Whether buying an apartment, a house, or renovation of an already existing object, the question of the appropriate flooring arises in all these cases. The selection of different materials, colors, and shapes is huge. One is hardly able to see through the jungle of the variety of products and to choose the “most beautiful” and at the same time also most economical, as well as most resistant floor. The first consideration when choosing a suitable floor covering should in any case be the clarification of the stress. For example, a floor in a bedroom does not necessarily have to be as durable as the floor in a kitchen or even in an office. Here is an overview of the most common floor types:
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Parquet floors
The undersurface of parquet floors is usually made of 2 or 3 layers of glued natural wood. On top of this under surface, there is a wear layer made of real wood. The wear layer, which is available from a thickness of about 4 mm, can be sanded several times if necessary and then varnished, oiled, or waxed as desired. The entire parquet floor starts from a thickness of approx. 10 mm. Some parquet flooring has sound insulation added.
Plank flooring
The plank floor is made of solid wood planks, which can be oiled, varnished, or waxed as desired. The installation of a plank floor usually requires an appropriate substructure, which may be filled with a thermal insulation fill, such as perlite, cork granules, or similar. There are also plank floors available, which can be glued. Plank floors can be sanded and refinished several times. The wear layer of a plank floor is about 8-10 mm. The total height of the plank floor is 25 mm.
Ceramic floor coverings (tiles)
Ceramic floor coverings and natural stone tiles are also being used more and more nowadays, not only in bathrooms but also in kitchens and hallways. The various colors, patterns, surfaces, and structures leave nothing to be desired. Today, there are even tiles that mimic the looks of other popular flooring types, such as wood-effect tiles or marble-effect tiles. Modern tiles made out of porcelain stoneware are enduring, easy to clean, and are a great flooring choice for many rooms of a home.
Laminate flooring
The subsurface of a laminate floor is usually made of high-density fiberboard. The laminate flooring gets its appearance (e.g. wood or tile structure) from decorative paper impregnated with synthetic resin. Due to its nature, laminate flooring has high fire resistance. A laminate floor has a thickness of about 7 mm plus a 2 mm impact for sound insulation.
Carpet coverings
Carpeting is the term used to describe all textile coverings that completely cover the floor of a room, such as velour, nylon, polyester, and many more. Most carpet coverings are made of artificial or natural fibers. The backing of the carpet coverings is usually made of foam or jute. The carpet coverings are available in a wide range of designs and variants and, depending on the type, can be glued over the entire surface or attached to the subfloor with double-sided adhesive tape.
Tags: Flooring Types
