CUT AND KEEP
JUNE 27, 2014
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F
LOORING
is among themost
important aspects of a home. It is
usually the first thing that catches
the eye when entering a home and
something you come into contact with
every day. It can act as a backdrop to
furniture, serve in functionality and can
even dramaticallymake or break the
décor and overall look of a room.
“One of themain reasons we use
different flooringmaterials in a house,
instead of just onemonotonic and
uniform floor type, is to segregate the
various spaces and areas within a house.
This comes as an alternative to
constructing a partition, which usually
makes the area smaller, and is especially
good for apartments and open-concept
homes,” says AJM Interiors managing
director Alan Samuel.
With the plethora of flooring options
available in themarket, choosing the
perfect floor type can prove to be a
challenge. However, says Samuel, “There
are just three things to keep inmind
beforemaking your selection. They are
cost, maintenance and durability.”
To help simplify your selection
process, here is a round up of popular
flooringmaterials and reasons to opt for it.
KITCHEN
Food spills, liquid splashes, heat and
falling cutlery are all part and parcel of
what goes on in the kitchen. Do note that
this will affect the wear and tear of your
flooring. Due to these unintentional
threats, homeowners should go for
flooringmaterial that canwithstand the
harshness of the kitchen environment as
well as the heavy duty cleaning involved
in keeping the area clean.
* Slate Tile
Slate tile flooring adds texture and gives
an earthy, natural look to a room. Easy to
clean, heat resistant and fireproof, slate
tiles are perfect for this room. It is also
extremely tough, so if you happen to drop
a heavy pan on the floor, take comfort in
knowing that the impact will not cause
damage to your floor.
A big visual advantage of slate tiles, is
that if you have existing stone features
within your kitchen, such as marble or
granite backsplashes or counter tops, a
slate tile flooring will complement the
look beautifully.
* Brick
Brick flooring gives a rustic, cozier
ambience to a cold looking kitchen.
Provided it is treatedwith a sealing agent
that covers the porous openings found on
the brick’s surface, the flooring will be anti
slip, stain resistant, easy to clean andwill
last for many years without any need for
regular maintenance.
Brick flooring can also be stained into
different colors to fit into different decors.
BATHROOM
A bathroom is a complex space with a lot
to deal with, including wet surfaces,
bacteria, soap scumand other elements.
Floor it!
> Choosing appropriate material for your floors
Ensure that the flooring you select is slip
resistant and canwithstand the harsh acidic
chemicals and soaps usedwhen cleaning
and scrubbing.
withstand themoisture, wetness and
humidity present in a bathroom. Virtually
scratch and fade resistant, it is also
impregnable towater and should staining
occur, the tiles can be washedwith a heavy
duty cleaner without fear of causing damage.
Whether you are looking for a shiny or
textured finish, glazed ceramic tiles come in
a variety of shapes and colours, and can be
customprinted to look like stone and
hardwood flooring.
BEDROOM
Bedroom flooring first and foremost, needs to
be comfortable. It also has to be calming and
pleasing to look at. Choose amaterial that is
easy to clean, upkeep and does not stain or
capture dirt and dust easily.
*Laminate
A low cost alternative to real wood,
laminate flooring comes in a variety of wood
grains and finishes and is pleasant to look at.
As a bedroom flooring, laminate is
comfortable towalk on and free of allergens.
It is manufacturedwith a thin invisible wear
layer, that helps resist stains and penetration
of liquids, but should a stain occur, it can
easily be cleaned off.
For added comfort and insulationwhen
walking, laminate floorings can be fixedwith
underlayment padding.
*Cork
Similar to carpets, cork floorings are favoured
in bedroom settings because of thematerial’s
plush texture and gentleness on the feet.
Additionally, unlike carpets that can capture
dust and cause allergies, cork has natural
antibacterial and antimicrobial properties to
help keep the roomclean.
Cork is also sound absorbent, so if you
have kids running around the roomor
dropping things while you are trying to sleep,
cork flooring is ideal to keep the noise down.
To protect your cork floor against stains
andmoisture, a sealing agent needs to be
applied during installation. “If you don’t seal
the holes, water can get absorbed andmake
the flooring darker in colour as cork is
porous,” says Samuel.
Cork flooring is typically available in
standard tile sizes, in their own neutral or
stained colour.
LIVING AND DINING ROOM
The living and dining rooms are spaces where
the whole family comes together to have a
meal and communicate. It is alsowhere
visitors gather when they drop by the
homestead. The ideal flooring surfaces for
these rooms must promote comfort and
create an aesthetic environment, which gives
a sense of invitation to visitors.
