As compared to the conventional glue-down method, modern vinyl flooring is designed to ‘float’ freely as a whole. As such, tiny gaps are often found at the perimeters of the flooring space to give it room to do so.

The natural movements of vinyl planks are so tiny that you hardly feel them beneath your feet! Nevertheless, it is crucial not to restrict their natural movements so they don’t end up buckling over time.

That being said, flooring gaps are often unsightly if left uncovered. This is where floor skirting or wall skirting comes into play. With both functional and aesthetic purposes to complement your flooring, here are four benefits of floor skirting for your home’s vinyl flooring.

(Wondering if floor skirting is necessary in Singapore? Get a free consultation)

# 1 Protects The Wall

Have you ever seen markings on the walls that were left behind by very old furniture? Observe the marked areas and you may notice that in those particular areas, there was no floor skirting installed at all. Floor skirting provides a functional gap between the furniture, flooring and the wall. This is important for the long-term protection of your house walls.

#2 Covers Gaps Between Flooring & Wall

Sometimes, it may seem like your home’s flooring has not been installed well, as there are visible gaps between the flooring and the wall. Before you call up your contractor to fault them, know that the gaps were intentionally created to accommodate the expansion or contraction of the flooring.

Floor skirting helps to cover up these tiny gaps for a seamless flooring surface and prevents water from seeping in as well. Made from fully waterproof vinyl material, floor skirting ensures that the foundation of your floors and walls are not affected by the negative impacts of humidity in Singapore. Its vinyl material makes it resistant to termites as well.

#3 Beautifies A Home

Floor skirting can make a lot of difference to a blank piece of wall and brighten up a barren house. Done tastefully, it can even be considered as a design highlight of a house’s interior. With PVC, laminated uPVC and vinyl floor skirting products that come in a wide range of colours and designs, one can certainly mix and match the design of their floor skirting with their home’s trendy flooring design. With different types of materials available as well, the sky’s the limit.

#4 Barrier Between Wet Mops & Wall

Constant contact with a wet mop may ultimately damage your walls with ugly wet patches! When moping the floor, a floor skirting acts as a useful barrier between your wet mop and the wall, preventing those ugly wet patches. The Floor Gallery’s highly moisture-proof and durable Eco Resilient Vinyl Floor Skirting  gives walls an extra layer of protection.

Never underestimate the importance of what floor skirting can do for your home. With the right design and colour, this simple furnishing can add beauty to your house and protect those precious walls as well.

Finding a floor skirting option that suits your budget?

Discuss your best options with us here →

The post Why Floor Skirting is Important For Your Home? appeared first on The Floor Gallery.

Firstly, What is Overlay Flooring?

Overlay flooring would be placing a new layer of flooring over the existing flooring. This would make your floor slightly thicker, but it would not be noticeable. This can be done with overlay vinyl flooring and tiles.

#1 Better Flooring Protection

By overlaying a layer of flooring over, it will not only protect the flooring by acting as a cushion, it will also add comfort to every step you take. Compared to hacking, overlay flooring adds the advantages of your new flooring product to your home’s existing flooring. This is especially great if your new flooring product comes with a decent padded thickness! Eco Resilient Flooring (ERF) has a thickness of 5mm and comes with slip-resistant and non-toxic features for a safer household.

#2 Shorter Renovation Time

It takes a shorter time to do an overlay than to hack and replace the current flooring. Hacking is the removal of your current flooring, which means there will be more work involved. Hacking of flooring is approximately completed within the time frame of 3 consecutive days – that is at least 3 days more compared to overlay flooring. As there is no need for flooring tiles to be removed for the overlay process, there is no additional time required for overlaying. This results in a faster completion of the new flooring.

(Interested in overlay flooring? Feel free to get in touch with our flooring team here.)

#3 Lower Overall Cost

Overlaying is also relatively cheaper as there is lesser work to be done with just the adding of another layer. In addition, you would not need to pay for the cost of manpower for hacking.

Prerequisite: Stable Condition of Old Tiles

Some firms may suggest not to overlay tiles if they are too old, or if your tiles are suspected to be hollow. You can try to hit the tiles with coins or marbles and listen out for any hollow sounds. Reason being that if the existing tiles are old or hollow, they may pop up or crack under the new tiles soon after the overlay. If this occurs, you would have to redo the entire flooring again, and this would cost more ultimately.

