Flooring For Beginners

As can be guessed from the name, floating floors are not directly connected to the sub-floor with any glue or screws, just kept over that. You can find offices and homes installed with such floors. An outstanding feature of these floors is that they help absorbing noise and are therefore often used at public places like gaming rooms, theatres and party floors. These are not appropriate for bathrooms since water could leak from the edges to harm their shock absorbing middle layer on getting collected therein.

Floating Bamboo Floor

With this kind of flooring you don’t actually attach bamboo planks to the sub floor. Instead, you use glue to attach the planks together or simply interlock those and keep over the floor as one piece. The sub floor may comprise of any regular flooring material including wood, tiles and concrete. A layer of foam and plastic comes in between the sub floor and the single piece made from planks. The middle layer could be made using cork or from recycled car tires. This works as an effective shock absorbing material. Variations of humidity level make bamboo contract or expand. So, the floor made from bamboo is exposed to such variations. However, floating bamboo flooring is better that the normal bamboo flooring as the planks making a single piece are not joined to the sub-floor, they won’t bend to lose their shape. Nevertheless, it is recommended to keep a gap of an inch or half between the edges of the floor and the walls, thus keeping room for any expansion or contraction that may take place.

Strand Woven Bamboo Floor

This is easily the most interesting and cost effective kind of bamboo flooring. This is derived from Moso bamboo which is first boiled to get rid of any sugar content that could attract termites. Subsequently it is dried for a long time. Dried bamboos are subjected to high pressure to flatten the same and planks are cut from the flattened bamboo and treated with low VOC (volatile organic compounds) adhesives. This treatment enhances the strength of woven strands to twice of normal strands. Moreover, they become more water resistant than normal bamboo. Now the planks are ready to be glued or nailed straightway to the sub floor or you may install those as floating floor. These are exceptionally strong and long lasting and fit for use in areas that attract high traffic.

Another convenient feature of bamboo flooring is that it presents easy installation and requires no professional help. Despite its being prone to attracting moisture, people prefer using bamboo flooring because of its aesthetic appeal. After all, every product has its own benefits and drawbacks and this flooring is no exception!

It’s heartening to note that more and more people are opting to use green products wherever possible. Now, they have the option of using some of the green building materials and that include Marmoleum flooring.

You may recall having used or heard of linoleum, but it’s very different from that and is available in a wide range of attractive colors to suit your particular home décor. It’s sold in form of rolls as well sections, known as Marmoleum Click flooring. You get innumerable design options.

The best thing is that unlike vinyl it doesn’t release any VOCs. So, you get attractive floors without harming the environments. Here’s more about this green product.

What is Marmoleum?

From the point of view of a common homeowner Marmoleum is long lasting that can be cleaned easily. It can bear heavy footfalls without losing its looks. This floor doesn’t get stained and you don’t have to wax it. Just dust off with a mop regularly or use a moist mop whenever required and the spills may be wiped off.

Marmoleum has antibacterial characteristics, meaning it won’t attract salmonella and the like. That’s because it contains linseed oil, which keeps the floor oxidized all the time and prevents formation of bacteria. On getting oxidized, linseed oil hardens and that further makes the floor durable. You can use any color of your choice and expect the floor to last for fifty years!

This reincarnation of linoleum resists burning. What it means is that in the unfortunate incident of a fire, the entire house may get burnt but the floor doesn’t melt even when subjected to high heat. That means a burning cigarette, curling iron, glue gun and hot grease won’t result to replacing of floor. You can buff out minor marks and simply clean up anything that drops accidentally. As the color goes deep into the floor, even deeper damages can be sanded out.

You can cut this material to create borders by combining different shapes and colors. For instance, you could get a vintage look by using small checkerboards. Or you may get a Pop 60s look by using rectangles and large circles.

Marmoleum has anti static characteristics, meaning that dirt and dust doesn’t stick to the floor, resulting to less effort for its cleaning. That helps people having allergies issues of any kind. This property has encouraged hospitals to use Marmoleum.

Marmoleum can also be used for countertops.

This green material made using natural materials doesn’t release toxic gases and can be installed using solvent free adhesive, offering clean installation.

