Home renovation: cover the floor

When you renovate a house you have to face the floors problem, there are in fact two possible solutions: the first is to demolish the existing floor and rebuild it. In this way the result is definitely going to be well done, you can choose any type of new flooring and do all the necessary traces for the electrical and plumbing systems.

The second option is to leave the existing floor and cover it with another of reduced thickness. The advantages are obviously a great saving of time, money and inconveniences that could arouse with the demolition of the floor.

If you decide to coat the existing floor, nowadays you have several interesting choices, however, you must keep in mind that systems will have to go through the wall.

The problems of this choice could be that, if the chosen floor is not thin enough, you may have to trim the inner doors at the bottom; you will also have to pay attention to the other existing floors to avoid creating excessive unevenness which is not aesthetically pleasant .

Whatever coating you choose, remember that it must be applied on a smooth and clean surface, without holes or cracks and it must be perfectly glued on the existing floor.

Ceramic Floor

If you decide for a ceramic floor, many companies today realize tiles, also of a very big size and with a minimum thickness, such as to be superimposed on the existing floor without problems.

An example is Ariostea which offers thin floorings with wood, stone and Silk Limestone effects, which are ecological natural materials, completely recyclable. The high tech Ariostea plates are also available in large size with a minimum thickness of 4.7 mm that can be glued on the existing coating.

The ceramics Refin propose Skins, a thin porcelain of 4.8 mm, which has the technical characteristics and resistance of the porcelain tiles, but that is suitable for renovation as it can be easily placed without removing the existing tiles.

Skin is available in the new collection Tracce and it is proposed as an extension of the series and Artech Velvet Ground, the two most successful collections by Refin.

Casa dolce casa produces porcelain slabs called Slim/ 4, 4 mm thick and minimal style, in 7 colors and in sizes 30x60, 60x60 and 60x120mm.

Kerlite Floor

A very interesting product is the Kerlite , a surface of 3 mm thickness, which is the result of an innovative production system, the result of a cutting edge technology and with high performance that is produced in whole slabs of 300x100 cm without the use of molds.

Kerlite Plus can be laid on existing flooring and ceramic tiles, marble, stone and earthenware.

It is realized by strengthening the lower part of the plates with a mat in glass fiber, this ensures an excellent resistance to the trampling, it ease the grip of the plates to the glue on the bottom without affecting its thickness.

The standard sizes are 5: 100x300 cm slab, 40x100 cm, 100x100, the slab of 50x50 cm. and the splint of 4.9 x100.

Resin Floor

Another solution aesthetically pleasing and practical for the house is the resin.
This is streamd or poured over the existing floor with the desired thickness and it comes in many different types.

It mainly differs in glossy or matt and in uniform or spatulated. The easiest to maintain is the glossy one, which has a superficial transparent layer which is very easy to clean even with only water.

The lack of leaks of this material makes it very practical and hygienic, especially in certain areas of the house such as the kitchen and it, the one piece surface without divisions that contributes to the widening of the rooms and make them brighter, it is effectively aesthetically pleasant.
You can choose many colors and finishes giving vent to the imagination.

The only defect is that over time this material tends to get scratched, and if the house has settlements, it could crack. It 'good to make sure that it is placed on an existing floor solid and firm.
Some companies like Gobbetto , Pavitek to Antonio Liso offer solutions in all types of resin also very colorful and original.

Concrete Floor

Another original possibility is the use of concrete, a material abundantly used for many years, then denigrated and considered poor, and now returned in definitely modern applications.

This material has neutral tones that suit any room or it can be colored in more than 25 different ways.

Concrete is a simple but very versatile material, suitable for covering every kind of room, it also matches with sophisticated finishes, giving the possibility to obtain spaces with high practicalness, which is why Cementodiluna is easy to use even for environments such as kitchen and bathroom.

It can be combined with wooden flights, you can create expansion joints for large square tile in concrete (up to 1 x 1 mt) to achieve concrete white flooring, obtaining very special and original solutions, of impact and characterization of the room.

Fooring in wallpaper by Rapoxy

Finally, a definitely unique solution is Rapoxy , a wallpaper for floors!
Thanks to Rapoxy you can cover the floor also with wallpaper, it is a resin finish that coats the paper creating a protective layer resistant and flexible, a kind of liquid glass that can be shiny or matt.

Made in collaboration with Markus Benesch, Rapoxy allows the use of coatings, traditionally used on the walls, even on the floor; it helps enhancing and characterizing any type of room and it creates suggestive effects also used together with other materials.