New kitchen floor - suggestions please

GDB2222

The kitchen vinyl floor has been down nearly 25 years, and it's well in need of replacement. It's been laid on screeded concrete, and the plan would be to get the screed repaired as necessary and use that as the subfloor.

It's easier to say what we don't want, rather than what we do want:

Not ceramic tiles.
Not too thick, as the floor needs to go under the appliances, and the units are already in place.
Needs to withstand the occasional flood from dishwasher/washing machine etc.

Would we be better off with LVT, maybe? That's more expensive, but we'd save a lot of sq m of wasted material, because of extending under the appliances.

Doozergirl

It's ideal for what you are asking.  

Rosa_Damascena

Personally I would rather go lino than LVT, cheaper and wears relatively well. I have a deep-seated suspicion that LVT will blow if there are any laundry accidents.

I too wouldn't go for ceramic tiles as anything that falls on it is doomed! I went for porcelain tiles (in a wood effect to match my engineered wood floors) and not only do they look good, they are so easy to clean. No regrets from me.

Doozergirl

Rosa_Damascena said:

Personally I would rather go lino than LVT, cheaper and wears relatively well. I have a deep-seated suspicion that LVT will blow if there are any laundry accidents.

I too wouldn't go for ceramic tiles as anything that falls on it is doomed! I went for porcelain tiles (in a wood effect to match my engineered wood floors) and not only do they look good, they are so easy to clean. No regrets from me.

LVT doesn't blow. I absolute soak the floor when deep cleaning it, to the point that I will pour jugs of water over it.   

Even if there is a problem, the tiles can be individually heated, lifted and stuck back down again or replaced.   The stuff is near indestructible.  

Rosa_Damascena

Doozergirl said:

Rosa_Damascena said:

Personally I would rather go lino than LVT, cheaper and wears relatively well. I have a deep-seated suspicion that LVT will blow if there are any laundry accidents.

I too wouldn't go for ceramic tiles as anything that falls on it is doomed! I went for porcelain tiles (in a wood effect to match my engineered wood floors) and not only do they look good, they are so easy to clean. No regrets from me.

LVT doesn't blow. I absolute soak the floor when deep cleaning it, to the point that I will pour jugs of water over it.   

Even if there is a problem, the tiles can be individually heated, lifted and stuck back down again or replaced.   The stuff is near indestructible.  

I defer to your experience here but don't trust it myself.

Besides which, decent porcelain tiles (supply and fit) come in at a more MSE price than the likes of top end Karndean, Amtico etc - quoted at £90-120/sqm. I should know, I wasted enough hours of my life looking into these things...

Doozergirl

Rosa_Damascena said:

Doozergirl said:

Rosa_Damascena said:

Personally I would rather go lino than LVT, cheaper and wears relatively well. I have a deep-seated suspicion that LVT will blow if there are any laundry accidents.

I too wouldn't go for ceramic tiles as anything that falls on it is doomed! I went for porcelain tiles (in a wood effect to match my engineered wood floors) and not only do they look good, they are so easy to clean. No regrets from me.

LVT doesn't blow. I absolute soak the floor when deep cleaning it, to the point that I will pour jugs of water over it.   

Even if there is a problem, the tiles can be individually heated, lifted and stuck back down again or replaced.   The stuff is near indestructible.  

I defer to your experience here but don't trust it myself.

Besides which, decent porcelain tiles (supply and fit) come in at a more MSE price than the likes of top end Karndean, Amtico etc - quoted at £90-120/sqm. I should know, I wasted enough hours of my life looking into these things...

Top end Amtico and Karndean is a bit of a ruse.  They had to drop their prices to meet the rest of the market as it emerged and so whilst the lower end is thinner, it doesn't make a blind bit of difference to the wear.  

I did our Amtico for around £50 a metre.  There are cheaper products that are equally as good - I think we had Polyflor or LG in the last house.  

Tiles don't meet the brief because of height.  LVT will take up as much depth as the tile adhesive alone.  

It's either that or lino roll.   Comes down to how posh you want it to look.  

There's click vinyl too and flat lay.  No experience of those, but it's waterproof and both involve less labour. 

frankersBri

I've put click LVT in my kitchen/diner because it's waterproof, able to install DIY, hard but not as hard as tiles so things don't break, and it actually looks like flagstones (but not cold underfoot!). 

When I say it was able to be done DIY, me and my dad did it and learned a lot along the way. But it is doable, providing you're willing to be frustrated calculating and cutting weird shapes to fit all of the various corners, nooks and crannies.

We cut it so it went under the cupboards a bit, and then reinstalled the kickboards on top of it. 

rach_k

We have LVT in the kitchen and bathroom.  With me being utterly careless with the washing machine and having two pre-teen girls soaking the bathroom, I'm confident in saying that it's fine when it gets flooded!

It is also very hardwearing even though we went for the cheaper Amtico range.  I've thrown all sorts - cast iron pans, knives - at it and it's still perfect after several years. 

Rosa_Damascena

Ok I stand corrected but wasn't willing to get it wrong in my own home.

morti

There is also SPC flooring which is more rigid than LVT, maybe a little more expensive but has its advantages.
Ive done the entire of my house in a mix of both, LVT I didnt use an underlay as I levelled the floor before use, but SPC the laminate underlay is recommended due to it being less flexible.

If you shop around you can find manufacturers or distributors and get it for around £25 per sq mtr