6 Most Popular Flooring Types in Singapore: Vinyl, Marble, Laminate… Which is the Best?

Flooring types have been a hot topic amongst homeowners in Singapore, and vinyl flooring has gained popularity in recent years. Whether you are renovating your new BTO flat or remodelling your existing home, flooring is one of the biggest components to come to mind. Besides just your personal preference for the design aesthetics, flooring concerns include cleanliness, level of maintenance required, and costs.

Homeowners also have to consider if they will be hacking to make way for new tiles, overlaying the old flooring with new ones, or starting anew on a blank cement base. This affects what kind of installation and flooring might work best – laminate flooring, parquet, cement screed and more!

This guide aims to give you a breakdown of the different flooring types offered in Singapore, their practicality and their suitability for your home. Hopefully, by the end of this article, you will find one that suits not just your lifestyle, but your personality and style too.

Popular Floor Types in Singapore: Price Breakdown

You might wonder why some of these floor types have such a wide price range. The quality and cut of the material are taken into consideration when pricing these items. There is a difference between good quality wood for parquet flooring vs cheap wood!

Floor Types in Singapore Homes

There are dozens of different floor types, and it is difficult to go through all of them. To ease your decision-making process, we will be highlighting the more popular floor types in Singapore.

1. Vinyl Flooring

Vinyl flooring in Singapore is the most cost-friendly option. It is a durable material that stands up well to heavy foot traffic. Sheet vinyl (vinyl that is laid in one flat sheet as opposed to cutting it into strips) is water-resistant and can dampen the sound of your pets’ claws as they walk over the floor. 

Apart from its affordability, vinyl flooring in Singapore comes in many different styles and designs. This means you can mimic the look of expensive ‘wooden’ flooring at a fraction of the cost. It is probably also important to note that the style of vinyl matters, as cheaper vinyl will show their difference in price when they are walked on, with poorly laid vinyl having a tendency to ‘bounce’. 

The biggest drawback to vinyl flooring is that it is not friendly to the environment. Most vinyl is made out of PVC, which releases toxic substances during their production. For those who are more conscious about the environment, you might reconsider having vinyl as your flooring.

What Homes Are Vinyl Flooring Suitable for?

Vinyl flooring in Singapore is suitable for homeowners who want to keep pets, as it is resistant to moisture. As any dog owner knows, dogs are prone to drool, and it might prove troublesome if you have a more porous type of flooring. Pets in HDB flats that have yet to undergo potty training may also stain porous flooring with urine stains, resulting in an unsightly mark.

The benefits are definitely attractive, with a plethora of durable options that are easy to install and within most homeowners’ budgets. But if you strive to have an environmentally friendly home, the wrong vinyl choices may not only look and feel cheap but also hurt the environment.

2. Parquet Flooring

Parquet floors are made from wood pieces, arranged in a geometric way to give a decorative effect. Most parquet floors are angular, but some owners may want to opt for shapes such as squares, triangles, lozenges, and even curves. 

A benefit of parquet flooring is that it’s more stable than ordinary wood flooring. Since the wood chips are locked in place by each other, it’s a lot harder for them to shift around within the floor. Unfortunately, parquet flooring is not particularly resistant to moisture and humidity. To maintain it, sanding it down or varnishing it is recommended.

What Homes Are Parquet Flooring Suitable for?

As with most types of wood-based flooring, parquet flooring evokes a sense of warmth in its design and will fit well with many types of design choices. This is great if you are fickle about your choice of style and tend to frequently change your furniture – parquet flooring goes well with almost every look!

The hardy material may help to absorb unwanted noise pollution, but parquet flooring is also notoriously troublesome to upkeep as it is prone to water damage and scratches.

3. Marble Flooring

Installing marble flooring in your home can lend your interior space an elegant and expensive touch. Additionally, marble flooring could possibly increase the value of your house if you intend to put it on the resale market in the future. 

As marble is a natural stone, the patterns are different and unique. You will be assured to know that your floor is one-of-a-kind! Marble is also cool to the touch, making it perfect as flooring in hot and humid Singapore. Its main drawbacks would be its high price, and that if it does get scratched, they will be very noticeable. Hence, maintenance is absolutely necessary.

What Homes Are Marble Flooring Suitable for?

Despite its higher price tag, marble flooring has been a favourite design amongst Singaporean homeowners for a long time, and for good reason. Its smooth, polished surface gives off a classy air and automatically cools down the house on a sweltering day.

Marble is also timeless and ethereal in appearance, which means that it is likely to match any renovation designs you may have in mind. This can also help to improve the resale value of your home, but the hefty cost of the flooring is not the only investment you have to keep in mind as marble tiles require heavy maintenance and protection from scratches.

