Comfort and cosiness in the house depend on many factors. Floor coverings play a significant role in this. As a rule, all floors have the same base - concrete or cement-concrete screed. Such a surface is often covered with chipboard panels or plywood sheets. And how to choose a finish coating so that it meets all the requirements for a particular room? Today, finishing materials for the floor are presented on the market in a huge assortment. In this article, we will tell you more about them.
Parquet board or parquet?
This is perhaps one of the oldest floor coverings. The piece parquet is solid bars of a natural tree. It is laid on a pre-leveled floor in one of many ways and covered with several layers of varnish. With proper care, these floorings will last more than one generation of owners.
Parquet board is a more modern finish. Such boards (lamellas) have a length of up to 2.5 m, a width of 200 mm. The parquet board consists of three layers. The veneer made of precious wood is laid on top. For middle and bottom layersconifers are used. Factory applied varnish lasts up to 15 years.
Floor coverings, prices for which can be very high (piece parquet) or quite affordable, are suitable for different rooms. For example, it does not make sense to lay parquet in the hallway, where it will be subjected to heavy loads. In addition, he can suffer from dirty shoes: scratches and bald patches will appear. It cannot be washed as often as the floors in the hallway require, especially with the use of detergents. And this is not the most important thing. In order to lay parquet in a standard hallway, you will need at least $500.
Flooring: laminate
Laminated parquet is a multi-layer coating. Its basis is fiberboard. A printed paper layer is laid on the base, which can imitate the pattern of various types of wood. It is protected by a layer of varnish. Laminate is divided into 6 classes according to the degree of wear resistance. For home use, samples of the 21st, 22nd, 23rd grades are suitable. More durable - 31, 32, 33 classes - are considered to be commercial. They are used for shops, offices, clinics, etc.
The cheapest laminate lasts 5-7 years, the more expensive types - 15. Laminate is easy to install. Even a novice in construction work can handle this. Today, many well-known manufacturers of this material produce glueless laminate samples, which, during installation, resemble the assembly of a designer.
Now let's talk about the price. Grade 23 laminate flooring costs $14 to $17 persquare meter, a more durable 31st class will cost you no less than $ 20 per square meter. Laminate from waterproof collections costs an average of $ 25 per square meter, glueless coating - from $ 20-26.
Vinyl flooring
The building materials market is developing rapidly. This applies not only to foreign manufacturers, but also to domestic ones. Almost every year, new floor coverings appear on the construction market. They are noticeably better than their predecessors. These include the recently introduced vinyl flooring.
This coating is easy to install, reliable and moisture resistant. This floor can be safely installed in the bathroom.
Material advantages
Such floor coverings have a higher wear resistance compared to conventional laminate, since quartz chips are used to produce PVC. This material is ideal for high traffic areas due to its high performance properties. The layers that make it up at very high temperatures are fused and form a single whole. So if you are looking for floor coverings for the kitchen, pay attention to this material.
Vinyl floors are anti-allergic, so they are suitable for people who suffer from hypersensitivity to certain substances. They come in three types:
- adhesive. Mounted using a special mountingglue;
- self-adhesive. These lamellas are already glued at the factory;
- locking, having a locking mounting system.
The cost of such coatings is from 1800 to 2490 rubles per square meter.
Cork coating
This is one of the latest developments from flooring manufacturers. It is made from the bark of a cork oak, which grows mainly in Portugal. There are whole plantations of such trees.
Cork oak is a long-liver. He lives for about 200 years. When he turns 30, he is considered an adult. From that moment on, the bark is manually removed from it, without causing any damage to the tree. This is done at intervals of approximately 9 years. It is this time that must pass for the regeneration processes to end and new layers of the bark to appear.
The bark is harvested about 20 times during the life of an oak tree. After collection, it is sorted and sent to the production workshop. Certain operations are carried out there to improve its quality characteristics. She is kept outdoors for six months.
The texture of the cork resembles a honeycomb. One square centimeter is 40 million cells. They are filled with a gas mixture that resembles air in composition. This makes the material unique: it has improved heat, sound, noise insulation, environmentally friendly and antistatic.
Cork flooring is a multi-layer construction. Inside each panel there is a moisture resistant plate with a built-in lock. Top platethe decorative interline interval covered with 6 layers of a varnish settles down. The bottom layer is a technical cork that allows laying the coating without additional use of the substrate. Cork flooring enhances sound insulation. In a room where such a floor is laid, there is no echo. It is a very resilient and elastic material. It is fully restored when the load is removed (for example, when rearranging furniture).
These are the perfect flooring for a child's room. Such a floor does not rot, as it does not absorb moisture, so it can be safely laid in the kitchen. This coating has another unique property. It repels dust and does not support combustion.
Installation
This flooring is as easy to install as laminate. The panels are assembled in a floating way and fixed with a lock on any flat, dry and clean base. A non-professional builder will cope with such work.
Design variety
Collections of this material are distinguished by a variety of natural textures with cork and wood veneer. The most fashionable design studios prefer to combine different cork textures with original decor technologies. In this way, they create bold and very original compositions.
Cost
Given the advantages that cork flooring has, the price is quite attractive. A beautiful and durable cork floor will cost no more than 1,500 rubles per 1 m22. Regardless of the price of this material, it is excellentwill complement such interior finishing solutions as wood, plaster, wallpaper, tile.
Customer Reviews
Of course, we have told you only about the most popular types of flooring today. Of course, tile and linoleum, carpet and porcelain stoneware are still popular. Of the options presented by us, piece parquet received the most positive feedback. Buyers note its durability, strength, beauty. However, many note that the price for it is too high (more than 5 thousand rubles per square meter). Therefore, many preferred a parquet board, which outwardly can not always be distinguished from piece parquet. Such a floor will not last as long as a parquet floor, but in price it is significantly inferior to a piece analogue.
Many kind words deserve the creators and manufacturers of vinyl flooring. Cork coverings are especially delightful, especially if they are laid in a children's room or bedroom. They are warm, very pleasant to the touch, and their price is quite reasonable.
