An Introduction to Conservatory Floors
Conservatories are a great extension to any home but are one of the most challenging spaces to choose a floorcovering for. Some key factors to consider immediately include: Will you be able to regulate the temperature or will the space heat up and cool down dramatically?
How much sun will your conservatory get, so do you need UV-protected floors? Is there an external door leading outside, if so will dirt come back inside? Which interior room is the conservatory connected to, and what are the demands on that floor? There’s a lot to think about, so let’s look at some popular floorcoverings and determine their suitability for use in a conservatory.
Carpet in Your Conservatory
Not a recommended floor covering for conservatories, particularly if you have an external door. Dirt and moisture gets easily trapped in your carpet fibres. Also, carpets are not particularly UV-resistant. So unless your conservatory only has an interior door and is in quite a sheltered spot, which is unlikely in both cases, then carpet would not represent a good choice for your conservatory.
Laminate
Laminate is a great floorcovering for conservatories! It is durable, which is great if you have an external door into your garden. It is also easy to clean, so any muck you bring in can be easily swept or mopped away.
Also, most modern laminates are UV-resistant, so the colours will fade much more slowly, even if your conservatory is situated in a sunny spot. Laminate is also fairly inexpensive, so if you have a big conservatory, then it will be more cost-effective to lay it with laminate. These floorcoverings are also water-resistant, so can join to your kitchen or utility room via an interior door with no problem.
Luxury Vinyl Tiles
Perhaps the perfect floor for conservatories? Like laminate, luxury vinyl tiles and sheets are highly-durable and suitable for bridging the space between indoors and outside. Unlike laminate, vinyl is fully waterproof for that added peace of mind. Like laminate, vinyl is often UV-resistant, so will keep its colour for longer even in direct sunlight.
Luxury vinyl tiles are similar in price to laminate and can be DIY installed. Sheet vinyl is often cheaper, but will need a professional to install. You can start your search with our own brands of LVT, called Burrnest and Real Textures.
Wood Flooring
Not a great choice for conservatories to be honest. Wood flooring, even engineered wood, is prone to warping and with the temperature shifts often experienced in conservatories, real wood flooring would suffer. Also, the lack of waterproof properties and durability would make wood a poor choice for this demanding extension of your house.
Final Thoughts
Choosing the perfect floorcovering for your conservatory is trickier than your initially thought, right? Factor in sunlight, temperature, internal doors, external doors, budget and design, and you’ve got yourself a real design challenge! To make it easier for you, we would recommend vinyl or laminate as your first point of call, as they are both durable, water-resistant, UV-resistant, temperature-resistant, budget-friendly and offer a wide range of design choices. We hope that helps and happy flooring!
