Hardy Alternatives to Concrete Flooring

Flooring Choices and Uses

• The kinds of flooring that are suitable for an area depends on many factors, including the area's construction, how roughly the flooring will be used, the area's temperature and how much you wish to pay for flooring. Those factors can limit your choices. Concrete is hard and inexpensive, but it can suffer from deterioration when temperature fluctuations cause it to expand and contract. Other kinds of flooring can add flexibility, but they may cost considerably more than concrete.

Terrazzo

• Made from marble chips and a colored epoxy, terrazzo is poured and allowed to cure. A terrazzo flooring's exact composition depends on the appearance desired, with many aggregates and textures available to create various effects. Terrazzo flooring provides a tough and durable surface, and it requires periodic sealing to prevent stains.

Adobe

• Adobe is a natural material that was used for centuries in the construction of homes and other buildings in what is now the southwestern part of the United States. Adobe flooring consists of 25 percent clay and 75 percent sharp sand, which are mixed with water to a consistency of a thick cake batter. The mixture is poured over a prepared base of well-tamped gravel and sand. As little as a three-quarter inch thickness of the adobe mixture may cover the base. It is leveled and troweled to a smooth surface and pressed with a trowel to create a dense, solid mass. The curing process can take weeks, during which the floor cannot be used.

Limecrete

• Limecrete is a relatively new material often used with alternative energy construction methods. Its lightweight aggregate materials and hydraulic lime create a slab that is strong like concrete but more flexible than concrete. Limecrete's qualities eliminate the need for expansion joints and reduce the flooring's cost. Limecrete usually is installed over compacted ground and a waterproof layer. Often radiant heating materials are set under limecrete flooring in environmentally friendly building designs.