Luxury Vinyl Tiles advice needed

3 years ago

Hello

Following some (very helpful advice on this forum to look at LVT for our downstairs and in the new kitchen/diner extension - with underfloor heating - we've been looking at the following brands and wondered if anyone else had used them and could share their experiences?

Ideally we're looking at £20 or less p/m2 in a herringbone/parquet style and have found the following brands and suppliers:

Polyflor - specifically parquet style https://www.flooringsupplies.co.uk/browse/1/12/b/product-type=vinyl/style=parquet-effect/brand=polyflor

Real Textures Standford https://www.flooringhut.co.uk/vinyl-flooring/real-textures/stanford

Factory Direct flooring https://www.factory-direct-flooring.co.uk/luxury-vinyl-tiles/herringbone-parquet

UK flooring supplies online https://ukflooringsuppliesonline.co.uk/product/cfs-eternity-parquet-sand-limed-oak/

Any advice would we fantastic and greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

Featured Answer

1sandyh

3 years ago

Matt, are you planning to lay this yourself or employ someone? Because the cost of fitting herringbone, especially glue down, will be more than the flooring itself. It will be A LOT. Which is false economy for a cheaper quality floor. There is a lot of prep work involved for glue down systems. Floor has to be levelled, latexed, polished, prepped. And they are a nightmare to get up if you ever needed to (eg water leak/bad scratch)

I would spend more on a decent quality click style herringbone (it ‘clicks’ together rather than being glued to the substrate) & spend less on the fitting this way. So overall, even if the total cost is the same, you get better quality flooring that will last longer, is more durable, better quality & is easier to take up if you needed to in the future. Way faster & cheaper to fit, even a DIYer can fit it, really easy.

Kahrs & Karndean (reputable brands) do it in 4 or 5 colours.

QA Luvanto is another big brand, they do a good range of herringbone click in various colours.

Lamett (Yukon range) have a good selection & is amazing quality & well priced.

Moduleo do click style planks but not sure about Herringbone, have a look.

Amtico & Polyfloor don’t yet, but will be moving towards this style as people are getting fed up of paying so much for the messy & expensive glue down fitting. Amtico & Polyflor now offer click style planks in some colours, but not yet HB.

You could also search for ‘click herringbone LVT’ and ‘click parquet LVT’ on Google & see what you find.

Main thing to look for is the wear layer (top layer) - the deeper the better. Also something with a good warranty (Min 10 years - but some are 20 years or even lifetime). Check out reviews, order samples (often free) & test them yourself with water & Key scratching!

Anything designed for ‘heavy traffic’ or ‘commercial’ is of course going to be more hard wearing too & generally good.

Also don’t be afraid to call/email the manufacturers direct for their recommendations, and to find out all the spec of the products so you could compare them.

So, I would increase your budget for the floor itself - but decrease your budget for the fitting - by having a click version rather than glue down! £30m2 is realistic.

How big is your area? Because sometimes the more you buy the better rate you get. Also look out for bank holiday/Easter discounts!

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Comments (14)

Kiwikate
3 years ago
I have Polyflor Camaro in my bathroom, laid late last year. While I don't have the parquet, I am very happy with it. It is easy to clean, looks good and is warm under foot. is worth getting a sample as I noticed that different varieties in the same range have very different textures which might affect your choice.
Matt P thanked Kiwikate
Daisy England
3 years ago
I have just ordered the Eternity brand in Rustic Oak to go all the way across the back of my house covering the kitchen and dining area. I’m having herringbone pattern. It starts to go down next week. It was recommended by the flooring company who said it was made by Karndean but without the cost of it. It’s a two tone flooring with some tiles lighter than the others and looks great on the huge sample I have. I am getting myself sorted for the mess as they have to make up a lower floor first and than apply latex all over the existing kitchen tiles.
Matt P thanked Daisy England
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Hi, take a look here for flooring inspirations: https://www.panelcompany.co.uk/flooring-tiles.html At The Panel Company, we understand the importance of choosing Luxury Vinyl Flooring (LVT) that is the perfect fit for you, your property and your lifestyle. Luxury Vinyl Flooring (LVT) is the perfect flooring solution for any room in the house, including bathrooms and wet rooms. It is waterproof, non-slip and easy to clean. Spilling water on the tiles is not a problem, simply mop it up! Our LVT flooring is both scratch and stain resistant as a result of its multi-layered construction that preserves the finish under a PU protective coating that has a built in anti-bacterial effect. Beautiful, hygienic and durable, and it comes with a 15 – 25 year guarantee depending on usage. With a huge variety of authentic and textured wood, stone and marble textured finishes our flooring is perfect for all the house, providing a warm and comfortable surface whether you are barefoot and a durable, hardwearing surface that can cope easily with the more high intensity usage areas such as halls or living rooms. The anti-bacterial effect makes it perfectly safe for children and ensures your room remains not just obviously clean but hygienic as well. Our LVT flooring comes in two types, the 5G click option and the stick-down tile. The simple, non-click option offers a cost effective option but we would always recommend an experienced fitter. The 5G tile is perfectly suitable for DIY projects, offering a simple click together mechanism and needing no adhesive. I always suggest to order FREE SAMPLES and to see the samples under natural light, you can also put them on your existing kitchen floor to see if the colours and patters will suit your interior etc. If you have any questions please let me know.
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Thank you. I will want to glue it rather than click. And hoping to find cheaper than Amtico and Karndean.
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PRO
Caldicot Kitchen & Bathroom Centre
3 years ago
Adding to what Daisy said - we tend to specify Karndean who, along with Amtico, are generally consider the leaders for quality, range and technical excellence of their product. We generally find Karndean just edges it for price and back up support, and their "Knight Tile" (lowest price group) range has some very attractive options in the mix.