4. Laminate Flooring

Laminate flooring is a combination of wood and plastic, providing your house with an appearance similar to hardwood or tiles, while still remaining more affordable compared to other flooring options.

Laminate is a popular material around the world due to its artificial renditions of wood, stone and ceramic. This means that you will have a big sea of designs to choose from. Like vinyl flooring in Singapore, laminate flooring is also easy to install and requires little maintenance. The difference between laminate and vinyl flooring is laminate flooring is made from wood byproducts and bonded with resins. 

The drawback of laminate flooring is that certain laminate types can be toxic. Tests have found that some laminate variants emit formaldehyde over time, which are well-known carcinogens. 

What Homes Are Laminate Flooring Suitable for?

Laminate flooring might be suitable for investors who are looking to improve the resale value of their homes without having to sink in a large amount of money for their flooring.  Laminate flooring is highly durable, resistant to stains, and capable of retaining its appearance even in sunlit environments.

It is also more resistant to water and easier to clean compared to hardwood floors, although liquids should not be allowed to sit on it for too long as it may cause swelling.

5. Cement Screed

Cement screed flooring has been a popular choice in Singapore homes in recent years. This is due to the gaining popularity of the industrial look that many young Singaporeans are opting for. 

The rawness of its look is appealing to those who’d prefer a simple minimalistic look. Just like marble, cement screed is also cool to the touch, which is a delight to walk on, especially in Singapore. However, cement screed flooring requires maintenance. Its porous nature makes it susceptible to moisture and can be stained very easily and hairline cracks in the floor may appear if it is not maintained properly.

A mixture of sand and cement, cement screed flooring may feel sandy or dusty at times as it accumulates dirt more easily than the other types of flooring. 

What Homes Are Cement Screed Flooring Suitable for?

If you’re going for the edgy, on-trend industrial look, cement screed flooring is definitely the first thing you should have. Sure, this flooring’s stains and cracks may be increasingly visible over time, but that could be a wabi-sabi look in itself. 

A few years in and you decide to have a different type of flooring – good news! It is very easy to change up your floor with cement screed flooring, unlike marble or tiles. Homeowners simply need to care for stains and dust that might accumulate and change the feel of the cement screed under their feet after a while.

6. Floor Tiles

Depending on the material they are made of, such as ceramic, porcelain, and mosaic, floor tiles can be very resistant to moisture and scratches. They’re also relatively easy to maintain, and thanks to their varied nature, you can have almost any kind of design you want. A very popular option in Singapore tends to be flooring tiles in the Peranakan design, either handed down as family heirlooms or sourced from limited tile makers.

Due to their hardness, they have a tendency to chip when subjected to heavy impact. Homeowners should make sure that they don’t slam heavy objects – like sofa legs – onto tiles. 

What Homes Are Floor Tiles Suitable for?

Floor tiles are suitable for houses with elderly people, as they are non-slip and easier to clean. When designing your kitchen or bathroom, floor tiles can be a suitable option since they are waterproof, scratch-proof and highly durable.

Their lower price tag makes them favourable for budget homeowners, but you would have to regularly clean your floors as dirt and mould may easily accumulate in the grout lines of your tiles.

Does Your Choice of Flooring Affect Your Home’s Resale Value?

The short answer is yes, the type of flooring in Singapore might affect your home’s resale value. The floor is a big part of the house and having it redone can cost a lot of money. If the flooring becomes part of the buyer’s consideration, they may request a lower asking price. Style is very subjective, so patterned flooring with eclectic floor tiles may not be well appreciated by the next homeowner. Unless they resort to vinyl flooring in Singapore, they may require flooring hacking that creates additional hassle.

If you’ve chosen flooring that is not durable, new homeowners might need to consider replacing the flooring in the house. Weathered or ill-maintained flooring may turn away potential buyers. Flooring types that require high maintenance may also be a deterrent for buyers with pets or children, who may need to invest a lot of time and money in the upkeep because of their active lifestyles.

At the end of the day, you will not be able to please every potential buyer as their expectations will be different from yours. With that in mind, choose the flooring based on your own lifestyle instead of its resale value, as you will need to live with it for a while. If you are renovating for investment purposes, the general rule of thumb is to keep it simple with a neutral design, using highly durable material.

Need Help with Your Flooring? Contact Sendhelper

If you need help with installing new vinyl flooring or maintaining the tiles around the house, you can get help from services like Sendhelper.

Sendhelper is a home services brand provider that can aid you in managing your home. Not only can you find a handyman to help with tasks such as installing flooring types in your HDB flat, but also plumbers, electricians, and even certified professionals to provide home caregiver services.

Simply download the Sendhelper app on the App Store or Google Play and find all the help you need right at your fingertips.

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