Concrete had become the popular choice of flooring materials for homeowners and designers throughout the United States, which is no surprise to us. Retail stores, office buildings, trendy restaurants, and homes with concrete floors are showing up everywhere. Concrete floor options are endless, unlike other flooring materials, and range from overlays, radiant heated, painted, microtoppings, acid stained, to personalized designs.
As we have mentioned countless times before, concrete is pretty amazing. Homes are even being built using concrete for more than just the foundation. Using concrete and insulated concrete forms for building homes can increase your safety and comfort, reduce heating and cooling costs, and even help with preservation of the environment.
The color and design options are endless when it comes to colored concrete, allowing you to achieve the desired look with ease. A patio or room can go from bland to sensational by using colored concrete. Typically, manufacturers have a wide range of colors available, anywhere from earth like tones to vibrant hues.
Although radiant heating systems are more expensive to install than forced air systems, they actually retain heat better and are more economical than forced air. The amount of savings varies by location, how well insulated your home is, the source of the fuel, the severity of winters, and the layout of the radiant heating system.
Damage to your home's foundation such as cracks and settling are both serious to the structural integrity of your home and costly to repair. It’s not uncommon to pay upwards of $15,000 for foundation repair depending on the severity of the damage and the method of repair.
Previously we have blogged about the steps of radiant heat installation, but today we will discuss some tips about installing radiant heated floors rather than how to actually install them. Typically a certified professional should install radiant heat elements instead of a concrete contractor unless the contractor is experienced in installing radiant heat elements, due to the complexity of the design and layout of radiant heated floors.