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LAKE CABINET & FLOORING, INC.
The Best in Flooring since 1955
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Well
known
as the areas best in installation, products, prices and service Lake Cabinet & Flooring has been serving
North-East Ohio's floor covering needs for over 50 years. We
have neat and clean installers with years with years of experience. In fact
two of our main installers have been with the company for over 30 years. We
carry all types of flooring from
Carpet,
Vinyl,
Ceramic Tiles,
Wood and
Laminates. Call us or stop in
today to let us help you decide what type of floor is right for you.
Free in home consultations are available at your request. Click
on the links above to learn more about the floor products that we offer.
As with any products there are pro's and con's to all types of flooring
products. The "trick" so to speak is to find the floor with the
properties that are right for you and you specific application. Below
is quick reference of the differences between common flooring types that may
help you start to decide which floor is best for you. Please visit our
Care
page to learn how to properly maintain your floor.
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Flooring basics (Flooring 101):
Below is a brief summary of different flooring types and
their properties. This list is intended to give a straight
forward basic understanding on what a specific surface will do for you and
your application. We stress that any con's listed below are minimized
by quality products and our professional installations. Many
manufactures have developed product enhancements, such as finishes, top
coats, moisture blockers, warrantees ect... , to minimize or eliminate
the major concerns of each flooring type. Click on the underlined
links for more information.
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Pro's - Ceramic Tile is elegant, formal, durable and full of prestige.
Glazed Ceramic tile and polished sealed stones are very stain resident and
easy to clean. Many consider ceramic tiles as the best overall floor
available and it is very commonly used in most foyers, utility rooms,
kitchens and baths. Its lasts a lifetime in most cases.
Ceramic's hard surface is wear, scratch and dent resistant. A good
ceramic tile can take years and years of high traffic. It also is the
most water resident of the normal floors in a home and will add resale
value to your property.
Con's - Tiles can be cold to the touch and hard on the feet.
(especially for those on the floor all day or the elderly) It also is
not very forgiving to fallen objects like glassware. Depending on the
chosen finish it can be rough or slippery. Nobody wants to fall
on a ceramic floor. Edges can chip if a hard object catches the
edge of the tile "just right". Requires a sub floor in most
applications unless over concrete and also can add a lot of height when used
in a remodel application. Grout between tiles can be hard
to keep clean.
Pro's - Be it solid or engineered wood many people believe that nothing beats the
warmth and beauty of real wood flooring. It's warm comfortable
appearance appeals to all. Wood flooring is easy to clean and fairly
warm on the feet. Wood is generally dent resistant. Wood
floors, along with ceramic are one of the floors that adds a lot to the
resale value of a home. Most wood floors come with a good
manufacturers warranty and can be sanded and refinished in their later years if necessary.
Con's - There are two concerns with wood flooring .. it can scratch
and standing water long term can cause the grain to raise and the boards to
disfigure. We like to say "rocks in shoes, big dogs, kids fire
trucks and floods" are a wood floors only shortcomings.
Tip - Wood floors should not be cleaned with water. Oil Soaps
and waxes leave a sticky film on the floor that may look good for a week or
so but build up over time and can track onto your other floors, like your
carpet ! Follow the manufactures directions and visit our
care page or call for more help
caring for your wood floor.
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Pro's - Laminate floors offer the look of wood or tile
without some of the "cons" listed above. Good laminate
floors resist scratching cutting, and denting, take a lifetime of wear and
do not stain. They are great for remodel applications because
they are normally about 1/4' thick and can go over almost any existing floor
(other than carpet) with little or no floor prep. Also
because it uses a free floating installation it doesn't separate as some
plank wood flooring does. The wood looks offer a great alternative for
customers that are worried about the scratching, wear or denting of real
wood. Great for active families... again, as we like to say
"rocks in shoes, big dogs, and kids fire trucks". In the
tile looks it eliminates the concern of grout staining & cleaning and also
warmer and softer on the feet and legs for those that are on their feet all
day or may be more sensitive to hard ceramic or stone flooring.
Laminate floors are perfect candidates for many rooms in the house including
kitchens, play rooms, hall ways and bedrooms.
