What is flooring?
A permanent covering of a surface or floor structure finished with appropriate material so people can walk on it is known is flooring. Floors consists of major portion of a structure, building, house, apartments, and other such structures and it is important that it remains stable and offer firm and soft footing to inhabitants. Several types of floor installation are employed to create unique floor surfaces that enhance the beauty and ambience of a structure or house.
Salient features of a good flooring
A good quality floor must have the following qualities
Should be hard-wearing
Offer comfort while walking
It should not generate noise when you walk on it
It should be easy to clean
It should be aesthetically pleasing
Flooring should be devoid of moisture and dampness
Should be fire and heat resistant
The floor should require negligible maintenance cost
The above traits are the basic requirement of flooring if it has to serve for a reasonably long period. In order to achieve it you should analyze the various flooring options available and match them with these characteristics. The one that fulfils the above requirements with high scores must then be selected for your flooring.
What are the components of flooring?
Flooring fundamentally made of two parts and they are
Base or sub-floor
Flooring or floor covering
Sub or base floor
The sub-flooring or structure that supports the floor covering is known as a base course of sub-floor. In all flooring installation there is a base floor which is formed to give adequate support to the upper cover or flooring. The sub-floor besides giving stability to the flooring cover also provides damp resistance and insulation.
Flooring or floor covering
The upper layer of any flooring or covering over the floor base is finished with appropriate finishing materials. Many flooring options are available for both residential and commercial buildings and they each of them have their advantage and disadvantages. The commonly used floor coverings are bricks, timber or wood, mud, asphalt, flagstone, tiles, marble stone, mosaic, synthetic tiles like PVC and more. Flooring materials are available in tile and roll forms depending on the composition of the flooring material. For example flooring rolls can be obtained from synthetic flooring options like vinyl, linoleum etc.
Flooring types commonly used in domestic and commercial uses
Mud Flooring:
Mud flooring is mostly used in rural areas and it is a low cost option for the poor and downtrodden. It is a hard and heap option, largely water proof and provide cool comfort during hot weather and warmth during winter. It is easy to mix and install.
Brick Flooring
Brick flooring is mostly suitable for outdoor installation and it is durable and economical. It offers firm footing and is not slippery. Various patterns can be obtained from the flooring to add beauty element.
Stone Flooring
Stone flooring is durable, solid, easy to construct and easy to repair. Stone flooring is divided in to two classes and they are polished stone and unpolished stone flooring. Polished stone flooring is much preferred in buildings in urban areas as they offer beauty, elegance and soft footing. Marble and granite come in to this category however it is costly flooring option. Different size, style, design, pattern can be achieved with stone flooring. Unpolished stone flooring is usually utilized for building pavements, portico, walkways in landscaping and kerb.
Tile flooring
In contemporary building construction it is the most used and depending on the type chosen it can be classified as
Glazed tile flooring
PVC tile flooring
Terrazzo tile flooring
Tile flooring is easy clean and maintain. They look elegant and durable and also easily repairable. The only thing that may deter the choice is the cost involved. There is another drawback with this type of flooring is it is slippery when it gets wet from spills and rain. You can use tile flooring to an upper floor where foot traffic is less. However you will find huge variety of them in the market
PVC Tile Flooring
PVC or vinyl flooring is smooth and is easy to clean and maintain. It is also the cheapest of the flooring and can be installed in living room, bedroom and dining room. It is however not fire proof surface is. You can buy them in either roll form or tile forms.
Concrete flooring
This is one of the oldest and best flooring constructed for buildings. It is durable, smooth and also pleasant in appearance. It wears hard however cement or concrete flooring can break under heavy impact. When it gets damaged or worn off you cannot repair it up to the mark.
It is one of the commonly used types of flooring and is best suited for all types of rooms. Cement concrete flooring is durable, smooth, pleasing in appearance, possesses good wear properties, and is economical. The only disadvantage of this type of flooring is that it cannot be repaired up to the mark.
Wood Flooring
It is a natural floor choice and it improves the appearance of your rooms while improving air quality along. It is used in a variety of establishments that include auditorium, dance halls, residential and commercial buildings. It is a costly option but rich in looks and healthy to live on. The flooring however is not damp proof.
Artificial grass panels
Artificial grass is used to imitate lawn with thick grass and it is hardwearing and will need regular watering to keep it in good condition. It can also be used as wall panels to increase ambience. You can create a good looking lawn by using the synthetic grass. If you are at cross roads about what kind of flooring you will actually require for renovation or new construction you can consult Floors NG on phone number 234 (813) 835 2355 or by sending mail to info@floornigeria.com.