Laminate, homogenous, granite, parquet, teak, marble, ceremic. Which one?

Laminate Pros
- Quite scratch resistance.
- Cheaper than parquet
- Easy to install and requires no 'drying' time unlike tiles.
- Ideal for bedrooms or raised platform/flooring.
- Creates a 'warm' feeling.
- No hacking is needed as laminated flooring may be laid over existing tiles. Only the skirting needs to be hacked.

Weaknesses
- Sensation under frost is synthetic.
- May only mop with 'dry-mop'. Water left over may leave watermark.
- flooring will discolor if exposed under extreme sunlight.
- Not ideal for large surface area as it may look cheap and synthetic.

MARBLE

Marble flooring was a firm favorite of the ancient Greeks and characterized an era of grandeur, elegance and self-indulgence. Marble is a truly beautiful building material that has been utilized by architects all over the world.

Marble flooring is in essence a metamorphic descendent of limestone and is a hard stone that comes in a number of shades and hues ranging from off-white to brown, gray or pink. Stone with differing colored steaks is termed statuary marble. Although hard, marble is softer than granite and is therefore more prone to staining and scratching. These can easily be repaired and can also be corrected by polishing.

Marble flooring can either have one of two finishes, polished or honed:

Polished: This is a highly reflective finish and brings out the stone's natural shades and marking. This type of finish will not last in areas which are continually have a flow of traffic over them.

Honed: This is a matte finish (non-reflective) and is better suite to areas where there is a greater flow of traffic. It is also a lot harder to see scratches on this type of surface finish.

Important Features of Marble

Property-1 : Scratch Hardness
General property values as per ASTM Standard (Marble): 2-4 Mohs
Significance: Stones with low scratch hardness will require higher levels of maintenance


Property-2 : Compressive Strength
General property values : 400 – 1900 kg/cm2
Mining requirement as per ASTM Standard (Marble) : 530 kg/cm2
Significance : This is a measure of the load that a stone can take before it crushes or a measure of the stone’s ability to support load-bearing structures. Higher the compressive strength means that stone is more durable. Wonder Marble compressive strength is similar to granite hence can used for any applications, which are subjected to heavy loads


Property-3 : Flexural Strength
Minimum requirement as per ASTM Standard (Marble): 71 kg/cm2
Significance :This is also known as the bending strength of the stone and critical in both the designing & detailing of building facades. It is useful in determining the maximum load a stone panel in a curtain wall system with anchors located at the edges of the panels. It also assists in the evaluation of the stone’s resistance to wind loads. It also help in determine whether a thin stone unit will crack or fracture under externally induced stress conditions


Property-4 : Modulus of Rupture
Minimum requirement as per ASTM Standard (Marble): 71 kg/cm2
Significance: It is also known as a transverse strength and measures the combined shear strength and diagonal strength of stone. It is valuable determining the strength of the stone at its point of attachment with anchoring devices


Property-5 : Water Absorption
General property value: 0.1 – 1.5
Minimum requirement as per ASTM Standard (marble): 0.2
Significance : As a general rule, with higher water absorption, higher porosity and if it combined with lower density, the stone tends to be less durable and less stain resistant, and more susceptible to frost and salt attack. Higher water absorption also results in defloration in volumetric dimensions, which causes display warping and bowing of stones. Wonder Marble has negligible water absorption. As a result, it is less porous, highly stain resistant and requires less maintenance.


Property-6 : Bulk Density
General property value: 2600 – 2700 kg/m3
Significance : Stone with higher density are generally less porous and more durable


Property-7 : Abrasion Resistance
Minimum requirement as per ASTM Standard (marble): 10
Significance : For flooring application, abrasion resistance subject to foot traffic demonstrates the suitability of the stone for higher foot traffic


Property-8 : Silica Content
Significance : Higher Silica contents imparts better gloss.


