Author: asatileshk

All About Tiles

Best Flooring for Your Cozy Home (II) : 5 Most Common Types of Flooring - Pros and Cons

Post author By asatileshk
Post date November 22, 2024

Ceramic Tiles

✓ Durable and scratch-resistant (made by slow high-temperature burning)

✓ Anti-mold

✓ Low water absorption rate helps minimize floor water damage

✓ Stable (insusceptible to thermal expansion and contraction)

✓ Available in a range of slip resistance levels to suit different needs

✓ Diverse product styles for various interior designs

× Grouts are subject to molding caused by moisture and temperature changes

× Cold body mass

Engineered Hardwood

✓ A cheaper flooring material which provides the same outlook as solid hardwood (thinner hardwood layer compared to solid hardwood)

✓ Has a simpler and cheaper installation process than solid hardwood

✓ A more environmentally friendly option than solid hardwood (releases less pollutants with less wood harvested in the production process)

× Prolonged exposure to sunlight may lead to fading

× Less durable than solid hardwood and ceramic tiles

× Susceptible to scratches and requires more effort of maintenance

Solid Hardwood

✓ Long-lasting: can last as long as a century

✓ Available in diverse colors with unique wooden patterns

✓ Allows multiple times of floor sanding (for smoothening flooring surface in case of shallow scratches / for maintenance)

× Expensive material and high maintenance cost

× Prone to molding

× Exposure to moisture may cause the flooring to swell

SPC

✓ High-quality SPC flooring are scratch-resistant and waterproof

✓ Narrow floor joints help prevent dirt from jamming in the joints

✓ Cheaper cost compared to other materials

× Prolonged exposure to sunlight may induce damage to the flooring surface or cause flooring to deform

× Must ensure ground flatness before installation (an uneven SPC floor will contribute to hollow sounds underfoot)

× Less durable than other types of flooring materials

× Susceptible to scratches

Marble

✓ Signifies luxury and elegance

✓ Comes in a variety of patterns and colors

✓ Highly water-resistant with marble’s low porosity and floor surface coating

✓ Can be smoothened and maintained through polishing

× Expensive material and high maintenance cost

× Easily damaged by scratches and stains

Purchasing floors is a long-term investment. Not only does the flooring material play a huge part in shaping your home’s style, it determines the portion of time and money you are allocating for maintaining your floor in the future. Designs and costs aside, it is important to choose the type of flooring that suits your needs – to save future troubles, and of course, for your comfort’s sake.

All About Tiles

Best Flooring for Your Cozy Home (I) : How to Choose the Right Type of Flooring? 7 Things to Consider

Post author By asatileshk
Post date November 21, 2024

Clueless about which type of flooring to look for? In case you are struggling to decide among a pile of confusing flooring samples, here are some factors that may help you choose the best option for your cozy home.

	Ceramic Tiles	SPC	Engineered Hardwood	Solid Hardwood	Marble
Budget	$$$	$$	$$$	$$$$	$$$$$
Durability	✔✔✔✔✔	✔✔	✔✔✔	✔✔✔	✔✔✔✔
Variety of Product Designs	✔✔✔✔✔	✔✔	✔✔	✔✔	✔✔✔
Waterproofness / Moisture-resistance	✔✔✔✔✔	✔✔✔✔✔	✔✔	✔	✔✔✔
Resistance to daily chemical corrosion (e.g. cleaning agents)	✔✔✔✔✔	✔✔✔✔✔	✔✔✔	✔✔	✔
Maintenance Cost	$	$	$$	$$	$$$$$

Here are Some Factors You Can Consider…

1 Budget

With high durability and reasonable pricing, ceramic tiles and engineered hardwood are the two most popular options for domestic flooring in Hong Kong. Ceramic tiles are available in both custom-made designs and patterns of materials such as marble, granite and wood to suit the needs of diverse interior designs. Engineered hardwood offers wooden patterns with a warm comfortable texture, making it an excellent choice for your living space. SPC flooring is the cheapest among the above five materials, but its susceptibility to scratches also makes it the least durable. Despite expensive pricing and installation cost, solid hardwood and marble are aesthetically pleasing with elegant and layered patterns. We suggest considering the price, installation cost and maintenance cost of each flooring before making your choice.