*Engineered hardwood
When it comes to giving your living and
dining rooms a rich and sophisticated look,
nothing can beat hardwood floors. Although
expensive, hardwood floorings can be
considered a good return on investment with
many realtors claiming that homes with these
floors aremore likely to attract potential
buyers. Unlike ordinary hardwoods,
engineered hardwoods have a higher
resistance to humidity, moisture and heat and
are less likely to be affected by these
environmental factors.
*Polished concrete
Polished concrete floors lend a sleek, chic
look to living and dining rooms. Fromhigh-
gloss, satin and sheen, polished concrete is a
versatile flooring choice. Stain it and it can
resemble stone flooring, combine it with
decorative effects and it can achieve a
contemporary look. Polished concrete
requires minimumcare
so the homeowner will incur less cost
onmaintenance.
Families with growing children, pets and
those who are “green-friendly”, can also
explore some pragmatic flooring options
made fromnatural fibres and using less toxic
adhesives. Besides considering the safety of
children, these alternative options are better
able towithstand scratches and stains.
Achieving the primary objective of enhancing
the beauty and comfort of the home.
DID YOU KNOW ?
1) InMalaysian climatic conditions, it is not
advisable to use carpets, because the
carpet fabric retains moisture. They require
regular maintenance and careful cleaning.
Or else, it tends to createmould and smelly
odours. Suchmaintenance will prove
expensive.
2) Marble and granite often prove unsuitable
material for flooring because their
composites are soft and contain grains.
They can crack after a while. They are also
porous and go all the way through. So, if
you spill anything, it is likely to cause
a stain.
3) Tiles are probably the best flooring option
in our climate. Tiles have a layer of ceramic
which is non porous. Designers tend to
choose lighter coloured tiles for homes
because when it fades, it is not so obvious.
Information gleaned fromAlan Samuel
managing director of AJM Interiors.
BOVAEAprotecting
buyers’
interest
THE
Board of Valuers, Appraisers and
Estate AgentsMalaysia (
BOVAEA
) has
launched a public awareness campaign in
conjunctionwith the National Registration
Exercise of Real Estate Negotiators.
BOVAEA, the governing body regulating
real estate industry practices (under the
financeministry), implemented a tag
identification system. The systemwas
designed to help regulate the industry
andmonitor the use of proper and
professional practices
. It was launched in
October 2013, and required
all real estate
negotiators (RENs) to publicly display
andwear an identification tagwhen
transacting property relatedmatters
.
The registration exercise not only
provided for the tagging systembut was
also aimed to educate the RENon various
aspects of agencywork, to better represent
their clients.
Says EAPC chairman and BOVAEA
boardmember (for the past seven years)
Eric Lim, “Effective immediately, ALL RENs
will be required to publicly display/wear
their identification tag when carrying out
their business dealings. It is an offence not
to.
Unlawful representation by brokers
can result in convictionwith a
RM300,000 fine or a three-year
imprisonment, or both.
”
With immediate effect, the public is
advised to
ONLYDEALWITH
REGISTEREDRENsWHOWEAR/
DISPLAYTHEIRTAG
.
The tag systemand public awareness
campaignwas officially launched on June 25
at the Sime Darby Convention Centre in KL.
Deputy FinanceMinister Datuk Ahmad
Maslan officiated the event whichwas
attended by prominent industrymembers.
Read
the
Sun
property column next week
(July 4) to learnmore about BOVAEA
initiatives and regulations to protect the
buyer’s interests.
Lim, Ahmad, Faizan Abdul Rahman and Siva
Shanker at the formal campaign launch .
*Vinyl
Vinyl flooring is one of themost affordable
and resilient flooring available in themarket
today and is as beautiful as it is strong. With a
layer of urethane and protective clear film,
your floor will be easy to clean, maintain and
protected from rips. Additionally, ensure you
add a non-slip coating to the floor tomake it
anti-slippage.
Vinyl floors can last anywhere between 5
to 20 years before needing replacement.
“Before applying vinyl to floors, make sure
the concrete is smooth. If not, youwill see all
thewaves and flaws in the floor,” says Samuel.
*Glazed ceramic tile
Glazed ceramic tile flooring has a variety of
characteristics that make it appealing for use
in a bathroom.
With a hard protective layer, glazed
ceramic tiles are slip resistant and can
