Your guide to the different varieties of hard-surface flooring
When choosing your preferred flooring finish, it all depends on certain criteria. People should always consider their choices based on the difficulty of installation, economy, maintenance, quality, the required level of finishing, traffic, and uses. Below are some of the most popular flooring finishes the market has to offer:
Tile Flooring
Tile flooring is a very common and popular flooring used in houses. Tiles are available in various colors, textures, and patterns. This type of flooring has various subcategories, such as ceramic tiles, porcelain tiles, and vitrified tiles.
Ceramic Tile Flooring: This kind of flooring is made up of strictly clay and water. Ceramic tile flooring is great in indoor as well as outdoor areas. It is also ideal in wet places such as bathrooms and kitchens. This type of flooring is not as slippery as its vitrified counterpart.
Vitrified Tile Flooring: This type of flooring finish has low porosity. It is used in guest rooms and kitchen, as well as bedrooms. They come with a glossy finish and at times available in matt finish. Vitrified tile flooring can be classified into four main categories:
- Full body vitrified tiles: This type of vitrified tile has pigments in the entire thickness of the tile. Scratches are rarely noticeable and when cutting; the borders of the tiles are of the same color.
- Double Charged Vitrified Tiles: These are fed through a press which prints them into any pattern with a double layer pigment. In other words, two kinds of colors are fed into the press machine. This is a good option in areas where traffic is medium and heavy.
- Soluble Salt Vitrified Tiles: These are tiles printed with latest screen printing technology and later polished and named soluble salt.
- Glazed Vitrified Tiles: This type of tile has a glazed surface. A glazed surface is ideal because it allows any type of design or surface texture on it. Glazed Vitrified Tiles (GVT) are also known to increase the aesthetics of any area.
Porcelain Tiles Flooring: This type of flooring is not common nowadays and is used in the bedroom and living rooms. They are staining- and water-resistant.
Stone Flooring
This is a beautiful, natural, and stylish type of flooring and stands out than any manufactured flooring. Stone flooring can come in different types such as granite, limestone, sandstone, slate, and travertine. This type of flooring is ideal for warm climates as the flooring is cool and hard.
Marble Flooring: Marble is a metamorphic rock. This type of flooring can produce a beautiful floor and is common in commercial and residential buildings. Marble flooring is better compared to granite flooring, as it’s cheaper.
Granite Flooring: This is an igneous rock. Granite flooring is most suitable in kitchens and outdoor areas such as pathways. An advantage of granite flooring is it’s not as cold as marble flooring.
Limestone Flooring: Limestone flooring has a beautiful texture and is perfect for bathrooms, dining rooms, and hallways. It doesn't come with any notable pattern, as compared to sandstone flooring.
Sandstone Flooring: This type of flooring is composed of loose grains of quartz sand which are rough. They make a naturally beautiful impression and are ideal for interior floors and exterior decoration. Ideal for flooring, parking, and paving.
Slate Flooring: This is also made up of metamorphic rock and easily splits into thin sheets. They are a perfect match for entryways, kitchens, and patios.
Kota Stone Flooring: This is a type of stone flooring which is cheaper than marble flooring. They are ideal in balconies, lobbies, and pathways. To be honest, they are not as attractive compared to granite and marble flooring. Another setback with this flooring is how difficult they are to clean.
Wood Flooring
Wood flooring is an old type of flooring material that has never gone out of style. This type of flooring is used under specific circumstances for a classic or modern look, and is easily maintained using the right cleaning products.
Solid Wood Flooring: This type of flooring is made up of wood which has a thickness of about 20mm. They can be installed in any room except areas where there’s a lot of moisture such as basements, bathrooms, and kitchens.
Engineered Wood Flooring: Made with a core of plywood and solid wood attached at the top, this type of flooring can be installed in kitchen areas. This type of flooring creates a more attractive look than laminate wood flooring.
Vinyl Flooring
This type of flooring has a very smooth top surface and a rough lower surface. It’s also known as PVC flooring and is ideal in homes prone to moisture and spills.
Choices of flooring materials are growing and a wide range available. Without the right floor finish, your house is not as wonderful as it could be.
Resources— Gharpedia, Slideshare
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