Vinyl. - Quality question and where to buy

xyz123

Hi

Went to a large call shop for kitchen floor vinyl. Prices were around £23 to £27 per square metre. TThen we looked at carpet right and there were few similar design vinyl around half price of local shop.

1. Is there anything like God quality and bad quality in vinyl. If so hhow do I identify good quality

2. Any recommendations on where to buy vinyl from.? Any decent national retailer or online shops?

Thanks

Johnandabby

I have bought kitchen vinyl from carpet right and allied carpets, but next time I'll definitely be looking at karndean. Main issue I've had is that the vinyl is too thick and cushioned - while that sounds nice, it just means that it indents easily with furniture, chair legs, high heels etc, and soon looks rough.

The more expensive vinyl in the shops tends to be thicker and more cushioned, but personally I would buy thinner and more resilient in the future as I think it will look better for longer.

cattie

I recently opted for vinyl in the bathroom of my new flat & did quite a bit of research online before buying. I decided on a couple of quality brands to go for, one of them being Rhinofloor.

I then discovered this site http://www.carpetremnantsonline.co.uk/vinylflooringremnants/ & found that they actually had a good sized remnant of one of the Rhinofloor designs I liked, from the Elite range.

I then spent a couple of days thinking about it & phoned them up to check the colour was exactly what I was looking for as I know monitors don't always show a true colour/tone.

In the meantime I discovered that they also sell some of their stock on ebay & they had this very remnant listed at a BIN, with a lower price than it was on the website. So I clicked & bought it & was amazed when flooring arrived the following day.

Other quality brands is Tarkett. You need to check thickness of flooring to gauge what is good & not so good. Obviously the thicker cushion floor flooring is far superior to something much thinner.

My flooring is actually textured, so actually does look like tiles, but of course much warmer & softer.

You will usually get a much better deal from an independent retailer compared to the big chains, especially when buying off the roll. If you're lucky enough to find a remnant in the style & design/colour you want then you can save an awful lot of money. I think I paid about a third of the roll price for mine & free delivery.

Pipkin

We spent a lot of money on thick cushioned vinyl for the kitchen which was recommended to us in a premium carpet shop when we specifically requested something hard wearing. It was the worst thing we ever bought. Anything remotely pointed that drops on it leaves a dent if not a hole, consequently a few years down the line it looks like we spent 25p a metre rather than £25, and as our kitchen is big it was a costly mistake. We have recently had to redo our toilet and bathroom lino, also done in the same stuff, though it has worn better there, and we have gone for cheaper, thinner lino from Carpetrite. No idea how it will fare, but it could hardly do any worse.

Johnandabby

Pipkin wrote: »

We spent a lot of money on thick cushioned vinyl for the kitchen which was recommended to us in a premium carpet shop when we specifically requested something hard wearing. It was the worst thing we ever bought. Anything remotely pointed that drops on it leaves a dent if not a hole, consequently a few years down the line it looks like we spent 25p a metre rather than £25, and as our kitchen is big it was a costly mistake. We have recently had to redo our toilet and bathroom lino, also done in the same stuff, though it has worn better there, and we have gone for cheaper, thinner lino from Carpetrite. No idea how it will fare, but it could hardly do any worse.

Couldn't agree more - from our experience the thinner the better!

Johnandabby

cattie wrote: »

You need to check thickness of flooring to gauge what is good & not so good. Obviously the thicker cushion floor flooring is far superior to something much thinner.

Thicker cushioned vinyl is fine for bathrooms, but doesn't work so well for kitchens, living areas etc - anything you drop makes a mark, and there are furniture marks everywhere

davilown

Have used cheap vinyl and more expensive. I'd recommend karndean as well - expensive but you get what you pay for. 22m2 worked out at around £900 as I sourced the karndean online

xyz123

davilown wrote: »

Have used cheap vinyl and more expensive. I'd recommend karndean as well - expensive but you get what you pay for. 22m2 worked out at around £900 as I sourced the karndean online

Can u share where u got it from.? I had a quick look online and could only see "tiles" as opposed to complete rolls which are easy to install. Also does it need any underlay?

Ta

Johnandabby

It comes as tiles/planks as it is more rigid than normal vinyl. You need level plywood sheeting to install on if on timber floor, or use a self levelling latex screed if on non level concrete floor. No underlay needed.

Given the cost, if you're not sure about doing it yourself then pay someone to lay it for you.

frankie

Karndean is brilliant stuff, had it in my last house. Would recommentd a pofession instal though to maintain the waranty, Not worth the risk of botching with such an expensive product. If your fitters mess up they have to rectify. Needs very accurate cutting and joining especially if you're going to include fancy strips too.

PS also have a look at a product called CAMARO, came acros this at the weekend when looking for kitchen floor ideas.

cyclonebri1

I did out large conservatory in heavy duty vinyl.

The best deal by far for me was through ebay.

What do you look for? Every seller or stockist of repute will publish detailed spec of the product.
It's not just the overall thickness that matters, more importantly it's the wear surface thickness.
You would be amazed at the difference, sometimes 3 or 400% difference in same overall thickness products.

My only actual advice on product is to avoid Rhinofloor, it doesn't do what it infers "on the can", and there are better products out there for less,;);)