Floors for Good Quality Social Homes

The need to deliver a supportive, good quality interior at a low cost presents difficulties in the selection of flooring within social housing projects. Speed of installation, homely design, easy maintenance and durability all at a low cost, is not something every floor can deliver.

Beauflor sheet vinyl flooring offers an attractive finish across a wide range of popular natural looks with benefits for the developer and tenant alike. For the housing association, it’s cost-effective, fast to install and durable helping to deliver value throughout its life cycle. Tenants benefit from a homely and comfortable floor that’s hygienic, easy to maintain, safe to walk on and which has the potential to support their feeling of wellbeing.

As a multi-layer design floor that’s supplied on roll, Beauflor sheet vinyl floors are an affordable entry-point into natural look flooring. The ‘cut to fit’ sheet format means quick installation across the collection. In many domestic rooms, Beauflor sheet vinyl floors can even be laid without glue, cutting down on material costs and time.

The benefits of fast installation are made even more apparent in floors that feature a textile backing, such as Resitex. These can be installed loose lay in areas up to 35m² over a range of substrates, including tile and timber floors. This capability also makes them a good choice for refurbishment.
 

Left: Blacktex Laurel Oak. Right: Quintex Treviso

The construction of vinyl floors makes them durable, with the thickness of wear layer determining the longevity of the floor in use. For example, the manufacturer’s most hardwearing floor Xtreme, is still cost-effective but has a Class 34 rating, making it suitable for heavy commercial use.

All of the Beauflor collections suitable for social housing also feature a Premium Coating low maintenance finish. Making the floor more resistant to dirt, stains and scratches, it extends the durability of the floor and therefore helps to ensure a longer life before replacement is needed. For the tenant, the floor is easy to clean using water and mild detergent, without any specialist products or periodic maintenance.

Creating a home-like feel for any tenant is paramount in the selection of flooring for social housing and Beauflor’s collections provide a wide range of familiar, natural and home-like looks. From wood designs for social and living spaces, including popular herringbone patterns, to contemporary stone and concrete for bathrooms; Beauflor provides a look that helps tenants feel at home which has a positive impact on emotional wellbeing.

The multi-layer composition of sheet vinyl also allows modification of the floor to improve other comfort factors. Underfoot comfort, acoustics and thermal performance can all be improved with a specification of Beauflor vinyl flooring. In fact, specialist acoustic solutions, like Sonipro, can provide up to 19dB of impact sound reduction, making them an excellent choice for multi-occupancy housing projects.

Left: Xtreme Lannion. Right: Resitex Nottingham

The low slip nature of sheet vinyl also creates a safer environment for tenants. A sensible measure for all social housing, this is particularly important where reduced mobility needs to be considered. Beauflor floors provide a surer feeling underfoot, while also allowing the easy passage of wheelchairs thanks to a smooth finish. The company offers R11 finishes suitable for domestic and public use.

All Beauflor vinyl floors are made in Belgium using a REEACH compliant supply chain to ensure a floor free from hazardous substances, including harmful ortho-phthalates. The manufacturer has also implemented a range of fossil fuel reductions and savings in energy use, including the installation of solar panels, the switch to LED lighting and heat recovery processing. Production waste is also recycled into other products and efficiency improvements have driven down waste by 33%.

Beauflor has a UK-based team that can help you to develop a high-quality flooring specification for your social housing project. They will work with you to identify the flooring needs of your project and to develop a specification to provide a cost-effective and durable flooring solution that plays its part in a safe, good quality home.

For more information, visit www.beauflor.com/gb/en/social-housing

Images © Beauflor