Remember, your existing flooring is the base for your new flooring. You might prefer it done faster and at ease, but it is important to check if the foundation is ready for a fresh layer of flooring! If its condition is not good, do consider hacking and re-doing the flooring first.

(Want to find a flooring that suits your budget and home’s interior? Discuss your best options with us here.)

The post 3 Benefits Of Overlay Flooring For Home Owners appeared first on The Floor Gallery.

There are plenty of options out there. To help you make a choice that’s best for you, here are the top five outdoor decking materials recommended by our flooring experts, and their pros and cons.

#1 Outdoor Wood Decking

The most common outdoor flooring is none other than wood decking. Available in Chengal wood, Iron wood and Teak, natural wood decking is commonly used for the exterior of Singapore properties due to its cooling characteristics. Depending on age, wood species are graded in terms of their varying strength and durability, Janka hardness, as well as dimensional stability properties. Wood decking creates a little pocket of nature in your outdoor area. Due to its natural properties, wood decking requires proper care and maintenance. Nevertheless, it is one of the best options for outdoor decking. To ensure the longevity of the outdoor wood decking, it is important to maintain it at least once every 6 months, giving it a fresh coat of paint or varnish. More importantly, any improper installation may result in the warping of decks. Hence, engaging an experienced outdoor decking contractor to carry out a professional decking installation is just as crucial.

#2 Eco Wood Composite Decking

Eco wood composite decking is considered as one of the latest entry into the Singapore outdoor decking market. An improvement from conventional composite decking, Eco wood composite decking is manufactured in an eco friendly manner with a mixture of wood and composite that further adds to the strength and durability of the entire decking material. As such, good quality composite wood decking can be relatively more durable and stronger than conventional wood decking material. As its material technology is more advanced, eco wood composite decking is relatively better than conventional composite decking in terms of UV resistance. This is something important for home owners to know, as low quality composite decking may change in colour due to the impact of ultra violet rays. Heat resistance is another important aspect home owners should look into, especially when the decking is installed in unsheltered exterior areas, such as swimming pools or balconies in Singapore. Eco wood composite decking has relatively better heat resistant properties as compared to conventional composite decking. This is due to the larger percentage of natural wood in it.

Want more outdoor decking options?

Get in touch with our team here →

#3 Resilient Tiles Decking

Resilient tile decking is not so common in Singapore, but we are starting to see it in some commercial properties. This outdoor decking option is simply made up of designed tiles that are installed in the exterior. They have a healthy level of durability and resistance to rain and shine. However, resilient tiles may not be suitable if the decking is constantly under strong sunlight, as this may result in colour disfiguration. As compared to composite wood decking, resilient tiles are not as slip-resistant. This may result in a slippery outdoor flooring if the decking is left wet for a long period of time.

#4 Treated Soft Wood Decking

These are mainly soft wood species that may not be recommended for outdoor decking or high walk in traffic projects. However, due to chemical treatment, the soft wood becomes stronger, durable and even harder than some wood species with high janka hardness. Thus, making this type of product good for decking purposes. However, such softwood are typically not grown in tropical countries such as Singapore or Malaysia. Being slightly malleable, constant foot traffic on soft wood decking may result in wear and tear such that the surface may look unclean. Therefore, coating has to be implemented at least three times a year using darker wood paint instead of clear or light wood paints.

#5 Conventional Composite Decking

The group of conventional composite decking is another common type of outdoor decking product in Singapore. We can say that even in conventional composite decking materials, quality varies. It is relatively difficult to ascertain which particular composite decking material is of higher quality. The reason is because such decking products are relatively easy to mass produce, thereby causing the market to have multiples brands of conventional composite decking. Apart from depending on one’s luck in finding a reliable composite decking product, choosing a credible composite decking supplier in Singapore is just as important, as credible decking contractors will select good quality composite materials to ensure consistent quality in their projects! Here are a few other important factors to consider before purchasing outdoor decking.

Interested in installing outdoor decking for your balcony, terrace, backyard, or patio area?

Discuss your best decking options with us →

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