Choosing Your Ideal Flooring
Solid Wood Flooring
Solid wood flooring is made from one piece of hardwood timber. The width of the boards can range from 90mm – 210mm and the average thickness is 18mm. The main disadvantages of solid flooring is with its installation. Solid oak wood flooring naturally expands and contracts after installation, it will also react to moisture problems in either the subfloor or the room it is installed in. With this in mind special care needs to be taken when installing and strict guidelines must be met.
Solid Wooden Flooring, unlike any other, this is a living product which continues to impress. When fitted and cared for correctly, a good quality, solid wood floor has the potential to last a lifetime. Solid wood can be secured using different methods, including; secret nailing and adhesives. Fitters at South Wales Flooring will discuss the best installation methods for you.
Solid wood floors tend to add real value to any home, making them excellent investments.
Engineered Wood Flooring
Engineered wood Flooring is constructed of several layers of wood. It will usually consist of three different layers, a top hardwood layer, a core middle section and also a balancing bottom layer. All these are glued together under extreme pressure at 90 degree angles to each other.
The top layer is what gives the engineered floor its looks, this is a real hardwood layer which can vary in thickness from 0.7mm up to 6mm. The middle section is what give the floor its stability and strength and can be made from softwood, plywood or HDF. The bottom balancing layer will usually be made from softwood. It is this construction which makes an engineered floor much more stable than a solid wood floor and thus can be installed as a floating floor over any type of subfloor. Floating installation is by far the easiest of all installation options.
Laminate Flooring
Laminate flooring is not a real wood floor but a high quality photographic image of wood. This is placed onto a HDF core board and is coated with a melamine wear layer. It is this wear layer which makes laminate flooring extremely hardwearing and much less liable to scratch than a real wood finish and makes laminate ideal for those with a busy and hectic home life due to these properties and also the ease of maintenance.
When you choose a laminate floor you need to be aware of the different grades and construction methods available. Laminate is graded from AC1 – AC6 with the latter being ideal for use in very heavy commercial installations. As for the construction then laminate is produced either by Direct Pressure Laminate or High Pressure Laminate.
Installation is also easier thanks to the click systems, the planks just click together with no need for glue, nails etc. Laminate is ideal for use in all rooms of the home or office with the exception of wet rooms such as bathrooms and shower rooms.
Luxury Vinyl Tiles
Luxury Vinyl Tile (LVT) flooring is the strongman of the flooring world – there’s simply no floor as tough. But being tough doesn’t stop it looking pretty: its photographic top layer can mimic a wide range of other materials, whether that’s wood, stone or ceramic.
LVT flooring is made from PVC, which is what gives it that extra strength. It’s 100% waterproof, can be used with underfloor heating and has a tough scratch-resistant wear layer.
Bamboo Flooring
Bamboo flooring is the inherently sustainable and unique alternative to wood flooring products. Harvested from the Moso bamboo plant, this rapidly regenerating grass has a natural lifecycle of 5 years, making it one of the most eco-friendly materials known to man. It is by far the hardest wearing type of floor and as a result is perfect for areas with high footfall.
Bamboo flooring is available in two varieties: Warwick laminated solid bamboo strips or Style strand-woven bamboo fibres. These collection include bamboo in it’s natural shade and stained bamboo in Coffee, Saddle and contemporary Whitewash. Perfect for adding an exotic twist to modern and traditional interiors, bamboo flooring is unique, interesting and eye-catching from every angle.