The product remains cent percent biodegradable and doesn’t involve any serious health issue right from its manufacturing installation and final disposal.

Marmoleum maintains ecological balance. It is made from natural materials like linseed oil, pine rosin, pine flour and color pigments. All these items are derived from forests in Europe. Linseed oil is derived from flax plant. The heated mixture is passed through rollers and gets transformed to sheets. Finally, it’s given a backing of jute and cured for sometime before being used.

Are There Any Negative Aspects?

Yes, there are a few negative aspects too.

This is a very heavy material which most DIY enthusiast would find difficult to handle independently. Its installation necessarily requires the services of professional and that adds to its cost. But considering that it’s going to last two to three times the life of vinyl makes it a financially viable proposition.

Like most other materials, this too requires a good subfloor. Any defect in the subfloor will get reflected on the final flooring made of marmoleum. Once again, one is prompted to hire a professional for doing the installation.

As it’s made in Europe, you can say that its transportation causes adverse effects on environments. Yet, it’s difficult to ignore the positive points of this kind of flooring material.

Some people are not very comfortable with the smell of linseed oil and the floor does emit an odor at the time of its installation, though it disappears after a few days.

Marmoleum Click

Marmoleum Click, on the other hand, is an easy to fit edition of the large sheets of marmoleum. It’s available in many colors. At times one may be able to fix it on top of the existing floor.

The tiles are available in two sizes: 12 x 36 or 12 x 12. You can fashion several patterns on the floor. You don’t need any adhesive as it just clicks into place. It is appropriate for installation wherever you think marmoleum could be installed and remains equally durable. One can walk on the floor soon after installation. Excluding installation charges, it costs about five to six dollars a square foot.

Since centuries natural stones have been used for floors. Buildings from pre-historic times are found to have stone slabs carefully laid flat on the ground and offer a good stable floor. These days also we are using stones for flooring but these are processed or engineered stones available in the form of stone tiles. Since they are man-made, you get a very large variety of colors and materials.

These days you get a large variety of stone flooring in varying colors and textures. They have built-in sturdiness and aptness for different conditions. When looking for a flooring material you should not overlook the fact that natural stone flooring is the only material that really improves over time. It lasts forever. That’s why we find even the floors of pre-historic houses looking surprisingly modern.

There aren’t many flooring options with hard-wearing qualities of natural stone. Over a period of time it acquires its own distinctive finish, adding a distinct characteristic that gets associated with flooring made from natural stone. It is easily kept clean and there are many who find it stylish and as modern looking as any other type of flooring.

Stone floors can be formed by three types of basic rocks, namely: sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic. Examples of sedimentary stone would be limestone and travertine, whereas granite is an example of igneous stone, and marble and slate are examples of metamorphic stone.

Reprocessed or machine made stones are not real stones. Tiles made from such materials could never compete with the natural beauty of stone that remains just as nature made it. Though technological processes have facilitated the manufacturing of near natural stones, which are quite good to be true, but they are not real stones.

Engineered stone tiles are new. Real stone on the other hand takes generations to get formed with nature taking its own time. But if you look at the results, you will most certainly agree that they are truly matchless. There is nothing to compete natural stone flooring and that is not likely to change ever.

Flooring made from real stone need not necessarily be rough. In fact, it need not really look like our idea of stone at all. You can have it polished to get a high shine finish, or even given a matte finish for the texture to shine through. It may be dark, black, or light colored, or almost anything in between.

Floors made from natural stone are easy to maintain and remain trouble-free. Once it has been sealed to maintain its integrity, cleaning is no problem at all. Using an appropriate sealant helps preventing staining, maintaining its natural color, and will also help to prolong the life of the floor.

If you are looking for sustainable flooring you won’t find anything better than natural stone. It lasts for as many lifetimes as you wish it to. As a proof, look at the oldest stone floor in Britain, one made of limestone that’s around 7,000 years old and still in amazingly good condition. Could anything be more sustainable!

