Many useful tips on choosing the shuttercraft wood floor types for the new wooden floor. Wooden floors are natural, aesthetic and inviting. In addition to real parquet, there are cheaper alternatives such as cork in wood look or laminate.
A wooden floor is an enrichment for every living landscape. The natural material radiates elegance and positively influences the atmosphere. Probably the most beautiful and durable variant is the real parquet. Due to the sometimes high costs, this solution is not feasible for every household. In this guide, we discuss the advantages parquet offers and the alternatives presented by the market.
Parquet – The aesthetic classic
Parquet is a high-quality wooden floor that looks particularly elegant and offers a variety of advantages. Manufacturers may generally only describe floor coverings as parquet if the top layer, as specified in the DIN EN 13489 standard, is at least 2.5 millimetres thick. As with any other product, a number of factors must be taken into account when purchasing in order to benefit from maximum quality. For example, the class of use, type of construction, degree of hardness of the wood and the surface finish are decisive.
For example, you can bring more comfort into your home with oiled parquet. Thanks to an oil, the surface gets a pleasant feel and the running feeling becomes even warmer. If you prefer an especially easy-care surface instead, lacquered models are ideal. For the country house furnishing style currently in demand, whitewashed and brushed parquet are recommended. There are also differences in formats and installation techniques.
Solid planks generally make rooms look larger. Instead, the herringbone pattern guarantees individuality. If you are not sure which solution suits your taste, you can find a suitable parquet floor on the Internet portal for branded floors with the help of a digital furnishing consultant.
The advantages of parquet flooring at a glance:
Durable
Low-maintenance
Hard-wearing
Natural charm
Damaged surfaces can be repaired by grinding
Visually attractive
Besides the advantages, parquet has two disadvantages:
Despite robust surfaces, the maintenance effort is sometimes high. Many floor coverings have to be regularly sanded down and resealed. This costs additional money and a lot of time. Many decide however because of the costs against genuine parquet. With alternatives such as laminate, cork or linoleum you can imitate real wooden floors at a reasonable price. We’ll tell you what to look out for.
Linoleum – The new star of sustainability
Linoleum had almost completely disappeared from the market for a long time, but is now convincing as an innovative floor covering. Biologically responsibly produced variants are made from a mixture of wood flour, pigments, linseed oil, limestone and natural resin and are compostable. If you value environmental compatibility, linoleum is an excellent choice. The floor is robust, suitable for underfloor heating, hygienic, antistatic and antibacterial. Cleaning is easy.
To achieve the desired wood look, we recommend generous linoleum planks or tiles. Leading manufacturers sell the most attractive products with wood-like looks. Caution is advised with alleged linoleum floors with deceptively genuine wood design. Knotholes, grains and other characteristic elements can currently only be achieved with plastic mixtures, which means that the majority of these offers are vinyl or PVC. Both are less ecological than real linoleum.
Cheap alternatives to real wood
Laminate is cheaper than parquet and requires less maintenance. Brand manufacturers have been working for years to optimise the surfaces. The result is sophisticated imitations that make it impossible for laypersons to recognise imitations as such. The quality and abrasion resistance of the decorative or top layer are elementary for maintaining long-lasting and permanently intact floors.
A small sensation among the parquet alternatives is cork. Some manufacturers have specialised in creating cork floors with a wood look and have perfected their manufacturing processes. They achieve amazingly real looking floors. Digital printing processes allow lightfast and unusual imitations of numerous types of wood. Surface sealings make the cork surfaces extremely impact resistant, abrasion and scratch resistant and improve UV stability. Optics ranging from oak and alder to Swiss stone pine, ash and birch are conceivable. Floors with a structured surface look particularly attractive. Individual variants with tasteful traces of use and artwork designs round off the range.This adds to the uniqueness and luxurious style for you own dream home.