2 Durability

The durability of a flooring material depends on whether and how frequently it needs to be maintained. Solid hardwood, marble and some types of engineered flooring require constant maintenance. Regular polishing is needed, and the frequency of polishing increases with the materials’ susceptibility to scratches (in this case, solid hardwood flooring is the most vulnerable to scratches, followed by engineered hardwood and marble). The lack of regular maintenance may lead to scratches, discoloration, fading and cracks. On the other hand, ceramic tiles and SPC flooring do not need constant maintenance. Both are of layered structures and hence are not suitable for polishing. SPC flooring requires constant care with its vulnerability to scratches – once damaged, its surface is hard to be repaired. Ceramic tiles might be a better option for those who would like to save their time and expenses on flooring maintenance, given that ceramic tiles are scratch-resistant and can be kept shiny with minimal effort of cleaning.

3 Aesthetic Appeal

Ceramic tiles offer the most diverse designs. From plain colors to patterns referenced from other materials (such as terrazzo, marble, granite, timber and canvas), ceramic tiles come in a variety of shapes and styles to match different interiors. Comparatively, SPC flooring exhibits fewer variations in terms of designs – most SPC floors are of wooden patterns. The top layers of engineered hardwood and solid hardwood are made of real wood. Solid hardwood provides more defined patterns of tree trunks and is especially aesthetic. The outlook of marble is derived from the type of stone it is extracted from. Each stone displays unique patterns of their own and adds a tint of elegance to the living space.

4 Waterproofness / Moisture-resistance

Given Hong Kong’s humid climate, both ceramic tiles and SPC are great flooring options with high moisture resistance. Marble floors need to be regularly maintained. While a layer of artificial coating is added on the floor surface to ensure water resistance, the marble may be damaged by moisture as the coating deteriorates over time. Engineered hardwood and solid hardwood are vulnerable to water and moisture (especially solid hardwood) – require special care if the two types of flooring are used in humid residential areas.

5 Resistance to Daily Chemical Corrosion

Daily cleaning agents are composed of various corrosive chemicals for removing stubborn stains. While the floor is mopped and disinfected, some of the chemicals may remain and corrode the floor surface. The induced damage depends on the floor’s resistance to daily chemical corrosion. Among the above five types of flooring, marble is the most vulnerable to chemical corrosion, followed by solid hardwood – both may experience discoloration and fading unless sealed with an extra protective coating. Compared to solid hardwood, engineered hardwood is slightly less susceptible to daily chemical corrosion – it is able to resist a little amount of corrosive chemicals, but the surface of engineered hardwood may still be damaged by the remaining chemicals of the cleaning agents. Ceramic tiles and SPC flooring are of the strongest resistance to such corrosion – use of general cleaning agents will not induce visible damage to the floor surfaces. While SPC flooring is able to resist damage by chemicals of weak to moderate corrosivity, ceramic tiles are able to resist damage by chemicals of moderate to strong corrosivity. Despite the floors’ varied levels of resistance to daily chemical corrosion, the risk of chemical corrosion will still increase with the period of exposure to the chemicals.

6 Maintenance Cost

The time and budget of maintenance matter to your choice of flooring. Marble and solid hardwood give feelings of luxury and elegance, yet they are more vulnerable to damage by fading and scratches than other three types of flooring. The floor repair processes are also more complicated, hence a higher maintenance cost for marble and solid hardwood. Engineered hardwood can be classified into two types – polishable and unpolishable. The latter is cheaper than the former but requires replacement of the whole piece of flooring in case of scratches. Although ceramic tiles cannot be polished, the flooring material is the most resistant to scratches and chemical corrosion among the five types of flooring. Ceramic tiles generally do not require regular maintenance.

