11 Best Suited Flooring Types For Indian Home - builtify

Flooring is an essential stage of home finishing. It changes the aesthetic look of the house. Along with this Texture of flooring gives the feeling of floor smoothness to the members of house. It is a major part of house which comes in human contact most of the time. With the changing technology a number of flooring options are available in the market, but many of us are confused what to choose for our flooring. As house construction is one time investment in a life of a person & durable for longer period of time , but that does not happen with flooring. That's why before choosing you must aware about the pros & cons of every type of flooring , so that flooring will last longer.

Here we are giving you all the information about different types of flooring :

• Tile Flooring
• Vinyl Flooring
• Granite
• Marble
• Mix match
• Laminate
• Linoleum
• Concrete
• Terrazzo
• Oxide flooring
• Stone

Tile flooring:-

Ceramic Tile used for flooring is made up of sand, clay and some natural products, then they are moulded in a Klin and they are putted on fire. They come in 2 variants ,one is glazed and another is unglazed. Most home owners prefer glazed tiles as it gives a shinny look to the floors. These ceramic tiles can be used for floors and walls also. Manufactures make tiles according to their use such as kitchen tile,Bathroom tile,Wall tile. Their texture varies according to their use.

Pros-

• Ceramic tiles are Cheaper
• Easier to install
• More water absorbent
• easier to clean with a sponge
• Easy maintenance
• Very durable 
• Endless designs are available.

Cons- 

• More porous,
•  Less stain resistant
•  Not resistant to hard hitting 
• Sometime it get cracked.

Porcelain tile:-

Porcelain tiles are one form of ceramic tiles. They are variant in some aspect from ceramic tiles. The clay used to make this tile is generally more denser than ceramic tiles. The water absorption rate of Porcelain tile is less than 0.5 % than ceramic tiles.

Pros- 

• Porcelain tile is an excellent choice for flooring, having a no of advantages.
• It can visually mimic any kind of flooring, With a number of choices such as wood, granite, bamboo, marble which can not be detected at first glance.
• It is more durable making it more stronger than ceramic tiles. 
• Making it more stain resistant as it is less absorbent.
•  Require low maintenance and easy to clean. 
• If it is properly installed then can last for longer period of times.

Cons- 

• Porcelain tiles are costlier than ceramic tiles.
•  Porcelain tiles are heavy in weight, therefore difficult to install. 

Marble flooring-

Marble is a very popular flooring options giving the house a sophisticated look. It is made up of metamorphic rock that forms when a sedimentary stone, such as limestone, is transformed under heat and pressure into a harder stone with beautiful color and veined patterns. Marble is a natural stone which is then processed to use.

Pros-

• The biggest advantage of marble is it provides an instant elegant look.
• Marble is available in multicolored & in stunning varieties.
• It is a natural material. 
• It is heat resistant. Good for summer days .
•  It can resist hard hitting.
• Can easily polished whenever require .

Cons- 

• It is not stain resistant
• Very cold to feet
• Difficult to install and need very care during installation
• Very expensive.
• It can be dangerous to put in bathrooms as it is slippery
• Replacement of marbles are very difficult & matching does not easily available.

Vinyl sheet flooring- 

It is made up of synthetic polymers. Vinyl sheet flooring comes in large roll bundle & then it is cut & fitted into the floor. It is excellent for bathrooms & basements. Water does not get into the beneath of the vinyl floors.

Pros-

• Easier to install
• Water resistant
• Budget friendly
• Stain resistance
• Require low maintenance

Cons-

• The chemicals used during manufacturing can cause evaporation of toxic gases from the sheet.
• It may lead to discoloration.
• It can not be refinished .
• when it is damaged it is completely removed & again new sheet is installed.
• It’s durability depends upon the quality of manufacturing.

Vinyl tile flooring:-

Vinyl tiles are good options for the home owners who have very tight budget.

A vinyl tile floor is often installed in commercial settings where high traffic is a constant, or where a clean or static-free environment is desired. 

Pros-

•  Vinyl tile flooring is highly durable.
• It is mainly used for commercial buildings as they are open to high foot traffic. 
• Very good option for the home owners who have pets & kids.
• Produces less noise.
• Requires less maintenance.
• Design will not wear due to use.

Cons-

• Vinyl tile flooring can be damaged by sharp objects. 
• The design can fade due to exposure of sunlight. 
• It is good for in house flooring.Uniformity & smoothness can be a problem while Installation.

