Hopefully you’ve enjoyed the summer using your conservatory this year, but maybe all that use has left the floor looking a little worse for wear…
Well if you are considering some new flooring, then here is a quick overview of the different options you have & the pros & cons of each:
Laminate Flooring:
Always a popular choice and with so many options of colour and style you really can transform the look & feel of your conservatory with laminate flooring. It’s a must that you double check that the flooring you choose is suitable for a conservatory though, as some aren’t (something we only learnt whilst preparing this article!).
We’re sure you already know that laminate is easy to clean so it’s great for all year-round use, especially if you use your conservatory for access in the winter or on a rainy day. It also nice to walk on (warmer than tiles though not as nice as carpet of course).
Our only advice would be to get a decent quality door mat as it is very possible that certain materials such as gravel etc will scratch the floor.
Carpet:
Carpet is the best choice for adding depth to your conservatory and making it a warm and cosy living space. But unlike laminate it’s not that easy to clean – so we can’t recommend it if you use the conservatory for access, especially with pets! But if you have a quiet house and want a living space that is perfect for relaxing with a good book looking out over the garden then carpet could be the right option for you.
Tiles:
Tiles are a very interesting proposition. Usually the most expensive, yet also potentially the most striking option (think Mediterranean), we are split here as to whether we’d go for tiles here in the office. They’ll be lovely to walk on during the hot summer days, but in winter will be cold as ice (unless you get some even more expensive underfloor heating…). Tiles will also most likely be the longest lasting option, so that could well negate the initial expense (we did say we were on the fence here).
You’ll get a stunning looking conservatory, so if that is the winning reason then why not!
Vinyl Flooring
Like laminate, vinyl flooring is available in a myriad of styles and colours so you can rally stamp your personality on your conservatory. If you go for a tile effect they’ll be a fraction of the cost compared to real tiles, plus they’ll be a lot warmer underfoot.
One thing to be aware of is that some vinyls are prone to fading in the sun, so you need to double check the suitability before going ahead, especially in south facing conservatory for example.
Again, like laminate, vinyl will be easy to clean so is ideal if you have heavy traffic going through all the time and for pets it’s a great choice also.
One type of flooring we wouldn’t recommend (and you may have noticed missing), is wooden flooring. Because of the extreme temperatures that can occur, along with the moisture levels that can change quite frequently, wooden floors are prone to warping and when you consider how expensive it is, although you can get a UV lacquer.
The winner for us though is laminate flooring, cost effective, looks great, hard wearing, easy to clean, easy to install.