Flooring trims can be an afterthought for many when choosing floorcoverings, whether an end-user, interior designer, or architect. While many see these thresholds as simply a necessity others benefit by using these thresholds to enhance and complement the decor, colour scheme, and designs of their projects. CAT says it believes high-quality flooring trims enhance the quality of any installation and end-users are reportedly catching on.

Is trim quality paramount?
As with all flooring products, flooring profiles take a large amount of abuse from simple wear-and-tear to occasional heavy impacts and misuse. The gauge or thickness of the profile is one aspect of flooring trims that are sometimes overlooked.

It’s the gauge of the material which provides the rigidity and the strength of the final trim. Design a profile too thin and it will buckle under point-loading, designed too thick it wastes valuable material and is harder on manufacturing equipment leading to unnecessary expense.

Says CAT: ‘The Designer Home Collection takes advantage of this perfect balance and has been designed for use in the family home and commercial projects alike.’

Like other visible accessories in the home, a quality finish is critical to the overall aesthetics of the room. Creating this quality finish or lustre on a flooring profile that lasts the test of time is arguably the most important and complex problem.

Other aluminium items in the home benefit from a lack of daily wear-and-tear that daily foot traffic creates. CAT says it’s spent years developing and testing the Designer Home Collection with wear tests so the customer can be assured the trims will stand the test of time.

Colour, can it make or break a space?
Over the past 20 years, two colours have dominated the aluminium trim market: synthetic brass and silver. In recent years however the flooring industry has seen a shift not only in interior design and styles but with an increasing choice of colour from floorcovering manufactures. Many of these manufacturers have increased their colour offerings in recent years.

Evaluating this shift CAT says it identified the need and importance of providing a range of trim colours to suit each design and transition. The collection was created to encompass eight unique colours to combat this explosion of colour in the industry.

CAT says it worked closely with flooring manufactures and clients to provide a broad colour pallet that includes colours such as Designer Satin, Bright, Light Bronze, Onyx Black, and Brushed Stainless to name a few. Colour can definitely make or break a space but rest assured the CAT Designer Home Collection can provide the finishing touch to any project and complement any flooring type.

Flooring profiles and designs
A flooring trims profile is simply the cross-section or shape of the trim or threshold. Different shapes are produced to pair with different flooring types. These profiles are also designed to solve various flooring problems from floor expansion and height discrepancies to simply joining carpets in doorways.

‘Here at CAT, we’re proud to offer the most comprehensive selection of flooring profiles on the market. The Designer Home Collection alone has 14 different flooring profiles each designed for a particular situation. This includes Twin Tops, Naplocks, Ramps, Kliks (Clip-In Trims), and LVT stair-nosings, all of which are available in our eight signature colours.’

For more information regarding the profiles available in the Designer Home Collection, visit www.thecatweb.com/

dhc-flooring-profiles or request a sample folder on 01582 561500.

Mechanical fixings or adhesive?
Long has it been debated whether a floor trim should be mechanically fixed or stuck down with self-adhesive tape or flexible adhesive. Many would agree mechanical fixings are more common in the commercial industry while stick-down trims are better placed for residential projects. It would also be true to say it really depends on the situation and the floor type.

With the improvement and relative cost, adhesive tapes have become the norm across the flooring industry for installing many different accessories and in some instances floorcoverings themselves. This has been compounded by the huge surge in water-based and electric underfloor heating installations over the past 10 years.

Says CAT: ‘Many of our trims are supplied drilled or with self-adhesive tape pre-applied that CAT calls Stick-Fix. CAT has found many customers prefer the modern and minimalist look of Stick-Fix while flooring contractors appreciate the reduction of risk when it comes to drilling into unknown subfloors. Our Stick-Fix products also benefit from reduced curing time when compared with flexible adhesive installation methods.’

This makes Stick-Fix extremely fast to install, says CAT. ‘Overall, of course, each fitter has their own preferred installation method depending on a multitude of other factors including flooring type, flooring thickness, subfloor makeup and installation method (floated or fully bonded). Either way, CAT will continue to offer trims drilled for mechanical fixings or with Stick-Fix tape pre-applied for different situations and customers across the vast flooring industry.’

If you’d like to receive our brand new Designer Home Collection Sample Folder, use the below contact details.
01582 561500
sales@cat-accs.com
www.thecatweb.com