| Raw Material | | Marble is a type of rock composed of recrystallized material most commonly limestone. The white marble comes from the most pure form of limestone. Colors and veins in the marble arise when other materials are present in the earth crust along with limestone. Marble gives soft look and provides elegance to the modern era structures. |
| Implementation Raw Material | To implement marble flooring in any area, you would need marble stone, Coarse Sand, Ordinary Cement ,White Cement, Pigment and Polishing Material. Marble stone is laid on the base coat with 20 mm thick cement mortar 1:3 and joint should be filled with cement mixed with pigment. After curing it should be polished.
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| Style/Finishing | Marble flooring is considered very stylish and the following 3 type of finishes can be given to marble- Polished Finish
- Hone Finish
- Sand or abrasive finish.
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| Maintenance | - Marble are easy to maintain and can be re-polished if you need to bring the shine back .
- Marble is a porous material so if strong stain material is spilled on marble, it is recommended to wipe it quickly so that the marble does not absorb the stain
- For general maintenance you just need to wipe off the marble to remove the stains.
- Polishing can be done after a few years to bring back the shine.
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| Advantages | - Marble flooring is known for its superior, royal and decorative appearance. It is considered a style symbol.
- Marble flooring is durable.
- Marble with matte finishes makes high quality kitchen counter tops exceptionally.
- Marble is also known for its' versatility in the art a from sculptures to monuments and from wall tiles to floor tiles.
- Cool surface of marble tiles can be quite pleasant and comfortable underfoot during the summers.
- Marble flooring is very easy to maintain and requires occasional sweeping and polishing.
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| Disadvantages | - Marble stone is cool under foot so in areas where temperature is usually low for a longer duration, you may want to mix this flooring type with other flooring types to give warmth to a design.
- Marble is quite expensive. If you want a near pure white look to a space, you will need to purchase expensive marble stone,
- Marble is heavy in weight so structure strength of the underlying area should be ascertained before putting it. .
- Require routine maintenance.
- Not suitable for high traffic area as it may loose shine.
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| Uses | | It is used in flooring in interior and exterior of buildings except pathway And corridors etc. It is also used on walls decoration. |
| Size Availability | | Marble stone come from rocks which are not uniform and have a size 10 to15 feet in length and 5 to 8 feet in width. The stone slabs are then cut and sold in the market. |
| Thickness | | Marble stone is available in 10 to 20 mm in thickness. The price of the marble varies if the thickness changes so make sure you understand the thickness of the marble being sold to you. The thicker the marble, the better it is from strength stand point. |
| Strength | | Marble is hard, sound and dense stone. |
| | Raw Material | The word tile flooring is used for many type of floorings and here we will discuss ceramic tiles. These tiles are made from porcelain, fired clay or ceramic with a glazed surface. These are available in both shining surface and rough surfaces which also makes them suitable for areas that tend to become slippery.
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| Implementation Raw Material | Tiles of all types are laid on the base coat with 12-20 mm thick cement mortar 1:3 and joint should be filled with white cement. Base coat is usually broken bricks or moti-rodi. If an existing cement flooring is already done then the tiles can be implemented on top of that using tiles adhesive. This implementation procedure is quicker compared to the implementation done through base coat.
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| Style/Finishing | | Tile flooring is one of the fastest growing trends in flooring and comes in a large variety of colors, styles and patterns. Now a days, non-standard size tiles such as 800 mm by 800 mm and similar are also available in the market which look pretty stylish. Now a days tiles are being made using nano technology where the raw material used for the top layer is made of very small particles which are resistant to dust and keep the tiles clean for longer durations. |
| Maintenance | - The tiles are easily maintainable as these tiles are easily swiped, mopped and cleaned.
- Once you make sure that the tiles are implemented properly using the right leveling, you will not have to worry about the tiles for a long time.
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| Advantages | - Tile flooring are very strong.
- This type of flooring is easy to clean and maintain being stain free, acid and alkali resistant.
- Glazed tiles have a very high abrasion resistant.
- This flooring does not attract dust.
- Bacteria free.
- Good insulators.
- Fire proof.
- Do not require polishing etc
- Easy to lay and ready for use in a matter of 48 hours after laying .
