New flooring on a budget

elljay

If you aren't too housproud and allow it to get a bit grubby - just a bit - it's far less slippery - or maybe that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it. However if you're a stickler for polishing it etc then it will be lethal. I have half an idea I've seen a product that will lessen the slipperiness, maybe worth googling. Liz

underlay_guru

Blue_Fairy wrote: »

I have seen laminate with a slightly textured surface- I think I preferred this to the usual laminate with very smooth surface, it seemed it would be a lot less slippy? (my mum is always going on that loads of people have had bad accidents through slipping on laminate floors! :rolleyes: She doesn't like laminate at all, the wool carpet was her idea! :mad:)

...Try a non-slip vinyl floor in the kitchen! Go to your local carpet shop and ask for a vinyl that is "R10 rated". Most cost around the same as normal vinyl.

Also be aware that laminate flooring is NOT waterproof. If water is spilled into the laminate joints it will seep into the HDF below and cause it to swell, creating irrepairable damage. Think of laminate as a very thick piece of cardboard!

Fire_Fox

underlay_guru wrote: »

Also be aware that laminate flooring is NOT waterproof. If water is spilled into the laminate joints it will seep into the HDF below and cause it to swell, creating irrepairable damage. Think of laminate as a very thick piece of cardboard!

I haven't been at all careful with mine, I suspect my tenant (lived here before me) wasn't either. Have not had the tiniest problem five years after it was laid. I assume this is down to good fitting.

Little_Chris

I agree with underlay_guru. Look at vinyl with an R10 rating. Although this doesn't mean that it will be non-slip, it will be slip resistant (slightly different legal term in case you slip and break your neck :rotfl: )
If you're looking at laminate, try and stick to QuickStep. The way that the planks are jointed together is far superior to B&Q stuff and if you search the internet you'll find QuickStep 700 Classic for under a tenner a metre.

A decent underlay will make all the difference as well. Look for Timbermate Excel underlay and stay away from thin 1mm / 2mm cheap 'vapour barriers'

My only concern with man-made carpets is that they tend not to have the appearance retention of wool carpets. A man-made carpet will typically loose it's appearance far sooner than a wool carpet. That said, man-made carpets made of meraklon, polyamide or similar are really easy to clean (even being able to use a mild bleach solution).