Replacing Carpet with Laminate?

vansboy

aiHandle wrote: »

thanks for all the comments and various advice!

and thanks vansboy for the link and your experiences will look into them more. how did you pick your underlay? As in what determines good quality in underlay? also how does ukflooring direct compare to say carpetright or tapi?

I think if we do go for laminate it'll be at least 8mm and possibly AC2 or AC3 rating?

If you click on the Vitrex link in my post, it has a demonstration video on Screwfix website.


But if you go to https://www.vitrex.co.uk then look at their range of different underlays, you'll see what's what.


If you have a Homebase near you, they had all the Vitrex underlays and you can look at them in real life.


But don't buy a fibre board, as I mentioned, it is very dusty to use and gets in all the joints and breathing it isn't good either. Plus it easily falls apart.


The foam rolls are not as easy to lay and not as thick, so if you have a rough or uneven floor, then they won't smooth the surface as well as the boards,





VB

aiHandle

actually just found out that we might have a contact that can get us stuff from Howdens. Anyone used their flooring? How do their quality/prices compare to say Quick-Step or Pergo?

anyone used Balterio?

aiHandle

i've been asked from many places what my "sub-floor" is. We are on the 3rd floor of a modern apartment block (built around 2006) so I'm guessing it's concrete? Would this be right or can it be totally something else?

I guess i could rip up the carpet to check but just thought I'll ask around to see beforehand

And do you think I'll need to add a damp-proof membrane beneath the underlay?

sol2017

I've been looking into the subject, although still not decided between carpet and laminate. Was categorically against laminate before but some look very nice and realistic. Would only consider wood if it was high end property or if I was definitely staying in the house for a long time.

Vitrex underlay seems to fit the bill best in terms of ease of installation, insulation, suitability and price.

As for the brands I've stopped on Quickstep laminate. It feels super solid, looks good and comes with 25 year warranty (at least the range I looked at). Must admit that some laminate from Wickes also looked decent and at a good price.

Purely based on product price, I found Carpetright expensive unless you can get a discount. Quickstep laminate I was looking at (Impressive) range is ~27 (all per sqm) there whereas you can get it for ~19 in some online stores and 23ish from most places.

B&Q have some Quickstep laminate for 18 and even cheaper on offer. Would have bought it had I liked the colour

aiHandle

Yeh after advice from vansboy and looking at other options the Vitrex boards seem to come out best. I have seen other people recommend the ones that look like silver and gold "foil" rolls but they seem to have low tog ratings

In the Quick-step range I've also come to the conclusion that the impressive range seems to be best value. It's the cheapest from what I've seen that is waterproof and has 4v grooves (although they are kind of more rounded compared to the move straight cut v-edges).

Have you checked out the Balterio range? From the feedback I've been getting they are also very good i.e. Pergo is great but ultra expensive, Quickstep is comparable and well regarded industry wide and Balterio probably close behind. I'm considering in particular their Tradition Quattro or Quattro Vintage ranges

And i think all of them (Balterio Tradition Quattro/Quattro Vintage and Quickstep Impressive) are Registered Embossed

getmore4less

Look at LVT

sol2017

Not looked into Balterio specifically. Decided I liked Quickstep quality and their click mechanism, so stopped at that

With LVT I learned that it's sensitive to sunlight and can both fade and expand/contract significantly, so excluded from my list. Might be that modern flooring is less susceptible but don't fancy taking my chances. (Besides I'm still just researching)

James_Green_1982

I've found laminate is ok if you don't get it too wet. But it does require a fair bit of labour to fit.
I don't like carpet.

I've found that putting down plywood sheets and laying vinyl flooring on top can be cheap and easy. The vinyl can tear quite easily - but it's cheaper to replace than laminate - because the labour time is much less. I've done it myself. All you really need is a good knife.

jennifernil

We have purchased quite a bit of flooring here......

https://www.factory-direct-flooring.co.uk/brand/quickstep?p=5&product_list_order=price

They do quite a few different brands.