7 Do Your Family Members Have Any Special Needs?

Babies/Kids/Elderly

Babies, kids and elderly people are more prone to bacteria and viruses. Floor requires frequent cleaning, and we recommend using flooring materials that are durable and easy to clean. Materials like ceramic tiles and marble can be frequently mopped wet with a lower risk of moisture damage compared to the other materials. ASA’s PuriTiles® further ensures high hygiene standards with OxyTech® technology, through which the tiles can release healthy negative ions while eliminating harmful substances and formaldehyde in air. A bonus to the family’s health!

Pets

3 essentialities for the flooring: safe, comfortable for pets to walk on and easy to maintain. Anti-slip flooring ensures your fluffy friends’ safety by avoiding slips and protecting their joints, so make sure the flooring is of R10 resistance or sealed with an anti-slip coating. Besides, make sure the flooring materials are smooth to walk on (as materials with a grainy texture may hurt your pets’ paws). As the floor may have to be constantly cleaned to remove pets’ food crumbs and hair, you may also consider choosing flooring that is easy to clean to make the cleaning process more effective. Tiles are a great choice – we especially recommend our exclusive PuriTiles® collection – in addition to its high durability, PuriTiles® is antibacterial with tile joints narrowed to just 0.5mm. Besides minimizing your fluffy friends’ risk of being infected, PuriTiles® also effectively prevents pets’ food and hair from jamming in the joints and eases the cleaning process.

Our Projects

HKJC 3/F Stable Bend Terrace | Happy Valley Racecourse

Post author By asatileshk
Post date November 21, 2024

The mix-and-match flooring of HKJC’s stable bend is designed with ASA’s smoky grey exquisite marble tiles and dark grey stone-inspired tiles. Through our professional water jet cutting, the two types of tiles are shaped into octagons and trapezia respectively to create customized octagonal collages. The floor creates a sharp and aesthetic focus for the space with its trendy patterns and bold color combination, which helps spice up the audience’s experience at the Happy Valley Racecourse by providing extra visual enjoyment.

Tags Entertainment

Our Projects

Chill Residence | Yau Tong

ASA's Honor to be the Floor Tile Supplier of Chill Residence

Chill Residence in Yau Tong, ASA's timber tile as flooring

Natural Wooden Patterns

ASA's timber tile lays a solid flooring for each residence. Through the thoughtful planning and refinement by our Design Team, the tile was developed with natural wooden patterns that cater to Hong Kong people’s preference of flooring designs.

Elegant Appearance • Scratch & Moisture-Resistant

Other than having a pleasant open view, the sense of spaciousness of these residential units can be further elevated through thoughtful interior designs. ASA’s honor to be one of the tile suppliers – our light beige timber tile lays a solid flooring for each residence. Through our Design Team’s thoughtful planning and refinement, the tile was carefully developed with natural wooden patterns that cater to Hong Kong people’s preference of flooring designs.

Our timber tile targets locals’ needs and takes inspiration from actual timber’s warm color tones and patterns. The removal of wood grains on the tile’s surface contributes to a more harmonious color tone and provides an excellent match to furniture of varied color depths. Besides, it is equipped with anti-slip resistance, making it an all-round tile with elegant appearance and excellent functionality. The tile especially functions well under Hong Kong’s humid climate - not only is it durable with high resistance against scratches and moisture, it is easy to clean and maintain. A popular choice among home interior designs.

Tags Property Development

All About Tiles

Besides Food and Toys: Top 3 Floor Tiles That Your Pets Will Love

Post author By asatileshk
Post date October 25, 2024

Building a pet-friendly home begins with choosing a suitable floor – it is the key to protecting your fluffy friends’ health and keeping your home neat. ASA’s tiles are designed to provide the space with cleanliness and an aesthetic outlook. Given their high resistance to uric acid and diverse designs, these tiles are an excellent choice for making your home cozier and raising the whole family’s living standards.

