From red oxide to laminates
|
Floors have come a long way, from red oxide to granite laid ones. But today wooden and laminate floorings are much in demand, says BIJU GOVIND
|
Trend: Engineered wood and laminated panels is the in-thing
Trends in flooring of houses and commercial venues are fast changing. Once upon a time red oxide was the hot favourite. People then switched over to mosaic flooring. Marble was the trend in recent times. Granite was a fad for quite some time. The introduction of vitrified tiles saw builders drifting away from ceramic tiles. Many rushed to try rustic titles for flooring when these became a fashion statement in European countries. Now the craze is to seek alternatives in woo
den and laminate flooring.
The advantages
Advantages of engineered wood and laminated panels for flooring are numerous. One of them is getting the job done on time.
“You can avoid the mess during the laying. A couple of days would be enough to lay the floor of an entire house. The interlocking feature allows the user to remove and replace the floor at will,” says P.M. Sameer, business development manager of Pergo.
Most people prefer the stylish Swedish Pergo today. Homes, offices, restaurants, jewellery showrooms in cities such as Kozhikode, Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram have adopted the concept of laminate flooring.
Overnight flooring or floating flooring is the in-thing among the upper and middle-class population.
Kannur-based Western India Plywood offers an exquisite variety of decorative wooden floor panels for residences and commercial places. These multi-layer engineered wood panels come with a length of four feet and a width ranging from six inches to one foot.
The panels are finished with the state-of-the-art waterborne urethane formulation.
Using an imported plant from Italy the floors are ultra-violet cured, says P.K. Mehboob, director (Marketing) of Western India Plywood.
“Many love to have at least one of the floors, either in the master bedroom or the living room, finished in wood. Since hard wood is expensive the best option would be engineered wood. It is reasonably priced when compared to hardwood,” he says.
The branded “Westind Utra Klik” wooden floor panels are available at prices ranging between Rs.120 and Rs.180 per sq. ft.
The installation charges will be an additional Rs.10 per sq. ft.
These highly stable panels are obtainable in teak, cherry, mahogany, beech, ash, khaya, rosewood, padauk and maple, Mr. Mehboob says.
Is there an option to switch over to wooden or laminate flooring if one already has a floor in some other method?
Exotic
“You can convert the flat and clean surface into an exotic wooden flooring,” says Mr. Mehboob. In the case of modifying into laminate flooring, a polyethylene film is laid before installing the panels.
No glue or extra underlay is needed. “The polyethylene film is to absorb moisture from the concrete,” Mr. Sameer says.
For normal maintenance of Pergo floors, use a vacuum cleaner without the beater bar, and when necessary, a damp mop with a mild non-soap based detergent.
Stubborn stains may be removed with acetone. Floors with bevelled edges are more sensitive to water. So it is better to use a well-wrung damp mop.
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Property Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Hyderabad
Kochi
Thiruvananthapuram
