Interior Design and Decorating Floor Finishes - Types of Semi Hard Flooring

Types of Semi Hard Flooring

Linoleum

Linoleum is made up from natural ingredients, linseed oil, ground cork, resin, fillers and pigments. These are baked slowly at high temperatures and pressed onto a jute or Hessian backing.

It is a misunderstood product as in its early form it was thin and brittle but with new production methods and design development it is fast becoming a popular flexible flooring choice. It is available in numerous color combinations and can be plain, patterned or in a marbleized look.

It is warm and quiet underfoot. It requires sealing with a polish as if water penetrates under the surface it will lift. It comes in sheet or tile form and is fixed to the floor with an adhesive.

Rubber

Rubber is made from natural or synthetic rubber, fillers and pigments. It is available in single colors with relief patterns or marbled. It comes in sheet form or tiles cut from sheets. The sheet form is available with foam rubber backing which provides a form of sound insulation. It has good wear properties, is resilient and tough, warm and quiet underfoot. It can be loose laid on concrete.

Cork

Cork is a natural product that comes from the bark of the evergreen oak. It is most commonly available in tiles. These are cut from blocks of granulated cork that has been compressed with binders and baked. It wears well, is warm and quiet underfoot.

Most commonly found in its natural color, warm gold to dark brown, it can be purchased colored from specific suppliers. It has good insulating properties and is very resilient. There are different grades, qualities and thicknesses available. It is not to be used with under floor heating, as it will lift. After laying with an adhesive it should be sealed with polyurethane. A lightweight tile can be used for wall tiles.

Flexible Vinyl

This comprises of PVC, resin binder, fillers and pigments. It is a very versatile product as it comes in numerous thicknesses, textures, patterns and colors. It is waterproof, oil and fat resistant, hardwearing and not effected by most household chemicals.

Non slip vinyl used on this accessible shower floor and standard vinyl to the walls.

As it is flexible it can be coved up walls to create a watertight floor. For non-slip varieties, quartz crystals or Carborundum are impregnated into the product. This works very well but it makes the floor very difficult to clean. Depending on the vinyl, some can be welded, which means the joins are also made watertight.

Vinyl is fixed to a well-prepared substrate free of lumps, bumps and dirt with adhesive. Vinyl is quiet and warm underfoot, and can be used with under floor heating. It is available in sheet and tile form and for added acoustic benefits some manufactures sell a foam cushion backed product. Vinyl is easy to care for, only requiring a sweep / vacuum and a wet mop.


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Interior Design and Decorating Floor Finishes - Types of Hard Flooring

Types of Hard Flooring

Cement Resin

This comprises of cement polyester resin and an aggregate (crushed stone or sand). It can be laid over concrete or a timber base. It provides a hardwearing non-slip surface, which has a slight texture.

Terrazzo

This is a composite material made up of cement and marble aggregate, it is then mixed and poured in situ onto a concrete base. It is then ground waxed and polished. It has a mosaic look. It can also be premade and is available in slabs or tiles. It is very hard wearing, if it is polished or wet it is very slippery. It is a suitable product to be used with under floor heating.

Terrazzo flooring in a mall situation.

It is very useful in commercial situations i.e. malls and shopping centers as it is very durable and easy to clean.

Over large expanses control joints are required to reduce the risk of cracking. It is expensive but worth it in these situations. It can be used to great effect in design work, using brass strips to define the edges with the use of different colored terrazzo between can be very effective.

Concrete Screeds

These are usually used as a base for other floor finishes. There are many forms, monolithic, laid over the concrete base within a few hours of the base being laid. Bonded - existing concrete base with aggregate exposed has a cement screed laid over it. Unbounded - a cement screed is laid over a plain existing concrete base. Floating - is laid over thermal or sound insulation materials.

Colored Concrete Screed in a mall situation.

Epoxy Resin

Produced by combining epoxide resin, fillers, aggregate and hardener. It can be laid over a cement screed, plywood or other surfaces. It provides a thin hardwearing layer available in numerous colors and textures. It can be made non-slip if required.

Polyester Resin

Produced by combining polyester resin, aggregates, fillers, glass fibers pigments and catalyst. It can be laid over a cement screed or plywood. It is a hardwearing product with a wide color range.

Polyurethane Resin

Produced by combining polyurethane resin and fillers. It can be laid over a cement screed or plywood. It provides a hardwearing non-slip surface available in numerous textures and colors.

All the hard flooring examples above are joint less liquid floor finishes. They start as a liquid form then harden to form the desired finish. Terrazzo and cement screed floors are required to be laid in bays with control joints to reduce the possibility of cracking and shrinkage. The majority of these products are best suited for commercial industrial and institutional applications.


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Interior Design and Decorating - Timber Floor Finishes

Different Types of Timber Flooring:

1. Timber Blocks

These are usually made of a hardwood species laid on a screed of concrete. They are laid in a herringbone or brick bond and basket pattern. They require a dry and stable atmosphere. The blocks are jointed with tongue and grove edges and fixed with an adhesive.

