Water Proof Laminate Floor Aqua Step

dirty

Hi there,

Just wondering if anyone has heard anything about this waterproof laminate floor - it's made from PVC so is apparently 100% waterproof as opposed to the splash proof stuff that you get elsewhere.

I have got a couple of samples from some suppliers in England and it certainly looks good....

dirty

I can't post a link

the site is www. aquastep .be

basmic

Mmmm nice - a PVC floor. Just when I thought laminate flooring couldn't possibly get any cheaper or nastier.

dirty

I've seen samples and it's surrpisingly well finished given that it's a PVC based material (it's similar to ordinary laminate).

I understand your point (criticism) - Of course I would have solid wood or black polished porcelain tiles - but when you have kids running through the house, high traffic, spillages, food being thrown from a high chair etc you are forced to look for a compromise.

I'm just interested to know if anyone has had success with this material.

underlay_guru

Plastic click-together floor, whatever next? It sounds not dissimilar to lego!

Why not buy a decent piece of vinyl? There are plenty of vinyl designs out there which are unrecognisable from laminate, plus they are waterproof, and many are slip-resistant. Arguably, it will be much cheaper to fit, too.

Alternatively, go for a fully stuck-down vinyl floor, such as Karndean or Amtico: Readyily available to buy and trustworthy!

dirty

I saw Karndean online - there is a supplier not too far away I might visit at the weekend - is it fully waterproof? -also i assume it's expensive?

Just on a side note - i'm not in anyway recommending this aquastep as I have never seen it fitted but everyone is getting carried away by the fact that it's pvc based. From the samples I have seen it looks just like laminate!

TomsMom

Dirty - I saw that Aquastep when I was considering laminate for our bathroom and I have to say that I agree with you that it looks as good as normal laminate and seems ideal for a bathroom.

We didn't want tiles (cold underfoot during night-time visits to the loo, and we didn't want underfloor heating) and I take your point about kids etc.

We started looking at vinyl and went to look at Karndean. It was very expensive at approx £50 per sq metre fitted by their fitters as they wouldn't guarantee it unless they had prepared the floor and done the fitting. It was nice but not that much nicer for that price.

In the end we settled for this tile effect sheet vinyl and it's beautiful. It's textured, shaded and looks fantastic. Not cold underfoot, not slippery. It cost £14 per sq metre and we paid our own fitter who made a fabulous job.

There are some great wood/laminate type of vinyls - have a look at the Armstrong/Rhinofloor site plus other makes, but if you like the Aquastep and would prefer that then I'd go for it.

dirty

TomsMom wrote: »

Dirty - I saw that Aquastep when I was considering laminate for our bathroom and I have to say that I agree with you that it looks as good as normal laminate and seems ideal for a bathroom.

We didn't want tiles (cold underfoot during night-time visits to the loo, and we didn't want underfloor heating) and I take your point about kids etc.

We started looking at vinyl and went to look at Karndean. It was very expensive at approx £50 per sq metre fitted by their fitters as they wouldn't guarantee it unless they had prepared the floor and done the fitting. It was nice but not that much nicer for that price.

In the end we settled for and it's beautiful. It's textured, shaded and looks fantastic. Not cold underfoot, not slippery. It cost £14 per sq metre and we paid our own fitter who made a fabulous job.

There are some great wood/laminate type of vinyls - have a look at the Armstrong/Rhinofloor site plus other makes, but if you like the Aquastep and would prefer that then I'd go for it.

Hi there - thanks for this info - I do like the look of aquastep but am also open to any other suggestions - so thanks for the information i will check all these options too!

staxx

I have just had this laid in my bathroom, bedroom and en-suite and had some left over so laid it myself on the landing.
Great product - looks like wood; warm; waterproof - great to lay as it doesn't expand with heat/moisture, so no need to leave an expansion gap at the edge - lay right up to wall/skirting board. I bought off the web and got approx. 40% discount on list price.
Cannot recommend the product highly enough.

cajef

staxx wrote: »

Cannot recommend the product highly enough.

There is a surprise, first post and in an eighteen month old thread, why do I suspect :spam:

dirty

cajef wrote: »

There is a surprise, first post and in an eighteen month old thread, why do I suspect :spam:

Good point, BUT funny enough I just laid some of this 2 weeks ago in our shower room. Previous to this B&Q had some of their water proof laminate on offer, 20 quid for a box which was enough for this tiny shower room - So I thought I'd take a risk and give it a go.
So I was "b&qed" It was the worst crap I had ever worked with, it said to use glue to seal the joints, the joins were awful it didn't fit together well without glue and was even worse with it. The glue also was soaked up by the tongue and groove parts which then fell apart. AWFUL can't say enough bad things enough about this stuff (and I have laid about 20 laminate floors in various houses). The b&q floor is in the skip where it belongs.

So about Aqua Step - I looked at the Vinyl alternative, tiles, ordinary laminate, b&q waterproof laminate and finally I managed to source some aquastep from an English company who would deliver to Northern Ireland without charging an arm and a leg.
Laying it was a doddle - One of the haters above said this stuff sounds like lego - well, that's about as hard as it is to put together, snaps together very easily and stays together very well!
Yes it's made with PVC and yes you can tell the difference from a tiles but it is much superior to vinyl, it's thicker, feels better under foot, quiet and not cold like tiles. It has a mat finish and looks great.
The only disadvantage is at £40 a square metre it's not cheap although it's ALOT cheaper to fit than tiles (less labour, no adhesive or grout).
I'm sure you can gather at this point that I am impressed and will be buying more to put down in our main bathroom