Like many other components of the house, flooring plays a vital role in its overall looks and utility. Flooring is one of the easiest ways to brighten your living space. The choice of materials for flooring may totally depend upon personal preferences of the house owners. Tiles, marble, carpets, parquet, PVC, false floor, laminate flooring, et cetera are some of the options available for home flooring in the market.

Nabin Poudel, a structural engineer and lecturer at Himalaya College of Engineering, says, “Though the choice of flooring is totally dependent on personal preference of the house owner, one should be aware of the pros and cons of materials used for structural safety.” Basically, there are two types of flooring — rigid and flexible. Rigid includes RCC structure and flexible flooring includes wooden planks. Depending upon local availability and functionality of structure, different materials are used.

According to Poudel, carpets are primarily used for residential houses while tiles and marble are opted for apartments and commercial buildings where movement is high. While choosing the flooring material, he suggests to be mindful about water movement, purpose and function of the area.Due to its aesthetic appeal and easy upkeep, parqueting is getting immensely popular for flooring.

Arjun Acharya, managing director at Natural Furnishing Pvt Ltd, says, “Among wooden and laminate parqueting, the latter is mostly preferred in the market. Compared to wooden, it is more affordable and easier to assemble.” Reportedly, laminate parqueting enjoys 95 per cent of their business while wooden parquets hold five per cent market share. Wooden
parquets are three folds more expensive than artificial parqueting. Although natural parqueting is priced higher, it offers value for money as there are proven health benefits and it has longer life.

Wooden parquets can be obtained in different sizes and quality.Manufactured in Nepal, hardwood parquets are mainly made up of shisau, laurel and teak wood. They are available in dark brown, and dark and light brown shades. The price of wooden flooring ranges from Rs 100 to Rs 550 per sq ft.

Laminated or artificial parquets are less expensive than wooden ones. The company imports laminated parquets mainly from China and Germany. The price of artificial parqueting starts at Rs 80 and goes up to Rs 160 per sq ft, depending upon thickness and quality. Reportedly, eight mmparquet slabs are more popular than those of 12 mm. The main demand is from individual house owners and corporate houses for the product. “Although parqueting was introduced 20 to 25 years ago, it has been only seven years that parqueting is getting immensely popular in the market,” says Acharya. Appropriate for living, dining, drawing rooms and staircases, parqueting has become one of the popular option for city dwellers to beautify their living space. Although PVC flooring has been introduced in the market, he claims no other product can replace the charm of parqueting.

Gaurav Panday, manager of Balterio at Navin Distributors Pvt Ltd, says that their business growth is satisfactory. The company, which is an authorised distributor for Balterio laminate flooring from Belgium, offers options with more than 50 colours. Panday says, “People these days are conscious about health as well as aesthetic beauty of laminate flooring, which is why we are enjoying good market response.” According to him, more and more people are opting for laminate flooring these days because they last longer than carpets and are easy to clean.

Admitting that Balterio is more expensive than other Chinese brands, Panday says, “It is worth investing in branded products as we provide 15 to 25 years of warranty and after sales services.” The main target group of the brand is high-end customers. The products are priced between Rs 150 to Rs 450 per sq ft. Original, senator, magnitude and sapphire are types of laminate flooring that Balterio offers.

Consider water movement, purpose and function of area before choosing the flooringLike many other components of the house, flooring plays a vital role in its overall looks and utility. Flooring is one of the easiest ways to brighten your living space. The choice of materials for flooring may totally depend upon personal preferences of the house owners. Tiles, marble, carpets, parquet, PVC, false floor, laminate flooring, et cetera are some of the options available for home flooring in the market.

Nabin Poudel, a structural engineer and lecturer at Himalaya College of Engineering, says, “Though the choice of flooring is totally dependent on personal preference of the house owner, one should be aware of the pros and cons of materials used for structural safety.” Basically, there are two types of flooring — rigid and flexible. Rigid includes RCC structure and flexible flooring includes wooden planks. Depending upon local availability and functionality of structure, different materials are used.

According to Poudel, carpets are primarily used for residential houses while tiles and marble are opted for apartments and commercial buildings where movement is high. While choosing the flooring material, he suggests to be mindful about water movement, purpose and function of the area.Due to its aesthetic appeal and easy upkeep, parqueting is getting immensely popular for flooring.

Arjun Acharya, managing director at Natural Furnishing Pvt Ltd, says, “Among wooden and laminate parqueting, the latter is mostly preferred in the market. Compared to wooden, it is more affordable and easier to assemble.” Reportedly, laminate parqueting enjoys 95 per cent of their business while wooden parquets hold five per cent market share. Wooden parquets are three folds more expensive than artificial parqueting. Although natural parqueting is priced higher, it offers value for money as there are proven health benefits and it has longer life.

Wooden parquets can be obtained in different sizes and quality.Manufactured in Nepal, hardwood parquets are mainly made up of shisau, laurel and teak wood. They are available in dark brown, and dark and light brown shades. The price of wooden flooring ranges from Rs 100 to Rs 550 per sq ft.

Laminated or artificial parquets are less expensive than wooden ones. The company imports laminated parquets mainly from China and Germany. The price of artificial parqueting starts at Rs 80 and goes up to Rs 160 per sq ft, depending upon thickness and quality. Reportedly, eight mm parquet slabs are more popular than those of 12 mm. The main demand is from individual house owners and corporate houses for the product. “Although parqueting was introduced 20 to 25 years ago, it has been only seven years that parqueting is getting immensely popular in the market,” says Acharya. Appropriate for living, dining, drawing rooms and staircases, parqueting has become one of the popular option for city dwellers to beautify their living space. Although PVC flooring has been introduced in the market, he claims no other product can replace the charm of parqueting.

Gaurav Panday, manager of Balterio at Navin Distributors Pvt Ltd, says that their business growth is satisfactory. The company, which is an authorised distributor for Balterio laminate flooring from Belgium, offers options with more than 50 colours. Panday says, “People these days are conscious about health as well as aesthetic beauty of laminate flooring, which is why we are enjoying good market response.” According to him, more and more people are opting for laminate flooring these days because they last longer than carpets and are easy to clean.

Admitting that Balterio is more expensive than other Chinese brands, Panday says, “It is worth investing in branded products as we provide 15 to 25 years of warranty and after sales services.” The main target group of the brand is high-end customers. The products are priced between Rs 150 to Rs 450 per sq ft. Original, senator, magnitude and sapphire are types of laminate flooring that Balterio offers.

source: the himalayan times,13 July 2013