Flooring expert Joshua Given shares tips on how to have amazing floors in your home or business
Given Flooring Design Tips Podcast
Claim This Podcastby Joshua Given
10 episodes
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Podcast Overview
Flooring expert Joshua Given shares tips on how to have amazing floors in your home or business
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🇺🇲
Publishing Since
2/26/2026
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Recent Episodes
May 7, 2026
Is Cheaper Flooring Worth It? Long-Term Cost Comparison
<div data-elementor-type="wp-post" data-elementor-id="2140" class="elementor elementor-2140" data-elementor-post-type="post"> <div class="elementor-element elementor-element-1fefc8c7 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent" data-id="1fefc8c7" data-element_type="container" data-e-type="container"> <div class="e-con-inner"> <div class="elementor-element elementor-element-4450540c elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor" data-id="4450540c" data-element_type="widget" data-e-type="widget" data-widget_type="text-editor.default"> <p><strong>Is Cheaper Flooring Worth It? Long-Term Cost Comparison</strong></p><p>The Real Cost of Cheap Flooring: A Long-Term Comparison</p><p>Hi everyone! Joshua Given here, owner of Given Flooring in Seminole, Florida. When you are standing in a big-box store looking at a stack of flooring priced at ninety-nine cents a square foot, it is incredibly tempting to think you have found a shortcut to a beautiful home. Whether you are remodeling a rental in Palm Harbor or updating your family home in Trinity, the budget is always a major factor. However, after years of replacing failed “bargain” floors across Pinellas and Pasco counties, I can tell you that the cheapest price tag often leads to the most expensive project in the long run. Let’s talk about the hidden costs of budget materials and why investing in quality is the only way to actually save money.</p><p>The most immediate difference between a high-end Luxury Vinyl Plank and a bargain-bin version is the wear layer. Think of the wear layer as the transparent armor that protects the design of your floor. Cheap products often have a wear layer as thin as six or twelve mil, which is fine for a guest bedroom that nobody uses but will show scratches and scuffs within months in a high-traffic kitchen or hallway in Odessa. Once that thin layer is breached, the floor is permanently damaged. A professional-grade floor with a twenty mil wear layer or higher might cost more today, but it is built to withstand kids, pets, and sand for twenty years. When you have to replace a cheap floor after only three years, you aren’t just paying for the material again; you are paying for the labor, the tear-out, and the disposal all over again.</p><p>Subfloor preparation is another area where “cheap” installations go wrong. Many low-cost contractors win jobs by promising a rock-bottom price, and they achieve that by skipping the essential prep work. In our humid Florida climate, skipping a moisture barrier or failing to level a concrete slab is a recipe for disaster. A cheap floor installed over an uneven slab will eventually develop gaps, and the thin locking mechanisms on budget planks will snap under the pressure of foot traffic. By the time you notice the floor “popping” or “bouncing” in your Seminole living room, the damage is done. Investing in a quality material and a professional who prioritizes subfloor prep ensures the structure of your floor remains sound for the life of the home.</p><p>We also have to consider the “performance gap” when it comes to moisture and heat. In Clearwater and St. Petersburg, our homes deal with intense humidity that can cause cheap laminates or low-quality vinyl to delaminate or peel. Higher-quality materials use more stable cores, such as Stone Plastic Composite, which are specifically designed to remain dimensionally stable regardless of the weather. A cheap floor that buckles during a humid July week is not a bargain; it is a liability. When you choose a product with a proven track record in the Florida heat, you are buying peace of mind that your house will stay looking sharp through every season.</p><p>Finally, there is the impact on your home’s resale value. Buyers today are very savvy, especially in growing areas like Trinity and Odessa. They can tell the difference between a high-quality, unified floor and a thin, hollow-sounding “quick fix.” A cheap floor can actually hurt your home’s value because a buyer sees it as a project they will have to tackle as soon as they move in. A beautiful, professionally installed floor with a lifetime warranty is an asset that adds real equity to your property.</p><p>When you look at the total cost of ownership over ten or fifteen years, the “expensive” floor almost always ends up being the cheaper option. You save on repairs, you save on replacement costs, and you enjoy a better-looking home every single day. True value isn’t found in the lowest price; it is found in the floor that only has to be installed once.</p><p>Until next time, this is Joshua Given reminding you that the foundation of a beautiful home is a beautiful floor.</p><p> </p> </div> </div> </div> </div>
April 29, 2026
What Flooring Is Best for Open-Concept Homes?