Courtesy of: http://www.rkmarble.com/wonder-marble.htm

Our Forumer’s Say: For marble, the finish is flat, smooth, gapless n wide variety of choices. Its weakness is maintenance as it absorbs liquid readily due to its porous nature. U will need to wipe off any spilled liquid like coffee immediately or else u will get a stain within the next minute.

GRANITE

The four sided pieces of granite, called tiles are available in multiple sizes and colors. Though granite tiles are much more expensive than procelain or slate, it is widely used because of its long lasting durability.

One of the major areas of application of granite tiles is – laying floor. The granite floor tiles are available in varying sizes and can even be custom designed as per the requirement of the customer.

The granite tiles are found ideal for flooring because of hardness, and availability in multiple colors and finish. The inherent hardness of the granite lends durability to the tiles and the wide range of colors make it easier to lay the floor to suit the both interior and exterior surroundings. The granite tiles are also used while laying down the steps.

Besides being the hardest stone used for flooring, granite is also the highly polished stone. The polish makes it easy to be cleaned and taken care of, but the it also becomes too smooth and slippery which demands extra care.

Sizes: 300 X 300, 400 X 400, 600 X 600, 600 X 300, 600 X 400 (All dimensions in mm)

General Information on different types of tiles:

Granites, Polished

- They are the toughest material of all
- The shine of granite can last up to 20 years
- Granites are expensive material, therefore providing better value for resale flats
- Granites can be cooling, especially suitable for hot climate in Singapore
- Granite contain more reflective crystals, provide more glamour to the home
- They usually comes in richer and darker color tones, well suited for people who
prefer a more dramatic type of design for the home.
- The most common size : 60 x 60 cm


Natural Marbles
- Marbles are the most natural in color and pattern, the range of beige tone
marbles being the most popular
- Unlike granites and homogeneous, Marbles can be grained to make it leveled,
making the joining lines almost invisible
- It can be polished to great shine, leaving the impression of a single piece of
material on the floor
- They have always been a popular choice for private housing, as this material
have always been associated to good design
- Matches well with wooden furniture
- The most common size : 30 x 60 cm


Homogeneous, Polished
- It is a man made material to be as tough as granite
- A wider range of effects/designs and colors
- The polish of Homogeneous can last longer than the shine of marble.
- Unlike Ceramics, in an unlikely case of breakage (due to fallen objects), this
materials will not show a tile base/ body of different color.
- Unlike Marble and Granite, the pattern/ design of the homogeneous tiles are
more subtle and predictable, without the ugly crack lines and spots usually
spotted on natural stones
- The common size being 60 x 60 cm, 40 x 40 cm


Ceramics Tiles
- Low Cost and more valued for money
- The widest popular range of color, texture and design
- It will take the shortest time for laying
- The pattern of ceramic can be repetitive and constant, therefore more
acceptable by the majority
- Comes in all kind of sizes

Compare and Contrast:

INDIA VS CHINA GRANITE


India Granites

- The color tone is much darker and richer, with more sparkers/ gold dust/ more reflective, and therefore more often used for commercial projects

- Granite is one of the toughest materials around, but India granite is still more dense than china granite and therefore more suitable for commercial usage (eg shopping mall flooring etc)

- There are more inconsistent in color tone and veins/ patterns and they are preferred by people who appreciate the irregularity of natural stones


China Granites

- The colors of China granite are much lighter and therefore more accepted by homeowners
- The price of China granite is only 1/3 when compared to India granites
- The pattern and color tone of China granite is lighter, more constant and have less variation than India granite


NATURAL MARBLE VS GRANITE


Natural Marbles

- Marble usually comes in a more natural shade, softer feel and lighter tone in color.
- Less ugly spots and natural veins than granite
- After laying, Marble can be grained and polished till the floor is perfectly leveled and the joining lines become almost invisible.
- Has always been a favorable choice for condominiums in Singapore


Natural Granites

- Being a much tougher material, the Granite will last longer than Marble
- Granite is usually dark in tone.
- Unlike marble which will lost it's shine after 5 years, the polishing of granite will be able to last at least 20 years
- The granite cannot be polished or leveled, therefore there will always be some minor leveling problem