- Available in many shades.
- There are anti slip tile variant available in the market.
- Infact, this is an architect marvel, with the infinite combination available in terms of design, color and finish, a designer can extend her imagination and create unique wall and floor design.
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| Disadvantages | - The biggest disadvantage of tile flooring is that tiles can easily break.
- Tiles are slippery in nature so be careful when you order tile and see which areas would require non-slippery tiles.
- Tiles are generally cool underfoot so in cold weather places they should be merged with wooden flooring to make sure a warmth is provided in the flooring design
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| Uses | | It is used in flooring in interior and exterior of buildings except pathway where special type of exterior pathway tiles are used. It is also used on walls decoration in kitchen, bath room and entry gates or similar exterior places etc. |
| Size Availability | Tiles are available from 4’’x4’’ to 36’’x 36’’. They are available in square and rectangular shape.
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| Thickness | Wall tiles are 5mm in thickness. Floor tiles range from 6mm to 7mm in thickness.
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| Strength | | These tiles are scratch resistant, stain resistant and durable. |
| | Raw Material | | Wooden flooring is available as hardwood flooring, laminated flooring, engineered flooring, bamboo flooring. Here we write about hardwood floors made from the hardwood. Solid hardwood floors come in a huge range of styles and each plank is made of solid wood from a single piece of timber |
| Implementation Raw Material | The hardwood flooring is implemented on top of another floor which could be cemented base floor or other type of flooring. For example, in a completely new area base coat should be compacted concrete base. Once the sub floor is ready, the flooring vendor usually provide installation along with the material and install the floor using . - Floating
- Glue down
- Nail down or Staple down method
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| Style/Finishing | Wooden flooring are considered rich and stylish. They are available in multiple patterns and give a warm feeling to a flooring. The flooring can further treated to give shine using the following treatments
- Oil-modified urethane, Moisture-cured urethane treatment
- Water-based urethane treatment
- Penetrating Sealers, Paste Wax, Varnish, Lacquer, Shellac treatment.
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| Maintenance | - Wooden flooring is mostly endangered by moist/wet conditions so remove the water from the floor as soon as possible.
- For cleaning you can use vacuum cleaner and slight mop or damp mop daily to remove the dirt and grit.
- Don’t drag the furniture’s on he flooring, just try to lift them to avoid the scratches.
- Wooden flooring is also susceptible to discoloring and can catch stain so such material should be cleaned as soon as possible.
- Re-polish the wooden floor after 5 or 6 years of the installation.
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| Advantages | - Wooden flooring creates warmth in the flooring as it does not get cold in colder temperatures making it ideal for low temperature areas.
- Wooden flooring looks luxurious and cozy and if merged with other type of flooring can give a designer look to a room
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| Disadvantages | - Wooden flooring is prone to termite attack so if your home has termite problem then avoid this flooring. Even though there are many termite resistant versions of wooden flooring are available in the market, yet it is not clear how effective they are.
- Discoloration of the flooring happens in high usage areas.
- Wooden flooring has tendency to collect dust which can cause unhealthy environment if it is not cleared regularly.
- These flooring are not fire-resistant.
- Chemical emission from the sealer or surface affects the health adversely during the installation period.
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| Uses | | The wooden flooring be used in interior and also as exterior deck flooring where normally engineered wood is preferred for exteriors |
| Size Availability | | The length of the board shall not exceed 3meter and width should be not less than100mm and not more than 150 mm. |
| Thickness | - 19 mm to 25 mm thickness is generally used for laying wooden board flooring.
- Where as in case of wooden block flooring the thickness is 38mm.
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| Protection from dust | | Wooden shutters are usually designed with grooves and as the thickness of the ply/board/ or other material is usually less compared to the wood frame of the door, the chances of dust collection are more. |
| Weather effect | | Wooden shutters have more expansion or contraction with change of weather. However this problem can be minimize if shutters may be framed from the seasoned wood. |
| Strength | | Wooden shutters comparatively have less strength due to variation in thickness or change of materials such as glass, wire gauze etc. |
| Termite effect | | Wooden shutters are affected by termite if sap wood is used in the shutters. |
| Durability | It is durable hard but having denting and scratching problem. |
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