Better wooden floor or fake marble floor

[Mr. No]

I bought a new flat and want to re-do the floor.

I am considering wooden floor or fake marble (I mean the large (about 2x2 feet) "marble looking" tiles. I find them quite classy, and a change from the wood.

What do you think is best in terms of scratching from furniture movements, and longer life expectancy?

Am I correct in assuming that wood can get scratched more easily, but then is easily repaired through waxing or other ways to hide the scratches?

[thundacatchergo]

something else for you to think about.

1. you will most likely renovate the entire apartment in 7-10 years time.
2. put pads on your furniture = no scratching
3. tiles are ugly, slippery, hard, reflects sound, impossible to replace, not homey, expensive to install,

keep the stone/marble/ceramic tiles in the wet area like kitchen and bathroom.

[Star Gazer]

there are ceramic tiles available that looks like wood or other design that's more homey looking...


here's somethings to think about -

1. which part of hong kong do you live in?

if water easily comes in when it rains - a wooden floor would easily warp and be mouldy, at least with ceramic tiles, the damage could be minimized as you could just wipe off the water

or in the eventuality that a pipe will burst and floods your apartment, then again tiled floors would mean minimal damage as compared to a wooden floor

2. tiles or wooden floor is a subjective matter. are you looking into re-selling your flat later on?

which type of floor would have a better marketability then?

[Mr. No]

Thanks!

Actually the fake marble tiles are cheaper than the wooden floor. HK$20,000 as compared to HK$30,000 for the whole flat (800 sq feet gross). I think I will go for the fake marble. I went to visit another flat and it looks classy.

[shri]

Be very careful and check what materials these tiles are made from. They might stain and wear off very quickly.

[dotgoner]

I personally if the flat is large would do wood in all areas but the kitchen and bath, but this is HK and what they sell you as 800 sq ft is about 5 to 600.

Personally, to keep the place as cool as possible would do granite, its harder than marble, etc.

Bamboo flooring is also a good option, its enviromentally sustainable. The only caveat to wood or bamboo flooring is that it is very temperamental, any increase in humidity might cause it to warp at the edges making for a very crappy walking surface.

If you spill something on wood, get ready to have the floors refinished. You have to have all of it refinished in order for it to look consistent. I know this from personal experience having to have some mahogany floors (3000 Sq Ft) refinished back home due to a tenant leaving a window open during the rain storm. Their security deposit did not cover the damages, and insurance only covered a portion.

Last note, Wood or bamboo also will off gas for a few months, the off gas product is formaldehyde and other noxious chemicals.

If you want good pricing on floor or building materials, why not take train ride to the building material center in Shenzhen? The sellers there offer a much better price than HK and will ship plus install anything you want.

I dont like getting scammed just cause its Hong Kong...

[Mr. No]

Thank you both. You raised issues I didn't consider.

If I do go with the fake marble, how can I check the quality? I can select them according to looks, but I don't know what the quality is going to be like. Can you recommend any brand or any other thing indicator of quality?

I don't know about Shenzhen. I have been told, by someone who bought all the furniture there, that they tend to cheat even more than in HK, because basically once you paid you are on your own. I don't trust them to send me the fake marble I ordered. They might send me something less good, or install it craply, and I can't do anything about it.

[thundacatchergo]

mr No, you are so cute.

[dotgoner]

Fake Marble looks and feels like S**T compared to Natural stone like Marble, Granite, Sandstone. Its not as durable as real stone and the beauty of naturall versus fake is that with fake only the top layer looks good, wear that down and the remainder looks like crap. 10K Hong Kong? That aint nothing, comes out to like $1300 US, chump change for any kind of remodel.

If you wanna be cheap about things, why even bother with some crappy remodel? Live with what you have and that's that. While you are at it, why not furnish the place with furniture you find in the street, eat discarded food, stay single, that would save you even more money.

If you dont want to get ripped off, go to the building material expo area in SZ, those guys are reputable and do business in HK all the time. Generally its 1/2 up front and the remainder on completion of the job.

Also in regards to SZ Material suppliers, where do you think the suppliers in HK get them from? Its all made in China it all depends on how much you are willing to spend.

A very important thing to remember, you get what you pay for anywhere.

You cannot expect Filet Mignon if you are paying for Mcdonald's.

Thanks!

Actually the fake marble tiles are cheaper than the wooden floor. HK$20,000 as compared to HK$30,000 for the whole flat (800 sq feet gross). I think I will go for the fake marble. I went to visit another flat and it looks classy.

[MovingIn07]

Personally I'd go with wood any day. It's much nicer to live with. we have wood floors throughout the boat and no problem with mould or warping or anything - we just ensure we shut the windows if it rains and use a dehumidifier in summer! I agree that REAL stone is lovely - but not really for sitting on or stuff (think about what might happen if you have visitors and not enough chairs - usually the kids end up sitting on the floor - cold bums brrr). I don't find wood scratches too much at all provided you have a nice thick layer of varnish on it (and obviously take a little care when moving furniture; have some rugs etc!).