Floor covering guide: questions of choosing floor covering in an apartment

Recommendation points

• Should the cover be removable?
• Practical or natural?
• The question of decorative diversity
• High quality or expensive floor?
• Details of laying the flooring
• Summary

Once and for all – this is how it is customary to lay the floor when renovating an apartment. Alas, not all floor coverings can last as long as other finishing elements, so let’s try to figure out: is the floor really supposed to be eternal and which materials should be preferred?

It is important for the end consumer that the floor looks great in terms of design and does not lose its attractiveness after years of use. It entirely depends on what the finishing material was made of, whether it is correctly selected for the operating conditions. Delivery and installation conditions also have a significant impact. Therefore, we propose to discuss five key questions that are best answered before repair..

Should the cover be removable?

In pursuit of the durability of the floor, the main thing is not to get carried away beyond measure. Obviously, the longer the lifespan of the flooring, the better, and yet there is a certain limit beyond which the installation of an ultra-reliable and “indestructible” floor becomes an irrational waste of funds. Isn’t it ironic that most floor coverings do not break off because of wear and tear, but simply because of the need to update the interior?

Two striking examples of this are bulk polymer flooring and interior ceramic tiles imitating wood and other natural materials. These coatings have excellent wear resistance, you can’t argue with that. But let’s think critically: what is the likelihood that when carrying out cosmetic repairs 6-8 years after laying the flooring, its color, texture and type will exactly converge aesthetically with the rest of the decoration of the rooms?

The high durability of the floor almost always goes hand in hand with a solid cash investment. Why almost? Because:

1. The wear of the flooring directly depends on the operating conditions and the household habits of the residents.
2. There are modern floor coverings that are highly durable and at the same time save half to 2/3 of the original floor budget.

In projects for the repair of residential premises, preference is given to replaceable coatings: laminate, linoleum, carpet or parquet board, instead of capital parquet, solid wood and tile. The prerogative of the latter are only premises where the choice is limited for technical reasons..

By using materials that can be quickly replaced, you will be less limited in the choice of interior decoration for the next redecoration and avoid the need to immediately invest a large amount of funds in repair.

Practical or natural?

The use of environmentally friendly and natural materials has definitely become the trend of the current millennium. However, in pursuit of fashion, you should not give up the pronounced advantages of artificial materials, especially when it comes to flooring.

A simple example: natural linoleum based on cork, vegetable oil and jute fiber is distinguished by the absence of harmful impurities that could potentially remain in the production process and be released into the air. For people who are sensitive about the health of their families, this is one of the few alternatives for creating a safe, environmentally friendly floor..

There is, however, a downside to this approach. Natural linoleum is one of the most expensive coatings in its segment and its use is not always justified. It can be said unequivocally that linoleum made from natural materials can rightfully be called an ideal coating for children’s rooms, classrooms and medical institutions, mainly due to its inherent hypoallergenicity.

At the same time, it cannot be argued that less expensive polymer coatings are harmful to health. For example, the Tarkett company passed voluntary certification in the “Leaf of Life” system, thereby confirming the environmental safety of its linoleum and Art Vinyl, including those made from artificial raw materials. While linoleum with a protective coating of PVC or polyurethane is not inferior in safety to natural (with very rare exceptions to individual intolerance), it is free from such disadvantages as sensitivity to low temperatures and bacterial damage.

To summarize, a good floor covering doesn’t have to be super durable, natural, and expensive. Well, what about the variety of appearance?

The question of decorative diversity

In this aspect, modern linoleum has many more advantages than natural raw materials. Let’s start with the most important thing: modern technologies for the production of flooring and the latest developments in the field of printing allow you to accurately reproduce the appearance of absolutely any materials, from wood to exotic textures such as marble cut or leather. Moreover, print capabilities make it possible to create artistic compositions with the highest degree of individuality known. And the new category of modular Art Vinyl flooring makes it possible for an individual design solution and space zoning..

Today, linoleum with a design for “palace parquet” and laminate with the texture of solid boards have long sunk into oblivion. They were replaced by the textures of noble wood, leather, ship deck. Never before has the choice of appearance of floor coverings been so wide, and such a variety has not worked at the expense of the quality and durability of materials..

The flagship of the flooring industry – Tarkett – being a trendsetter, offers dozens of linoleum collections and about a thousand products! Tens of millions of Russian consumers have checked the quality of the products, and designers appreciate the richness of the choice of textures and textures.

High quality or expensive floor?

Far in the past are the days when the quality of the flooring and its cost were strictly correlated. A good manufacturer always makes sure that his products are available to a wide range of consumers from population groups with different incomes.

Today it is considered the norm if advanced technologies are used not only in the latest expensive collections. If an innovation is tried and tested and proven to be effective, it simply has to be adopted by the entire production line. It was this golden rule that allowed Tarkett PVC coatings to take the lion’s share of the market and earn consumer confidence..

Where does such a wide range of prices for floor coverings come from? Firstly, they all have a different field of application due to the severity of operating conditions. For Tarkett linoleum, this scheme is the most transparent: there are three areas of application according to the type of premises and in each of them several levels of intensity of the throughput are implied. The wear resistance class, indicated by a two-digit code, makes it as easy as possible to choose a coating for your purposes.

As you can see, the low price of linoleum or laminate does not imply its poor quality at all. On the contrary, the manufacturer seeks to save consumers’ money by offering a kind of gradation that excludes unreasonable cost overruns. In addition to the main classification, it is possible to have special properties of the coating, such as the thickness of the protective layer, antistaticity, coating density, resistance to temperature changes, embossing in the register. The wider the set of these properties, the reasonably more expensive the coverage, but, again, the buyer pays only for specific and justified advantages of the selected material..

Details of laying the flooring

Many buyers are determined to keep costs down by self-shipping and assembly. And in this, replaceable coatings also have a number of advantages..

It makes no sense to compare the complexity of laying a laminate and a set of real parquet. The latter requires skill honed by decades of practice, and the former will be handled by an inexperienced student who decides to update the interior of a rented apartment. But don’t assume that ease of installation is a matter of course..

Let’s explain with the simplest example – laying linoleum. Tarkett linoleum is guaranteed to shrink within the time specified by the manufacturer – about 24–48 hours after delivery to the site and rolling out. After that, linoleum can be glued to the base and be sure that the coating does not go in waves, does not crack and will subsequently correspond to the declared wear resistance class.

All that is required of the installer is to provide the required quality of the base. With the use of modern technologies for leveling the subfloor, this is very easy to do: both on our own and with the help of contractors. Almost all removable coatings feel great on any substrate, including floating floors and heated screeds. Naturally, provided that they were made by a good manufacturer.

Summary

Some things don’t need advertising as such. It is enough just to point out the advantages that may not be quite obvious to the average person. Tarkett expands the choice for its customers, offering quality, modern, environmentally friendly flooring.

Every modern person has the right to a space for experiment, everyone wants to change the environment around him, filling his life with variety. Now you know that you do not need to prejudice yourself in the choice of finishing options just because the appearance of the floor will stand out from the general concept. Today, repair or replacement of floor coverings are no longer operations comparable to a major overhaul of an apartment..

You are free to choose the type of flooring that suits you, without worrying about the fact that failure will significantly hit your pocket. And Tarkett, the leader in the flooring industry, has tried to ensure that you have the opportunity to completely change the design of your apartment according to your mood and with every redecoration, being confident in the high performance of the selected material..