onthefloor 
Flooring Challenges in India: There is an ongoing boom in the flooring Industry of India. The most visible growth, for example, is the Indian ceramic tile industry which became World’s number two in the previous decade itself! Both, new construction as well as renovation segments in residential as well as commercial sectors are contributing to this growth.
Pretty Pictures, Poor Choices in Flooring | Flooring Challenges in India
Space owners are increasingly prioritizing aesthetics and functionality for their built spaces. While there is no dearth of good floorings, I see, and you may agree, that navigating this booming flooring market is often challenging for consumers due to a lack of awareness and other potential pitfalls. This article explores some key issues Indian consumers face when choosing flooring solutions.
Information Gap and Unawareness about Perfect Flooring
To be more direct, I would use the words Misinformation and Ignorance. I see people getting overpowered by an alluring variety of flooring alternatives – ceramic, vinyl, laminate, epoxy, SPC, LVT, engineered wood, etc.
The internet is full of ‘SEO-Friendly’ content by brands and marketers with very little intent to educate consumers and help them make the right decisions. Regretfully, the ‘first page’ accessible information on ‘Google search’ isn’t always relevant, and trustworthy. It frequently serves to promote a certain brand or shop rather than assisting customers in selecting the ideal flooring for their house or commercial projects.
Price Vs. Long-Term Cost, While Choosing Floorings
Finding a Balance Between Budget and Quality doesn’t come easy. ‘Price’ is immediately connected to the flooring budget while cost includes installation, maintenance, and service life of the installed floor. I have seen people often commit the mistake of ignoring ‘substrate preparation cost’ and then at the 11th hour struggle to adjust the additional cost of making the substrate suitable for the chosen flooring option. It is again due to unawareness and proper guidance by product makers and sellers.
It might be difficult to strike the correct balance between price and quality. There are many inexpensive, low-quality flooring options, that might be alluring, thanks to China also. These beautiful-looking materials may initially be less expensive but of compromised quality, have shorter lifespans, and need more maintenance raising the overall cost.
Trust Factor in Flooring
Poor after-sales service, and untrustworthy contractors with sometimes untrained installers result in more dissatisfied customers. The manufacturers, for example in the tile industry, fulfil their responsibility by mentioning a caveat “company will not be responsible once tiles have been fixed”. Technically they are right because most of the complaints received are the ones which, if present in the tiles, can be easily seen before fixing and tiles should not have been installed if so.
The subpar after-sales service and no proper skill development schools for flooring with new-age materials, consumers face problems of poor installation resulting in early wear and tear or trouble obtaining repairs for actual product flaws. Homeowners may become financially pressured and irritated as a result.
Skewed Importance to Looks
Trending flooring options vs best flooring alternatives. Practical concerns might sometimes be eclipsed by the appeal of the beautiful photoshoot of some flooring product.
Read this Article also: Paints: Colour Dilemma to Quality Concerns, While Choosing Paints!
For example, large-size slabs of very high gloss glazed vitrified tile might look stunning on floorings, but these are bound to get scratched within a few years if used in commercial spaces having high for-fall! Awareness, education, misinformation, again.
The Way Ahead about Flooring Challenges in India?
While there could be multiple things that could be and should be done by all stakeholders, I feel some important points that can add great value in Indian Flooring Industry are –
- Architects and Interior designers encourage their junior staff and young designers to focus on material and installation knowledge, apart from creating stunning visual appeal. No design school has a curriculum and content on modern interior products. I discussed this issue with many of my designer friends and all of them gained knowledge by experimenting or believing the sellers which many a time resulted in a fiasco.
- Brand owners to empower the consumers by not, just by doing ethical business and open, non-confusing communication but also, by educating them about all aspects of products including the usage environment for which their product is most suitable and issues that it may face if not installed properly. They need to move beyond “terms & conditions’ clause.
- Consumers to conduct their own research, decide which performance or aesthetic features are their priorities, and then set their expectations. You can’t change flooring like curtains; think about durability and functionality too. There is no dearth of products; don’t fall prey to shallow communication by some smart seller until you get definite answers to your all questions. Insist to see previous installations made by your contractors for reference. Even the best flooring product can give you the most dissatisfactory results if installed carelessly and inappropriately.
Whether it is a manufacturer, architect, interior designer, or the consumer herself; transparent information, ethical dealings and education remain the most important factors that are in everybody’s interest and will keep the Indian flooring industry growing.
Read this Article also: Tiles & Tiling – Pro Tips | How to fix problems in Tiles?
