HM replied on Sunday, September 12, 2010 08:53 AM
There are two kinds of wooden floor. The real deal i.e. solid wood floor planks, and laminate. Laminate is engineered board with an image of real wood pasted on it. In most cases, the latter is what is being used in Pakistan as it is abundantly imported from China, Malaysia, and laminate is quick and cheap to install. If the floor is level, 1000 sq ft is put in in a day!
As there are too many qualities, I think real wood flooring can run from Rs 400 - Rs 2000/sq ft. A good known name in this is Interwood. There showroom is on Main Blvd Garden Town (opposite Citibank,I think).
Decent quality laminate on the other hand starts around Rs 80 incl installation. Too many sources for this available now, but I myself have gone to KRB Hardware for installation in commercial premises @ Rs 93/sq ft (on Main Blvd, Defence).
Above is specific to what you asked. However, I will take the liberty to offer some unsolicited advice as well, as I have been through this evaluation recently, and installed marble, wood and ceramic tile. In Pakistan, nothing beats the value, look and life of marble. Excellent quality marble in 2x1 pieces, say China Verona without blemishes, comes to under Rs 120/sq ft with installation. This is probably the cheapest in the world. Ceramic tile imported into Pakistan from China is almost all rejected stuff (sold at full rate), and does not have the permanent finish and durability you would expect. Wooden flooring (laminate or solid) is not suitable because we always end up with some kind of leakage that can destroy it. Our environmental conditions mandate daily cleaning, yet servants cannot care for it the way it needs. If you can handle the mess for a couple of weeks, do consider marble. Or keep the wood/laminate limited to rooms with minimal usage. |
