others had told us it couldn't be done. Thanks to all of you!
Dennis Albright 09/20/24 — google

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Footprints Floors is a one-of-a-kind residential flooring installation and restoration business. We offer high quality flooring installations and, with over a decade of dedication, we have quickly become the largest flooring contractor by striving to bring a higher level of customer service and sophistication to an industry where it was severely lacking. Our family-owned business is focused on customer satisfaction and quality results, all while passing savings on to you and yours through our low overhead model.

Footprints Floors is a one-of-a-kind residential flooring installation and restoration business. We offer high quality flooring installations and, with over a decade of dedication, we have quickly become the largest flooring contractor by striving to bring a higher level of customer service and sophistication to an industry where it was severely lacking. Our family-owned business is focused on customer satisfaction and quality results, all while passing savings on to you and yours through our low overhead model.

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