Rubber flooring is getting popular and preferred choice of floor for commercial athletic centers use. Here is an eco friendly and hassle-free commercial flooring that promises to offer one of the most durable and thus commercially viable proposition for any business, especially the sports centers like ice rinks, golf clubs, basket ball courts, and commercial gyms.

The properties of this rubber surface make it highly suitable for vast number of commercial flooring applications. That’s the reason that so many of architects and property developers are taking advantage of using this industrial rubber flooring. Commercial centers that usually patronize commercial rubber flooring are: health and fitness center covers, physiotherapy clinics, commercial gyms and many other trade show floors. In fact, almost any place that needs comfortable and durable flooring can opt to have top quality recycled rubberized flooring. You could have commercial grade recycled rubber flooring made right here in America at highly affordable prices.

This kind of flooring is highly resilient, making its use hassle-free particularly in commercial athletic centers where it is realized to be of special help in preventing most cases of slipping while also reducing noise levels. It’s a hassle-free material for flooring of sports centers and many other places like weight rooms, aerobic centers and even home gyms. Even in golf courses, like other pro shops, you will find this to be the preferred choice of commercial flooring. If you decide to use rubber flooring rolls for your commercially used space, you will find many custom flooring options available. You can choose from a wide range of colors to be installed to suit your club colors or even have your custom sports flooring manufactured with your corporate logo, and thus get what could best answer your corporate or club demands.

The installation of Rubber rolls or interlocking rubber floor tiles in athletics centers offers features other than the appearance and durability. It’s not difficult to guess that it also reduces the strain on an athlete’s joints as it buffers the pressure that the action causes to the joints. The rubberized flooring could also be employed to provide extra coverage to sports mats enabling safety mats and landing mats to co-ordinate with the rest of the rubber flooring used in the centre.

All the gyms and athletics centers will find rubberized commercial fitness flooring a cost-effective solution that enhances athletes’ performance while increasing their safety with less risk of injuries. So, if you are considering building or renovating an athletic centre ofany kind, you should look to the benefits of incorporating this kind of commercial flooring and tiles into your designs.

Since 1994 Scott Johnson has been occupied with recycling of rubber products and he considers using recycled rubber flooring in a gym or sports facility not only good for the gym, but also for the environment.

These days one gets many choices while considering flooring for a new home or even an existing one, the more popular of which include wood, laminate, ceramic, tile, and stone, among others. While each type has its suitability depending on the design and style of the house along with the personal preferences of the homeowners, many homeowners find it better to go for Cherry Wood Flooring for many different reasons. The three important reasons that encourage people to go for this kind of flooring are: it’s durable. It adds value to home and it offers easy maintenance.

A lot of people buy wood floors because of their durability factor. Cherry Wood Flooring is amongst the most durable flooring options available to homeowners. This flooring doesn’t develop cracks or gets warped so easily even if it’s installed in areas where it faces a bit of exposure to moisture. Usually, flooring develops problems on being exposed to any kind of moisture or humidity. It always helps talking to a professional floor installer to know if it’ll be a good choice to install this kind of flooring in a bathroom or kitchen area that typically attracts moisture.

Cherry Wood Flooring makes a good investment as it’s very much desired by many people. It adds to the value of a home. When people are looking to buy a house, most prefer to have one with wood flooring because of its appealing looks. Smart homeowner realize that it’ll be easier reselling a house with this type of flooring, should the need arise. It has been observed that homes with wood flooring are the first to get sold when they come out in the market.

And last, but very important reason why you should prefer to install Cherry Wood Flooring is the easy maintenance it offers. All that it needs for cleaning is a soft tipped broom or vacuum to get rid of dirt o the floor. Periodically, you may like to use wood cleaner to maintain its shine and brightness. Unlike carpet flooring, this flooring doesn’t attract dust.

Now that you know three favorable features of Cherry Wood, wouldn’t you consider its installation in your home?

Wide plank pine flooring has very versatile looks that go along a variety of decorating plans: country, present-day or houses with antiques and bright leather chairs and sofa, this wood flooring really transforms a house to a home. Who wouldn’t like having this as the base for one’s habitat?

