Floors & Flooring Of all the furnishings in a room, the floor receives the most abuse. Numerous materials are used for flooring (wood, carpet, ceramic tile, concrete, stone and brick). Flooring sets the mood of the room. When selecting background for a room, start with the floor and work up.

When selecting the floor remember: appearance durability maintenance

Floors are constantly subjected to: - dirt and spills - heavy traffic - the weight of furniture

Floor Coverings Floor coverings must be attractive, serviceable, durable and harmonize with the rest of the room. Floor coverings are often the most expensive part of a redecoration project, but quality will pay off over time.

Type of flooring chosen depends on: the purpose of the room the amount of traffic flowing through it how much maintenance the flooring requires and whether it coordinates with the decorative scheme

Materials for floors can be divided into two types: Finish flooring.. is considered a permanent part of the floor. Floor coverings that are non-permanent

Types of Flooring Wood is the most popular finish flooring, wood is attractive, comfortable and provides warmth to the room. Most can be applied over concrete or wood. Styles: Strip flooring Random Plank Parquet

Wood Flooring In areas where people stand a lot (kitchens) consider a floating floor with a foam underlayment. It is more cushioned than a fastened or glued-down floor. This is a pad!

Wood Flooring When laying a floor orient the boards to the longest wall. This creates a optical illusion, making the room appear larger than it really is.

Hardwood (ex: oak and maple) is made either into planks that fit together with tongue- and-groove joints or strips that are fastened to the sub-flooring by nails and glue. The wood comes both pre-finished (factory-stained and sealed) and unfinished styles.

Parquet (small pieces of wood arranged in different designs, such as herringbone and checkerboard). Parquet come in pre-finished squares and are easily installed. Softwoods (ex: pine and alder) are much more susceptible to scratching, denting, and overall wear than hardwoods.

Engineered Wood A stable stack of wood veneers glued together like a plywood sandwich and made into strips that look like solid boards. A thin layer of hardwood is glued on the top. The harder wood the top layer, the more resilient it is to dents and the longer it’ll keep its like-new looks. Polyurethane protects the top veneer.

Engineered wood flooring

For added strength and stability, each underlying layer of wood grain runs at 90̊ to its neighbors. Currently, engineered wood flooring accounts for 30% of the wood flooring sold in America today.

Slate, Stone, and Brick may be used indoors or outdoors is often used for patios, porches, and entrance halls is not comfortable to stand on for long periods of time.

Types of Flooring: Stone Marble- the colors depend on the area of the world where it was quarried.

Types of Flooring: Stone Terrazzo-broken pieces of stone are used to make terrazzo. It is often used in Italian Renaissance style rooms

Types of Flooring: Stone Travertine- is a porous limestone that can be formed into tiles that can be used on floors and walls.

Types of Flooring: Ceramic Tile made of baked clay originated in Egypt about 4700 B.C. is often named after the city or areas from which they originate.

Ceramic Tile It is moisture resistant, durable, easy to clean, but it chips and cracks easily. Tile is often used in baths and kitchens but can become slippery. Tiles come in various sizes. The space between the tiles is filled with cement like substance called grout.

Ceramic Mosaic Individual tiles are mounted together on a sheet to help keep them together and make installation easier.

Mexican Tile made from clay taken directly from the ground shaped by hand which results in uneven thickness dried in a sun and often have prints of leaves, animal tracks.

Concrete Flooring easy to clean and extremely durable It can be hard on people’s feet and joints if stood or walked on for long periods of time. It is often used in large stores, restaurants, garages and utility rooms. It can be painted, stained or treated to be attractive.

Other Types of Flooring Quarry tile Vinyl Linoleum

Floor Coverings Resilient flooring flooring with a semi-hard surface that returns to it’s original shape after stress. it is warmer and quieter than finish flooring it is not quite as durable as finish flooring It is sold in tiles, self-adhesive tiles and sheet form

Vinyl Flooring one of the best resilient coverings. resists many stains, including grease and bleach durable and easy to clean comes in many patterns and colors can have no-wax finish with built in luster

Asphalt Asphalt is the least expensive resilient covering. It can be damaged by grease or dented so it may not be good for kitchens, but it is a good cover for concrete floors

Rubber resists denting and most stains is quiet and easy to walk on often used in hospital for “static electricity” reduction

Cork flooring is environmentally GREEN quiet and comfortable but is easily damaged not stain- or grease- resistant best used on area of light traffic

Rugs are made in one piece and have finished edges come in different sizes, colors, shapes and quality can be moved from room to room or one home to another can be turned to distribute wear more evenly

Carpet Carpeting can provide an unbroken area of color and texture and can make a room seem spacious.

Carpet Characteristics insulates the floor against drafts muffles noise provides a feeling of comfort and luxury is durable reduces falls due to slipping easy to maintain Some carpet fibers are designed to resist grease, stains and oil spills.

Carpet Padding doubles the life of a carpet by acting as a shock absorber adds to the comfort and quiet provides extra insulation prevents carpet from sliding should be colorfast so color won’t bleed through

Carpet color and design is the most noticeable feature of carpeting can create different effects and feelings can be patterned with geometric or floral designs repeated in curtains and walls

Carpet color and design tweed & patterned carpets hide footprints & dirt the decorating scheme of a room is often determined by the carpet color. use of a single color throughout the home or business provides a unifying feeling

Broadloom Carpet is manufactured in rolls up to 18 feet wide Broadloom Carpet is manufactured in rolls up to 18 feet wide. Seams are taped or sewed together; the entire carpet is fastened to the floor.

Carpet Tiles are single squares that are easy to install Tiles are convenient because if worn or soiled, a single square or an area can be taken up for cleaning or replacement.

Carpet is made from either: Natural Fibers used to make carpeting come from plants or animals; usually cotton, linen or wool. Manufactured synthetic fibers like nylon are used to make carpets. About 90% of all carpets and rugs are made of manufactured fibers. Recycled carpet can be remade into new carpet.

Carpet Quality The quality of carpeting is determined by fiber content, construction, depth of pile, and density of pile. The GRIN Test helps determines quality. Bend back the carpet sample. Notice the amount of space between the yarns and how the yarns are attached. The more yarn that is used in a carpet, the denser and more durable the pile will be.

Grin Test for Carpet Quality

Carpet Texture is created by a variety of fibers being looped, twisted, or cut to make different textures and to influence the quality of the carpet.

Discussion Question In the small space provided in your notes, list the floorings used in your current home. On the left side list the Finish floorings and the right side list the Floor Coverings. Finish Coverings