The huge variety of modern floor coverings gives us freedom of choice, but at the same time leads to some confusion. What to choose for the floor in the apartment? Traditional linoleum or stylish laminate? Exclusive cork or cozy carpet? Each of these materials has the right to exist and is good in its own way. Let's analyze the advantages and disadvantages of four types of flooring - linoleum, laminate, carpet, adhesive cork - and find out what is best to choose in a particular situation.
Laminate
Laminate is an artificial coating, presented in the form of separate panels with a multilayer structure. The base of the laminate is an MDF board, protected from the underside by a layer of polymer, and from the front it is decorated with a film with an image printed on it. On top of the "pie" is protected by a durable layer of melamine resin.
Advantages of laminate
- strength and wear resistance - tolerates loads well, is not subject to scratches;
- heat resistance, resistance to ultraviolet radiation;
- ease of installation, the possibility of dismantling and reuse;
- the ability to mount on any type of base - from concrete to old tiles;
- undemanding care;
- a wide variety of textures that realistically imitate wood and other natural materials;
- environmental Safety;
- affordable cost.
Minuses
- artificiality of the material;
- short service life - 5-7 years for laminate class below 32;
- poor tightness of the seams, due to which moisture can enter the inner layer and swell;
- exactingness to the base and the quality of the substrate - for any irregularities, the floor will diverge and creak;
- accumulation of static electricity (refers to budget laminate);
- "noisy" material.
Linoleum
Linoleum is a universal roll finishing material made of polyvinyl chloride. It can be domestic and commercial, differs in the level of wear resistance. Each of these types of linoleum also has its own varieties, which differ in thickness, number of layers and coloring method. Linoleum can have a very different color, pattern and texture, imitate various materials.
The advantages of linoleum
- attractive price;
- wear resistance and unpretentiousness in care;
- moisture resistance is better than other materials;
- antistatic;
- low thermal conductivity;
- noiselessness;
- exceptional simplicity styling, undemanding in the evenness of the base;
- different roll width options minimize the number of joints;
- variety of colors and decor.
Minuses
- unnatural material;
- the presence of seams;
- the possibility of the formation of air voids in case of violation of the laying technology;
- gradual decrease in elasticity during operation, leading to deformations and cracks;
- sensitivity to temperature changes;
- instability to mechanical damage, dents may appear;
- some dyes may leave permanent stains.
carpet
Carpet is a dense and soft carpet, consisting of a pile, a base and a fixing layer. Carpet can be natural, artificial and mixed, have a different type and length of pile.
Pros of carpet
- softness, warmth and comfort;
- excellent sound and heat insulation, absolute noiselessness;
- variety of textures, colors and design solutions;
- strength and durability;
- ease of installation;
- color fastness.
Minuses
- a synthetic variety of carpet accumulates static electricity;
- difficult to clean, stains from detergents may remain;
- instability to ultraviolet rays;
- low moisture resistance;
- dust accumulation.
Cork
Adhesive cork flooring is a natural covering made from cork oak bark, which looks like slabs of various sizes with a lacquered or waxed finish. With their help, you can lay out various patterns on the floor. cork floor has pleasant warm shades and looks very unusual. The main difference between cork and other types of coatings is 100% environmental friendliness.
pros
- naturalness and hypoallergenicity;
- feeling of warmth and softness of the floor;
- elasticity, which ensures the restoration of the shape under mechanical action;
- elasticity, cushioning properties;
- resistance to temperature extremes and exposure to sunlight;
- excellent moisture resistance;
- does not accumulate static electricity;
- non-slip material;
- excellent indicators of heat and sound insulation;
- ease of care;
- normal tolerance of aggressive chemical compounds.
Minuses
- high price;
- instability to point damage "at break";
- incompatibility with floor heating system due to low thermal conductivity;
- tendency to swell from water;
- flammability;
- the presence of a specific smell.
Comparison of coatings
And now let's compare the materials according to the most important parameters and find out which coating is better to choose depending on the situation.
Coating laying
Sub floor requirements:
- Laminate makes high demands on the surface of the base - the height difference should not exceed 3 mm per 2 linear meters. Under the laminate, a high-quality rigid sound and weatherproof screed is required. You can lay the coating on a leveled old wooden floor.
- Linoleum is not so demanding on the base, but irregularities will affect its appearance, since the coating will repeat all the flaws. It can be placed both on the screed and on the old flooring, the base surface must be even, clean and dry.
- Carpet does not require special floor preparation and small irregularities will not be as critical as with other coatings.
- Adhesive cork coating must be placed on a concrete or wooden base, it must be dry and even, deviations - no more than 2 mm per 2 linear meters. The screed must have a finish alignment.
Preparatory work:
- Before laying the laminate on concrete, it is necessary to lay a vapor barrier film, with laying on plywood, wood and chipboard it is not necessary. Mandatory backing of cork or foamed polymers is required.
- Linoleum and carpet do not require special preparation, but it is better to use a substrate to increase thermal insulation.
- Cork when laying on concrete or self-leveling floor requires the use of a moisture-proof coating.
Installation:
- The process of laying laminate flooring is simple, but requires certain skills and tools. Elements should be well adjusted to each other.
- The flooring and fixing of linoleum and carpet is a simple manipulation that any novice master can do.
- Cork slabs require preliminary marking of the floor. It is necessary to strictly observe the gluing technology. After flooring, surface varnishing may be required. In this regard, self-assembly is possible, but it is still better to choose the help of qualified specialists.
Durability
The service life of different floor coverings may vary depending on the quality of the material.
Approximate life span of materials:
- laminate - from 3 to 7 for products up to class 31, from 10 to 20 years for high class material;
- linoleum - up to 15 years for household, up to 30-40 - for commercial;
- carpet - from 5 to 15 years;
- corks - 10–30 years.
Practicality and ease of use
Practicality is a conditional category, convenience is subjective.We will try to highlight several points by which you can compare different coverages.
Price
The cost of flooring materials can vary greatly from budget options to exclusive ones. A wide range of prices allows you to choose coverage in accordance with your financial capabilities.
- Laminate of different quality and level of wear resistance can differ significantly in cost, which ranges from 300 to 2000 rubles / m2.
- On average, linoleum is cheaper than laminate, the most inexpensive linoleum models are one and a half times lower than the most budgetary laminate options. The gap in the price of expensive models of these coatings is even greater - from two to two and a half times.
- The average carpet is slightly more expensive than linoleum, but cheaper than laminate.
- Cork is a fairly expensive material, several times higher than the cost of the above materials, its cost starts from 1000 rubles / m2.
Floor coverings for different rooms
We found out that floor coverings differ significantly from each other in their characteristics, so it is quite difficult to choose one universal material that is suitable for each room in the apartment. In separate rooms, you can lay different types of coverage, using special docking thresholds at the joints. The table below will help you choose the most suitable materials for a particular room.