The first thing that the homeowner has to decide is the style and stain color they would like to have. The variety is very vast and it would be good to visit a couple of stores and collect a few samples to bring home and see how they look with the present interiors. You get it in narrow as also in wider planks and with light and medium to dark stains. Some have a very smooth and refined finish while there are others with natural irregularities, giving it an exclusive attractive looks. The wood could have been derived from antique sources recovered from old barns, factories, pickle vats, and homes. So, here’s a chance for you to acquire a piece of history on your dazzling floor. And, you are not only making a design statement but also helping the environments by keeping alive a tree in the forests. Having decided the style of wood, it’s time to have it installed.

If you like to undertake simple DIY projects you may like to install it on your own, otherwise you’ll need to hire the services of a professional for getting the needful done. It may be added here that pine wood is softer than most other woods like oak, used for the same purpose and that facilitates the process. In case you opt to do it yourself you’ll need quite a few tools that are available on rent and here’s the list: a table saw, circular saw, tape measure or ruler, a heavy duty stapler, clamps, router, and a hammer and some nails. Drilling equipment with a range of drill bits will also be required. In case you already have some kind of flooring or carpeting, you’ll need appropriate tools for removing that and the type of tools required will depend upon the type of existing flooring. And, be prepared to undertake a trip to the dump for getting rid of the old carpet, padding and leftover tiles etc.

Having installed the floor you’ll be required to finish the same using sandpaper, wood oil and stain. You may be aware that the most interesting thing about wide plank pine flooring is that it gets better with age. The natural wood settles with the surroundings and develops its own unique look.

It is good to notice that people are getting conscious of environments and try using sustainable materials to the possible extent. It’s almost fashionable to be using such materials for home décor and furnishing. Bamboo Laminate Flooring is a very popular option these days. Of late, bamboo has continued to gain popularity not only for flooring but for quite a few other items like wallpapers and even clothing. Bamboo is the perfect resource to use. It grows very fast and matures within 5 years. Certain varieties are known to grow more than an inch in 24 hours. It can be grown to specifically suit certain applications.

Laminate flooring is more sturdy and long-lasting than other floors. That’s because it comprises different layers that are fused together over a strong central material. Laminate flooring is not as expensive as other flooring options. Flooring made from Bamboo Laminate is equally good. Bamboo is still more durable than other options of laminating materials. This durability factor makes it very good option for high traffic areas of any home, for instance entryways and kitchens. It better bears all that use.

A very convenient feature of using Bamboo Laminate Flooring is that it’s relatively easier to maintain when compared to carpeting and hardwood flooring. You wouldn’t need any special cleaners as in case of hardwood flooring. Nor would this flooring fade on getting exposed to the sun as carpeting does, or change colors due fading or darkening as is often the case with hardwood floors. While being durable it also gives a soft feel underfoot. Many people report that it’s springier and more comfortable to walk on than concrete backed tile floors or other flooring materials.

Bamboo Laminate Flooring is easily available in any flooring specialty store and in most of home stores. When it was first introduced, it wasn’t so easily found and was more expensive too. But as growing number of people realized about bamboo flooring, the manufacturers saw the opportunity of selling this environmentally friendly flooring.

Moreover, an increasing number of plantations growing bamboo the world over further contributed to its easy availability at competitive prices and thus added to its popularity. Bamboo laminate flooring is an excellent option for new flooring.

Consider Glue-less Laminate Flooring

Perhaps we never had the kind of flooring options that we have today. Even among the traditional options including carpet, tile, linoleum, and wood we get more styles than ever. But generally these materials need expensive untidy installation processes and often require special items for their upkeep and maintenance. But now they have developed a moderately simple and easy product that gives great looking floors at economical prices that get installed easily. And, that’s called glue-less laminate flooring.

The installation of glue-less laminate flooring is trouble-free. Here, instead of using traditional glue down method, the boards fit together by interlocking. This process is o simple that anyone can learn how to lay it. That makes its installation expenses far lower than other traditional methods. Apart from offering cheaper installation, the material itself comes cheaper than most other flooring materials. So, the overall cost in this case is much lower than other flooring options. Despite being incredibly economical, the laminate does not have cheap looks, as some of you might fear. It’s aesthetically pleasing and available in many styles and designs that would complement any home decor. It characteristically offers high resistance to scratches and impacts, like most other floor materials. It is very convenient to clean and maintain. You just need a wet cloth or spray mop for the purpose.