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Con's - Again as with most quality flooring there
aren't many. Although most people at a glance can not realize
the difference between a wood look laminate and a real wood floor or a Tile
laminate and a ceramic floor, some people feel laminates are a artificial
version of some other surface and thus less desirable. Also
long term standing water and excessive moisture can cause boards to
disfigure. Floods, broken pipes, major appliance leaks can cause
a lot of damage to laminate flooring. Keep in mind that the amounts of
water we are talking about damage almost all types of flooring except tile &
stone and also are usually insurance claims. This being said
laminate floors are usually not the first choice for full baths or utility
rooms.
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Carpet
- Pros- Carpet is warm underfoot. It can offer more
versatility,
comfort, ease of maintenance. It is also more "budget-friendly" than
most other choices and there are styles to coordinate with every décor.
Carpet also reduces noise levels better them most other floor types.
- Cons- Carpet is not as durable long term as most upper end other floor
types. Also can be harder to remove dirt and stains.
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Vinyl Sheet goods
- Pros- Vinyl floors offer a nice alternative
to tile and wood floors many today have advanced printing techniques that
make them very realistic in appearance. Vinyl is warmer Underfoot
than tile and stone and also more economical. Unlike vinyl tiles it
has much less seams. Vinyl sheeting is more water resident than
laminates and woods.
- Cons-With the advanced technology of
today, there are very few cons related to vinyl flooring. The number one
con is that vinyl flooring may not look as professional and expensive as
real tile, for example. Other than that, vinyl flooring is pretty ideal.
It is inexpensive, and you have a large variety of choice when it comes to
style, texture and color. Other than sheet flooring wearing
out over time which depends greatly on the quality you select the common
down sides of sheet vinyl include tearing, cutting, and seams becoming
visible as time goes bye. Tearing is more frequent with the
moving of appliances. Most of the better sheet products have
improved tear distance over the years and in fact warrant the product
accordingly. Sheet Vinyl is more prone to cuts from sharp
fallen objects than most other floor types.
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Vinyl Tile
- Pros- Vinyl tiles have some of the same
"pros" as sheet goods plus some are even more realistic in appearance and
luxury vinyl such as Adura by Mannington is even more durable than most
sheet goods. Most are very easy to clean and the better vinyl
tiles are scratch and dent resident These are great alternatives to woods
and stones. Also installation costs are normal lower than other
products. We challenge you come look at some of the new wood looks
in luxury vinyl they look so good you most likely can not see the
difference. So if you want a wood look but have an active lifestyle
and don't want to worry about scratching this could be the product for
you.
- Cons- The only cons to the upper end vinyl
tiles is that these products like sheet good follow or conform the sub
floor and that the seams can be noticeable and collect dirt in time which
is especially more noticeable on the lighter colors. Lower end
vinyls can shrink showing more seams over time.
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| This chart may help you compare flooring types |
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Basic Floor Types
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Residential
Vinyl |
Prefinished
Solid Wood |
Prefinished
Eng. Wood |
Laminate
Flooring |
Ceramic
Floor |
Nylon
Carpet |
Install Below
Ground Level |
Yes
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NR
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Yes
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Yes
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Yes
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Yes
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| Damage Resistance
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**
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***
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***
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****
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*****
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****
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Moisture
Resistance |
**** |
NR |
*** |
** |
***** |
** |
| Ease of Maintenance
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****
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***
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****
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****
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****
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***
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Stain Resistance |
***
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**
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***
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*****
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*****
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***
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Fade
Resistance |
*** |
** |
** |
***** |
***** |
*** |
| Softness Under Foot
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**
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*
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*
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*
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*
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*****
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| Scratch Resistance
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**
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***
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***
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*****
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*****
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*****
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| Ease of Repairing
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*
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***
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***
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***
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**
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*
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| Design & Color
Selection |
*****
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***
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***
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***
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*****
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*****
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| *
Price Range (sq.ft.) |
$.25 - $4.50 |
$2.50 - $7.00 |
$3.00 - $10.00 |
$1.80 - $5.00 |
$2.00 - $8.00 |
$.30 - $5.00 |
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