Contractors Agree: This Upgrade Makes Older Homes Feel Instantly More Modern

There are plenty of upgrades you could make to an older home. Some are absolute musts, like clearing out any asbestos and making sure the plumbing is up to current standard. There are more aesthetic upgrades that will bring your home into the current decade, like painting the walls, replacing the blinds, or swapping out light fixtures.

But there’s one upgrade for an older home that’s the perfect marriage of function and form. According to contractors, there’s one upgrade that makes older homes feel instantly more modern, and it’ll improve your day-to-day, too.

New Flooring Can Instantly Modernize a Home

“Flooring is the most telltale sign of a home’s age,” Thomas Borcherding, Residential Remodeling Contractor and Owner of Homestar Design Remodel, says. “After many years or even decades, flooring becomes heavily trafficked and naturally wears out over time.”

When you have stretched or torn carpet, scratched hardwood, and peeling tile, it’s difficult for guests to see anything but an old worn-out house, especially when they experience the discomfort of stepping on one of these damaged areas. Similarly, older floors tend to creak and squeak underfoot, and may even have loose staples, nails, or wooden splinters that can put you at risk.

If you want to bring your older home into modern times fast, replacing your flooring is an excellent way to increase aesthetic appeal and practical functionality.

How Does Flooring Improve the Practical Use of the Home?

Removing the old flooring (if it’s in poor shape) gives your home a fresh start in terms of functionality. If you’re removing carpet, you’re eliminating odors and risk of pests (dust mites), pet dander, mold, and other contaminants that may have taken root.

Not to mention, Borcherding says, upgrading your flooring will give your home a tiny structural tune-up.

“When removing old flooring, you expose the subfloor,” he explains. “This gives you the opportunity to screw or nail down loose subfloor, making for a more stable floor and less squeaks and creaks as you walk.”

You can take this chance to replace any worn out subflooring to ensure your new floors are in the best condition possible when you are done.

Zachary Carpenter, General Contractor and President of To Better Days Building, says “the overall benefits are going to be in the look and the feel.”

Compared to 20 or 30 years ago, today there are vinyl offerings that are budget-friendly but look like high-end wood and tile, and the modern material is also generally easily to clean and maintain. Looking for the real deal? Today’s tile and hardwood options are also optimized to withstand heavy foot traffic, scratches, and staining.

Plus, floors are, after all, in every room of your home.

As Borcherding says, “you walk into and out of your house daily, and you experience natural light on your floors through doors and windows all the time, so this is an upgrade that is constantly present.”

Why Invest in New Flooring?

Floors in homes can last for decades, so if you plan to stay in your home for a while, replacing the flooring when you move in can set you up for success down the line.

Borcherding adds that “replacing worn out flooring with new, modern flooring dramatically improves the resale value of a home.”

Other Modernizing Home Upgrades

Replacing the flooring is a great start, but there are many other ways that you can renovate and upgrades your home to improve both the look and functionality. Cory Rodeheaver, Interior Design Contractor at Spectrum Design Group, provides a list of additional home upgrades that can be used to modernize your home:

• Replace old windows with more energy-efficient ones, and add more windows for additional natural light if the house is dark.
• Update plumbing fixtures to ones that use less water but also have a more modern appearance.
• Think about installing a tankless water heater or switching to a geothermal system.
• Replace HVAC systems with energy-efficient models that have the ability to control humidity levels.
• Update to modern appliances, which will be more energy-efficient and operate more safely.
• Replace patio doors with doors that have a slimmer profile and more energy efficiency.
• Update or add insulation. Depending on the age of the home, many are poorly insulated.
• New roofing and or siding can update the look of an older home, but on a practical level, they make a home more energy efficient and ultimately extend the life of a home.