<div data-elementor-type="wp-post" data-elementor-id="2135" class="elementor elementor-2135" data-elementor-post-type="post"> <div class="elementor-element elementor-element-35a34e3 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent" data-id="35a34e3" data-element_type="container" data-e-type="container"> <div class="e-con-inner"> <div class="elementor-element elementor-element-5dd3f76b elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor" data-id="5dd3f76b" data-element_type="widget" data-e-type="widget" data-widget_type="text-editor.default"> <p><strong>What Flooring Is Best for Open-Concept Homes?</strong></p><p>Why Your Open-Concept Home Needs a Single, Unified Floor</p><p>Hi everyone! Joshua Given here, owner of Given Flooring in Seminole, Florida. The open-concept layout has become the standard for modern living across Pinellas County, Palm Harbor, Trinity, and Odessa. We love the way it lets natural light flow from the kitchen into the living room and makes even a modest-sized home feel expansive and airy. However, this architectural style presents a unique challenge when it comes to choosing the right flooring. In an open space, your floor is the largest visible element that ties everything together. Choosing the wrong material or breaking up the space with different products can make a beautiful home feel choppy and small. Let’s talk about the best strategies for selecting a floor that handles the diverse needs of an open-concept layout.</p><p>The most important rule for an open-concept home is consistency. In the past, it was common to see tile in the kitchen and carpet or wood in the living area, with a transition strip or “threshold” separating them. In a modern open floor plan, those transitions act like visual speed bumps. They break the line of sight and actually make the room feel smaller than it really is. To get that high-end, seamless look that homeowners in Clearwater and Seminole are after, you should aim to use one single material throughout the entire main living area. This creates a “flow” that guides the eye from one end of the house to the other, maximizing the sense of space and providing a clean, sophisticated aesthetic.</p><p>Because this single floor will cover your kitchen, your dining area, and your living room, it must be incredibly versatile. It has to be soft and stylish enough for a cozy movie night, yet durable and waterproof enough to handle kitchen spills or wet paws coming in from the backyard. This is why Luxury Vinyl Plank has become the absolute favorite for open-concept homes in the Tampa Bay area. High-quality LVP is 100 percent waterproof, which means you can run it right up to your kitchen cabinets and island without worrying about water damage. It offers the warmth of wood for your living spaces while providing the practical performance of tile for your high-traffic zones.</p><p>Scale is another critical factor when you are dealing with a large, unobstructed floor. In a wide-open space in Trinity or Odessa, small tiles or narrow wood planks can look a bit busy because of the high number of seams. To complement the grand feel of an open layout, I almost always recommend wide-plank flooring. Choosing a plank that is seven to nine inches wide reduces the number of joints and allows the natural beauty of the wood grain to really shine. Similarly, if you prefer the look of stone, a large-format porcelain tile creates a sleek, minimalist foundation that doesn’t compete with your furniture or decor. The fewer lines you have on the floor, the more peaceful and expansive the room feels.</p><p>Color and light also play a huge role in how your open-concept floor performs. In Florida, we are blessed with a lot of sunshine, and a large open space often has windows on multiple walls. A medium to light-toned floor, such as a warm oak or a sandy maple, is fantastic for hiding the dust and pet hair that show up so clearly in direct sunlight. These lighter tones also help bounce light around the room, keeping the space feeling bright and energetic. If you have a very large area to cover, a matte or low-sheen finish is your best friend. It reduces glare from those big windows and provides a relaxed, contemporary look that is very easy to maintain.</p><p>By choosing one durable, waterproof material in a wide-plank format, you create a foundation that enhances the architectural beauty of your open-concept home. It is a smart investment that simplifies your cleaning routine and ensures your living space feels as large and welcoming as possible.</p><p>Until next time, this is Joshua Given reminding you that the foundation of a beautiful home is a beautiful floor.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div>
April 22, 2026
Common Flooring Installation Mistakes (And How to Avoid Them)