2. Floor Boards

These make up part of the construction of some houses; timber tongue and groove floorboards are fixed with nails to the floor joists. With the increased use of concrete substrate floors, a timber floorboard finish can be achieved by fixing battens into a concrete screed. Uplifting carpet and finding timber floorboards is a great coup as sanded and polished they provide a simple form of redecoration.

3. Parquet

This is used mainly for high quality domestic projects. It is available in square panels that hold all the timber pieces together. It is fixed by gluing to the base substrate, which is required to be level and free of lumps. The style of parquet is usually three fingers of timber facing vertical with three adjacent facing horizontal and so on. They are available with a prefinished coated surface or raw and require a polyurethane coating finish.

4. Chipboard

This is made of chips of timber combined with urea formaldehyde resins bonded to form a board. It is fixed by nailing to timber joists. It is a cheap product with a moderate wear ability. Its surface looks like cork when it is sealed.

5. Plywood

Plywood is made up of thin layers or plies of timber that get bonded together. Layers are laid face to face but each adjacent layer the grain runs in the opposite direction, which provides strength to the board making it stiffer and stronger than solid timber of the same thickness. It has a moderate wear factor as a floor product. It is nailed or glued to timber floor joists. A finishing coat would be required to seal the floor and protect it from spills, damage and wear.

6. Hardboard

Hardboard is made from soft wood pulp and is a cheap product. Generally used as a base for other flooring. It can be painted and sealed but it is not very durable long term.


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Tile Installation - DIY, Clay Based Flooring Finishes for Interior Design and Decorating

Brick and Brick Paviours (Tile Installations & Laying)

• Bricks are made from clay, which is formed into shapes and dried in a kiln.
• Paviours are made in a similar fashion but they are thinner and often have special finishes on the surface.
• They are both hard wearing and chemical resistant.
• They are laid on a bed of mortar.

Ceramic Tiles - About & Installation Tips

• Ceramic tiles are made from clay, pressed and tempered into the required shape and size and fired at high temperature.
• They are available in a vast range of colors; sizes and some have textural designs on the surface.
• They can be used a floor or wall finish.
• Careful attention needs to be paid on selection in regard to wet areas, as they are very slippery when wet.
• They have a high durability; they can be broken or cracked if heavy objects are dropped on them.
• They can be noisy underfoot and cool, but they are excellent for using with under floor heating.
• They require a level and solid substrate for laying, a concrete slab or plywood sheet.
• Where there is a large expanse of tiling, expansion joints should be used to allow for expansion or contraction to reduce the risk of cracking. These joints are filled with a compressible sealant product

Quarry Tiles - About & Installation Tips

• These are made from unrefined extruded, high silica alumina clay that gets pressed into the desired form and hard burnt.
• They are hard and durable but have a softer composition than ceramic tiles.
• They can be used with under floor heating.
• The quality and price is wide ranged and varies depending on the size and thickness.
• It is an unglazed form of tile, which comes in a natural color selection, red, brown and beiges.
• They can be sealed but must be done immediately after installation.
• Like ceramic tiles they are cold underfoot and will break any thing that you drop on it.

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Landscape Elements - Hardscapes

A landscape is never complete if its soft elements are not completed correctly by its hardscape. Hardscape or “hardscaping” is composed of inanimate elements of landscaping, particularly the work of masonry or carpentry. For example, stone walls, concrete or brick patios, tile roads, bridges made of wood and wooden trees would all be considered as part of the hardscape. But hardscape goes beyond large-scale projects like these. Any non-life ornamentation in your landscaping is technically part of the hardscape.

Without the clever arrangement of stone and other components hardscape, the most artistic landscape is not a framework for disable plants tastefully and beautifully. When designing your garden, always start by permanent structures. Let the physical area and its surroundings dictate the form and shape of your design.

The wooden structures can be used in the garden to provide support for the plant material and define the elements of “outdoor rooms,” the truss becomes a wall, tree a door, a pergola roof - a gazebo combine all these. The design of these features should take into account the weight of loads probable plants, natural forces of wind, humidity and the sun and properties of the wood itself. Including wooden structures in the landscape offers us the opportunity to recycle materials “nature garden” to ours.

Sample 1: Pergola

Sample 2: Pathway

Sample 3: Patio with pergola

Hardscape materials are as varied as your imagination. But for weight construction, you are safer with proven materials such as stone, wood, cement, etc.. Most people like the shade patios and structures. But even these can be built with creativity, train them to the original design and choosing materials imagination. The cement can be colored, stamped or inlaid. Mosaics, paving stones, tiles, bricks, colored gravel, crushed glass, or a combination of materials can make flat surfaces turbulence with interest. Consider the addition of two structures use and beauty.



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