Karndean flooring... any experience?

[littlepig]

Am moving into a new build in a few months and am thinknig about Karndean flooring. Most reviews seem to be really good but there are odd ones now and again saying that it's been hard to maintain. The alternative for us (downstairs) is laminate and the cost is working out to be similar enough.

Has anyone got this/ had it for a while?
Do you like it? Does it wear well?

[nannyL]

Its fantastic IMO

My uncle is an approved fitter...

they have had it in their house for years and years... the children are now 15 and 10 and they have dogs and cats and it still seems as good as new

they have it downstairs in the kitchen / family room / office and ares of high traffic and muddy dogs etc

my mum has had it in her kitchen for 5 years, she has 2 cats and it still looks as new

really easy to clean with a mop, and stuff doesnt break so easily (eg if ceramic tiles) and its warmer & softer than tiles, more washable than carpet and will tolerate water leaks unlike laminate!

[petalpower]

We had Karndean in the breakfast area of the kitchen in our last house. It looked fantastic, was easy to clean and was warm underfoot. It was quite expensive but I'd definitely have it again. I also thought it wasn't as noisy as laminate - the strips are flexible before they are laid and I think that they don't bounce the sound around in the same way that laminate does IYSWIM. Karndean was recommended by a friend who had it installed in her kitchen, hallway and playroom - she had builders going through with wheelbarrows etc to do work on her garden as this was the only access and the floor still looked fab (after a good clean!).

[adelicatequestion]

I have karndean on my kitcehn floor and hall.

After 4 yrs it started to loose teh colour and had flakes come off it leaving white patches. When I phoned the fitters they said it was a 3 yr guarantee and nthing they could do about it.

It ws always cleaned with karndean products.

[shouldbeironing]

Had ours for a year now and am liking it lots so far.
Make sure you get a few quotes - we got the local "approved" guy to quote and it seemed quite high so I got someone about half an hour away and his quote was almost half the price and it was def the same stuff and he did a good job. I later heard from other neighbours that our local guy thinks he can charge a lot as Karndean push you towards the local approved supplier.

[risingstar]

We had this put down last in year in kitchen, dining room, conservatory hall and cloakroom. It was the only stuff that was recommended for all areas. It is miles better than laminate. It is quieter, easy to clean and looks fab. They have to level the floor first and this is the expensive bit. We didn't go for the cheapest and it is guaranteed for at least 10 years. It came to £2800, but it is a biggish area. I would go for it.

[GrapefruitMoon]

I have had both Karndean and Amtico and personally I thought the Amtico was better quality

[moshie]

Amtico is better quality, but Karndean more affordable. Both better by miles than laminate.

[bellavita]

I have Karndean - it has been down now about 7 years and cost around £800, it goes from the hall through to the kitchen and utility room.

Very hardwearing, just sweep/hoover and then mop.

[Piffle]

we have the karndean woodplank in our kitchen
I've got pics on my facebook
It rules
It never looks like it needs mopping, I sweep Hoover, spot clean and mop if I have to.
It is partial to fine scratches but 2x year DP strips it with scourer and karndean products and refinishes it
Good as new
Much less work than lino or ceramic and shedloads above laminate

[bellavita]

piffle - tell me more about the stripping.. what sort of scourer - the sponge one side and rough end the other or one of those wiry things?

and what about the products?

[Dorothyredboots]

I love my Karndean. Have it in kitchen, en suite and house bathroom. Also had it in last house in kitchen and it is FAB. You need a good fitter, our second lot was done slightly better than the first, although I only saw that with hindsight. Ask at the shop how long their fitters have been using the product - they go on special training courses.
I am not using the Karndean cleaning products at the moment, but the floor seems OK and I wonder if it is a marketing ploy. The system is a stripper (liquid that you put on, leave then rinse off) which you use initially. Then there is a sort of top coat which makes the floor shiny. You need to strip this off with the stripper from time to time and start again. In between you just use the rountine cleaner. I don't bother with mine at this house as the pattern is one which does not need to be shiny. I used to do it at the old house and the results were very good - that was a chequerboard pattern in black & grey slate effect and it needed to look glossy. It probably sounds more faff than it is. The product keeps clean very well and it is literally a swoosh over with a mop.
Hope this helps.

[littlepig]

Thanks everyone, that is great.

