Product Code Database
Flooring is the general term for a permanent covering of a floor, or for the work of installing such a floor covering. Floor covering is a term to generically describe any finish material applied over a floor structure to provide a walking surface. Both terms are used interchangeably but floor covering refers more to loose-laid materials.
Materials almost always classified as flooring include carpet, laminate, Tile floor, and vinyl.
The sub-floor may be finished in a way that makes it usable without any extra work, see:
Carpets come in a variety of materials including wool, nylon, olefin, and polyester.
There are different types of carpet like twists, which is commonly referred to as berber. Twist carpeting is composed of multiple twisted fibers set into the carpet backing. It is typically used in low-traffic areas. Another type of carpeting is looped carpets, which are composed of looped fibers set into the carpet backing. This type of carpeting is typically used in high-traffic areas as it is easy to clean.
There are four common widths for carpeting goods: 6' wide, 12' wide, 13'6" wide, and 15' wide.
Carpet underlay is rated by density in pounds. For example, you could purchase a carpet pad with an 8-pound density rating, which would be softer than a carpet pad with a 10-pound density rating. Softer carpet pads feel better to walk on but sacrifice durability of the carpet that sits on top of it. The denser the carpet pad, the longer the carpet lasts.
Engineered hardwood has a thin solid wood layer on top with a composite core, which is generally plywood, but can be high density fiberboard, stone polymer composite, or strips of a solid wood such as spruce or birch. The composite core increases the dimensional stability of the planks, which expand and contract less than those of solid wood flooring. As a result, engineered wood planks can be significantly larger than solid wood planks while retaining structural integrity. The thickness of the wood layer atop the core determines its ability to be sanded and refinished; engineered wood floors can generally be sanded and refinished 1-2 times, though some cannot be refinished while others can be refinished as many times as a solid wood floor.
is a floor manufactured from the bamboo plant and is a type of hardwood flooring, though technically not a wood. Bamboo is known to be durable and environmentally friendly. It is available in many different patterns, colors, and textures. There are three types of bamboo flooring construction: horizontal cut, vertical cut, and strand woven. Strand woven is the hardest and most durable of the three types.
Cork flooring is a flooring material manufactured from the by-product of the Quercus suber. Cork floors are considered to be eco-friendly since the cork oak tree bark is stripped every nine to ten years and doesn't damage the tree. Cork flooring comes in both tiles and planks, and can have glue or glues-less installation.
Hardwood durability and hardness is determined by a ranking system called the Janka scale. The Janka scale is the force that it takes to embed a steel ball into the hardwood. The more force it takes to do so, the harder the wood.
Hardwood floors can either be purchased as pre-finished planks or as planks that need to be sanded and finished in the home following installation. Manufacturers of pre-finished hardwood floors use varying materials for the finish, which usually include layers of polyurethane and aluminum oxide. The hardness of aluminum oxide can made these floors particularly difficult and costly to refinish, to the extent that most engineered wood floors do not get refinished, even if they can be.
Hardwood floors can be repaired by spot-sanding and refinishing, plank replacement, or a refinish of the full floor.
The common installation method for laminate flooring is a floating installation, which means the floor connects to each other to form interlocked flooring system and is not attached to the sub-floor which means it is free to "float" over a variety of sub-floors. This includes existing flooring like ceramic tile and hardwood floors. It is the most versatile installation method because it can be put over any substrate that is flat.
Ceramic tiles are clay products that are formed into thin tiles and fired. Ceramic tiles are set in beds of mortar or mastic with the joints between tiles . Varieties of ceramic tiles include quarry tile, porcelain, and terracotta.
Many different natural stones are cut into a variety of sizes, shapes, and thicknesses for use as flooring. Stone flooring uses a similar installation method to ceramic tile. Slate and marble are popular types of stone flooring that requires polishing and sealing. Stone aggregates, like Terrazzo, can also be used instead of raw cut stone and are available as either preformed tiles or to be constructed in-place using a cement binder.
Porcelain stoneware can be used instead of natural stone. It is a ceramic material like a tile; however, it is typically thick and often comes in squares of .
Floating tile flooring, also called modular tile flooring, includes a range of porcelain and ceramic tile products that can be installed without adhesive or mortar. Generally, the tile is rectified to precise dimensions, and fused to an interlocking base. Some products require use of a flexible grout and others have an integrated grout strip. The advantages include speed of installation, ease of use, reusability, and low cost relative to using traditional tile installation methods.
Resilient flooring includes many different manufactured products including linoleum, sheet vinyl, vinyl composition tile (VCT), cork (sheet or tile), and rubber.
Vinyl flooring is available in large sheets or vinyl tile; the former is resilient. Some come with a pre-applied adhesive for peel-and-stick installation, others require adhesive to be spread onto the substrate.
The two basic categories of vinyl floor tiles are solid vinyl (products with vinyl on binder content higher than 34%) and vinyl composition (products with a vinyl or binder content lower than 34%), and the three basic categories of vinyl sheet flooring are homogeneous, inlaid, and layered composite. These types of vinyl flooring differ in manufacturing process and content, ranging in vinyl (polyvinyl chloride) content from 11% to 55%.
Resilient flooring products, such as PVC and polypropylene are becoming more popular in specialty applications such as trailer flooring and garage flooring. New applications have also emerged for marine flooring. There are important factors to consider in specialty applications, that may not be present in a typical application. For example, certain tires will leave marks on PVC flooring but those marks will be less prevalent on polypropylene products. Adhesives also change based on application.
They find use in situations ranging from the simple protection of domestic garage floors to the restoration and protection of commercial and industrial flooring. They are also used to solve a vast array of problems in industry such as wet areas in laboratories or food processing plants where spillages of oils and fats tend to be easily absorbed and/or difficult to clean. Other reasons for covering concrete with synthetic resin flooring are to improve resistance to chemicals, enhancing resistance to impact and wear, and for aesthetic appearance purposes.
Seamless polymer flooring can take many forms:BS 8204 Screeds, Bases and In Situ Floorings, Synthetic Resin Floorings: Code of Practice, BSI,
They typically have granular or rubberized particles added to give better traction/slip resistance on walkways and steps especially in areas subject to frequent washing, and for better traction/skid resistance in traffic aisles.
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