How to Cut Down on Wood Floor Cleaning

LESLIE: Norma in Delaware is on the line with a flooring question. What are you working on?

NORMA: I would like to know if – how difficult or how practical it would be to insert – I have wood floors. And in the foyer – and I have a rug there but I’m constantly cleaning it. So, I would like to know if – how practical would it be to make a circle – cut out the floor in a circle and insert some granite in there?

TOM: So you want to put granite inside the wood floor? Is that correct?

NORMA: Right, right. That’s correct.

TOM: That sounds like a pretty difficult project. Sure, it could be done but you’re going to need a really good craftsman and a really good tile guy. And the wood-floor guy and the tile guy are going to be two separate guys, unless you happen to find somebody that’s really talented. Because you’ve got to get that cut just right and then you’ve got to cut the granite to fit just right.

So you’re talking about a pretty expensive solution to a rather common problem. It seems like there might be other options, though.

Right, Leslie?

LESLIE: I think the issue is here – you’re dealing with a lot of wood – a lot of dirt that’s coming in. I hate to say it – and I never follow this rule – but it’s like the best thing to do when you come into your house is take off your shoes. And if you go ahead and do that, that’s really going to go a long way in how much you do have to clean after that.

I think what you can do is there are some rug options. If you’re looking at items that are made for commercial arenas – like if you, say, like the look of a sisal rug, if you go to a carpet vendor, they make a faux sisal that looks like a sisal but it’s really like a polypropylene. And it even feels like a sisal rug but you can take it outside and hose it down. So you’re sort of taking away certain steps if you think creatively.

Another thing is, if you’re dealing with wear and tear on your wood floor, is if you put a more industrial type of coating on top of the wood floor so that you’re not dealing with scratches or staining onto the wood floor from just high traffic.

And then the other thing is you can always tile the area and sort of make it a mud room. But that’s really committing to a look but then again, so is cutting a circle in your floor and inserting a piece of granite.

NORMA: Thank you for your advice.

TOM: You’re very welcome. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.