Thoughts on vinyl floors?

scorza

scorza

scorza

Caporegime
Joined
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Looking in John Lewis today for some ideas about kitchen/bathroom flooring - the only option seemed to be this luxury vinyl. I've always looked down my nose a bit at vinyl thinking it was basically the same as the crap lino flooring I had in my student digs, but if it's in John Lewis...

Anyway, thought this stuff looked pretty nice and definitely wasn't cheap - some of it £65 a square metre. Amtico Spacia was its name. Anyone had any experience with this brand or similar?
 
scorza said:
Looking in John Lewis today for some ideas about kitchen/bathroom flooring - the only option seemed to be this luxury vinyl. I've always looked down my nose a bit at vinyl thinking it was basically the same as the crap lino flooring I had in my student digs, but if it's in John Lewis...

Anyway, thought this stuff looked pretty nice and definitely wasn't cheap - some of it £65 a square metre. Amtico Spacia was its name. Anyone had any experience with this brand or similar?
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Had this installed in my flat, really like it and would recommend it. I've got a mix though, Karndean for the hallway/lounge/kitchen (wood effect planks) and then Amtico vinyl tiles in one bathroom and Moduleo tiles in the other. Reason for different makes was just the particular designs/colours I liked. I think it looks really good, is hard wearing and easy to care for. Friends who have visited also say it looks good.

Once you know what make/design you want get a few different flooring places to quote.

Also try and find large sample boards, I found the small samples they send in the post were hard to judge what it would look like on a larger scale.
 
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There is some seriously good quality vinyl out there these days, it's nowhere near the old junk you used to get 10-20 years ago. Also there's loads of style options out there too.

As to if it's any good...we used a higher quality vinyl (about 5mm thick) in the ensuite in our loft conversion due to the shape of room. It's got a gentle padding to it which is much nicer to walk on than tiles (in the main bathroom) in my opinion.

I'd lay out some in the shop and try walking on it.
 
lsg1r said:
There is some seriously good quality vinyl out there these days, it's nowhere near the old junk you used to get 10-20 years ago. Also there's loads of style options out there too.

As to if it's any good...we used a higher quality vinyl (about 5mm thick) in the ensuite in our loft conversion due to the shape of room. It's got a gentle padding to it which is much nicer to walk on than tiles (in the main bathroom) in my opinion.

I'd lay out some in the shop and try walking on it.
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Would definitely agree about the tiles, much prefer my vinyl tiles to normal tiles - not as cold and softer while still looking almost identical to tiles.
 
You can get good vinyl flooring now - not used any but after looking at laminate and tiles etc you can get some good patterns that look just like tiles but are easier and cheaper to put down.
 
scorza said:
Looking in John Lewis today for some ideas about kitchen/bathroom flooring - the only option seemed to be this luxury vinyl. I've always looked down my nose a bit at vinyl thinking it was basically the same as the crap lino flooring I had in my student digs, but if it's in John Lewis...

Anyway, thought this stuff looked pretty nice and definitely wasn't cheap - some of it £65 a square metre. Amtico Spacia was its name. Anyone had any experience with this brand or similar?
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Its what is known as a Luxury Vinyl Tile/Plank. Several vinyl layers with a high definition photo and then a protective layer or 2. £65 isn't too bad a price.
Karndean is a very similar product.

Its very nice when laid properly (get a pro to do it) and of a good quality.

The other vinyl you refer to is laid from a roll. These days it usually comes with a foam backing and is better than that godawful thin lino.
 
We want to lay some in a new living room.

What subfloor is required for this stuff? We're knocking through 2x rooms, one side has a concrete floor, and one is wooden (just to make life difficult).

Is it expensive to have fitted?
 
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Got a high quality vinyl floor with underlay in the room I keep my pc in. Despite a heavy desk, case and a chair it doesn't mark or dent compared to the cheap vinyl used previously.
 
Skiddley said:
We want to lay some in a new living room.

What subfloor is required for this stuff? We're knocking through 2x rooms, one side has a concrete floor, and one is wooden (just to make life difficult).

Is it expensive to have fitted?
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The floor has to be level (imperfections will show up in the sunlight) so usually a screed on the concrete and plyboard on the wooden.

Fitters charge at least £12 a square metre. I'd advise getting quotes and check reputations as there are a lot of fitters that say they can fit it but can't as they treat them like basic vinyl tiles which they aren't.
I've seen cases of a customers complaining about the product and Karndean have inspected and said that their adhesive wasn't used so couldn't help as the fitter thought he knew better.
Aftercare is important (give it time to settle and don't steam clean it).
Depending on the room temperature, some tiles can pop back up (don't use the standard adhesive in conservatories for instance)
I think Karndean and Amtico both offer courses in how to fit it properly.
 
Have asked for a quote for some Amtico Spacia flooring - the salesman wasn't too keen for some reason and mentioned something about it being easy to scratch compared to standard vinyl tiles. Sounds like BS to me.
 
I've always found it quite resistant as it has a protective layer where normal vinyl tiles do not.
It can be scratched with a sharp edge, but then so can most things. As long as your installer doesn't cut the tiles on what has just been laid, then it should be okay.
 
I've got slate effect vinyl tiles - checkout my build log:-

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18613856

11_zpsb90b0925.jpg


I love them. Waterproof, very hard wearing and warm to the touch when walking aorund barefoot.
 
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we had a wood effect one laid in the kitchen

came in 'planks' just like wood flooring and laid roughly the same way

a self leveling screed was poured over the concrete floor, then it was laid on that

it looks really good, I was sceptical, but its hard wearing , much harder to scuff, much easier to clean, its not icy cold under foot

I am converted and would get the same again in a kitchen
 
As above, we had a wood effect laid in the kitchen, then opted to have the office (wood effect) and upstairs bathrooms (tile effect) done .

We went for really good quality vinyl, its been down two years and still looks fantastic.

Incredibly hard wearing, so easy to clean and people are so shocked when they realise its actually vinyl.

image1.jpg
 
Bickaxe said:
The floor has to be level (imperfections will show up in the sunlight) so usually a screed on the concrete and plyboard on the wooden.

Fitters charge at least £12 a square metre. I'd advise getting quotes and check reputations as there are a lot of fitters that say they can fit it but can't as they treat them like basic vinyl tiles which they aren't.
I've seen cases of a customers complaining about the product and Karndean have inspected and said that their adhesive wasn't used so couldn't help as the fitter thought he knew better.
Aftercare is important (give it time to settle and don't steam clean it).
Depending on the room temperature, some tiles can pop back up (don't use the standard adhesive in conservatories for instance)
I think Karndean and Amtico both offer courses in how to fit it properly.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I'm sold on this stuff, looks the biz.

50sqm...might sting a bit!
 
Bickaxe said:
Allow a day for floor prep, 3 days to fit. Keep off it for at least a day.
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Revival.

Being fitted in a few weeks - Karndean VG. Lifted boards in one half of room to reveal they were masonry nailed into a concrete slab, so happy days.

Fitter is screeding, liquid DPM (Ardex), and another screed before laying.

Working out at £~65psqm. Fitter is gold level\certified.
 
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