amtico flooring?

[MrsMattie]

Decided we're probably going to go with some sort of engineered flooring like Amtico / Larndean for our kitchen, after breaking my back trying to keep natural tiles elsewhere in the house clean (never again!). Anyone had any experience with this type of flooring? Is it really as hard wearing as the manafacturers claim? Also, style-wise, what kind of flooring do you think would work with a contemporary white kitchen with solid oak worktops? Ooh questions, questions...



(Posted this in Property too - sorry, not spamming, just really want some advice!)

[kathryn962]

Currently doing my kitchen and can't wait to get rid of my slate tiles, i am getting karndean and also currently have it in my bathroom (been down 3 years) and love it. Ive seen it down in many places and apparently it is as good as they claim. Marks and sparks have it in most of their stores and so do a lot of other retailers. Mine is great in the bathroom, very easy to clean etc.. Also i have similar problem with what colour/style to go with, but in your case may try one of the wood tones they do have a huge variety. Im going for cream as my kitchen very dark but i love the black ones.

[Chamomile]

Why do you want rid of your slate, Kathryn? I'm debating between amtico and slate for my kitchen so would really like to know.

[kathryn962]

its just so hard to clean (and its green) have always hated it, stopped cleaning it about xmas (and the oven) in my protest for a new kitchen with easy to clean floor. husband now agrees and has ordered my kitchen. what is amtico?

[kathryn962]

oooo! just looked looks like karndean stuff, think i may havev seen it in some shops. that stuff really would make life much easier.

[Saggarmakersbottomknocker]

I have Karndean. The American Oak in my hall and downstairs loo and Soapstone (with American Oak 'grouting' IYSWIM). 'Tis fab. It's been down 3 years, swept everyday and mopped much less as it doesn't show the dirt particularly. Would recommend it but I think it needs expert laying, not really a DIY job.

[Saggarmakersbottomknocker]

Sorry the Soapstone is in the kitchen......not that it matters lol.

[MrsMattie]

The stone tiles in our bathroom are AWFUL. Slate tiles in last house were impossible to keep clean. Really glad to hear good reviews of Amtico / Karndean etc. We only had our bathroom floor tiled very recently but I may even re-do it with Amtico. Housework is not my thing, and I can't be arsed with all the cleaning that natural materials require.

[kathryn962]

going for soapstone myself glad to hear it doesn't show the dirt. got expert to do my bathroom but as we knocked through into dining room, room is now huge and will cost us a fortune. DP says he can do it he is pretty handy but i am not so sure.

[binkleandflip]

We have Amtico in our bathroom and kitchen. The bathroom is floorboard style - kind of a holographic dark blue - its lovely. The kitchen is slate styles - it is an ABSOLUTE NIGHTMARE to clean because it is textured and so grimy bits collect on it very quickly and easily. The Amtico cleaning stuff is good but I would advise against a textured finish and just get flat stuff if you can.

[GrapefruitMoon]

I've had both Amtico and Karndean, similar patterns in two different bathrooms. IME Amtico is more durable and (iirc) you are supposed to apply some sort of sealant to the Karndean (and strip it off and redo it every so often). Needless to say that's never happened here...

[scampadoodle]

We have lino in our kitchen & it wears really well. You can get it in tiles or on a roll & it comes in lovely colours. It's cheaper than Amtico (usually around £22 sqm)

Advantages:

It's completely natural & very enviro-friendly

The main firm who make it are Scottish, (called Forbo I think)so it's a british product (fewer air miles etc).

Hard-wearing

Easy to clean.