<div data-elementor-type="wp-post" data-elementor-id="2130" class="elementor elementor-2130" data-elementor-post-type="post"> <div class="elementor-element elementor-element-42067b62 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent" data-id="42067b62" data-element_type="container" data-e-type="container"> <div class="e-con-inner"> <div class="elementor-element elementor-element-241cdae9 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor" data-id="241cdae9" data-element_type="widget" data-e-type="widget" data-widget_type="text-editor.default"> <p><strong>Common Flooring Installation Mistakes (And How to Avoid Them)</strong></p><p>Hi everyone! Joshua Given here, owner of Given Flooring in Seminole, Florida. When you decide to invest in new floors for your home in Pinellas County, Palm Harbor, Trinity, or Odessa, you are usually focused on the beautiful end result. However, the path to that perfect floor is paved with technical details that are easy to miss but impossible to ignore once the job is done. I have seen many DIY attempts and cut-rate contractor jobs fail because of a few avoidable errors. In our unique Gulf Coast climate, these mistakes can turn a high-end material into a costly repair project very quickly. Let’s talk about the most frequent installation blunders and how you can ensure your project stays on the right track.</p><p>The most frequent mistake I see in Pinellas and Pasco counties is skipping the moisture test on a concrete slab. Because so many of our local homes are built on slabs that sit close to the water table, moisture is constantly trying to move upward through the floor. Many installers simply look at a slab, see that it appears dry, and start laying planks. This is a recipe for disaster. Without a professional moisture test and a high-quality moisture barrier, that hidden vapor will eventually cause Luxury Vinyl Plank to cup or engineered wood to buckle. To avoid this, always insist that your installer uses a moisture meter and follows the manufacturer’s specific requirements for a vapor barrier. This one step is the difference between a floor that lasts decades and one that fails in six months.</p><p>Another major error is failing to properly level the subfloor. No concrete slab is perfectly flat, and even small dips or humps can cause big problems later. If you lay a floating floor over an uneven surface, you will eventually hear “clicking” or “popping” sounds when you walk across the room. Over time, the constant flexing of the planks will break the locking mechanisms, leading to gaps that cannot be closed. A professional installer should spend a significant amount of time checking the floor with a long straightedge and using a self-leveling compound to fill in the low spots. If your contractor is ready to start laying boards thirty minutes after the old carpet is up, they are likely skipping the essential prep work that ensures a stable, quiet floor.</p><p>Ignoring expansion gaps is a mistake that often leads to “tenting,” where the floor actually lifts off the ground in the center of a room. All flooring materials expand and contract slightly as the temperature and humidity change in areas like Clearwater and Seminole. Manufacturers require a specific gap, usually about a quarter to a half inch, between the edge of the flooring and the wall. Some installers push the planks tight against the baseboards to save time on trimming, but when the Florida humidity hits, that floor has nowhere to go but up. To avoid this, ensure your installer uses spacers during the process and covers those necessary gaps with baseboards or shoe molding.</p><p>Acclimation is the final piece of the puzzle that many people rush. It is tempting to want the job finished as fast as possible, but flooring materials need time to adjust to the specific temperature and humidity of your home. If you bring wood or vinyl from a hot warehouse in Trinity and install it immediately in a cool, air-conditioned house in Odessa, the material will shift significantly after it is installed. Allowing the boxes to sit in the actual room where they will be laid for at least 48 to 72 hours is vital. This simple waiting period prevents the planks from shrinking or expanding excessively once they are locked together.</p><p>By avoiding these common pitfalls and focusing on the preparation, you protect your investment and ensure your home stays beautiful. A successful installation is all about respecting the materials and understanding the environment they live in.</p><p>Until next time, this is Joshua Given reminding you that the foundation of a beautiful home is a beautiful floor.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div>
10 total episodes available
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