Outdoor wood flooring creates a warm and lively atmosphere that no material, even as natural as stone, is able to create. For this reason, modern industry tries to produce wood-like products completely in vain.
Outdoor wood flooring is much more delicate than indoor flooring ; for the interiors we take into account the color, the length of the plank, the visual impact, taking for granted a high durability as inside it does not undergo major thermal changes and is not exposed to the sun, rain water, salt or chlorine.
Outside, on the other hand, the flooring undergoes thermal stress as well as alterations caused by sunlight, atmospheric pollution or by the humidity that the ground absorbs in the rain . For all these reasons, the quality of the wood is very important while the color is secondary, as over time all types of wood (in a variable way) tend to oxidize and take on the natural silver-gray color.
The main types of flooring on the market are:
- planks
- tiles
- rollable rugs
Planks
The planks are wooden boards usually about 25 mm thick, 100, 125 or 150 cm wide and around 2 meters long. the planks can have a smooth or non-slip profile.
The assembly of the planks requires a solid base on which to place the material (concrete screed or solid substructure, also in concrete). On this solid base a “skeleton” in wood or aluminum profile is created where the plank can be screwed. It is important to remember that this structure, in jargon called “joist”, must be of equal or superior quality to the plank because its function is to block the plank and also is in direct contact with the ground.
Unfortunately, high quality planks are often seen, such as iroko or ipè, screwed onto low quality joists such as pine or larch: in these cases the joist easily deteriorates and the floor “jumps”.
The planks are particularly recommended in the case of uneven floors, for which it is possible to create a structural skeleton without the risk of drilling the underlying screed.
To decide which type of wood to choose for the plank, it is necessary to consider the type of use:
- for the poolside it is not advisable to use pine or larch because they are subject to chipping, but we recommend iroko, ipe or teak;
- impregnated pine or larch can be fine if we take into account a duration of about 5-10 years with periodic maintenance; if, on the other hand, we do not want to do maintenance and we want to have no problems for over 20 years we have to go to iroko, ipe or teak;
- if we ask for a maximum duration of 4-5 years, we can also mount the fir.
Keep in mind that installing a high-quality plank costs as much as a low-quality one.
Tiles
On the market you can find tiles of various sizes, from 50 x 50 to 100 x 100 cm and the thickness is about 4 cm, with smooth or non-slip profile.
Like the plank, the tiles need a solid surface on which to be placed and do not need a substructure (the so-called joist).
The tiles are strongly recommended for the flooring of terraces as they are easy to assemble and disassemble (in the event that an inspection has to be carried out for any infiltration). Furthermore, no drilling is necessary to mount the tiles.
It is advisable not to consider types of wood of low quality, such as, for example, impregnated pine (widely marketed by large distribution), because the part of wood that rests on the screed deteriorates easily.
Being removable and cuttable, the tiles also adapt to irregularly sized floors.
Rollable rugs
New technology, new materials and a deep knowledge of wood have created a new type of flooring: the rollable carpet.
The carpet is created by many thick perforated planks, inside which various stainless steel wires are passed. Each plank is spaced with an elastic material that withstands temperatures from minus 50 ° to plus 150 ° degrees (it is practically indestructible!) And each carpet is always finished with stainless steel closures.
This type of flooring arrives at the customer ready and the end customer only has to roll out the carpet of the required dimensions. These rugs are made, in fact, tailored to the customer, from a width of 50 cm (walkable path) up to 50 – 100 square meters and more. Of course, the size of the flooring must be regular.
These rugs are recommended to be laid directly on the ground (they are perfect even on the sand!), But they are not suitable for laying on screeds or terraces.
Another consideration in favor of these rugs is that they are double -sided and therefore last at least twice as long as a plank assembled with the traditional system using, clearly, the same type of wood: what deteriorates quality wood is the sun and not the sun. water.
That said, if you need to pave a garden or terrace, ask yourself these questions:
- Will I walk barefoot?
- am I willing to do periodic maintenance?
- do I want to easily assemble and disassemble the flooring?
For any advice, I remain at your disposal.
