Hello there! I believe the rainy day is going well so far, i would love to share a little piece of information with you today about flooring.

I discovered that there are a large variety of flooring we can use in our homes apart from the popular ceramic tiles we know of.
As you know, a typical room surrounded by four walls can be totally transformed into a beautiful place to live in by simply designing it according to your personality .There are various types of flooring that are commonly done in residential or public areas these days.
The selection of the floors from such a huge choice often becomes a problem but one should carefully keep in mind the following points before finalizing flooring.
These are little details that will help you when you want to visit the tiles shop for your flooring:
• Flooring should be easy to clean and maintain
• It should be durable and inexpensive
• It should have a good appearance
• It should be noiseless and free from dampness
• Preferably it should be fire resistant
No matter what type of flooring you are putting up, these rules are basically the same.
THE TYPES OF FLOORING:
Cement Concrete Flooring

This type of flooring is commonly used in residential as well as commercial buildings also. This is non-absorbent flooring and thus is very useful for water stores. It is quite durable, easy to handle and pleasing in appearance. It possesses good wearing qualities.

Mosaic Flooring

This is quite similar to cement concrete , the difference being that over the hard base concrete bed , a thick layer 5cm-6cm of lime surkhi mortar is spread in small areas. Tiles or marble pieces cut to the desired shapes are then put on this surface in desired pattern. This is again common flooring that people use in their houses.

Granite Flooring

Granite is a very hard volcanic rock that can withstand more pressure than marble, thus can be used for heavy usage. It is quite appropriate for kitchen counters and bathrooms. It comes in three four colors, thus one can choose the color according to the taste.
Marble Flooring

Marble is a natural and a metamorphic stone. It is a relatively soft stone. Marble flooring used to be only provided in place of worships and in public buildings having rich specifications but now they are the most common choice of every person. Marble is a stone that is generally polished and then used in flooring or other building work. It may be white in color or can be colored; the size of the marble slabs to be used in flooring depends upon the pattern to be adopted. The slabs for normal works are square or rectangular in shape and their thickness varies from 20mm-40mm. This is a universal floor but it is quiet costly, it can be easily stained with anything so it should be taken care of carefully.

Timber Flooring

These types of flooring are not very common in Nigeria. The first and perhaps the oldest in existence is the “solid wood floor”. These floors are generally 3/4″ thick and can be purchased raw or pre-finished. The other style of wood flooring which is actually now becoming much more popular is the “engineered wood floor”. The top layer is generally made out of oak, maple, cherry, etc. In this type of floor, prevention of dampness is taken to check the dampness from rising above.
Terrazzo Flooring

This type of flooring is very common in offices, schools, residences. Terrazzo is a concrete surface with special aggregate of marble chips. This flooring is quite attractive and has good wearing properties.

Laminate Flooring

Laminate flooring consist of two layers, one is outer layer, a glued-on layer and an inner layer. Laminate flooring looks like wooden flooring; some even have a look of marble and granite. Some various brands come in various patterns and styles that can easily be combined to create finished product that is unique. Laminate flooring gives flexibility. Almost any wood patterned or lightly colored stone patterned laminate floor will give the opportunity to change the look of a room completely.

Ceramic Flooring

Ceramics are inorganic non-metallic materials that have been subjected to heat treatment. It is made with low fired clay that is either white or red containing large amounts of silicates. Ceramic tiles come in sizes from 1”X1” or even larger. Tiles come either glazed or unglazed. The first thing to decide on is the overall look one wants. If you want a formal look, then you should use marble looking or glossy tiles. If you are planning to have a casual look, then you should go for a textured or stone looking tile.

Vinyl Flooring

Vinyl tile is a simple inexpensive way to cover a floor. Many tiles have a self-adhesive that only requires peeling off the backing and sticking them down. Tiles without the backing require spreading an adhesive over the floor with a notched trowel.
Now that you have a little idea of different kinds of tiles you won’t be cheated at the tile shop. On my next blog I will be talking about the disadvantages and advantages of one over the other.
Do have a nice day.