Unfortunately we're definately at the wrong end of the Karndean spectrum to be able to consider Amtico though my DH had a look today in John Lewis and he said it is fantastic! They didn't have any Karndean for comparison though so I will choose to assume that it would have looked at least very nearly as nice.

The guy in she shop did tell us about the cleaning routine but he did actually say he doesn't really think it needs it particularly; spoke about it as a "it's my expensive new floor and I really want to take care of it" option. In fact he said they only put it down in their show area for the first time a couple of weeks ago. I suppose he could have been saying that to emphasise the hard-wearing aspect of it...

[bodiddly]

I sell both at work and also Polyflor which is quite often used for trade. It is less expensive if you find that you can't quite stretch to the Karndean!

[bellavita]

Dorothy, where do you get the products from, Can you buy them online?

[Dorothyredboots]

I think you can get them on line but they are heavy and the P & P is expensive. They 'give' you a starter pack when they install the floor. I just buy more from one of the local Karndean suppliers when I am in the vicinity - I get a few bottles at a time & it lasts ages anyway.

[bellavita]

Thanks Dorothy, I have had mine down a long time now, so I think I will have a scout around and see if I can find somewhere local.

[Linda111]

We are currently gathering a group of people that have had problems with Karndean flooring - specifically marks that come very easily and do not go away. It seems that there are far more problems than one would like to believe with their products. If you would like to join us, please email me at [email protected] No lawsuits, but we do have a safe forum for honest voices to be heard. We do expect a resolution. Thanks.

[higgle]

We have it in shower rooms and bathroom - wonderful, warm, robust, lookds really good. Our former nanny inherited some in her kitchen and added to it for her hall and family room - it matched up perfectly and she was really pleased with it too. The huge showroom which is Tewkesbury/Evesham way is very useful, you can't buy there but they will let you have some strips for a nominal fee (£1 per strip? - can't remember exactly)
to take away and see if you like them in situ.

[Harmonia]

I used to have Karndean at my older house and thought it did it's job fine. I recently moved and decided to go for Amtico Flooring this time (you can buy it online using that link!) They actually had an excellent offer on at the time and I got my tiles from their clearance lines.

I did find this page article about cleaning Karndean floors which might help.

[GracieGrace]

god id never do that
coudlnt be arsed

[JLH0502]

The floors could be good, BUT BEWARE: the sample you see in the retailer may not be what you actually get fitted. Karndean change the finish and coatings on their products which causes the floors to have very different textures and appearances from the samples you used to choose your floor.

We ordered a Karndean floor after trying various samples in the room first. When the floor was fitted it had a dull finish and a "grainy" texture. It marks easily and quickly shows signs of use. It looks like the floor hasn't been finished properly. We raised the issue with Karndean, who refused to even acknowledge any issue, but simply informed us that a new PU coating had been applied that was not on the sample we had seen and that they "reserve the right to change patterns/textures without prior notification"!!!

So, if you want to guarantee that the floor you get is anything like the one you order, don't buy Karndean.

[Noneava1lable]

Hi I was just reading that you had pictures of your karndean flooring on Facebook, I am just about to order for my house and would be interested to see pictures in a real home - would you mind emailing me your pictures if you dont mind if you dont want me to look on your Facebook page. Thanks very much, if you dont want to thats fine. Thanks a lot. My email is [email protected]

[keSnowBi]

I really like our Karndean as well. We put in bathroom and living room and have no complaints about its hard-wearingness (almost exactly 2 years later). Our finish was as the sample.

I imagine in a hallway you might need to get a higher spec but otherwise I can't see any issue - but then again I haven't had any of the issues mentioned above.

[2ndtimeroundandfeelingclueless]

We have karndean tiles in our hall (6 yrs ago) and our bathroom (2 years ago) - think they are great, very hardwearing and no problems yet. We aren't that careful any more and don't always use the recommended products. My husband installed them himself (good DIY-er) and I think they look really good. We didn't have any problems with the samples.

[Kerewerie]

Hi Kerewerie,

I can highly recommend it. I was in the same position as you 6 years ago. A new build and wondering what flooring to put down. I have it throughout my house. It is nicer looking than laminate flooring and more resiliant. I've had mine 6 years. Its only now I feel it needs cleaned to lift it. I had the basic package and the warranty was for 10 years.

Regards

Jill