Despite all the advantages, there are some drawbacks associated with the use of glue-less laminate flooring. This surface is a bit too smooth, nearing to being slippery. Though that makes it good for being used as a dance floor, it may not be desirable if you have toddlers or elderly people in the family. Though some of the latest varieties are specially treated to increase friction, it continues to remains an issue. The other limitation is their limited life. As they need to be laid on top of the existing floor, if the process of their deterioration starts, you have to replace them. The average life of such floors is considered to be about twenty years. Compared to other floors it is not as water or moisture resistant. It wouldn’t be wrong to conclude that this kind of flooring fails to add value to homes. Nevertheless, despite the limitations, glue-less flooring is a superb flooring material and should not be neglected altogether when considering new floors or renovating the same , as millions of users are happy using it.

There is nothing to beat the exotic Brazilian hardwood floors with reddish hues and rich gold’s that ripen under sunlight to bring warmth to any home. That’s what prompted Mullican Flooring to fashion Mullican MeadowBrooke – affordable engineered exotics for people who love Brazilian flooring.

It’s the quality of their woods that have an exclusive reddish, golden hues and iridescent sheens, distinct from other trees that make Brazil and other South and Central American nations the major exporters of hardwood floors. The growth of woods like Brazilian Cherry, Santos Mahogany, and Tigerwood in plentiful allows these nations to manufacture and export the product worldwide.

Mullican’s MeadowBrooke collection offers the three most popular items in 1/2 inch engineered floors in planks of three and five inch width. Mullican Meadow Brooke Brazilian Cherry has more of a golden color, but this wood is expected to acquire a reddish hue as it ages.

Mullican MeadowBrooke Santos Mahogany is easily the most prominent with its varied color contrast – golden apricot swirled with shades of burgundy and burnt sienna. Mullican MeadowBrooke Tigerwood is steeped with shades of butterscotch and caramel which like Brazilian Cherry, offers something a bit surprising. If you like something slightly with lighter color, it is for you. Next to a sunlit window it beautifully reflects light.

The price of woods in this collection goes up from $3.69 to $5.42, with Santos Mahogany the most expensive. But it’s worth the price and among the finest collections of Santos Mahogany you would have seen.

Three-inch wide planks can be glued down or stapled, whereas the five-inch variety is designed for floating floors. You get these in random lengths of one to seven feet, adding to the unique dimension and character of this collection that is offered with a 25-year warranty on its finish.

To know more about Mullican Meadow Brooke or another collection from Mullican Flooring, you would best contact one the authorized dealers of Mullican. That’s the best way to know more of the latest available products and chose the most suitable for your home, and you may get an attractive deal in the process.

In case you are considering wooden flooring, you have three options that comprise of solid wood floor, laminate floor and engineered wooden floor, last being the most popular these days and there are good reasons to that. Let’s examine some of these here.

Aesthetics

Comparing the looks of finished engineered wood floor and solid wood floors is quite tricky. That’s because the top layer that one sees is almost identical in either case and what you see is largely due the type and quality of wood used and not the type of floor. You should know that the top layer of engineered wood floor is basically a thin slice of solid wood. However, laminates look quite different than engineered variety. Laminate wood floors can have so deceptive looks as to prompt an expert to go on his hands and knees to conclude that it’s not a solid wood or engineered wooden floor. As the two are one and the same thing it’s right to conclude that at a first glance engineered wooden floors have the appearance of solid wood.

Engineered Wooden Flooring Sounds More Solid Than Laminate

Did you ever realize that different kinds of wooden floors emit different kinds of sounds on being walked over? Yes, that’s true, as you step on a floor there is a sound created that varies with the floor material. It’s indeed interesting to know and understand the variation of sound on three types of floors or even the same kind of floor manufactured by different manufacturers. For example, laminate wooden floors have a hollowed sound as you walk over it. And, there are manufacturers who make it a point to mention in their ads that their product is devoid of this characteristic. On the other hand, a new average solid wooden floor hardly makes any noise that you can identify. However, over prolonged use, may be after a decade or so, these floors tend to make creaking sounds, but that’s not so were it a laminate floor. Engineered floors are difficult to predict. They could go either way. Usually they don’t have hollow sound, but then there are too many exceptions. They are not likely to sound too creaky, yet it happens. But for this creaking sound, which some people are not able to tolerate, engineered wooden floors come next to solid wooden floors. They prove to be ideal but for the said characteristic.

