How to choose the right floor for your family home is a paid collaboration with Crown Tiles. Which floor should you choose? Types of flooring: stoneware, parquet, terracotta and more … Useful advice on how to choose flooring according to your style, setting and budget.
The type of floor you choose plays a fundamental role. If it is true that a wall can be repainted and a piece of furniture replaced, the floor will certainly have a much longer life. Therefore, when choosing the flooring, several factors must be taken into consideration. Let’s see a few of them below.
Style of your right flooring
To choose the most suitable floor for your home, consider your lifestyle.
For example, if you live alone or in pairs (without children), you can opt for any type of floor, even the most delicate, such as parquet.
But if you have children, the subject changes, and the same applies if you live with animals – mostly the classic four-legged friends. In this case, the flooring must be resistant and durable.
A floor for each ambience
When choosing the floor, the allocation of the garden must be considered too. So if you have a room close by the garden, it is advisable to use resilient, scratch-resistant materials suitable for tough use.
In the kitchen, a delicate, non-water-repellent flooring should be avoided. It is advisable to choose tiles that are resistant to stains, moisture and repeated cleaning operations.
Therefore, the traditional parquet is not recommended as it is not specially treated to be water-repellent.
The same thing applies to the bathroom.
For the bedrooms, you can also choose a more cosy and warm floor, such as the parquet, especially if you do not want to give up the comfort of walking barefoot.
Types of flooring
For a wider number of options, we choose between three types of flooring:
- stoneware
- parquet
- Cotto
The old tile is almost completely abandoned, but it can be used as walls tiles in the kitchen.
Stoneware floors
Stoneware is a type of resistant and durable flooring, which lends itself to imitations of all types: wood, stone or other materials.
This is the most widespread and used flooring on the market due to it being made in very high temperatures (around 1,250 C °).
This specific flooring exists in two main versions: porcelain and red, but in both cases, the surface can be glazed, unglazed or polished.
Porcelain stoneware with a glazed surface is the easiest to maintain, as it does not absorb.
PARQUET flooring
Parquet flooring is often everyone’s dream, as it conveys unrivalled comfort.
This flooring stays warm in winter and cool in summer. With perfect thermal conductivity and sound insulation, it is the most popular flooring. The traditional parquet is made entirely of solid wood. It is supplied raw, then polished and treated on site, with wax, oil or paint. Pre-finished parquet, on the other hand, is supplied already treated and must only be laid.
Flooring in COTTO
The cotto is composed of clay mixed with water and is divided into two types: glazed terracotta and antique terracotta.
Enamelled terracotta usually has an irregular surface caused by a different absorption of the enamel; while the ancient terracotta is characterized by many irregularities, given by the handicraft production that gives it an indisputable added value. The cotto is used for the greatest rustic settings and for the exteriors.
Budgeting
Usually, the flooring is purchased per square meter, and the price varies depending on the material. Our advice is always to keep an eye on the stocks of the shops, often they are real bargains on stored floors, surpluses or cancelled orders. Regarding the price, bear in mind that the cost of the installation can have a significant impact on the total amount and it is, therefore, necessary to evaluate the choice of a better paving: floor price + cost setting up.
However, even with a small budget, you can tile your home with excellent floors, you just have to know how to choose.
