Interior flooring: Finding the right lightweight option

If you want a lightweight, eco home, every single aspect of it needs to be taken into account, right down to the interior flooring.

Checking out the condition of the subfloor is the first step; working out what you want on top comes next.

Light Home reader James Crawford is hunting for the right interior flooring. He wrote to us explaining he’s looking for a product for his home office renovation.

“I want a more concrete-looking and functioning floor in there,” he said. “We are looking for a product we can lay in sheets. It would need to be finished and durable. Any suggestions on a product, as opposed to trying to install concrete slab?”

Check out your subfloor

The first stop is to check on the state of your subfloor. You might, if you’re lucky, have hardwood flooring underneath the old carpet, which, with a little attention, could be restored to a beautiful finish.

If you’re not so lucky, however, and the subfloor needs replacing, we’d recommend Scyon™ Secura™ interior flooring. The product is a heavy-duty, lightweight structural flooring substrate that can be used for tile, vinyl and carpet finishes over timber or steel floor joists. 

Scyon™ Secura™ is 15% lighter per square metre than conventional 15mm compressed fibre cement – making it easier to handle and ideal for the lightweight home.

Functional interior flooring

The next stop is working out what’s to go on top.

For a “concrete-looking and functional floor”, as our reader wants to achieve, concrete look laminate flooring is the best option we have found.

Adelaide-based U-Install-It Kitchens has launched a range of laminate floors with a polished concrete look, offering a modern look without the heavyweight option of concrete itself. 

Austrian laminate flooring experts Kaindl have several ‘concrete look’ options, such as their soft touch “Unterbergschiefer grau”.

Other options for hard floors, which can be installed on top of a Scyon™ Secura™ subfloor, are tiles or laminate flooring.

More home ‘how to’ solutions

Check out the Light Home Dear Design Expert blog for more of your questions we’ve answered, from how to DIY the eco way to how to keep chickens and how to ship goods safely.