Floor and Floor Treatments

Floor And Floor Treatments 3 (1+2)

Lesson :08 Selection of Flooring for residential rooms and for non residential buildings

Guidelines for selection of flooring material for various rooms in the residential buildings are discussed as follows

1. Entry hall (Varanda)

Varanda is for multipurpose use. Movement traffic brings in dampness and grit that will wear away a surface. Hard flooring such as ceramic tile, stone (marble, granite,Tandur) gives an elegant look. It is better to carpet the high traffic area in the entry hall because it keeps the flooring durable and easy to maintain.

2. Living room

In many houses living room has a variety of roles to play. Consider individual and family’s interests and activities are likely to take place. It is a social platform where families entertain people. Every family wants to reflect their tastes and personality. It is not just to sit and relax but also a play room, study, entertainment/TV room and even a dining room. This room will be in constant use; therefore flooring must be capable of withstanding a lot of traffic wear. Therefore consider all these functions of your living room and the following tips while choosing the flooring material.

• Hard floor such as marble, granite, ceramic tile, mosaic and solid wood can all be used. However all these are most expensive flooring.
• Wood flooring is not very common in India for residential building.
• Ceramic, vitrified tile, marble, granite and mosaic are the common flooring materials used.
• The above flooring can be combined with other soft flooring material such as carpet and rugs to add following effect.
• Wall to wall carpet helps to unify the space when a room is small and irregular in shape.
• Carpet will soften the look of the room and muffle the sound and will give cozier feeling, tends comfort and tranquility to a living room.
• Rugs isolate the significance of areas of activity and add a significant to a piece of furniture.
• Neutral color flooring acts as a background for the patterned furniture and draperies.
• Different flooring materials make an easy transition while walking.
3. Bed room

Flooring is extremely important in master and children bedroom. In master’s bedroom foot traffic is light compared to other rooms. Therefore elegant flooring like wood, marble, ceramic tiles, vinyl and granite in combination with soft floor covering can be used. Children bedroom is a great place to play. Flooring in this room should be non-slippery. Carpet and short pile rugs on any type of other flooring makes children room safe. If funds permit wall to wall carpet can be used. Children bedroom surface should be smooth. It is better to use cotton area rugs so that it can be washed easily. However noiseless flooring is ideal for bedroom. Carpet floor, rubber flooring practically noiseless. Wood, vinyl composition floor are slightly makes noise but still good for bedroom. However, concrete, ceramic and marble are noisiest flooring. However , on these carpet could be used to make noiseless.

4. Kitchen and Bathroom

Flooring is crucial influence on a kitchen and bathroom. When choosing the particular type of flooring you should remember that kitchen flooring should enhance the style of the kitchen type. Bathroom and kitchen floors must withstand moisture. So ceramic tile with non slippery finish, heavy duty quarry tiles are the best choice because they are non slippery and are tough. However nothing to replace brick and stone floor. White tile may not be an ideal for kitchen flooring.