Granite flooring:-

Granite is the best known igneous rock. Granite tile is made by processing granite until making it smooth surface. It is used for many purposes in day to day life. But when it comes to flooring granite is preferred by many people due to it’s natural beauty.

Pros-

•  Granite is exceptionally durable.
• Very long lasting.
•  Water & Moisture resistant.
• It comes in many style. It provides very good look to the house.
•  It doesn't fade due to sun exposure.
• Requires low maintenance.

Cons-

• Difficult to install
• Cold to feet
•  high price

Stone flooring:-

Stone flooring is a type of floor covering carved out from natural solid rock. Stone is a rock that has been quarried and cut. These blocks of rocks are cut into slabs which are sent to a processing plant to be re-cut, shaped and polished.

Pros-

• Durable
• not stain resistant,very good option for outdoors. 
• They are very long lasting as compare to other forms of flooring.
• During Installation there is less wastage as they are mainly installed in irregular manner.

Cons-

• They accumulate dirts
• Hard to feet
• Very hard to Install
• Difficulty as it  requires cleaning frequently.

Concrete Flooring:-

Concrete flooring Is one the most easily done flooring. Concrete mixture is only poured upon the surface & then it dries to form a solid flooring. Somtime colour is mixed to create designs.

Pros-

• Concrete flooring is easy to maintain.
• Easy to clean.
• Can resist hard hitting.
• They are extremely tough & resilient.
• Another benefit of concrete flooring is that you can install another flooring upon it. 
• It provides a lot of future design opportunities.

Cons-

• They are hard to feet.
• Very cold to feet.
• After some time of Installation it looses it shine.
• scratch prone .
• They absorbs moisture.
• If done in bathrooms growth of algae can make the surface slippery.

Terrazzo flooring:-

Terrazzo is a composite material, poured in place or precast, which is used for floor and wall treatments.It consist of two layers. The under layer is made up of cement concrete, then the top layer is consist of marble chips,quartz,granite. After the layer is dried & cured then polishing is done. It can be used for both indoor & outdoor.

Pros- 

• Terrazzo is one of the most durable designs for flooring.
• It is impervious to water & stain. 
• No of designs can be made with Terrazzo.
•  It can withstand with high traffic areas.
• Once polished again glazes like newly installed. 
• Easy to maintain & clean. 
• It is very long lasting flooring.

Cons-

•  Cold to feet
• High price
• Needs expert to install

Laminate flooring:- 

Laminate flooring is a multilayered synthetic product fused together with a lamination process.

Pros-

• Laminate flooring Installs first & easy.
• Easy to clean
• Laminate flooring can be Installed in living rooms or where there is less moisture.
• It is durable to dent & scratches.

Cons- 

• The biggest cons is it can not be refinished.
• Laminate can not resist a standing pool of water. 
• Some laminate which is made up of chemicals may release toxic gases.

Linoleum flooring:-

Linoleum, also called Lino, is a floor covering made from materials such as solidified linseed oil, pine rosin, ground cork dust, wood flour, and calcium carbonate. Pigments are often added to the materials to create the desired colour finish. The finest linoleum floors, known as "inlaid", are extremely durable.

Pros-

• Linoleum is a resilient flooring material, meaning that it compresses and yet bounces back when walked on, giving it a slight cushioning effect.
• It needs little maintenance.
• It is very long lasting.
• It doesn't emit harmful gases.
• It is very long lasting.

Cons-

• It is not susceptible to moisture therefore not suitable for bathrooms.
• It can be dented by high heels & furniture legs.
• It turns yellowish when exposed to sun, therefore not suitable for outdoors.

Mix & Match flooring:-

Instead of Single flooring many people now prefer to have mix & match type of flooring. Such as you can go for vinyl sheet or laminate flooring with tiles. It depends upon you how you want to mix & match.

Pros- 

• They are very attractive & gives a feeling of transition while walking.

Cons- 

• Due to different flooring  their maintenance, cleanliness are different and time consuming.

Oxide Flooring:- 

Oxide flooring are oxidized cement flooring.They are first Introduced by Portuguese in Kerala. For this Oxidation mostly red colour is preferred. Though it lost it’s popularity due to emergence of contemporary flooring , but it is an eco friendly & budget friendly flooring.

Pros-

• They are very good option for tropical or warm areas as they give cooling feel to feet.
• It requires less maintenance & cleaning is very easy.

Cons-

• Laying oxide floor is tedious job as it has to be done in one stretch without taking a break otherwise it will dry before laying.
• Extreme exposure to whether may create cracks therefore it is good for Indoors.

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