Laminate Flooring

NastyMatt

Not wanting to sound like a cleanliness freak but I actually like the fact you CAN see the dog prints on the laminate flooring.. that way I know if the floor is clean or not.

I had a carpet which I thought was clean until I got a carpet cleaner on it.. the water was black. When I clean my laminate I know it's clean!!

OddjobKIA

HAve you cosidered natural stone flooring a bit more expensive but it will last oh about...........20,000 years try https://www.harrisslate.com

startrekker

Been in flooring for as long as Charlottesdaddy and dont avoid laminate like the plague. If he has then unfortunately he has missed out on one of the fastest growing floorings in the market.
Now, a good quality say for instance, Quickstep will be sufficient. Fitted properly, even a novice can fit this, will last 10, 15 or more years. Low maintenance as well.
Now, I do sell Karndean flooring and its an excellent product, so if its a cheap flooring, hardwearing then go for Quickstep. If you want something different with individual flair then its Karndean etc for you. Have a look on their website.

tawnyowls

Another vote for Karndean here - have had it in two houses, and it is fab. OH is a qualified Karndean fitter and in years of fitting never had a callback from anyone with problems. As good as Amtico, but far cheaper.

Ellie2758 wrote:

I've looked on the Karndean site and ordered some samples. Thing is, I want to cover hall, kitchen, toilet and dining room to match. Will vinyl look ok in dining room? Also, the after-care for Karndean looks quite complicated!

Yes, the vinyl should look great. If you decide you'd like a wood effect in there, then IMO, I think the Karndean wood-planking is more convincing than laminate, probably because it's matt (which real wood is, not the gloss of laminate) and it's slightly textured. The other one that looks really good in non-kitchen areas is the slate finish. It's worth having a look round the big flooring places that have a display of Karndean laid out so that you can see what it looks like in a reasonably big area, and get some samples so you can take it home and look at it against your paint, cupboards, etc.

It's not that complicated to clean, honestly. Once you've used the cleaner & stripper to get rid of all the dirt, glue etc from the installation and then used the Dim Glow floor protector, you should really just be able to use any floor cleaner with a microfibre mop to clean it - you shouldn't really need their special cleaner. Not a good idea to use washing-up liquid, as that can cause stains on the pale colours - I generally use Astonish floor cleaner, but most should do the job. The Dim Glow needs to be re-done about every 6 months, but that is not a big job - it just means you can't walk on it for about 6 hours, so just do it before you go out for the day, or last thing at night. Otherwise, it's just sweep or vacuum, then mop.

If you go for a tile effect, it's up to you if you get the feature strip installed (the thing that looks like grout lines). It does make the floor more awkward to clean, and you might need to use a scrubbing brush every now and again. I've had them both with and without, and TBH, I probably wouldn't bother getting them installed in the future. However, it's worth getting the feature strips when you buy, as they're usually free at that stage, but you need to pay if you order them later.

tawnyowls

suki1964 wrote:

The felt patches do actually stick very well. I got some out of Ikea and they lasted a good couple of years - in fact when it came to to renew them I had to slice one or two off

Yes, they usually work really well - the only thing is that they can pick up dirt, and if you get a small piece of grit trapped in them, it can do as much damage as the furniture itself. The alternative, which are usually easy to get hold of in DIY shops, is similar pads that are finished in a smooth plastic.

brenmcc1

Am I correct in Saying all Laminate has an "AC" rating for quality grading or is that just B&Q?

tawnyowls

Should all have it. The AC ratings are explained here: http://www.fastfloors.com/articles/laminate_ac_rating.asp

It's often as cheap to go for a contract laminate as for a 'residential' one, and obviously they're far more hardwearing.