Flooring Options Available for Kenyan Contractors

When deciding on which covering to use for your floor, you may find yourself spoilt for option. It is therefore necessary to spend a bit of your time to familiarize with the different types major flooring options available for. Your choice of floor covering will be guided by different factors depending on your taste and preference. However, the three most important guiding factors are: function, style and cost.  By looking at these your choice will be made much easier.

1.      Engineered Wood-Planks

Description: Engineered planks are made up of laminated wood, as in plywood. The top layer has a prefinished surface of hardwood which gives it the natural beauty of real wood floor covering. The product comes in wide planks which are joined through tongue-and-groove joints. The floor does not require nailing or gluing. The planks basically float over a foam-rubber underlayment.

Another advantage of this flooring product is that it is available in a wide range of color and wood species.

Price: Depending on the hardwood species and the manufacturer, the price ranges from $4 to $8 per square foot.

2.      Laminate Flooring

Both laminates and Engineered wood are made up of thin veneers laminated together to produce wide planks which snap together through tongue and groove joints. The main difference is that, unlike engineered wood-planks, the top surface of the laminate floor covering is made of plastic laminate, not hardwood.   Laminate flooring also comes in slightly shorter planks (about 47 inches long).
Pros:  Laminates are extremely resistant to scratches, stains, fading, damage and wear. They last longer than any real wood floor with minimum maintenance.
Price and quality vary again depending on the manufacturer. However premium laminate flooring goes for something between $4 and $6 per square foot.

3.      Carpet Flooring

The most versatile flooring material is a carpet. Installing wall-to-wall carpets was quite a limitation to the use of this versatile floor covering. However, the stain protected carpet squares, produced nowadays, can be installed just about anywhere without worrying over damage or staining. There are varied patterns, styles and textures available than before. And, you can match a mixture of carpets squires of different color, texture and patterns to come up with a truly unique floor.

“Berber” was a very popular choice, in the past few years, due to its affordability and durability. Currently a variety of deep piles, shag carpets, and their combination are becoming popular again.

Price: The price of a carpet, range from about $5 to as high as $26 per square piece.

Ceramic Tile Flooring

The tiles used in ceramic flooring are much larger. The tiles are also available in more choices. Coupled with the varied styles and an evolving design, ceramics can also be matched to give that designer look.

Price per square foot: Ranges between $6 to $10

Cork Planks

In recent years, cork flooring has exponentially grown in popularity. The main reason for this growth is attributed to cork’s attractive nature, durability and relative affordability. It also has good sound proofing quality and is soft underfoot.

Prefinished cork floor coverings come in both planks and tiles. As with any tiled covering, cork tiles must be glued to the subfloor. However, the new generation engineered-cork-planks simply snap to form a floating floor. The cork planks require some underlayment for their installation, but some are prefixed with a cork underlayment, simplifying their installation.

Cork does not easily show stains on its surface and accepts topcoat finishes. They also come in a variety of colors and styles. Each plank measures 12 X 36 inches on the sides.

Price usually depends on the number ordered: the higher the number the lower the cost. Basically the price ranges between $7.50 psf for an order above 200 square feet and as high as $11 psf for an order below 50 square feet.

Roofing With Asphalt Shingles

Roof shingles are roof coverings made flat rectangular elements. These elements are usually laid in rows from the foot edge of the roof up, with each consecutive higher row overlapping the joints in the lower row.
In the past, roof shingles have been made from a variety of materials such as asbestos-cement, wood, slate, asphalt shingle (bitumen-soaked paper covered with aggregate or fiberglass-based shingles), ceramic or composite. However because of the increased fire hazard associated with paper and wood, wood shingles and paper-based shingles are nowadays less common. Moreover, the perceived carcinogenic property of asbestos also limits the use of asbestos-cement shingles. As a result, fiberglass-based asphalt shingles are nowadays the most widely used roofing material for residential roofing applications in the United States and the world at large.However its use in Kenya is yet to pick, may be due to little information on this versatile roofing material.
Shingles are never to be confused with tiles as tiles ceramic products which are therefore hard and brittle. So whereas tiles last longer than asphalt or paper-based shingles (these two will rot after some time), shingles' preference is because they do not break easily when stepped on or even when a tree branch accidentally fall on your roof.
Asphalt shingles' popularity in U.S can be attributed to number reasons. They are relatively cheap; starting from as low as $0.80 per square foot and go up from there. Asphalt shingles' installation, repair and maintenance are easy and the homeowner can just do the work themselves. The shingles come in a range of styles and colors, to suit the user's choice. Better still, asphalt shingles are reasonably durable (some achieved a class IV hail rating - which is the highest rating for roofing materials available).
The durability of asphalt shingle, however, depends on the geographic location, roof pitch, type of roof underlayment, how cool and moisture free is the attic space, and definitely, asphalt shingle type used. On average a thirty year shingle may last up to 15 years.
The different asphalt shingle types: The two main asphalt shingles are; architectural (dimensional shingles) and three-tab shingles. Three-tab shingles are manufactured from a sole layer of asphalt-saturated fiberglass having a tiny stone layer glued over the shingle. On the other hand, Architectural shingles have solid shingle underneath and another layer glued on the lower half, to present it with an architectural outlook.
In general, architectural shingles last a little longer than three-tabs, but should never be used on roof-slope less than 4. For roof-slopes of 3-4, it's always advisable to use a three-tab shingles, since they provide better protection from wind-driven rain.