Floorcoverings
This lists and compares floorcoverings as an aid to choice.
Characteristics
Ceramic Tiles
- Cold, unless UFH fitted
- Hard
- Slippery when wet, can be dangerous
- Very tough wearing
- Easy clean
Quarry Tiles
One of the longest lasting floorcoverings, with life expectancy over a century
Mosaic
- Can be a visual treat
- Can be made from broken tiles
- Less slipppery than ceramic tiled floors
- Less easy to clean
- Laying mosaics is laborious
Stone Tiles
One of the longest lasting floorcoverings, with life expectancy over a century
- Higher breakage than ceramic tiles during fitting, due to greater fragility
- Some stone is slippery when wet (eg polished granite, marble), some is not (eg limestone, riven slate)
Carpet
- Very soft
- Very warm
- Most comfortable floorcovering of all
- Particularly difficult to clean properly
- Harbours dirt, dead skin & dust mites
- Carpets sometimes smell bad after a while
- Unhygienic in bathrooms
- captures the urine aerosol created by flushing.
- captures dirty feet residues
Carpet Tiles
- very tough wearing
- often washable
- any damaged ones can be replaced
Bathroom carpet
This is a waterproof carpet with a watertight backing.
Lino & Vinyl
- Soft
- Warm
- Easy clean
- Easily damaged by moving heavy items such as washing machines
Vinyl Tiles
- Hard
- Warm
- Easy clean (except heavily textured surfaces)
- Tile edges can come unstuck and get broken.
Wood
Softwood
- Attractive
- Fairly hard
- Warm
- Damaged by dog claws
- Use wood with correct moisture content, otherwise it will shrink and create lots of gaps
- If varnishing, use a non-slip floor varnish, as some varnishes can be slipery when wet.
- Avoid all tinted varnishes, these chip over time exposing light areas. This looks awful.
Hardwood
- May be laid as boards or in tiled patterns, eg parquet
- Tougher than softwoods
Hardwood laminate
- A thin layer of hardwood on chipboard
Cork tiles
- Semi-soft
- Warm
- Decays if it stays wet or damp
- Suitable sealers make it easier to clean
Asphalt
A shiny hardwearing dark waterproof surface often found in factories, institutions etc.
- Available in black, brown & dull red
- Warm
- Very tough wearing
- Made from hot rolled bitumen & clay
- Some antimicrobial effect
Mats
There are various types of matting. Common problems include the tendency of mats to move frequently, and trip and slip hazards. Some types of mat have quite a rough surface too.
Mats can be easily rolled up and taken away, and are usually regarded as temporary floorcoverings.
A rubberised underside or a rubberised string grid under the mat can reduce movement and slip hazards, but trip hazard remains.
Concrete
- Ugly
- Cold
- Hard
- Wear creates dust
- Difficult to clean
Painted Concrete
- Visually unappealing, but a real improvement on bare concrete
- Wear and dusting are stopped
- Paint wears through in time
Terrazzo
Concrete Terrazzo
Traditional terrazzo is concrete with extra stones in the surface, and the result abraded down and polished.
- Beautiful
- Cold
- Hard
- Very long lasting
- Important to use correct cleaners
- Stains if mistreated and neglected
- Metal crack control strips are built in to control & conceal cracking
- Shallow depths can not be laid, so not so easy to retrofit.
Resin Terrazzo
Resin based terrazzo is a lower cost modern version of terrazzo. It is typically a quarter of an inch thick, based in resin, and looks like concrete terrazzo.
- Beautiful
- Hard
- Important to use correct cleaners
- Not as tough as concrete terrazzo
- Easier to retrofit than concrete terrazzo