Next to the walls, and ceiling, the flooring is one of the largest, and by extension, most important aspects of your home that you need to pay attention to. This not only means looking for a kind of material that is easy to clean, resists staining, and feels good to your feet, but also a kind of material that works best with the rest of your home’s elements.
Whether it’s your home or your commercial property, here are some of the most common types of flooring you will encounter in most buildings in Singapore:
Vinyl
For a family with kids and the elderly, vinyl makes for an excellent type of flooring because of its high resistance to slipping. It’s also waterproof, which makes it quite easy to maintain.
This type of flooring is best placed in areas where heavy traffic is likely to occur, which makes it popular among homes or HDB flats with families of four or more, and in areas of the house such as the kitchen or hallway.
Ceramic Flooring Tiles
This type of flooring comes in two types: reflective, which is easy to clean at the cost of being susceptible to foot marks; and non-reflective (matt), which is more suited for areas that need slip-proof flooring because of its texture.
Hardwood/Solid Wood
Nothing gives you the same level of luxury and beauty for your eyes (and your bare feet) as having a solid wood floor. Though teak is the most commonly used hardwood for flooring in Singapore, other types have recently become more popular, such as cherry, oak, and birch.
Wooden flooring often comes in planks and boards of different properties, from cuts, to sizes, to dimensional stability.
Laminate
The look of wood without the hassle of maintenance can be found in laminated flooring, which is why it has become another popular flooring type. However, laminate should only be installed in dryer areas in the house or property.
While quality laminate flooring is made to resist scratches, staining, and fading, they are still prone to warping when exposed to moisture for extended periods of time.
Stone
Every cut of stone used for flooring is unique, which can make materials such as marble, granite, and slate equally luxurious and highly sought after. They even come in various finishes that you can choose from: honed, polished, or bush-hammered.
However, as much as natural stone is beautiful to have as a flooring for your home, it can also be quite expensive. When choosing to have stone flooring for your home, keep in mind that extra care is needed to take care of it.