Go back to Articles & Resources Flooring Suppliers – This article will introduce you to the various types of granules used for the creation of Natural Stone Carpets & Marble Stone Carpets which have become so popular in both home and commercial flooring.

Natural Stone Carpet is the greatest evolution of natural stones, it has become vastly popular, and luxury yet is a very affordable flooring solution. Natural Stone Carpets are made up of individual particles of gravel bound in a clear resin, which can feature designs & patterns that can be laid into the floor. Each product category has developed their unique look, feel and attractiveness. As you explore their beautiful and endless patterns and colours, you realise that natural stone carpets can turn your floor into truly a work of art.

Flooring suppliers that provide natural stone carpets as a solution for the home or in commercial environment provide the following four types of granules which are commonly used in natural stone carpets.

Flooring Suppliers Materials 1- Natural River Gravel

River gravel is naturally smoother by the strong current in the river and consists of whole unbroken granules in mixed beige’s and uncoloured. River gravel can be supplied in several natural shades and the granule size is 2-3mm.

Flooring Suppliers Materials 2 – Natural Coloured River Gravel

This basic natural material is coloured on the epoxy resin base in over 200 standard colours. During laying, each granule is covered by a film of epoxy resin for maximum protection of your floor colour.

Flooring Suppliers Materials 3 – Natural Coloured Quartz

Natural Quartz can also be coloured on the epoxy resin base. Since the raw material is more even in colour, the final result will be less varied. Because of the rounder granules, this material also looks smoother and more compact.

Flooring Suppliers Materials 4 – Natural Marble Chippings

Natural Marble comes in 14 natural shades. The marble is mined from the Northern Italian Alps. The Marble has the same properties of the Natural Stone Carpet and it comes in round chippings in sizes 1-4mm & 3-6mm.

Flooring Suppliers Materials 5 – Natural Stone Special Mixes

By mixing different colours and types of stone, colour experts put together some splendid colour combinations, which can satisfy the choosiest of tastes.

Using the above materials can achieved an exclusive, customised epoxy floor covering. All of the above granular materials are suitable for both private and commercial use..

Natural Stone Carpets can easily compliment your home or business space with exciting new decor opportunities. They are available in a wide range of elegant designs, from traditional to contemporary, and can also be custom-made to almost any design you desire, including corporate logos. With your Stone Carpet, you can make a truly individual design statement.

Whether choosing a ready-made mix, or having something custom made to your requirements, natural stone carpets can give you the right design solutions for your interior and exterior flooring, at home or for your business.

Go back to Articles & Resources Home Flooring – Natural stone carpets are seamless, durable, tasteful and slightly porous floor finishes. Made from millions of stones, polished by nature, stone carpets combine natural beauty with lasting durability. They are commonly used for commercial purposes and in public spaces due to their sturdiness and easy maintenance. But are natural stone carpets appropriate for your home?

Below are some of the reasons why natural stone carpets are the home flooring choice of more and more people today.

Home Flooring Made Easy To Clean

Due to their water tight structure, they are very low maintenance and easy to clean. We are all aware of the tedious vacuum cleaning and washing of carpets, polishing of wood floors and scrubbing stubborn staining off tiles. Unlike those, stone carpets can be quickly vacuumed and washed down with a moist cloth and typical spillages like coffee and wine will not leave lasting stains. There is no need of time-consuming polishing; they always look their best with no extra effort. Dust and dirt are vacuumed away effortlessly. Cleaning your stone carpet is therefore simple and effective. Natural stone carpet flooring is so practical that it can be used for any room of the home – in kitchens, bathrooms, bedrooms, halls and conservatories, saving you oodles of cleaning time and effort.

Home Flooring Durability & Safety

Using the finest quality natural stones, natural stone carpets are highly durable. They don’t chip, scratch or mark easily which makes them children & pet friendly. Their non-slip covering makes them the ideal choice of flooring for families with children and older adults.

Are Natural Stone Carpets Too Cold for Home Hlooring?

Contrary to the common opinion, natural stone flooring is not a cold surface at all. In fact it is much warmer flooring alternative to conventional tiles and wood. Porous by design, natural stone carpets retain heat and provide a comfortable warm feel to the home. Epoxy resin, the adhesive used, takes on the ambient temperature so that your stone floor doesn’t feel as cold as wood or tiles. Actually, stone carpets have the same heat retention as a timber floor. Under floor heating is therefore unnecessary.

Multiple Decorative Options for Your Home Flooring

Natural stone carpets are made of high quality solvent-free epoxy resins and various types of gravel and quartz. By mixing the types of gravel and/or quartz, and even laying these in a pleasing decorative pattern, a stone carpet can be created to match any taste and preferences and respond to the rest of your home look and feel. Seamless when laid, natural stone carpets fit neatly around the contours of your floor and can be laid over tiles and other coverings. Typically a selection of stones and colour variations are chosen to create an impressive finish, which blends in with your surrounding interiors. You have a vast choice of colour and stone combinations in order to achieve the perfect interior experience. Usually samples are provided before laying each floor to make sure the look is absolutely right!

