Flooring And Cladding Finishes for Outdoors & Terrace Gardens

The latest trend which is making waves in the interior industry is outdoor living spaces! Not only do these stunning spaces provide the perfect setting for a memorable evening underneath the stars or a house party that can be hosted in the open, but they also add a ‘wow factor’ to the completion of your overall project. The type of finishes you select will enhance the value of your space considerably.

While there are a plenty of finishes that can be used for your walls and floors whats important for the rooftop designers as well as the end user is to understand the characteristics of materials that are suitable for the exteriors. Incase of exterior cladding and flooring the finishes need to be rugged, weather proof, waterproof and durable as these finishes will be constantly subjected to harsh climatic conditions prevalent in our country.

While High Pressure Laminates (HPL) are used for outdoor walls, Wood Plastic Composites (WPC) are used for outdoor flooring. HPL. High Pressure Laminates are a durable, rigid and long lasting substitute to the usual wooden laminates used in the interiors. HPL is made by compressing and saturating layers of kraft paper with phenolic resin at extremely high temperature. Then a layer of decorative paper in different designs and textures giving an appeal of wood is added on the top.

WPC, on the other hand, are composite materials that are made of wood fiber and recycled plastic lending it qualities of both wood and plastic which makes the material weather proof, water proof and long lasting. which gives it. Its an ideal material of decks and outdoor flooring.

Apart from WPC there are a several other outdoor floor finishes that can be incorporated. Granite is an age old finish apt for the outdoors as its both visually appealing and also non slippery. Ceramic tiles are a cheaper alternative to stone and granite flooring.

To add a decorative element to the outdoor flooring terrace garden designers often use Mosaic flooring Mosaic flooring are made of small, flat, roughly square, pieces of stone or glass of different colors assimilated in different designs and patterns.

Stone pavers is another typical option for outdoor flooring. Also, if you are talking about the outdoors then greenery cannot be eliminated from the list. Artificial grass or carpet grass is a fuss free and maintenance free option for real grass.

For the wall cladding apart from HPL there are a lot of outdoor cladding finishes that can be used. Stone cladding is of the most used and regular wall finishes.

Terrace designers often use Faux stones as its an inexpensive alternative to stone cladding. Faux stones are durable and gives the look of natural stones.

Apart from these regularly used wall finishes there are a few more materials that are suitable for the exteriors. ACP (Aluminium Composite Panels) is one such material.ACP is made from lightweight aluminium. It’s very rigid and strong despite its light weight. Moreover aluminium makes it weather and UV resistant. WPC is available in different colours, prints, patterns and shading. Cement boards or Fiber cement boards (FCB) can also be used a cladding materials for the outdoors. FCB is a composite of cement and fibre cellulose. These boards can directly be cladding on the wall.

If you feel like adding greenery to the barren walls then vertical garden is a good alternative for the regular wall finishes. It highlights the outdoors by adding to the green element of the space.