Frequently Asked Questions
General
Questions
Questions
Our showroom is located in T-Space which is situated at the same junction as IKEA Tampines, Courts & Giant.
Address: 1 Tampines North Dr. 1, T-Space #02-41, Singapore 528559.
If you are taking public transport, you can take the free shuttle bus from Tampines, Bedok, Pasir Ris or SengKang MRT stations to IKEA, Courts or Giant and just cross the road to T-Space. Please check online for the shuttle bus schedule as we do not wish to give you outdated information in case there are changes to their schedule.
If you are driving or riding, you can park just right outside our store. Parking is free for the first 60 mins at the point of writing.
To avoid settling for less due to time constraints, four months ahead of target installation of your wood or vinyl flooring would be a good time to start in case you decide to opt for something that needs to be shipped in or customised.
Moods offer various flooring solutions in Singapore for indoor and outdoor use. Under each category (ie. vinyl, wood, decking), we often have more than one collection to cater to different needs. We understand that every customer has different preferences and every site looks different too so there is no one size fits all solution. Therefore, pricing is hugely dependent on the product you choose that is best suited for the site.
We strongly suggest that you speak with us to find out more about each collection and allow us to understand factors such as budget and the existing floor condition so that we can make recommendations to the best of our ability. This will help you to make informed decisions rather than blindly comparing prices.
Here are some of the information we will need from you:
- What kind of products do you have in mind eg. vinyl, timber/wood, composite wood, etc
- What is the existing subfloor which the new flooring will be laid on
- What is the theme, colour or design you prefer e.g. stone look, dark wood colours, etc
- Is this an empty unit or occupied
- Floor plan or drawing, if you have
- What is your budget (this is important to help us zoom in to a specific collection rather than promoting something that you wouldn’t want)
Being environmentally conscious in a nutshell means reducing your carbon footprint and waste. It is not as simple as choosing, say a reclaimed wood flooring.
Let’s take reusable cotton bags as an example. Cotton bags, although biodegradable, cost much more energy to produce than a traditional plastic bag. According to the National Geographic, “cotton bags have to be reused 131 times before they reduce their impact on climate change to the same extent as plastic bags. To have a comparable environmental footprint (which encompasses climate change as well as other environmental effects) to plastic bags, a cotton bag potentially has to be used thousands of times.”
Selecting a reclaimed wood does help but it also depends on how long you use the flooring for, does the manufacturer have the capacity to reproduce it using renewable energy, amongst many other factors. A long lasting luxury vinyl flooring produced by a reputable manufacturer who takes a cradle to grave approach eg. having the capability to recycle contents safely and use them in a safe manner, can be an environmentally-friendly option too.
All materials, regardless of timber flooring, vinyl sheets/planks/tiles, marble or tiles, come in different grades and specs – the main reason for price differences. For example, hardwood flooring is commonly perceived to be more expensive than vinyl but can sometimes cost the same as a high-end vinyl flooring if you opt for parquet (small strips of timber).
On top of it, the reputation and reliability of a company should also be taken into consideration as it may end up costing more if you encounter problems and the company is unresponsive after completion of installation.
When comparing prices, it is imperative to understand the differences between the products and compare apples to apples. If you do come across two products of the same grade and specs, but with price differences of 50% or more, we would say it is absolutely logical to question further and dig deeper.
Do discuss with us your budget as it will help us to ensure you are satisfied with your purchase.
Yes, we have a team of professional installers that we rely on but we also supply just the materials if DIY is something that’s right up your alley.
We believe that part of our job as floor specialists is to ensure that our clients are satisfied and comfortable with their new flooring. As such, we provide basic cleaning after the installation which includes removing debris, sweeping the floor and cleaning up marks from adhesives, if any.
A 50% deposit is mandatory in order for us to reserve the materials for you to ensure stock availability when you need them. In the event of a change of mind, the deposit will not be refunded as the materials have already been secured for you which may have resulted in us turning down other deals due to stock unavailability.
Different products come with different warranty periods. Warranty starts on the day we complete our installation. Please check with our salesperson on the warranty period upon selecting the product.
We take a serious view on all customers’ feedback (within reason) and we strive to put forth an honest effort to correct any less-than-positive experiences.