1 PuriTiles® Anti-Bacterial Health Care Series

The PuriTiles® collection is developed by ASA to provide leading practicality among the three types of tiles. Tile joints are significantly narrowed to just 0.5mm through applying the revolutionary Oxy Tech® and Minimal Jointing technology, which effectively prevents pets’ hair and food from jamming in the joints and eases the cleaning process. The healthy negative ions released from the body of PuriTiles® also help decompose harmful substances like formaldehyde and bacteria, protecting the health of both families and pets. A perfect choice for families who care about hygiene!

2 Stone-Inspired Tiles

As an all-in-one tile collection with style and practicality, our Stone-Inspired Tiles cater the needs of those who seek cost-effective flooring with more varieties of designs. With diverse colors and patterns, the tiles inspire more possibilities of interior designs.

Through multiple times of drilling and polishing as well as slow high-temperature burning, the tiles are also equipped with a durable and scratch-resistant surface, which can be maintained through simple cleaning procedures.

Besides, the slip resistance of Stone-Inspired Tiles reaches as high as R10 with dry granules added on their surfaces – total protection to our fluffy friends’ joints and surely an excellent addition to your pet-friendly home.

3 Timber Tiles

The popular Timber Tiles collection helps lay a safe and secure ground for our fluffy friends as well.

The popular Timber Tiles collection helps lay a safe and secure ground for our fluffy friends as well. Timber tiles exhibit patterns and specially designed anti-slip grooves (on wood-grain tiles) referenced from actual timber, providing high anti-slip resistance and offering better protection for your pets. The diverse choices of printed patterns and flexible methods of collage also allow families to showcase their personal styles through displaying unique flooring designs.

Together with their low water absorption rate and moisture-proof surface, timber tiles helps avoid molding and bacterial growth, making the collection and ideal flooring material for families with pets.

Our Projects

Chow Sang Sang Jewellery | Tsim Sha Tsui

Post author By asatileshk
Post date September 10, 2024

Chow Sang Sang’s branch in Harbour City integrates ASA’s sintered stone slabs into their ocean-themed design. The sintered stone slabs’ irregular lines mimic the surfaces of natural stones, displaying colors of nature which echo the shop’s theme.

The two stone slabs are composed of varying brownish tones. The beige stone slab reflects the calm warm white lights from its surface, emphasizing the jewelry’s shimmering elegance. The darker brown slab, which carries tints of sea green, matches the shop’s theme and blends in perfectly with the shop’s design. Customers get to immerse themselves in the ocean-themed atmosphere while choosing their favorite jewelry, contributing to an enjoyable shopping experience.

Tags Commercial

Our Projects

Anping Grill | Tseung Kwan O

Post author By asatileshk
Post date August 7, 2024

Good mood, good food – a perfect dining experience. In Anping Grill’s new branch in Tseung Kwan O, ASA’s terrazzo tiles and kiln-transmutation artistic tiles refresh the restaurant’s outlook with their crafted surfaces and bold color play. Customers get to immerse themselves in cheerful shades of orange while enjoying the restaurant’s signature Taiwanese grilled meat, bringing home satisfied appetites and stacks of happiness.

The terrazzo tiles at the entrance elevate customers’ mood at first sight. With colorful patches, the tiles elicit a sense of enthusiasm and prepares customers for their upcoming splendid cuisine. The terrazzo tiles used in constructing the walls create a focus for the restaurant interior with their fancy patterns, which generates a dynamic atmosphere and surrounds customers with the joy of dining.

The terrazzo tiles create a focus for the restaurant interior with their fancy patterns.

The square artistic tiles carry a gentler quality – they exhibit a plainer outlook with soft reflective light, releasing calmness which helps balance the tone of the restaurant. In addition, each kiln-transmutation small tile carries a unique color formed naturally during the firing process. Subtle, but classic.

Tags Food & Beverage

All About Tiles

Career Mentoring

Post author By asatileshk
Post date July 31, 2024

Being invited to career mentoring as a member of HKGCC

ASA Tiles has always been active in nurturing new talents for the future of our community. As a member of the HKGCC, we are honored to be invited to the career mentoring session on July 8. It was a pleasure meeting these future young talents – we shared our personal aspirations with one another, through which we got to know more about the thoughts of the newest Gen-Zs. We were glad that we could make use of our past experiences and give them practical advice related to goal setting and career planning. Besides, the discussion has also provided us with a clearer direction on what we can do to cultivate the young generation and realize their potential.

