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Details
Flooring |
As with all renovations, installing, upgrading or replacing flooring requires a plan – a serious one – because it demands you remove all your furniture, paintings and priceless baubles while the inevitably messy process takes place. Even sanding an existing wooden floor strikes terror into the heart of the hardiest renovator. So… how to plan?
The first question to ask is: ‘why?’ What is wrong with your existing floors that you need to replace them? If they’re rotten or simply old, replacement may be essential – in which case, the next two questions kick in: where is the new floor and how will it be used?
 (Left: Wooden floorboards are a perennial classic and, if looked after properly, will age to a beautiful patina.)
Traffic and ease of maintenance are the determinants of flooring choice. High-traffic areas like entrance halls and kitchens require hard-wearing, low-maintenance, easy-clean flooring. Flokati rugs and cranberry smoothies are not a good mix – accidents do happen. This does not necessarily mean that hard flooring is the default – some industrial carpeting can withstand a lifetime of domestic use in a hall, while top-end vinyls, lino and cork are making a funky comeback in kitchens and bathrooms. But hard-wearing does ultimately mean tiles, woods, stones or concrete.
Low-traffic relaxation areas like bedrooms, living rooms and even bathrooms can accommodate soft flooring options such as carpeting or rugs. (Beware: round and shaggy is back!) Bathrooms prefer tiles or vinyl but carpeting provides luxury underfoot during the winter months. You could even consider rubber that’s suitably ribbed or patterned for grip.
None of these options precludes aesthetics or the creation of atmosphere. If you want wood everywhere, you can have it everywhere – or the appearance of it. Ditto stone and marble, though its weight might preclude upstairs use.
And you can blur the boundaries: tiles that look like linen or oxidated metal, laminates that look like stone, laminates that (gasp) look like wood (even hand-scraped, weathered wood – I kid you not)… and vinyl that looks like river pebbles (OK, it doesn’t feel like pebbles, but that’s probably an advantage). Quite honestly, budget willing, you can have whatever you want… pretty well wherever you want it. However, water (or indeed any liquid) is an enemy to all but the hardiest of floors – and its kissing cousins damp and condensation are not much better.
 (Left: A painstakingly laid mosaic floor echoes the weave of the cane chair.)
This is why wood and carpet in bathrooms are a risk and why tiles, especially the porcelain variety, are so wonderfully stain- and water-resistant. Damp will rot wood (very expensive to repair), and wine stains do NOT come out of carpets, whatever the manufacturers or your mother might say. You can, however, drop a bottle of wine on a ceramic floor and wipe the evidence away in no time. (I know – I’ve done it.)
Another consideration is noise. Laminates might be popular but when you walk on them in leather shoes you sound like you’re tap dancing. Beware of laminates’ alluring ease of installation and maintenance – the extra cost of wood or stone might be worth it for their better sound-insulation properties. There are new cork-backed laminates, such as Acousticork, so ask for them if noise worries you. Quieter floorings include vinyl, lino and, of course, carpet.
Durability can be an issue, especially if you have children or dogs. Wooden and laminate floors may be moderately hardy and look lovely when sanded and sealed, but dogs will scratch them bare in no time. (Parquet hallways are particularly popular as race tracks for some dogs I know.) Other items, like stiletto heels and heavy furniture, are also not best friends with wooden floors.
A proper sub-floor promotes durability.
Most tiles are best laid on a professionally laid concrete screed or, if glued, need to be laid just so. Equally, heavy stone and marble, in particular, must be properly supported. Wooden floors need ventilation beneath them and carpets need quality, new underlay. (Do not lay on top of other carpets or underlay because the previous wear pattern will wear through.) Another key factor is hygiene, specifically in relation to dust and insects. Allergens love carpets, as do fleas. If your household is allergy-prone, you should minimise long-haired rugs and carpets, and focus on the easily swept and mopped surfaces of laminates and tiles. Concrete is also a healthy surface, as are most stones and marbles.
 (Left: A contemporary version of slatted wooden floorboards are these shorter, irregularly laid ones.)
Safety is a prime consideration. People slip on smooth floors, especially if they are wet, so textured non-slip tiles in kitchens and bathrooms are best. And rugs slip on wooden floors too, so make sure they have a non-slip underlay. In addition, some materials are more fire-resistant than others: lino and cork are particularly good in this regard, as are most tiles.
Colour is important too. Light-coloured floors and small tiles make rooms look bigger. Dark colours and large tiles, like slate, can make rooms look smaller. However, lighter colours, especially when it comes to carpets, are harder to keep clean – or rather, they look dirty quicker. However, a chocolate brown or black shag pile carpet – should you be so inclined – can hide a multitude of sins…
Flooring needs to be architecturally sensitive – lime green concrete screed has its limits as a period flooring treatment, and this can apply to the size of tiles as well. Oversized tiles are not original Victorian fittings, nor is ‘Okavango Orange’ laminate. But, in the end, the choice is yours – just beware come resale time.
To recap, then. Kitchens? Best are tiles, vinyl and lino – the latter, especially, if you’re environmentally concerned: it’s a totally natural product. Cork and bamboo (both renewable, both fashionable) are possibilities, but they need to be kept properly sealed. Bathrooms? Ditto, with the addition of rubber, perhaps. Bedrooms? Warmer, softer carpeting, wood or laminates with rugs.
Diningrooms and living rooms? Ditto, though many dining areas are now integrated with kitchens. Hallways? Stone, tile, wood or laminates… maybe hard-wearing rugs or even steel, though it can be noisy. Conservatories and patios? Stone or tile but beware of high-gloss tiles near pools – grip is critical where water is concerned, and dark colours get very hot in the sun (which is why smooth, black slate around a pool is a disaster waiting to happen… but more on that in next month’s magazine).
 (Left: Carpets absorb sound, which makes them useful in bedrooms and studies.)
Lots to think about then: do your homework, but have fun picking and choosing! Best tip: call in the experts – floors are expensive and disruptive to replace.
Tiles, tiles, tiles From R40 to sky’s-the-limit (think Carrera marble) per square metre (unlaid). Choices include ceramic, porcelain, terracotta, stone, marble, glass and inlaid tiles. Textures and patterns range from faux stone and wood to jewelled bling and metallics.
Barbie pink is in for some but neutral tones are also finding favour – white through coffee to black. The laid cost is another story – tiles vary as to how they’re laid, and require expert fitting. Check before you buy.
Magic carpets Acrylic or wool? Spun or tufted? Cut pile or shag? Axminster or Wilton? Silk or Persian? Dhurry or Berber? Kelim or Gabbeh? It’s a whole new world, so best you talk to Belgotex or Nouwens for traditional tufted and spun carpets, and to reputable experts like Zollanvari and Gilles Botbyl for rugs of all varieties. Find what you like, then ask the price, then bargain…
Wood to die for Even if you don’t, the world might… A local wooden-floor specialist has been implicated in the import of illegally felled merbau wood from Indonesia. They’re not the only culprits, for sure. More renewable woods are pine, as well as bamboo (which matures in just five years), but a huge range of other woods are available, at a range of prices. Heard of jotoba or jarrah? You have now.
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WIN!
