Flooring options

[msananthu]

Hi All,

I am in the process of finalizing the flooring option for my place and as often getting entangled with many options seen in the market. Basically we have 3 broad flooring options
- Marble
-Granite
-Vitrified

Here I am getting spoil t for choice in all the 3 options. My budget is around Rs.200 for either Granite/Marble for Common areas which is around 1400sqft and the remaining areas would want to go for wood finish vitrified tiles.

Marble : I see that in the market for Indian marble (Supposedly a hard marble) the prices vary between 85 - 125 /sqft, for the marble from Egypt / Oman 170 - 200/sqft and marble from Italy Rs.200 upwards.
- Can anybody using Indian Marble give any Pros / Cons about the stone
- Can anybody using Marble from Egypt / Oman/ Turkey give any Pro / Con about the Stone.

Also what could be the laying & cutting charges for Marble

Granite : The market has umpteen number of options in colours and price, but for a budget of 150-200, not many light coloured stone. I saw one light colour called ocean White which is available for 165/sqft apart from which many are dark coloured stone in the price range of 75 - 200/sqft. My engineer tells me that granite which is of cutter size and prices less than Rs.200 would be polished by hand and thus would have undulations which would be seen after laying. His suggestion is, if the selection of granite is of lower cost, then go for vitrified tiles itself.

- Can anybody using granite between the price range 75- 150/sqft give Pro / Con about stone.
- Does using a dark colour have any impact on reflections seen within the house.

Also what could be the laying & cutting charges for granite

Thanks
Anantha

[msananthu]

I found this 2009 thread which is very informative
http://www.mybdasites.com/viewtopic.php?t=342

[girishshk]

Go for Granite in common area, marble only if you can get genuine and good stock. Vitrified is not so strong and can be used in bedroom etc..
Granite will be dull in future if you do not polish, but are strong for common area. Charges may vary dependent on materials

[msananthu]

marble only if you can get genuine and good stock

I could not quite understand this, Is there anything which is duplicate or lower grade that you are hinting on.

Has anybody used this type of Marble for flooring

[rangamv]

i have used granite to my recently completed house , granite of tamilnadu side with patches like tiger skin grey colour @ Rs.85/-sft.
sadarahalli used less in about few areas & skirting Rs.75/-sft.
granite bought @ marble house , sarjapur road- after wipro office

[v.anand]

@msananthu, I have used the dark green marble for exterior areas in my under construction house in leather/ laputa finish. As for the stone, its a very popular Indian marble that is widely exported and in great demand worldwide. The stone is hard but not as hard as granite. At this point in time, it seems to have come out good with negligible wastage and feels luxurious but like I said earlier, house is still under construction. What exactly are you looking for about the stone?

One of the problems with granite flooring is that, it being very hard, does not feel luxurious under bear feet. Also, in case of accidental falls, by nature leads to serious injuries. Marble is better in this respect among natural stones. This fact was told to me by an architect friend at the time of flooring decision. If cost is a factor, going for vitrified tiles is better since marble laying cost is also expensive.

[msananthu]

Hi Anand,
Thanks for the inputs.

What I am looking for in this stone is
1. Staining issues after polishing
2. Cost of laying

Where are you constructing your home, if it's okay, could I come over to have a look.

Anantha