Best of luck to all the students – wish them all the best in their future endeavors!

Besides giving advice related to goal setting and career planning, we also got to know more about the lives of secondary students and Gen-Zs.

All About Tiles

ESG One Award for SMEs 2024

Post author By asatileshk
Post date July 24, 2024

As a Green member of ESG One launched by Hong Kong Productivity Council, ASA Tiles remains committed to implementing ESG policies and achieving sustainability goals. It is our honor to be a part of the ESG One Mid-Term MeetUp and to witness the campaign’s significant success.

During the ESG One MeetUp, we gained many useful insights related to SMEs’ implementation of ESG policies. We are proud to be one of the participating companies of the construction industry, which has the best performance in terms of business ethics, recycling, leadership and participation, as well as consumer protection and product liability. We hereby express our gratitude to Hong Kong Productivity Council for rewarding our participation in ESG.

Thank you HKPC for having us! ASA Tiles will continue to strive for excellence and contribute to ESG sustainability.

All About Tiles

The Henderson

Post author By asatileshk
Post date July 17, 2024

As the opening date gets closer, our eyes are all set on the highly anticipated landmark The Henderson. ASA Tiles, as one of the members of HKGCC Real Estate and Infrastructure Committee, was honored to be invited to visit the future icon of the CBD. It is truly one state-of-the-art that will elevate your perception of modern architecture.

ASA Tiles Visit to the Henderson with HKGCC members

The Henderson is a 190-meter-tall building which takes the unique shape of a bauhinia bud with a 3D-curved glass façade.

The Henderson wowed us at first sight - the 190-meter-tall building takes the unique shape of a bauhinia bud with a 3D-curved glass façade. Its silvery surface glitters under sunlight at the heart of the CBD, attracting gazes with its sharp appearance.

The building’s construction is highly aligned with ESG policies. The greenery near the entrance freshens up the surrounding air and generates a sense of peacefulness. Air curtains prevent the inflow of external heat and keep the indoor area cool. The use of cutting-edge generative AI technology within the building greatly reduces energy consumption and meets the goals of sustainability.

The Henderson plants greenery, installs air curtains and apply generative AI technology in its construction, aligning with ESG policies.

The Henderson's interior design adopts a light color tone.

The Henderson’s interior design adopts a simple yet artistic approach, which further reflects the excellent craftsmanship of Zaha Hadid Architects.

The Henderson's floor-to-ceiling windows borrow natural daylight to brighten the interior environment, creating a calming atmosphere.

The floor-to-ceiling windows borrow natural daylight to brighten the interior environment, through which the soft and cozy lighting creates a calming atmosphere for visitors and office workers.

Cool grey marble is skillfully used to construct the wall behind the mirrors to add a tint of fanciness to the toilets’ designs.

The toilets’ walls and floors are laid with light-colored tiles to match the building’s overall color tone, while cool grey marble is skillfully used to construct the wall behind the mirrors to add a tint of fanciness to the toilets’ designs.

The view of The Henderson's Grand Bouquet Hall

The Glass Rooftop Banquet Hall is covered by large windows with automatic sunshade, anti-UV and anti-reflective coating to create a roomy space. Also, it offers a panoramic view of the spectacular skyline – users get to enjoy the refreshing sunshine and immerse themselves in the magnificent city lights, making it an ideal venue for weekend activities and grand events. Given its spaciousness and gorgeous scenery, the banquet hall is truly a masterpiece which highlights the thoughtfulness of designers and architects.

It was a pleasure visiting the iconic contemporary landmark of Hong Kong, through which we were greatly inspired by its excellent designs and leading technologies. Thank you for giving ASA Tiles such a wonderful opportunity. Looking forward to The Henderson’s opening!

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