Floorcoverings
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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
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