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Interior Design and Decorating Floor Finishes - Types of Hard Flooring

5 May 2008 3,586 views 4 Comments

Types of Hard Flooring

Cement Resin

This comprises of cement polyester resin and an aggregate (crushed stone or sand). It can be laid over concrete or a timber base. It provides a hardwearing non-slip surface, which has a slight texture.

Terrazzo

This is a composite material made up of cement and marble aggregate, it is then mixed and poured in situ onto a concrete base. It is then ground waxed and polished. It has a mosaic look. It can also be premade and is available in slabs or tiles. It is very hard wearing, if it is polished or wet it is very slippery. It is a suitable product to be used with under floor heating.

Hard Flooring - Terazzo

Terrazzo flooring in a mall situation.

It is very useful in commercial situations i.e. malls and shopping centers as it is very durable and easy to clean.

Over large expanses control joints are required to reduce the risk of cracking. It is expensive but worth it in these situations. It can be used to great effect in design work, using brass strips to define the edges with the use of different colored terrazzo between can be very effective.

Concrete Screeds

These are usually used as a base for other floor finishes. There are many forms, monolithic, laid over the concrete base within a few hours of the base being laid. Bonded - existing concrete base with aggregate exposed has a cement screed laid over it. Unbounded - a cement screed is laid over a plain existing concrete base. Floating - is laid over thermal or sound insulation materials.

Hard Flooring - Coloured Concrete

Colored Concrete Screed in a mall situation.

Epoxy Resin

Produced by combining epoxide resin, fillers, aggregate and hardener. It can be laid over a cement screed, plywood or other surfaces. It provides a thin hardwearing layer available in numerous colors and textures. It can be made non-slip if required.

Polyester Resin

Produced by combining polyester resin, aggregates, fillers, glass fibers pigments and catalyst. It can be laid over a cement screed or plywood. It is a hardwearing product with a wide color range.

Polyurethane Resin

Produced by combining polyurethane resin and fillers. It can be laid over a cement screed or plywood. It provides a hardwearing non-slip surface available in numerous textures and colors.

All the hard flooring examples above are joint less liquid floor finishes. They start as a liquid form then harden to form the desired finish. Terrazzo and cement screed floors are required to be laid in bays with control joints to reduce the possibility of cracking and shrinkage. The majority of these products are best suited for commercial industrial and institutional applications.

 

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4 Comments »

  • Jaz said:

    Nice artikel…, oiya kang punya artikel on wooden floor gak…., suka sekali dengan artikel2nya….

    :)

    Jawab:

    Perasaan sih pernah pny beberapa artikel tentang flooring, tapi kalo spesifik tentang wooden flooring mungkin belum ada, atau terlupa.. OIA webnya keren loh ;) Semoga Sukses yah..

  • Jaz said:

    Trims kang.., sama2…, ok deh tak browsing2 disini siapa tahu ketemu…

    :).

  • mulyono sutanto said:

    tolong dong mas/kang gambar kombinasi lantai out door yg unik dan apik dilihat ,kelihatan luas bersih ,trim

  • gumbiratno said:

    Mau tanya, bagaimana membuat design rumah untuk kost2an, toko dan loundry ? ukuran tanah 16 m lebar x 36 m panjang …
    trims ya

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