What is the most suitable type of flooring for each room in the house?

 

To analyze the best option for each case, the ideal is to divide the property into three large areas: intimate, social and wet areas (bathrooms, kitchen and laundry, basically). This division is interesting, as each of these spaces requires floors with different characteristics. Floors are attacked daily by several factors: high traffic, water, grease, cleaning materials, constant sun, stiletto heels on women's shoes, baby carriages, dogs' paws, paints, wine, etc. Look carefully at the most frequent aggression in each environment so that the choice of material is the right one.

For the intimate area, we can use warm and cozy materials, such as wood, colder materials, such as ceramics, monolithic floors or even carpets, wooden carpets, rubber floors, among others. This area can receive several types of cladding, as traffic is usually low and water resistance is not an issue here.

warm floors

Wood is a much desired material in bedrooms, as it is warmer, pleasant to walk around barefoot and reflects intimacy. If that's your choice, give preference to certified ones, which are less harmful to the environment, and be careful with very soft species, such as the almond tree. This floor can be composed of large pieces of different widths, the floor, or smaller pieces, commonly called tacos, tacos, tacos and parquets.

While the floor is usually installed with screws that join the boards to a secondary structure connected to the slab (the popular joists), the blocks are usually glued directly to the subfloor. After installation, the pieces must be sanded and finished with a protective varnish. There are several types of this material on the market from different brands. There are also so-called ready-made floors, which arrive at the site already finished and do away with the laborious finishing of the floor “in loco” – scraping and treatment. Wood is also a floor that behaves well in the social areas of real estate. For wet areas it is not the most suitable, since it does not deal well with humidity. In this case, if you don't have a very well-crafted project, you run the risk of seeing your floor warping or taking off.

Some materials such as carpets, rubber floors or laminates, popularly known as wood carpets, can be good options if the idea is to have a warm floor, in a place that is not subject to the incidence of water (with the exception of rubber, which are waterproof). The great advantage of these floors is the speed of installation. It usually arrives at the site in blankets, rolls or plates that are quickly glued onto the subfloor. They can often be applied over the existing floor, avoiding breakage and speeding up the work. However, widely used in the 1980s, carpets are condemned by many people with respiratory problems (despite the fact that there are a number of anti-allergic products on the market). Laminate floors don't have this problem,

wooden floor

Reproduction: gettyimages.com.br Ceramics, porcelain and glass tiles are the most suitable for wet areas

cold floors

The local climate is an important factor in choosing the best flooring. Warmer regions suggest cooler floors. Ceramic floors and porcelain tiles may, in this case, be a good option. Brazil is a major producer of these materials and the options are numerous, with various colors and sizes. As a tip, avoid pieces that imitate (sometimes crudely) materials such as wood and stone so you don't run the risk of your home taking on a dated or out-of-date appearance in a short time. These materials have their own natural textures that are difficult to be reproduced by ceramics. And after all, if you want stone or wood, buy stone or wood, not something that imitates them.

Light, neutral floors with discreet textures tend to behave better over the years. Be careful when lining your entire home with certain ceramics or porcelain tiles. Depending on the choice, you can feel like you are living in a large kitchen or bathroom. Cladding changes in some environments can be beneficial. Ceramics, porcelain tiles and glass tiles are also the most suitable for wet areas, as they deal well with dirt and water. Also pay attention during the purchase to the correct choice of fixing mortar (each floor has its own, with specific physical and chemical characteristics) and to the grouts. These are available in different colors and compositions. Consult a good seller at the time of purchase and see what best matches the chosen floor color.

Operating similarly to ceramics, tiles have been widely used in the country since the 1950s. They can be made of glass or ceramics, come in different sizes and, unlike traditional ceramics, their installation requires much more specialized professionals. More seen in kitchens, bathrooms and swimming pools, the inserts can be used in any environment. However, be careful when covering the floor and all the walls of an environment with inserts, at the risk of ending up feeling like you are in a pool forever.

wooden floor

Reproduction: gettyimages.com.br Cement-based floors can be used throughout the house, the only drawback is the cracks

No grout

Monolithic floors are another range of cooler coverings that can be used throughout the home. The popular burnt cement is the best known of these materials, but on the market there are polymeric cement, microcement, granilite, fulget, epoxy flooring, among others. The great characteristic of this type of flooring is to please those who do not like grout. In this case, some liquid material based on cement or resin, mixed with additives or small stones, among other things, is molded directly on site. When dry, it becomes a smooth, grout-free surface. Depending on the choice, plastic or metal expansion joints are required every one or two meters, in both directions of the floor, to avoid surface cracks. Cracks are the great disadvantage of this type of material, since they appear in the vast majority of the times they are used. When choosing a monolithic floor, be prepared for the possibility of living with them.

Other cement-based floors, concrete slabs and hydraulic tiles, are currently widely used, mainly in living rooms and kitchens, as they are very resistant and easy to maintain and clean. The boards are relatively new on the market and arrived with the mission of guaranteeing the appearance of the burnt cement floor, the more homogeneous character of the surface and, at the same time, preventing cracks. These plates are normally large in size (0.50 m by 0.50 m to 1 m by 1 m). As most manufacturers produce this material by hand, be careful when installing it, as the tiles tend to vary in size and thickness and, if the workmanship is not specialized, there is a great chance of ending up with an uneven floor, full of of small steps., about Vinyl installation  in Jacksonville Beach 

Widely used in our best modern architecture, hydraulic tiles are nothing more than small pieces (20 cm by 20 cm normally) produced in a semi-handcrafted way based on cement. They are called hydraulic tiles, as the cement cures underwater in the tile manufacturing process. Several motifs and colors can be chosen and the material allows the production of pieces with custom designs in small quantities. Installation needs to be very careful, the variation in the thickness of the pieces must be observed and corrected by the installer and colorless protective resins are indicated to waterproof the pieces and reduce the incidence of stains over the years.

Finally, we can talk about the stones, marble, granite and other decorative stones such as Goiás, Mineira, São Thomé, Arenito and many others. As it is an even colder material than ceramics, it is rarely used in bedrooms. When used in kitchens and environments subject to dirt and grease, care must be taken with the porosity of the chosen stone, as some stain easily and stay that way forever. Waterproofing resins can be applied to the material to prevent the absorption of liquids that could damage the parts. Marbles are often applied in smaller areas, such as bathrooms, since their great disadvantage is their high cost, given that they often work with imported material. However, due to its great resistance and durability, stones can be used in almost all environments of a house.

The options and combinations of materials in floors are therefore endless. For the best decision, analyze the location where the floor will be installed and the behavior of each material. See if it's hot or cold, if it resists water or not, see the color, the texture. Always try to talk to a professional in the field or with experienced salespeople. After all, there is no such thing as bad material, what exists is poorly used material.

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