| We've been talking about choosing building materials in the last week. |
| Now, a great many factors influence the choice of building materials. |
| You can't make a house of cards, right? |
| And "people who live in glass houses..." and all that... |
| Anyhow, today I'd like to say a few words about flooring. |
| Some artificial materials can be used, like plastic for instance, |
| which offer mixed blessings when used as a flooring surface. |
| On the one hand, plastic is cheaper than nearly any other alternative, short of bare ground. |
| Plastic also does not warp like wood. |
| On the other hand, the best that can be said about plastic is that it "looks like" wood or stone. |
| However, it cannot replace the real materials. |
| As I have mentioned, I'm fixing up a new house. |
| The decorator my wife hired told me, |
| "Plastic does a great job of looking exactly like plastic". |
| Besides, it scratches easily, fades or discolours, |
| and starts cracking within a year or two. |
| So, if you're fitting out a sleazy hotel or plan to live in a trailer park, |
| go with the plastic. |
| Really, though, for all intents and purposes, |
| this leaves us with wood or stone as choices for flooring. |
| Stone and wood are alike in at least one respect: |
| both go through processing before they can be put to use. |
| Since few of us cut our own lumber or quarry our own stone, |
| this is not perhaps a pressing concern. |
| Still, do-it-yourselfers would do well to remember to buy only properly seasoned wood. |
| Unseasoned wood warps and a warped floor quickly becomes firewood |
| (and its owner quickly becomes poorer). |
| Likewise, except for dull-hued materials like slate or sandstone, |
| most stone floors are polished before installation. |
| The choice goes well beyond just wood or stone - |
| each type requires many further considerations. |
| A few special remarks are called for when considering wood, for example. |
| As always, aesthetics, personal taste, |
| and layout all play roles as well as the type of house or room. |
| Oh, and certainly don't forget the cost. |
| When it comes to cost, a rule of thumb is that the softer and less exotic the wood, |
| the lower the cost. |
| In the US, for instance, pine is both ubiquitous and cheap. |
| Mahogany is imported and exorbitantly expensive. |
| If you're on any kind of budget when remodeling, |
| it's really helpful to remember to go for the softer woods. |
| Aside from cost, there are still lots of different factors that are important in choosing the best flooring for the job. |
| Continuing with the example of wood, |
| one must consider the effects of each type of wood on the mood of the room. |
| When selecting the best wood to use, |
| particular attention needs to be paid to its grain patterns, texture, and colour. |
| In rooms where relaxation or deep thought is the aim, |
| (say bedrooms or the study) dark, strong grained woods are the rule. |
| Here the grain ought to match the furniture for a feeling of homogeneity. |
| In rooms where activity and motion are typical, |
| (dining room or living room) |
| lighter, finer-grained lumber is more suitable. |
| In such a setting, the wood grain might be useful in offering a contrast to the furniture. |
| This leads to a feel of subconscious excitement, in keeping with the room's function. |
| In either case, though, consult a decorator. |
| It is a decorator's job to know what materials to use to fit the function of the room. |
| Though some things about putting together a room are subjective and based on one's individual taste, |
| materials appropriate to a room's function are much more straightforward. |
| A decorator takes the needs of the customer and uses a mathematical formula, rather than subjective words. |
| Since feelings vary from person to person, |
| verbal descriptions of wood types tend to be ambiguous. |
| You want the wood you select, not something approximate! |
| And if you do decide to do it yourself, |
| remember that all wood must be treated with preservatives to enhance its appearance |
| and preserve its natural beauty. |
| In the case of stone, or "quarry tile" as flat-cut flooring stone is properly called, |
| a new set of considerations must be weighed up. |
| Simple colour aside, the degree of reflection must be kept in mind. |
| This is called the "reflectance rate", |
| which is expressed in a number between 0.0 and 1.0, |
| depending on the amount of light it reflects. |
| At one end of the scale is polished silver. |
| At a rating of 1.0, this shiny surface reflects nearly all of the light directed at it. |
| Numbers closer to zero describe materials that absorb more light. |
| Moving down the scale a bit, |
| we see the plastic that has been painted white has a rate of 0.8, which makes sense. |
| We know that the colour white reflects all other colours while black absorbs all colours, |
| and plastic itself is a relatively reflective material. |
| Materials that are denser and darker have reflectance rates much closer to zero. |
| The quarry tile I mentioned a while ago has a rate of 0.1. |
| As you may know, |
| quarry tile is generally dark brown and made from clay so it is quite dense. |
| Of course, there is considerable variation among types of quarry tile |
| because of the hue or treatment of the clay during its creation. |
| Does anyone have any guesses as to what material may have a rate of almost 0.0? |
| We can guess most of these materials are black in colour, |
| but plastic, wood, and even stone reflect some light. |
| One material with a rate of almost 0.0 is black velvet. |
| The texture produces almost no shine at all. |
| Carrara marble, despite its white hue, |
| is actually lower in reflectivity than black onyx! |
| In any case, the fact that tiles vary somewhat should not be forgotten. |
| A highly reflective floor would not be suitable in a library; |
| it would be indispensable in a ballroom (should your home be large enough to feature one). |
| Again, a rule of thumb is that "light means lively". |
| Since form and material follow function, |
| one should only use the more reflective materials in rooms |
| where the cultivation and expression of energy is important. |
| Bear in mind too that most types of stone cost more than all but the rarest of wood. |
| Of course, there is no reason why some rooms of a house should not feature wood floors or other stone tiles. |
| You can even mix the two. |
| A room with wood panels on the walls can have a beautiful stone floor. |
| My bedroom has white birch walls and a light blue slate floor. |
| The place looks like a Russian hunting lodge. |
| Remember, though, go with what feels right for you. |
| Good taste and the "laws" of interior design are the homeowner's servants, not his master. |
| It's only beautiful when you decide it is. |
| I mean, you're the one who lives there, not the decorator, right? |
| OK, are there any questions? |