Home Flooring Choice & Health Implications

There is always some mould and dust everywhere – in the air and on many surfaces. Mould grows where there is moisture and dust access pretty much everything surrounding our daily life.
Some people are sensitive to melds and/or dust. Sometimes melds or dust can cause nasal stuffiness, throat irritation, coughing or wheezing, eye irritation, or, in some cases, skin irritation. People who have developed allergies may have more severe reactions. These people should stay away from areas that are likely to retain mould and dust, such as compost piles, cut grass, wooded areas, books, carpets or any surface & surface that is likely to gather dust and mould in excessive amount.
Due to its composition, natural stone carpet is a very suitable solution for your home if you need to keep the dust and mould levels to a bare minimum. If there are children and adults with asthma and other debilitating dust allergies in your household you need to consider a dust/mould free agent as a home flooring solution.

Your Home Flooring Value & Price

Pricewise it may come as a surprise that a natural stone carpet usually comes cheaper comparing to many wood and tile finishes. Adding their long life span, durability and easy maintenance increase their value in money, care and time for redecorating.
A natural stone carpet has the advantages of a carpet – comfort and warmth: the advantages of wood – a natural look; and the advantages of tiles – it is easy to clean. A natural stone carpet is a perfect solution for people who find synthetic floor coverings too vulnerable and tiles too hard and cold.

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A Natural Stone Carpet gets its unique decorative character from individual, 2- to 3- millimeter natural river gravel. These stones are dredged from river beds throughout Europe and are screened multiple times for size, shape and quality to create a mix that provides a balance for application, aesthetics and maintenance. The gravel is dyed in over two hundred shades of colour and any colour can be achieved using the RAL system. In this article we have tried to explain the procedures of applying natural stone carpets to different sunder-floor surfaces.

Natural Stone Carpets are specially designed for application to any type of fixed under-floor. This should, however, be dry and free of dust. Any old adhesives must first be removed. The floor temperature should be at least 12NC.

Concrete and Cement-Bonded Floors

Laying a Natural Stone Carpet on a concrete or cement-bonded floor is usually not a problem for trained personnel provided the floor is up to the quality standard required. Which means it must be even and free of chips. To prevent any contraction/expansion of the under-floor it is advised the incorporation of shrink netting, 6-150mm diameter in the sand/cement layer. You can usually arrange this in advance with the contractor.
Where sand/cement floor is already in place, a flexible membrane can be used to compensate for any contraction in the under-floor and prevent cracking. The under-floor will be sufficiently hardened and dried after 28 days for the Natural Stone Carpet to be laid. Depending on the under-floor, the primer may be applied and the Natural Stone Carpet laid in one or two days.

Tiled and Flagged Floors

Tiles and flagged flooring does not usually have to be removed. Loose tiles or joints should however be removed. On the first day of laying, a special tile primer need to be applied to ensure maximum adhesion. Any unevenness in the tiled floor will be leveled out on the second day when the Natural Gravel Floor is being laid. Bear in mind that tiled and flagged floors always require an additional quantity of the Natural material.

Anhydrite Floors

These floors must always be sanded beforehand. An anhydrite floor must be given a layer of special epoxy primer.

Timber Under-floors

In the case of timber floors, the movement of the under-floor must be halted. This is done by fixing watertight adhesive panels, laid flat side by side with a gap between of 3mm and screwed at 25cm intervals. If desired, you can lay this under-floor yourself. Next a so-called ‘scape’ layer to the timber under floor needs to be applied to obtain maximum adhesion for your Natural Stone Carpet.

Floor Heating

Floor heating is not strictly necessary. Natural Stone Carpets feel much less cold than a tiled floor, for example. For maximum comfort, however, floor heating can certainly be installed in combination with Natural Stone Carpets in a flexible finish. The floor heating should be kept separate from the concrete underneath. It is advisable that an insulation layer or builder’s foil are applied over the concrete. The wires are clipped to netting surrounded by edging to compensate for any expansion of the sand/cement layer.

The sand/cement layer must be at least 5 cm thick and incorporate shrink netting for the wiring. Cutting into the sand/cement layer will weaken the under-floor and render it liable to cracking. In this case a flexible membrane may be used on the sand/cement layer to reduce the risk of cracks. In order to avoid cuts in the sand/cement layer, an EP electrical heating system of very fine elements could be a good idea.

Natural Stone Carpets’ Advantages for Commercial Flooring

Natural stone carpet is attractive natural flooring that is rapidly becoming popular worldwide. It has advantages over other floorings and comes in a huge variety of colours. It is especially suitable for public or commercial use for several reasons: It has a projected life of over 20 years, is stain resistant and is easy to maintain and clean. Other benefits of the natural stone carpet floor are its soundproofing properties and its capacity to stop fire spreading between separate areas. The surface is resilient and the anti-slip floors texture proves extremely valuable for public building where safety could be a legal matter. It is also suitable non slip flooring for sauna and swimming pool surround areas.