As much as we value all constructive feedback, we seek your understanding that we have a standard operating procedure in place for such situations. In the unfortunate event that you are dissatisfied with our service, please either inform the sales representative directly or write to enquiry@moodsfloor.com with the necessary details. We assure you that your feedback will reach the relevant personnel and we will be in touch within 5 working days after gathering all facts regarding your complaint.
We take pride in adhering strictly to installation instructions provided by different manufacturers and do not cut corners in order to save time or cost. We do not compromise quality for the price so if you are looking for the cheapest option, we regret to say that you may have to look elsewhere.
We are a small and passionate team; we put our hearts into researching and understanding the science of every product we bring in as well as the different installation methods.
Lastly, we always respond – be it before a deal is signed or after installation is completed.
Wood/Timber Floors
Questions
Questions
According to the National Wood Flooring Association (NWFA), an international not-for-profit trade association representing all segments of the hardwood flooring industry, definitions of the two wood floorings are as follows:
- Solid wood flooring is a solid piece of wood from top to bottom
- Engineered wood flooring is real wood from top to bottom and is normally made using multiple wood veneers or slats of wood glued together at opposing directions.
You may refer to the cross-section images here.
No, hardwood flooring refers to timber harvested from trees that grow slowly and often (not always though) end up being denser and more complex than softwood. Hardwood (e.g. oak, teak, maple, walnut, etc) comes from angiosperm trees which refer to plants that produce their seeds enclosed within a fruit. Softwood (eg. pine, bamboo, cypress, etc) is from gymnosperm trees which refers to a group of seed-producing plants ie. non-encased seeds.
Therefore, both engineered and solid wood floors can be referred to as hardwood flooring.
Every material comes in different grades within its own category. While most say that solid wood flooring can be sanded down more and therefore, has a longer lifespan than engineered wood flooring, it’s not as straightforward as that.
If we were to compare a small and thin strip of solid wood (eg. 11mm thick, 70mm wide) with a thick veneer, a wide plank of engineered wood (eg. 5mm top layer, 180mm wide), the engineered wood flooring is, in fact, of a higher quality and can be sanded down as many times as, if not more than, the solid wood.
Having that said, we do think that engineered wood is a good option for the following reasons:
- Dimensional stability due to the cross-layer construction of the different layers. This means that there is a lower chance of warping and shrinking compared to solid wood, under the same conditions.
- Better wear resistance due to factory-finished coating (pre-finished vs hand-coated).
- More pocket-friendly if we were to compare it with solid wood of the same width.
- Cost-effective as it is difficult to tell it apart from solid wood flooring once installed.
- Shorter installation process and hence gives you more control over your renovation schedule.
- Sanding and refinishing are possible depending on the thickness of the top layer.
- Easier to repair
No; water and wood do not mix, and engineered wood flooring is not fake wood.
Solid wood flooring is generally more costly because of the amount of solid wood that is used for each plank of flooring whereas, in engineered wood flooring, only the top layer is your chosen species of wood eg. oak, walnut, etc.
However, some engineered wood flooring can be quite costly, especially if you choose a rare species of wood, or opt for a very wide, unusual plank size.
Being an organic product, the scratch and wear resistance of timber floors is certainly not as high as synthetic materials such as vinyl. To protect your floor, vacuum regularly to remove grit and use felt pads on the legs of your furniture.
Yes and no. If you compare it to vinyl flooring, then yes. But if you compare it to marble flooring, then they require similar maintenance.
Regular sanding and varnishing are recommended to maintain the look of your timber floors.
But how regular?
This depends on a) your usage, b) your tolerance level, and c) the type of protective coating you use.
As a rule of thumb, sanding and re-varnishing your timber flooring every 2 to 5 years would be reasonable, depending on if it is used in commercial or residential settings. But in reality, most owners tend to not sand and re-varnish until they absolutely need to due to the hassle that comes with it.
You may also choose a high-traffic coating that gives better wear resistance. However, such coating tends to be thicker, and the look and touch of it may not be acceptable to some.
If you want to go all out, the best way to clean timber floors is to gently sweep the surface or vacuum it to remove the dust and debris, then mop it with mild soap or wood cleaners that are readily available in supermarkets, before letting it air dry.
But if you find that too troublesome, normal vacuuming and mopping will do, as long as no harsh chemicals are used.
Decking
Questons
Questons
No. We do not do any drilling on your existing floor when installing a balcony or outdoor decking in Singapore.
Yes. This involves more work as a solid foundation is required to support the weight of the outdoor decking without sinking. This can be done by creating a concrete slab over the grass/soil or building cement stumps that go several feet deep into the soil.
