Not all houses are blessed with a spacious verandah or front porch, and if your home has one, then all the better. You’ve got yourself a space where you can lounge with a cup of tea or coffee in hand and watch the world pass by, breathing in fresh air in the process.
That said, creating a relaxing atmosphere in the verandah takes a bit of effort and creativity on your part. From picking the best outdoor furniture to setting it up and regularly maintaining it, things can get overwhelming really quickly.
One particularly important consideration home owners with (or wanting to build) a verandah must consider is their flooring type. Choosing the right flooring material is a deceptively nuanced activity that needs you to delicately balance a bunch of variables, such as style, durability, and affordability.
If you’re in the midst of this dilemma, then worry no longer. We’ll save you the headache and lay down a list of the best verandah flooring materials for every budget. Let’s dive right into it!
Best Budget-Friendly Verandah Flooring Materials
1) Concrete Slabs
Concrete slabs may not be a homeowner’s first choice for an aesthetic verandah base, but it’s actually a practical and versatile solution. This is especially true if you want your home to have a more urban and modern vibe, as the grey concrete can suit this style phenomenally.
Moreover, concrete provides a solid, low-maintenance base that can work well on its own or be textured with different finishes to suit different house aesthetics. For instance, it can be polished, coated with epoxy, or stained.
On average, a typical 15 square metre verandah will cost a homeowner about $1,000 to $1,500 to get it set up. Considering that concrete is a weather-resistant and slip-resistant flooring material, it’s a really good option for people who may not have enough roof coverage to cover the entire verandah.
That said, concrete slabs are not the most durable option and may require regular sealing in the next few years. But if you want a flooring material that’s practical and affordable right now, concrete slabs are a good solution for your verandah flooring needs.
2) Rubber Tiles
Another budget flooring option for your front porch is rubber tiles. This flooring type uses recycled rubber and is a practical choice for a verandah that doubles as a recreation area for kids or an older resident’s lounging spot.
The reason why rubber tiles are optimal is because they have a comfortable and slip-resistant underfoot. Kids who run around will have a lower chance of slipping and sustaining an injury if the verandah’s tiles are fitted with rubber.
Similarly, older residents—who are highly prone to slips and falls—will be less likely to slip due to the increased traction of rubber tiles. If they do end up slipping, the fall won’t be as hard and painful on the resident.
Rubber tiles like pavers typically cost $800 to $1,200 to set up within a 15 square metre space. While they won’t win any awards for beauty and design, their durability and safety features make them a good choice for outdoor spaces like your home’s verandah.
Best Mid-Tier Verandah Flooring Materials
1) Timber Decking
A verandah flooring that’s both aesthetic and practical is timber flooring.
This type of flooring has a natural warmth and inviting texture that can easily match many cottage, coastal, heritage, and country-style house styles. A few notable timber flooring options include treated pine or hardwoods like spotted gum. More current timber flooring design options can be found in online retailers like Choice Flooring.
When you get a hold of your timber supply, you can keep and install the timber planks as is with a light varnish for extra durability, or you can let it undergo a deep cleaning, oiling, and sealing process to give it a fresh new look and a more durable exterior.
Timber decking is a good choice for people who want to embrace a natural and authentic feel. This is among the only flooring options that utilize real wood, which can be a perk for homeowners who desire that connection with the natural world.
The price range of installing a timber flooring from scratch ranges between $1,500 and $2,500, including framing and finishes.
However, if you already have a timber deck and simply want to upgrade it by staining or painting the floor, then you’re looking at a $300-500 budget for the paint job. Expect to spend a bit on maintenance as well once every two to three years.
2) Outdoor-Graded Tiles
Another equally aesthetic flooring option for your verandah is ceramic or porcelain tiles. These tiles not only elevate your porch’s elegance but also come in a wide range of styles and finishes. These styles include stone, wood, patterned, and modern; the sheer versatility of this flooring type allows it to fit various housing styles like Mediterranean and minimalist homes very well.
Another great characteristic of outdoor tiles is their non-porous nature. This makes them easy to clean, as rainwater and spills won’t easily seep through them and instead collect above the surface and fall off the verandah’s edge.
The total cost of a verandah using outdoor tiles ranges from $1,200 to $2,000. The easy maintenance and sleek look offered by this flooring option make it a good solution for people building a nice outdoor verandah.
Best Premium Verandah Flooring Materials
1) Natural Stone Flooring
If you want your home to make a luxurious first impression, then placing natural stones in your verandah is a good way to hit the mark.
Stone tiles like bluestone, travertine, limestone, and granite are naturally beautiful and weather-resistant, making them appealing and practical choices as outdoor verandah flooring.
While these stone tiles are beautiful, they cost a premium compared to everything else on the list, and perhaps rightfully so. Installing stone tiles in a 15 square metre verandah will cost you around the range of $2,000 to 4,000 Australian dollars.
These natural stones pair great with Mediterranean, coastal, and modern home styles. These stones provide a nice underfoot texture and require very minimal maintenance, thanks to their inherent durability and timeless appeal.
2) Brick Paving
Another classy and charming verandah floor style is brick-paved flooring. Brick introduces a colonial, rustic charm to a building, and if your house is going that route, then using this material as the flooring type should be a no-brainer.
Brick designs aren’t entirely uniform; they come in a wide range of arrangements that can be aesthetic and beautiful to view from any angle. For instance, they can be arranged in a basketweave pattern or a herringbone pattern.
A brick flooring layout typically costs $1,600-$2,500 to set up from scratch in a 15 square metre verandah. The high cost of the setup can be attributed to the material’s long lifespan and characteristic look. The only downside to this type of flooring is that it does require occasional sealing and weeding, but that’s a small price to pay to transform your home into a beautiful piece of architecture with a nice-looking verandah.
