It can be daunting choosing the right flooring to achieve your ideal look, to stay within budget and to suit a coastal climate, like the one in Phillip Island towns, such as Cowes and San Remo. The good news is if you are looking for flooring solutions that will suit your home and are easy to install, look no further than floating floorboards.

What are floating floorboards?

 Essentially, floating floorboards are a variety of hard flooring that is easy to install and reliable. Floating floorboards stick together like a jigsaw puzzle, with the edges locking together using a positive joinery system. It is worth noting that floating floorboards are not affixed to the subfloor, hence ‘floating’. However, they will not likely move out of place for several reasons, including:

• Weight: The weight of a room full of floorboards locked together creates a significant amount of mass, so much so that moving them is extremely difficult.
• Friction: Floating floorboards are installed over an underlay, which provides thermal and noise benefits as well as creating friction. 
• Locking mechanism: The combined strength and station of each board joined together provide stationary support.

Types of floating floorboards

There are two major types of floating floorboards – laminate flooring and vinyl flooring – all of which have their variants and styles. 

Laminate flooring

Laminate flooring is made up of several layers of material to form a firm, durable and versatile type of floating floorboard. It is typically made with at least four layers, including:

• A backer layer: To provide stability and support at the base of the laminate flooring. 
• A core layer: To prevent dents and retain the structure of the floating floorboards. 
• A décor layer: To show the style, aesthetic and appeal of the laminate flooring, for example, a wood effect. 
• A wear layer: To protect the layers below, helping the flooring avoid being scratched from daily wear and tear.

There are two main styles of laminate flooring – plastic laminate and timber laminate flooring. Timber laminate flooring is typically more expensive as it is made from engineered wood to achieve its finish. Laminate flooring will usually come in thicknesses of 7 - 12mm, with the rule of thumb being the thicker the laminate the more durable it is. 

Vinyl flooring

Vinyl flooring is a versatile, durable and easy to maintain type of floating floorboards that are well equipped for high moisture areas, high traffic areas and the coastal homes of Cowes and San Remo. There are four common variants of vinyl flooring to choose from, that are all easy to install and suitable for every condition.

Vinyl plank flooring

Designed to appear like hardwood floors but without the cost, vinyl plank flooring is more stain-resistant and easier to maintain than traditional hardwood planks. 

Vinyl floor tiles

Vinyl floor tiles are perfect for DIY projects, consisting of individual squares of various sizes that, when assembled, give the appearance of stone tile. 

Vinyl sheet

Vinyl sheet flooring is commonly used as durable, affordable and low-maintenance floating floorboards to create stone, tile or hardwood visuals. 

Luxury Vinyl Tile (LVT)

Luxury vinyl tile – or LVT – captures the stylish trends found in natural stone and hardwood planks, LVT can also provide high-end looks of travertine and marble without breaking the bank but is warmer and softer under-foot.

Situated in Cowes on beautiful Phillip Island, the team at South Coast Furnishings & Flooring Xtra pride ourselves on a wide range of products and services for all your floating floorboards, floor coverings, window coverings and furnishing needs at very competitive prices. Call us on (03) 59 52 1488 and book a free measure and quote today!