Posts Tagged ‘flooring’
Vinyl, Laminate, Wood or Marble – What Floor Do You Want?
Thursday, December 24th, 2009If your lounge floor is not up to scratch the time has come to make the choice on what to do with it. Making that decision often will depend on the room that requires the work. End of line products can help to make fantastic savings for covering small areas. Bathrooms and kitchens require durable materials due to the traffic and the exposure to moisture.
Amtico Spacia Floor tiles are a high quality floor product. These tiles are non-porous, long lasting with exeptional colour fastness which means the tiles retain stunning aesthetic appeal for years to come. But let us look at the reasons why floor tiles are a perfectly ok option.
For the wet or kitchen areas there are two popular choices in the lower budget categories, these are laminate flooring and vinyl flooring. There are various differences, the main one being that a laminate will give you more of a wood type look without actually being wood, if that is the kind of look you are after.
There is of course vinyl that has a wood look as well. In fact there are so many colour and pattern options you will be amazed. Go for a symetrical pattern such as a chessboard effect or go for completely different and contrasting tiles in rooms such as your kitchen, bathroom, WC or laundry room. No longer is vinyl required to be in one standard colour like it was many years ago. As with the rest of the world, flooring and the options available have improved in leaps and bounds.
First you need to consider what you can afford and laminate or vinyl tiles are very desireable yet low cost options. The cheapest option tends to be laminate tiles although vinyl and other similar resin compound tiles can also come in at reasonable prices and there tends to be a much wider choice in style too.
Many people would love to be able to use real wood or real marble for their flooring but overall the cost factor usually makes this out of the question. Don’t despair as there are many vinyl and laminate options that give you that look of wood or marble but without the price tag. There is no comparison in quality but the finished results can be impressive to say the least.
There is always the option of having real wood floors or even marble tiles but it’s all about getting the right look for your home and the overall cost.
Immitation floor tiles have many benefits and you will often find they are manufactured to be very easy to clean and low maintenance and many also have excellent durability.
Vinyl comes in rolls and tiles of various sizes and you need to choose what will suit the overall area that you want to cover. You will find in both vinyl and laminate that there are so many colour and style options available that once you have made your decision on the type of floor it will be many hours before you can choose the colour or pattern option that you want.
If you want to re-floor a small area look out for sales at local suppliers. They will often have a clearance sale for products they have over-stocked on or those that are ‘end of range’. You can often pick up excellent bargains on high quality floor tiles this way. Be careful if you want to cover a particularly large area of floor as they may not always have the exact amount required.
Just make sure you do your research, find out what special offers are available especially for the smaller areas such as the bathroom/WC. There are so many great deals to be found if you look for them.
How to Install Slate Flooring
Friday, November 13th, 2009Slate flooring is a excellent choice for both home and business, giving decorators a unique and flexible material to employ in their home. Slate has many advantages, including its affordability and durability. A slate tile floor is made out of extremely fine material, giving it a resistance to spills. Spills should be very easy to clean up, as slate will not absorb the moisture. Slate is also very resistant to stains and dirt. Simple care should keep a slate floor clean without too much trouble.
Because of the wide range of origins for slate in the natural world, it can be found in a spectrum of shades and colors. Slate flooring can be purchased in everything from dark charcoal shades, to bright reds or greens. Consumers enjoy a very broad selection of patterns to choose from when it comes to slate flooring, giving each floor a personalized look. The cleft texture of slate flooring makes it incredibly tough, resisting scratches as well as general wear and tear. The slate texture also provides a safe surface that won’t become slippery, making it a excellent choice for in the kitchen or work areas.
The combination of good stain resistance and anti-slip properties make slate one of the greatest all around kitchen appropriate flooring materials available. As well as to its affordability, slate flooring benefits from a wide range of unique patterns to choose from. Glosses can also be added to slate flooring, bringing another dynamic to its appearance. Laying out slate flooring can be done without professional help, but it requires a significant investment of time and a set of tools. A diamond bladed saw provides the sharpness to cut through slate. Thinset must also be purchased along with the tile, which is used to fasten the tile to the underlayment.
With a smooth concrete surface, no underlayment may be needed. With hardwood subfloors, or cracked concrete, an underlayment of concrete will be needed to begin the installation the right way. It is important that the correct thinset be used with certain tile sets. The thinset bonds the tile to the underlayment, and if done badly the floor can gradually start shifting. Be sure to have a big bucket and something to clean up mortar that spreads across tile surfaces.
Before installing slate flooring, make sure that the slate tiles are unbroken. Tiles can frequently end up broken after arriving at the store. If any are broken, be sure that replacements match the original tile.
Durable and Easy Care: Laminate Flooring
Monday, September 7th, 2009Even though hardwood and carpet are great options in flooring ideas for many areas of the home, they are sometimes unsuitable. Certain areas of the home like the kitchen, or garage, commonly require a greater level of durability and resilience. Carpet absorbs stains and moisture too easily, producing a dirty looking surface that may also attract odors. Wood floor covering offers a great deal more durability than carpet, but it also falls prey to moisture. A damp hardwood eventually warps and cracks. After many seasons of expansion and contraction, moisture damage can become very apparent with a hardwood floor.