Polyflor too has a decent reputation. I hadn't heard about the Eternity brand or purported links to Karndean so cannot verify - though I will be asking my rep more about it next time I speak to him!
Matt P thanked Caldicot Kitchen & Bathroom Centre
Matt P
Original Author
3 years ago
Daisy, good luck, it sounds very similar to our plans. Would you be able to share an image of the finished outcome?

What kind of fitting costs per square metre have you been able to get?

Thanks for the advice!
Daisy England
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
Matt, it’s going down next week so yes will share an image. We had a leak which went under the wooden floor in the dining area, so that’s in the process of being taken up. That will then leave an 18-20mm difference in the floor level which needs to be made up. They’re doing this over 3 days and then the kitchen floor needs latex laying as we have floor tiles on it. Flooring company have said allow a week overall 😬.

They brought round several samples, we asked for a further 2 to be sent which we were interested in but in the end we went for the Rustic Oak which has a smooth finish. I was adamant that I wanted nothing with ridges in because of any difficulty in cleaning.

The price they offered included making up the dining area on 3 separate days, latex to the kitchen and then laying the herringbone pattern. The bill has come in at almost £2k inc vat but it is a large area and all the way across the back of the house. They didn't offer a square metre price because it was more complicated job. The price fell into the bracket we were expecting.
Matt P thanked Daisy England
Matt P
Original Author
3 years ago
Daisy, thanks for all the info, good luck, I hope it goes smoothly and I look forward to seeing the pics!
Daisy England
3 years ago
We were offered the click by another company, thought about it and decided it wasn’t for us as we already had new skirting and architraves and detest that horrid beading.

We also found that the choice for herringbone/parquet click wasn’t as good as the glue down.

It was a case of swings and roundabout with the cost of the different flooring and then the cost of the labour for each system.

Son has Polyflor and loves it. It looks good too.
Matt P thanked Daisy England
1sandyh
3 years ago
Daisy is right, there’s not as much choice for HB click - but there are still 30+ options so it’s worth considering those, if you look at the above brands that’s a good start. Are you having new skirting, or removing & refitting your skirting? Like Daisy said, you may end up with beading if not. Although the LVT is so thin you may manage to slot it under existing gap. Really best to get some prices from floor fitters for both options (and any other floor options). The fact you’ve only budgeted £20m2 for HB LVT is a big ask & makes me wonder if you realise just how expensive the fitting will be. Good luck
Matt P thanked 1sandyh
Matt P
Original Author
3 years ago
Thanks for all of the advice and information, I can't imagine how long it will have taken us to have found all of this out without your help!

So I think what will complicate things for us is that our new extension floor will obviously be level so we can use the click LVT there (found this one for £18 p/sqm https://www.woodfloorwarehouse.co.uk/milltown-oak-herringbone ) but as my wife would ideally like the same flooring through the ground floor it will involve re-flooring existing rooms which may well be at a different level to the extension.

Thanks again for all of the info and time taken to provide it, it is much appreciated and so helpful.

Cheers!
Matt P
Original Author
3 years ago
Sorry, I'll stop posting responses on here, but I think based on all of the advice above that spending a bit more for the click LVT might be best. I've found this one in herringbone for £27 which looks good so thanks again for your help! https://flooring.uk.com/naturelle-herringbone-spc-rigid-click-vinyl-flooring-vintage-oak
Daisy England
3 years ago
We are ploughing on with the removal of wooden floor and tiles underneath. Believe me when I say it is a hard job. Son is down to chisel and hammer complete with blisters on his hands and sore knees
PRO
Caldicot Kitchen & Bathroom Centre
3 years ago
@Matt P - if you do go for large areas of a "click lock" product, remember that it is a FLOATING floor product, so you need to remember to make allowances for expansion/contraction and follow the manufacturer's guidance on ow to deal with units/appliances etc sitting on it, and how frequently you may need "air gaps".

If you are going for very large areas of flooring extending through multiple rooms and want a more "seamless" finish between them, you may still be better to go for a glue down - just factor in that a final levelling latex should ideally be poured in a continuous pour throughout the area to be covered for best quality finish.

Cost for laying glue down products is higher than floating, because it is a much more skilled job that requires more careful prep, planning and the correct tooling & laying out process. It is a real investment in your home, though, and it is not something on which I would skimp for a Bodge-it-and-scarper type!

While most tilers & flooring fitters try to charge you by the meterage (because they make more money that way!) there is nothing saying you can't negotiate for a fixed price on and clearly scoped job. For my own company, we know our main flooring contractor's "meterage" rates. Sometimes we are happy to pay that way, but for larger jobs or where we know it is going to be quick & straightforward, we certainly negotiate - hard! The tiler may want that Caribbean cruise, but then again so does my wife...
Matt P thanked Caldicot Kitchen & Bathroom Centre
Louise
2 years ago
Just wondering if anyone could share a picture of the finished job please?

Luxury Vinyl Tiles advice needed

1sandyh

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