Under your feet

Technology has created a vast number of new flooring products. Linda Donald casts her eye over the contemporary range.

The sole flooring system open to our early ancestors was plain dirt. Thankfully, over time this has progressed to floors laid in bricks, stone or tiles, or created in solid wood or concrete, together with coverings that include rugs, carpets and sisal, linoleum, vinyl, rubber, cork, bamboo and floating wood.

Whether we opt for hard floors, synthetic or natural fibres, veneers or laminates, our choices are affected by climate, use, budget and location.

An option that is becoming more popular today is concrete. Adam Haining, Managing Director of Concrete Care Ltd says, “Historically it was probably used more as a cost saving for people who had spent all their money building the house and could not yet afford floor covering. More recently however, people are choosing and planning for a finished concrete floor from the beginning”.

Referred to as ‘concrete refinishing’, the cheapest version, is a standard slab (about $50sqm, more if using coloured aggregate, oxide, shell or glass), with a penetrating sealer to stop dust and moisture transfer and harden the concrete.

The next step up is to ‘diamond grind’ the floor before applying an acrylic surface sealer. Known as ‘grind and seal’, this varies from a light grind to clean the concrete, exposing very little aggregate (‘salt and pepper’ grind) or a heavier grind (‘aggregate grind’) to expose more aggregate.

The top option is ‘polished concrete’. While ‘grind and seal’ requires a sealer to hide the fine scratches left in the surface, ‘polished concrete’ is ground to this finish, then a penetrating sealer is applied. ‘Grind and seal’ costs approx $65sqm and polished concrete $75/$120, depending on size, depth of grind and level of polishing.

Concrete resurfacing is another alternative. The surface is removed and a new thin surface is added, typically 1-3mm thick, then a polymer cement based product two to three times harder than concrete, is trowelled over the top and can be finished to look like tiles, slate or show marbled effects ($80sqm - prices include materials and labour).

Our own experiences include solid and floating wood surfaces. We inherited Kauri timber floors in our 120-year old villa and used recycled boards where possible in our alterations and tongue and groove ‘Vitex’, an Island timber, in a similar plank width when updating the kitchen/dining area. Priced at $42sqm this was a very reasonable eco-friendly hardwood solution. Our supplier, South Pacific Timber stressed the importance of ensuring the timber was delivered several days before laying to allow it to acclimatise.

The company has an extensive range of solid timber flooring ($42sqm to $103sqm) encompassing Rimu, Matai, Rosewood, Jarrah, Kwila, Euro Beech, Akwa, Tawa, Tallowood, Vic Ash. Vitex, Saligna etc, in standard tongue and groove or Richwood Endmatched profiled timber (slots together, only needing to be glued and/or secret nailed).

Hardwood floor installation requires sound carpentry skills and specialised tools like a floor nailer (rented from retailer for $60 a day plus a bond), mitre and jamb saws.

Timber veneer or laminate floors however, are a good DIY option and we have laid these ourselves. Manufactured from films of timber in varying thicknesses on top of a plywood substrate, designed to float, rather than be secured to the sub-floor, to allow adjustment to the temperature and humidity levels of the interior environment. Often featuring a glueless click system, they simply need to be cut to size, laid and clicked together. With prices ranging from $80sqm to $200sqm, it is important to check different qualities, to guard against warping.

PVC timber stripwood, creates the illusion of a natural wood floor saysJohn Taylor from John Taylor Floorcoverings and Furnishings. This costs around $70 a metre on the floor.

Cork, a natural environmentally friendly product also sold by the company, works out between $125 and $140 a metre, depending on quality and style.
Available in traditional natural honey brown tones plus modern colour options and styles, cork is considered warm, soft and quiet underfoot and easy to maintain.

New Zealanders traditionally chose wool carpets as we did throughout our first home 30 odd years ago. Today, Michele Hunter, Ian Hunt Flooring, says NZ buyers are still buying carpets and choosing wool over nylons, polypropylenes and mixtures. Wool cut pile is around $138 (width 3.66m), double and more for heavy duty or extra heavy-duty quality.

Hunter advises leaving measuring and laying to the experts. “The art and success of carpet is in the laying and underlay. It’s all in how the cuts are used (in wardrobes for example). Success depends on the quality of underlay, which protects the life of your carpet, so the thicker the better.” Foam (not felt which is too thin), is around $22 a metre for 9.5mm standard thickness or $28 for a thicker 11mm. Carpet is approximately $25m to lay with smooth edge $4.40 a lineal metre.

Hunter says generally nylon is more expensive and unlike NZ is used extensively in the States because it has no moisture problems, is easy to clean – just a mixture of ½ Janola and water - and lasts a long time. At the other end of the scale pure polypropylene at around $90sqm is often used in rentals, but doesn’t have a long life.

Sisal and Coir are two natural fibre floor coverings. Sisal is particularly hard wearing and coir, which is expensive, lasts longer with a latex backing. Lynette Kennerley from Advantage Flooring describes these as very durable and popular for all types of homes today. “Available in a vast array of different weaves, patterns and colourways, they are imported from all over the world. Costs vary from $173 to $505 a lineal metre in the raw (width 4 m). The product needs to be fitted and installed by an expert and can be laid straight on concrete or particleboard”.

Bamboo, a relatively new product, comes in pre-finished tongue and groove boards able to be laid on timber, plywood, particle board or concrete floors, provided correct preparation has been carried out. Although many characteristics are similar to hardwoods, bamboo is not a wood, but a type of grass.

Gregory Gale of Eco-Products Bamboo Flooring Systems, explains this is manufactured from mature bamboo stems, cut to size, kiln dried and then laminated, machined and polyurethaned. Installation instructions, recommend delivery to the job-site at least 72 hours before installation to allow the product to acclimatise to the environment.

Pricing for pre-finished solid strip flooring with 6 layers of UV cured water-based polyurethane and one-layer of Aluminium oxide anti-scratch finish are around $67 metre for 1860 x 96 x 15 mm and $71 for 1860 x 154 x 15 mm. Skirting, stair nosing and treads are also available. Installation is around $38sqm when boards are glued directly to the substrate, with a moisture test required for new concrete floors ($45), if over 75%, the concrete must be sealed ($28sqm).

Floors laid with synthetic vinyl (PVC) or less popular, natural linoleum (linseed oil, ground cork, wood, flour and resins, baked and pressed on to Hessian) are resilient and an easy to clean option for the kitchen or bathroom. Vinyl prices run from $39 to $100plus depending on product width - 2m, 3m and 4m - and quality, with laying costs dependent on the state of the surface, which must be perfectly smooth.

Timeless tiles were introduced thousands of years ago by the Egyptians. When looking to relay an entrance area, we came across Middle Earth, a company located in Warkworth, using local clay to produce terracotta tiles. Factory treated to resist most stains and salt water, the non-slippery tiles have a lifetime guarantee and can be used inside and out. The standard sized, bullnose and step tread tiles are made in nine earthy colours, from deep red to soft pink and honey.

Terracotta tiles sell for $46.41 sq m, bullnose depending on size $5.57 to $16.00 each and step treads $3.38 to $4.89. Hand glazed tiles are made in a variety of rich colours and shapes individually priced from $3.93 to $6.20, with sheets of mosaics 300mmx300mm around $30 to $40 a sheet. You can double that figure with laying.

Guy Robert, Sales Manager says as with all home projects, planning is the key and tiles should be installed in accordance with recognized standards and recommends the BRANZ publication ‘Good Tiling Practice’.


© 2005 Linda Donald
All rights reserved
Appeared in The New Zealand Property
Word Count 1402

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