Porcelain is a tough tile which will not crack or break easily. they are very long lasting. vinyl is out dated and just doesn't look good. Your other option should be ceramic tiles. So it should be between ceramic and porcelain. I'd still recommend porcelain but ceramic is cheaper, that's the biggest advantage of ceramic. I bought these porcelain tiles two weeks ago, they look lovely. beautiful hexagon porcelain tiles

Thanks Angela, I'm aware of the mat and ply, I'm more after advice regarding expansion joints etc and how to make them not so obvious and where they are needed inside and out and what's required on the join between suspended and concrete? Sorry I should have been clearer. Thanks.

We have a similar dilemma and have decided to go for kitchen safe laminate and lay it ourselves. We spoke to a builder who helped us on another job last Summer and he said Howdens laminate is good - though you'd need access to a trade account to buy it. Perhaps you have a contact from your previous work who can help you with that. We enjoy a DIY challenge and can't justify the LVT price tag right now - although if we could then we would go for LVT. I wanted to comment because I noticed your price estimates for Karndean. When we had our LVT quote, the fitter was able to source the Karndean flooring we wanted at around half the price that I'd seen in various places online which meant it came in at around £15 per meter which is cheaper than quickstep. So if you're having the floor screeded anyway (which is a big part of the cost)... perhaps worth talking to a fitter to see what they can do which might save you some money on the LVT to make it more justifiable. Good luck with your project! We are starting the prep for our laminate today - fingers crossed all goes well!

Hi, just seen your question while searching for advice on Polished Concrete vs Stone vs wooden floors for a new extension project I’m planning. If you read this, please could you let me know what you eventually did with your concrete floors?