NATURAL MARBLE VS COMPRESSED MARBLE

Natural Marbles

- Naturist will appreciate every piece of marble being different in tone and pattern.
- Can be grained to make the marble leveled and the joining lines almost invisible
- After polishing, natural marble will produce more shine
- Can be re-polished every 5 years and look brand new


Compressed Marbles

- The color tone will be very constant as they are being produced by special machines and color checked using computers.
- Strictly no ugly veins/ cracks or spots
- Wider range of colors available
- Does not absorb stains and therefore more easy to maintain
- Cannot be leveled but small amount of polishing can be possible - however the shine cannot be compared to natural marble
- May be same or lower in cost as compared to natural marble


HOMOGENEOUS VS CERAMIC

Homogeneous Tiles

- With much lower water absorption rate and higher density, Homogeneous is definitely a much tougher tile compared to Ceramics tiles, and therefore more long lasting.

- It's surface can be polished to make it reflective shine like those of a mirror, but the ceramic can only be glazed to make it shiny and it's not as long lasting as compare to the polished surface

- The whole piece of homogeneous is made up by the same material and therefore it can be round edged at the sides, without showing a different material beneath the tile

- (Ceramic tiles are made of red clay with a thin layer of "coloring" on the surface. Chamfering the edges of the tile will reveal the red base below - PVC strips will be need to cover the edges of ceramic tiles)

- Homogeneous tiles are generally 30 - 50% more expensive than Ceramic tiles, although polished homogeneous of bigger size may cost much more.

- Homogeneous tiles have almost become the choice for kitchen flooring and stove in Singaporean homes (although ceramics tiles are just as feasible).

- In an unlikely event of breakage due to fallen object, Homogenous will not leave a big crack line and it will not show a different material/ color beneath the surface

- Between these 2 materials, only Homogeneous tiles will be considered for the flooring of any commercial project, as Ceramic tiles will not be able to withstand the kind of load produced by high traffic of human flow.


Ceramic Tiles

- Ceramic tiles are more common and have a wider variety of colors, tones and textures

- The usual range of Ceramic tiles is inexpensive

- For a tile layer, it is a material which is easier to work with, compared to Homogeneous tiles (it does not "pop" out after few years)


GRANITE VS HOMOGENEOUS

Natural Granites

- The color tone is much darker and richer, with more sparkers/ gold dust/ more reflective, and therefore felt more "alive"

- They are inconsistent in color tone and veins/ patterns. They are preferred by people who appreciate the irregularity of natural stones (that every piece looks different)

- Granites, being a natural stone, provides a better cooling effect for the house

- Granites are usually thicker (18-20mm) than Homogeneous (8-10mm), therefore it have very little or no warp problem

- Granites are, and have always been perceived as, the most expensive materials around. Home owners may want to take this into account when they are calculating the resale value of their house.


Homogeneous Tiles

- Being a made-man material to match the strength of Granites, Homogeneous tiles comes in a wider variety of colors, eg light blue, pink, purple etc. These colors cannot be found on granites

- The color tone and pattern on Homogeneous tiles are usually much lighter, smoother and less bold.

- Unlike Granites, the same pattern is repeated on every piece of Homogeneous tiles - therefore you can know exactly how it will turn out even before the commencement of the renovation.

- As they are being machine made, they do not have any minor crack lines, small ugly black patches like those on granites

- Homogeneous tiles are priced much lower (2/5th) than Indian granites (though may be same or slightly more expensive than China Granites)

- Homogeneous tile can be an alternative for people who likes the hardness and durability of Granites, but prefer the lighter, more subtle and more consistent color of Natural Marbles

- Homogeneous come in a bigger variation of sizes - the more common being 20 x 20 cm, 30 x 30 cm, 40 x 40 cm, and 60 x 60 cm

- For both granite and Homogeneous, the edge of the material can be round edged and chamfered, without showing a different material on the down side of the tile.

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