Places in which spills and accidents are frequent can result in scratching or gouging in the flooring as well. Laminate flooring is a wonderful solution for water damage and durability issues. With a laminate floor, designers can have the aesthetic allure of hardwood, while dodging many of the typical pitfalls. Laminate flooring is very resilient when it comes to moisture problems and will not absorb water. Stains are not an issue, and with prompt clean up, should not leave a mark at all. Best of all, laminate flooring is very affordable, and can be found in a great range of shades, colors, and styles.
Laying down laminate flooring is also a relatively easy DIY home improvement project. When first purchasing a set of laminate flooring tiles, check each to make sure there are no broken tiles. Once sure that the entire package is intact, give the tiles a few days to adjust to their new atmosphere. There may be some contraction or expansion that occurs when the laminate flooring tiles change environment.
Make certain to follow all manufacturer guidelines that are included with the tile packaging. Specific instructions on how to glue the tiles are crucial, and can affect the overall aesthetic quality and durability of the end product. It is also important to ensure that the tiles are placed with a quarter of an inch space between the wall and the flooring. Although a great number of tools aren’t required for in home installation, you may need something to cut the tile around corners, fireplaces, stairs, etc. A wet tile saw would definitely be adequate to cut laminate flooring.
Having a level surface for installation is also crucial. Be certain to fill any holes in the subflooring, or sand away any protruding areas that might stick up afterward.
Have Bubbles In Your Epoxy Floor? Here’s How To Remove Them
Tuesday, August 4th, 2009I can bet you have seen quite a number of epoxy flooring with bubbles on them. You can find small bubbles, the size of the pinhead, or some large ones, that have an inch in diameter. They are found in the entire floor or as a group. This is usually due to a phenomenon called ‘out gassing’. When the epoxy paint starts to dry, then this happens. When the air gets hotter, it will expand and this is what creates those small bubbles under the coating we just made.
Use application primer as a tool that can help to prevent bubbles. You should use a slower drill to mix the epoxy coating, and when you start to apply it, be sure there is no sunlight hitting directly on the surface you are working with.
Use medium roller if you already decided to use one. Use gentle and slow motions when you are applying your epoxy paint. It is another thing that can help with bubbles that can appear on our garage floor.
Use sandpaper and some rotary scrubber action to get rid of those bubbles on the epoxy coating you have. The first step is to roughen the area with some sandpaper. And then get to dust cleaning. Use a rag dipped in solvent to clean the area you worked on. After this another coating can be applied. Another type of bubble observed is fisheyes. The silicone that remained on the surface is one of the reasons.
This can be cleaned by scrubbing the surface area with sandpaper of a medium grit. Take a rag that is dipped in solvent and clean the area with some pressure. And now you are ready to apply fresh epoxy coating.
In case you have bubbles appearing through the entire floor, then you should consider to sand blast or shot blast entire area. First remove the epoxy coating by sand blasting the entire area. Use acid to clean the entire area where problem appeared. In case you are working on a very small area, you can isolate it. Repair the area and then apply the coating again.
The moisture is one more reason why bubbles appear in our epoxy garage floors. To verify this break one of the blisters thus formed and see if there is any moisture inside.
Information on Bamboo Flooring
Friday, April 17th, 2009Bamboo flooring provides another avenue for those looking for something other than hardwood. Growing in popularity as an alternative, bamboo flooring has many attractive features that make it a viable option for modern homeowners. Although harvested mostly in China, bamboo flooring is now widely available in North America and Europe. Many of those that adopted bamboo flooring early on point out its environmental friendliness. The bamboo plant regrows very quickly when compared with the time it takes a forest to regrow. In fact, the bamboo plant is considered a grass, as it grows much quicker than any tree. When done responsibly, bamboo plant harvesting can be accomplished in a environmentally friendly manner.
How does bamboo flooring compare with traditional hardwoods? High quality bamboo flooring is harder and more durable than even the most expensive hardwood flooring. Moisture is also less of a problem for bamboo flooring. Where traditional hardwood may cup and crown due to water exposure, bamboo flooring will keep out water without a problem. Bamboo flooring is engineered like a laminate and treated under extremely high pressure with a high quality adhesive. This makes bamboo flooring very resistant to abrasions and scratches, where less treated hardwood floors may show scratches after a while. Bamboo flooring has become a great deal more affordable in recent times as well.
Best of all, bamboo flooring is easy enough to lay down without any professional help. Like many of the newer hardwoods, bamboo flooring is made with a groove that allows the planks to interlock, making them considerably easier to install. Before installing a bamboo floor, let the planks to adjust to their new environment for no less than 72 hours. Although bamboo flooring is very resistant to moisture, they do need some time to adjust to their new climate before installation.
What should be done to maintain a bamboo floor? Upkeep requirements are fairly easy for bamboo flooring. Be sure to clean the floor after installing it, using a mop with only a little bit of water. Regular dusting and sweeping should be done after installation. This will prevent a build up of dust that can dull the finish. A mat used at the entrance way will keep out a great deal of dust and dirt. Dirt and small rocks can easily scratch the finish, and a mat can go a long way in preventing this problem.
Visit flooring options to read an updated version about bamboo flooring pros and cons and more info about discount laminate flooring.