Damage Control

Leaving aside concrete, a solid wood floor is the most durable. Even if it gets damaged, you can have it repaired, though it does signal the damage being caused as you begin to notice scratches. Engineered wooden floor can be buffed and refinished to retain its looks, but that shouldn’t be too often. How frequently you may do that depends upon the brand and type, but be aware that its top layer is not thick enough to allow too frequent refurbishing. Thus, as in the case of laminate, serious damage may necessitate replacing the board to maintain its good looks. Laminate, on the other hand is nothing but a resin covered picture, can’t be refinished.

Price

Price of engineered wooden flooring is indeed difficult to assess accurately, as is in the case of hard wooden floors, and they are always fluctuating. That’s because its manufacturing depends upon the availability of definite kind of natural lumber.
Being derived from a natural product, the price of solid wooden floors usually has more fluctuations than the engineered one, whereas the price of laminate is governed by demand.

Coming to the conclusion of having wooden laminate flooring for your home is just about half the story. The other half and perhaps an equally difficult if not more, is deciding the brand to go for. And that’s just not a good sounding popular name, but much more than that. You will need to consider factors like durability, installation, its price and above all how it would look in your kind of present surroundings. You may not necessarily like to choose from the limited designs often displayed on the walls of most hardware stores. Keeping that in mind, let’s see what Swiftlock Laminate Flooring has to offer:

Lots Of Options

Once you have a reasonably good thought of how you want your home to look like after the installation of laminate floor is complete, it’s time to look for a brand that meets with your imagination and specifications. There are pretty good chances of getting something exactly or vey close to your imagination and expectations from the manufacturers of Swiftlock laminated flooring. Anytime, you can find at least 160 varieties of laminated flooring from Swiftlock.

They don’t distinguish their products by giving different names to various collections like Quick Step Laminate Flooring, but they do mention the thickness right by the name of the selection, and that you would hopefully find helpful. As a consumer you may not really be aware of what’s riding the popularity chart when we talk of laminate floors, it would be worthwhile to spare some time to check a couple of different websites and arm yourself with some of the available features and narrow down to know what would best suit your requirements.

Cost

As you start looking around for Swiftlock Laminate Flooring, you wouldn’t fail to notice that the name is frequently associated with the words durable and affordable. You may be surprised, though, Amazon does not stock Swiftlock. So, you need to look other places, should you like to compare prices. Swiftlock is the cheaper laminate flooring from its parent company, Armstrong. It won’t be wrong to ad that you’ll find Swiftlock to be the cheapest of laminated floor, wherever you may buy it from.

Difficulty Of Installation

You don’t need any experience in installing laminate flooring, being the easiest of them all. Here’s a perfect project for a novice DIY enthusiast. The process of installation is further aided by the provision of installation instructions on the website of this provider. Yet, if you encounter any difficulty during its installation, you are certain to find online help and tips as this is one of the most well known and used brand. Though lighter than either solid or engineered variety, it lasts for at least as long, if not longer.

Durability

Like any other wood laminate floor, you are concerned about its maintenance and durability. Swiftlock flooring proves pretty good as far as normal floor traffic is concerned. However, there are reports of its getting warped up, even in the absence of standing water or if heavy items fall upon it. And mind you, this kind of flooring can’t be subjected to buffing, though claimed to be offering resistance to dents and scratches. So, anytime some damage is caused by whatever means, you may have no other option but to change the board. Well, there are quite many complainants having used this product, but doesn’t that once again confirm its popularity? That leaves no doubt about its price worthiness. Further, most retailers acknowledge that Swiftlock Laminate Flooring is one of the top selling brand.