Get in touch with us here and we will propose a solution upon a site assessment.
To clean sheltered decks (eg. balcony decking), normal sweeping or vacuuming and mopping will do.
For unsheltered outdoor decking, regular cleaning using mild soap and a deck brush is required. For stubborn stains or grease, you may purchase off-the-rack deck cleaners and follow the instructions provided. This may sometimes require some sort of high-pressure water spray. Note: Do purchase something suitable for your deck material ie. solid wood decking or composite decking.
If you have solid wood decking, sanding and re-varnishing every one to two years is recommended to protect the wood and maintain its look.
Vinyl
Questions
Questions
Not all expensive things are good but good things don’t come cheap. Therefore, price differences can be an indication of the quality of a product, in some cases.
Here are some of the factors affecting prices:
- Does the vinyl flooring have fibreglass in them? How many layers? This affects the dimensional stability of the product.
- What is the number of repeating patterns? Some of our luxury vinyl floorings come in more than 100 print patterns making them look hyper-realistic!
- What is the wear layer thickness? The thicker it is, the higher the price.
- Country of origin and reliability of the manufacturer
Luxury vinyl flooring generally mimics the look of other materials such as cement, terrazzo, wood, etc. Some types of vinyl look really fake whilst others can be quite convincing and this is due to the printing capability of the manufacturer which, in turn, is reflected in its pricing.
Lower-grade vinyl flooring also tends to cup or shrink within a short span of time due to the absence of a component called fibreglass. This affects the end-users as they may need to replace their vinyl flooring sooner than expected. Hence, initial (perceived) savings could end up costing you more.
The thickness of the vinyl planks/tiles has absolutely nothing to do with the quality or durability of the vinyl flooring although this is widely (and wrongly) believed so. The wear layer is what determines the type of application the vinyl can be used in ie. residentials, light commercials, heavy commercials and light industries. Although the thicker the better, 0.3mm wear layer is actually sufficient in residential and light commercial use. You may click on the question mark (?) icon next to the Wear Layer info here for more details.
Click vinyl flooring is a floating floor; it is not secured onto anything and it is installed by clicking the planks/tiles together which float on top of the subfloor.
Dryback vinyl flooring (aka glue-down vinyl) is installed by adhering it onto the subfloor. It is worth noting that we do not compromise quality with pricing and we only use low odour and very low VOC emissions adhesives (not any random glue you can purchase in hardware shops).
There is no one best product for every customer and situation, and every product has its pros and cons.
Click vinyl floors are good for commercial applications since the lease tends to be two to three years only. So, ease of reinstating the place and speed of installation are factors for considerations. If we were to compare both types of vinyl flooring of the exact same specs, click vinyl will cost higher due to the click system which is an additional cost for manufacturing (eg. patent cost, additional materials since a thicker vinyl is necessary, etc).
Dryback vinyl flooring creates additional dimensional stability since it is secured to the floor, meaning, it stays in place and does not move. Do note that this is different from expansion and contraction which is dependent on the quality of the vinyl flooring instead. Dryback vinyl is also thinner than their click counterparts and hence, a perfectly even subfloor is required.
Ask any of our staff which type of luxury vinyl flooring they will choose if they are renovating their own place. We are sure you will receive different answers as everyone has different requirements!
Yes. All our luxury vinyl floorings are scratch-resistant, slip-resistant and waterproof. We only distribute vinyl flooring of low VOC with no added formaldehyde in production so they are suitable for kids, the elderly and pets.
Repairing is not quite possible but replacing the damaged piece is.
Dryback vinyl floorings are easier to replace as we can peel out the damaged piece and change it with a new piece. However, it will depend on the situation for click vinyl floorings. Sometimes, we remove the planks/tiles from one end all the way to reach the damaged piece and reinstall everything back after replacement.
A good quality vinyl flooring can last you a lifetime. This is, however, subjected to the specs of the vinyl you are getting, and care and maintenance of the floor.
Normal vacuuming and mopping will do, as long as no harsh chemicals are used. Clean up any spills quickly and you can try removing stains or marks using acetone (or nail polish remover). Note that it is not suitable to use a steam mop on vinyl flooring.
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Let us know as much details as you can to help us in answering your enquiry eg: area size, existing sub-floor, move-in-date, install date, preferred look/design, etc
