Considering Resilient Floors

Resilient materials—whether glossy, or matte-surfaced, lightly mottled or highly textured, monochromatic or marbleized—can be used to create an expansive, elegant quality in any room. They are highly versatile for all areas of the house, and provide an easy visual continuity between individual spaces or rooms, while offering good functional characteristics.

Resilient materials are available in a wide range of colors and patterns, offering options that span from subtle and refined to bold and dramatic. In quiet colors and patterns, resilient materials have the potential for understatement at its best, and used in combination with area rugs, they are suitable for any type of room and for any kind of setting.

Functionally, these materials create a floor that is easy to maintain, durable, and comfortable underfoot. They are practical, relatively inexpensive, easy to install (especially tile materials), and can be laid over many existing floor surfaces, including directly over concrete.

When considering using resilient flooring in a particular room, you will want to keep in mind some of the material’s natural qualities—both its advantages and limitations. A major attribute of resilient flooring materials is that they are made to resist moisture. However, joints (between tiles) and seams (between abutting sheets) are potential access points for water, spills, and grime to seep under the floor. Careful installation helps to avoid this potential problem, allowing you to take full advantage of the flooring’s water-resistant quality.

Because these materials are produced in light gauges, any subsurface defects or irregularities will show up in the finish floor, Unless the subsurface is properly prepared, sooner or later traffic moving through the room will abrade the finish surface over these irregularities and wear out the flooring in these areas, If you can’t properly smooth and prepare the subsurface, you may want to consider choosing a different type of material.

When planning a resilient floor for a particular room, you’ll want to take advantage of the material’s shape—its manufactured form—and use it as part of your design. The illustrations and discussion coming up will help you do this.

Dramatic effects can be achieved with simple materials when you let your imagination wing free. Black and white resilient files look lively in a carefully designed random pattern.

Against high-gloss white woodwork and fresh exterior views, Pirelli flooring provides crisp contrast, while raised studs give both pattern and traction.

Prev.: Wood Floors: Selection Chart

Next: Resilient Floors: Planning & Design

top of page   Home   All Articles in this Guide