Flooring options by bifold doors (sun and heat exposure)

11 months ago

last modified: 11 months ago

I am in the process of having a kitchen/snug/dining room extension. 2 walls of the dining area are going to be slide and pivot doors (similar to bifolds). It's a south facing room and these doors will get sun all day long in the summer. I'm getting conflicting advice as to the best flooring solution.

First person said SPC as it's less likely to fade than LVT. Second person said LVT not SPC as it needs to be glued down with a high heat glue to prevent problems with expansion (SPC is click together). Third person said LVT will go green within 4 years due to sun exposure and to use laminate, but I would have thought that would have suffered the same as SPC with expansion in the heat. The room is also 12 meters at its longest which I believe can cause issues with laminate. I also have a small dog and baby so something tough would be great. I'd really prefer not to use tiles and ideally would like wood effect. Because it's such a large area I can't afford underfloor heating. Any advice would be amazing, thank you!

Featured Answer

PRO

Enzo Design + Build

11 months ago

LVT or Tiles is the way to go and as with any product go with a well established brand name and avoid the cheaper options as they are low cost for reason. I'd recommend anything thats stuck down as less likely to move!

Ask suppliers to confirm in writing that its suitable for use in direct sunlight then any issues in warrenty periord you can go back to them and ask them to rectify.

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Comments (13)

Sonia
11 months ago
I’ve had slate style porcelain tiles in my south facing kitchen for 13 years and no fading or change of colour. I know you don’t want tiles but they are incredibly tough and easy to care for. Advisable to have under floor heating as it can be cold underfoot in the winter. Just a suggestion. I have laminate in my living room and again easy to care for and hardwearing but it’s a north facing room so a bit different.
Daisy England
11 months ago
last modified: 11 months ago
Laminate flooring and dogs don’t gel well. You will see all and any scratch marks. Plus it does have a tendency to expand due to heat expansion from the sun. l have heard of it lifting.

l’m puzzled by someone has said LVT will go green in 4 years. What’s the logic behind that statement?

l have a large kitchen diner and have LVT. Love it. Warm to walk on which is in complete contrast to the floor tiles l previously had and can also be cleaned with a steam mop which is also an advantage.

Go for LVT. So many colours and brands out there and you don’t have to pay for the expensive stuff such as Amtico for it to look good. Mine is from the Eternity range.
Caroline Bishop thanked Daisy England
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Caroline Bishop
Original Author
11 months ago
@Daisy England The LVT going green comment was due to the sun exposure.
Daisy England
11 months ago
Have never heard of that. Many thousands of people have LVT with sunlight on it including shops. l think that’s twaddle 🤣
Mandy Slow
11 months ago
Whaaaaat? I've never heard of that.
tim_baker921
11 months ago
Porcelain tiles and cosy slippers.
Jo Georgiou
11 months ago
We had our kitchen renovated to ‘let the outside in’ and had aluminium double doors fitted, which allow the sunlight to pour in from our south facing garden. We went for timber effect LTV bought from a leading supplier of kitchens and as soon as the sun hits it at 11.30 it lifts as though floating. Floor supplier sent us the technical details which were not included in the brochure, online or in the box,and they say avoid direct sunlight yet they recommend for kitchens and even for under floor heating. We are now looking either at shades or new flooring. It’s a dream that is now a nightmare, we had laminate before and it never did this
lspendl 828
11 months ago
I’ve had LVT (Karndean) in my south facing conservatory for 15 years. No problems with it at all although it has faded a little. Still looks good. Also have it in south facing kitchen/family room. It’s been down roughly 5 years and is perfect.
Daisy England
11 months ago
Who was ’your leading supplier of kitchens’?
Jo Georgiou
11 months ago
last modified: 11 months ago
We have gone back to the supplier who sent the video to their tech team - and they came back after two weeks to say it was a fitting problem, which was pretty predictable. However there is an expansion gap that ought to be adequate. It could be that there is a kitchen island on top of the floor that prevents the boards expanding - we are going to try and cut holes around the feet - but deliberately didn't fix the island as we wanted to allow the option to remove it. We bought the floor from our kitchen supplier, who we thought were a well established brand name :( https://www.howdens.com/joinery/floors/flooring/oake-and-gray-rustic-oak-luxury-rigid-vinyl-flooring-with-integrated-underlay-19m-pack-sdh3701
Fran B
10 months ago
My house had LVT when we moved in and it was awful, scratched to pieces from the pervious owners and my dog only added to the scratches. It was also really cold underfoot, we couldn't wait to see the back of it! I did loads of ’scratch tests’ (attacking it with a sharp object!) with samples of LVT thinking we might have inherited a cheap brand of floor, but they all scratched just as easily. We replaced it with Quick step laminate which has been great, much warmer, no scratches. We have a south facing garden with bifolds and it gets extremely hot in the summer, but the new floor has been fine.
PRO
i-architect
10 months ago
last modified: 10 months ago
If you're interested in a more eco option, something easy to clean, warm looking wooden type colouring and effect, a little bit soft for baby to enjoy crawling on and learning to walk on, and that won't smash everything dropped on it, plus have something warmer feeling to the touch, and easy to clean, then I would suggest using cork tiles well sealed with several layers of varnish.

Although if you're a fan of stiletto heels it doesn't stand up so well to that kind of high point pressure! If you're a shoes off in the house type family then you'll be fine. Also check on the legs of chairs if you have a dining table - if they are fairly chunky legs or have a smaller footprint similar to a high heel...

Flooring options by bifold doors (sun and heat exposure)

Enzo Design + Build

Comments (13)

Sonia

Daisy England

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Daisy England

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Flooring options by bifold doors (sun and heat exposure)

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