Home Design Guides: Floors

When you talk about types of floors, you're talking about a few different things. For a start - what sort of subfloor or foundations the house might use.

There are quite a few elements that go into holding up your lovely ceramic bathroom tiles or your polished parquet flooring. Read all about the different types of sub-floors here.

There's a lot more to floors than just the surface you see and walk on. Find out how different kinds of floors are made, and what lies beneath...

Choosing the right surfaces for floors is as much about safety and suitability as it is about style. Find out how to make the right choices when you're choosing your floors.

Floors - especially concrete slab floors which can absorb a lot of heat during the day - can be used to great effect when it comes to designing for passive heating and cooling in a house.

Different parts of your house are used for very different purposes - and it's crucial that the floor surfaces you choose for each is right for its purpose.

Choosing the right floor coverings can make a big impact on the style and tone of your room - as well as how it feels underfoot, and helps to regulate your home's temperature.

The types walls and floors in your shower will affect how much maintenance it needs, how long it lasts and how safe it is.

Tiles feature in almost every home, and are particularly common in bathrooms and kitchens. Tiles are a strong design feature.

Particularly appropriate for reactive soil or sloped ground, stump sub floors involve raising the house off the ground on stumps sunken into the earth.

Solid concrete slab floors are extremely durable, require very little maintenance and offer excellent insulation.

Suspended slab can be used either for the upper-floors in a multi-storey building, or as a solid base on hilly or uneven terrain.

These sub-floors are strong but lightweight, and are employed in houses with stumps, and as upper-floors in multi-storey building.

Steel can be used as an alternative to wood to create a sturdy beam and joist subfloor frame.

Screw piers offer a quick, strong and very effective way to install stumps for a house, and can be installed almost anywhere.

Particleboard sheet flooring is used to cover large expanses of floor quickly and cheaply, providing a base for other flooring finishes.

Universal beams are 'I' or 'H' shaped metal beams designed to provide added strength to a subfloor.

Carpet can add colour and warmth to your home, as well as a comfortable, forgiving surface on which to walk.

Tiles are available in all manner of sizes, shapes and patterns, and are ideal for use in areas that require waterproofing.

Parquetry involves patterns and designs made from pieces of wood, and can help to give a classy, ornate look to your floor.