Resin floors

Designing a resin floor

The resin floors are composed of mixtures of natural inorganic silicates, special aggregates of different hardness and grain and other components that, from time to time, you require depending on the expected use.

Generally, the overall thickness of the various layers is around 3 - 4 mm, which avoids the heavy work of grinding and fitting of the existing parts (casings, etc.)..

The resin floors are excellent indoor, they have lately been enriched of solutions suitable for the implementation of external avenues with foot and vehicular traffic strongly characterized by inserts made of natural materials.

The resin floor is a prefinished floor, which is simply laid in place by assembling pieces such as ceramic tiles or parquet strips. The resin floor for its own particular mode of installation must be designed by setting the goal of being able to find a solution to satisfy both the aesthetic and the performance required by customer.

When designing a resin floor we must consider a number of issues that then allow us to identify the best solution. We should therefore analyze the performance that the system should have in terms of physical-chemical resistance, in terms of appearance and we also must consider the type of support it will be applied on.

In view of all these considerations, we can begin to design the resin floor. This type of floor allows us to create a surface that can be defined as monolithic, this fact does not require the presence of couplings or joints that sometimes compromise the uniformity of the surface.

Advantages of resin flooring

The resin floor is not very common in our homes, in fact its low use is primarily due to the fact that we do not know its real characteristics, which make this floor an easy, practical and inexpensive way to cover your floors.

Many people, during the renovation of their property, shudder at the idea of having to change the so loved floor in terrazzo tiles or the old marble chip floor.

Furthermore the many hated joints present in modern flooring, discourage those who must keep the floor always clean and efficient.

There are many cases where you want to insert in the floor wood inserts to connect to the parquet present in other environments.

Not to mention the difficulty to glue a new floor over the old one (you need to set the casings with spot facings, check the background etc..).

Today, fortunately, these drawbacks can be overcome thanks to the resin floors that contain all the features that you require for a modern floor and that are:
Easy to clean
Resistance;
Easy to maintain;
Great versatility;
Customized color;
Finishes of various types (gloss, satin, matte, with various inserts from the sands to objects);
Integration with other materials (wood, brick etc.).
Character monolithic and uniform;
Speed of installation;
Reasonable cost.

The decorative effects that can be achieved with a resin floor are numerous and can vary according to the needs of the client and the choice of the materials.

It is possible to produce a resin floor with spatula effect, cloudy, monochrome, reflective like a mirror, opaque etc. ...

These resins can then be treated with transparent protective finishes that are able to vary the brightness of the treated surface by passing from shiny to matt, rough or smooth, the resins are also easily colorable, so they allow you to give free play to the imagination.
This type of flooring is suitable for any destination, it has a good durability of course if maintained with care.

The resins do not require special products for cleaning, as their impervious surface does not allow it to absorb any kind of substance.
In fact, the resin floors are considered the most hygienic of all, because the homogeneity of its surface that has no leaks nor cracks nor implies a greater rapidity in the cleaning and hygiene higher than any other surface. This flooring is an excellent protection against mold, moisture and bacterial agents.

Another important aspect of this type of flooring is that it is odorless and non-toxic. In addition, a resin floor can be restored to its original condition with a few simple steps, without the need to complete dismemberment, this is important since it involves only small costs for restoring and infinite possibility of renewal.

Precisely because of their thinness these floors can be overlapped with each other easily by changing the color, but are also superimposed on the existing flooring, and thus avoiding all the associated costs to the transaction removal of the floor.

If in our homes there are systems of underfloor heating, the resin flooring considering its thin thickness and its high conductivity turns out to be the ideal choice. In fact, its nature essentially plastic, gives a good elasticity to the point that doesn't crack due to thermal shock caused by the presence of heating.

Disadvantages of resin flooring

The resin floor, however, has its drawbacks. First of all, it is not indestructible. It has good strength, is able to withstand very high loads, but it is not indestructible. Of course, like any material for floor the main cause that determines the deterioration is usury, which varies from situation to situation.

A resin floor should be seen as a normal other flooring, be it in wood, stone, keeping in mind that the aging generated from scratches, abrasions, accidental dropping of objects are part of the life cycle of a floor.

These signs of aging are more evident on those floors even in colors and transparencies, in which even the slightest imperfection tends to stand out. Something that does not occur to a mat spatulated floor which tends, due to its nature, to mask better aging and any signs of wear thus ensuring a much longer life cycle. Obviously if this is placed in the entrance areas or on the stair treads, tend to age prematurely compared to other less congested environments.

It is true that the resin flooring can be laid over the existing floor with great simplicity, but not all the supports are eligible. The presence of breaks, cracks and micro-cracks in the base support are imperfections of which the resin layer is affected, since this does not present a support layer precisely.

It is therefore of basic importance to properly assess the background and act by planning a suitable application cycle to support this, trying to eliminate or at least restrict the items that could cause problems after the installation of the laminate floor.

Another negative aspect is the yellowing tendency, but this only affects some types of resins, such as the epossydic ones, which have a poor resistance to UV rays, and this is the main cause of a premature yellowing, even if to obviate this problem exist some antiUV additives, capable to delay this process as long as possible to the floor.

To limit the problem it is recommended to choose the colors tending to straw, but not very clear. If you choose the polyurethane resins, acrylic and cement based this won't be a problem.