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Conservatory Flooring
In the early days of conservatories, when most of us used them for growing plants and other gardening pursuits, flooring was usually made of hard stone which was durable and easy to keep clean. Now that we use our conservatories for a much wider variety of hobbies and leisure activities, the flooring has become a lot more important.
Whether you want to add extra living space, create a dining area, art room or the traditional orangery, picking the right material for your floor is something that requires a good deal of thought.
What are the benefits of installing a conservatory?
Laminate Flooring for Conservatories
One of the most popular choices all over the home today is laminate flooring that can give that great polished new wood look but is also easy to lay and pretty durable. Laminate flooring can be bought in a variety of designs including stone and effects as well as wood. It consists of about three tiers of composite material with a top layer that looks like wood or stone and is long lasting, scratch resistant, can even be insulating at a cost that suits many pockets.
Natural Hardwood
As conservatories are more open to the vagaries of the weather and greater changes in temperature and humidity, it used to be that natural hardwood floors were unsuitable for this type of construction. That was because natural wood expands and contracts depending on the surrounding atmosphere and, under certain circumstances, can warp. Engineered hardwood is more suitable because it produces less of a variation in size under different conditions and is comprised of hardwood on top of layers of other materials such as plywood.
Cork Flooring
If you want something different for your flooring, and possibly eco-friendlier, cork tiles have naturally insulating properties and are a popular choice for conservatories. They provide a natural spring in the floor and can be coated to protect from things like spills. The cork flooring available nowadays comes in a variety of different colours and textures that make it a very attractive option for many households.
Vinyl Tiles
As with any other room in the home, vinyl flooring provides a greater array of designs and textures and is often a popular choice in the conservatory. These are cheaper than options such as natural hardwood or stone and are also easy to install, maintain and it’s a simple job to replace tiles that have become damaged.
Stone Flooring
If you are considering adding stone flooring to your conservatory there are plenty of options to choose from all of which can add that important x-factor to your new installation. You do, however, need to make sure that you choose a stone flooring that is tailored to how you want to use the conservatory. For instance, granite tiles are very hardwearing whilst limestone ones need to be specially sealed because they are porous. Marble tiles take a good deal of maintenance and are not great if there are things like spills and can be damaged by acidic liquids. There’s no doubt, however, that this kind of flooring can look very elegant when installed properly.
Ceramic Stone Flooring for Conservatories
Other options are ceramic tiles that can come in varieties such as glazed ceramic and porcelain. As with pure stone tiles, there are different varieties that need certain types of care but are, on the whole, seen as pretty durable and ideal for use in the conservatory. One popular choice are terracotta tiles which are generally thicker and have better heat retention properties. On the whole, ceramic flooring can be a little cold underfoot so it’s worth considering carefully whether you go for this option when you decide how you are going to use the space.
Find out more about planning and designing your conservatory.
