A wide range of types of flooring are available, with some types being suited to particular rooms and others being multi-functional.
Speaking to a flooring specialist or retailer can shed light on the most appropriate type for you, although this article provides information about the suitability of a range of commonly used flooring materials.
Carpets tend to be one of the most popular floor coverings, and with so many types of carpeting to choose from, it’s easy to see why it’s so popular. In addition to many different colour choices, carpet materials and length of pile can also give a variety of textures to choose between, from synthetically derived fibres to woollen carpets, and looped pile to berber twist. Another consideration to bear in mind is whether to choose a foam backed carpet or a hessian backed carpet; hessian backed carpets tend to last longer than a foam backed carpet, making them higher quality carpet options. Before laying a new carpet, underlay can be put down, which is a good way of further extending the life of a carpet by reducing friction against the reverse of the carpet.
If you don’t fancy carpeting however, there are plenty of other options to choose from when laying new flooring. For starters, you may like to consider environmentally friendly sustainably sourced flooring materials, as they are excellent options when looking to reduce the carbon emissions of your home or renovation project, for people wanting an eco home or as a greener purchase that has less environmental impact, such as bamboo flooring; coir, sisal or woven seagrass eco carpets or wood and laminate flooring products with FSC content. You can often find a range of reclaimed flooring materials at a reclamation yard, from wooden floorboards to woodblock or parquet flooring, so whether you want to add character to a newer build property or enhance the natural features of a period renovation, you can achieve it with ease whilst having the added benefit of being a lower carbon option.
If you’ve decided carpets aren’t for you, wooden floors provides the next largest choice in flooring materials, which include laminate and engineered wood flooring, solid wood and woodblock floors. Flooring materials with higher wood content are likely to be more expensive per square metre than those containing less, and that’s why the increasing quality of laminate flooring is making them very popular as a cheaper option to real wood. Many different finishes can be chosen from when you decide to lay wood flooring, whether you choose wood effect or actual wood products, from beech to rich cherry, dark walnut to country oak, and additional features such as a choice of thin or thick planks making up the design, and handscraped surfaces to create texture, it is possible to find a wooden flooring product to suit most tastes among the different types of real wood top layer, laminate and solid wood products.
Vinyl and plastic based flooring products are a popular choice when on a budget, and there’s a good range of choice too, from lino to vinyl floor tiles or sheeting and cushion flooring. Rubber floor tiles or poured rubber flooring are a similar alternative to these flooring types that is more eco as it can be easily recycled, however all have the same benefits of being easy to clean and offering durability, which is one reason why families find them such a practical flooring material as an ideal flooring material for splash areas such as bathrooms and kitchens.
Whichever flooring material you settle on, a flooring professional in your area can help you by fitting your new flooring materials to transform the interior of your property.
