Another Karndean / Amtico / Engineered Wood flooring thread

[RedRobin1]

We are having an extension done and hoping to have wet underfloor heating put in the open plan living, playroom and kitchen, utility space. In total around 60 sq m.

Can anyone tell me pros and cons or what they have got in their house, how many years/how long its lasted and how its fared against wear and tear (have 2 DCs under 4)? I have read mixed reviews about it all and can’t decide what flooring to go with. I love the Karndean Distressed Oak in Van Gogh range and want something like it - i.e wood effect and something that feels warm as it will run through most of downstairs.

Also have you got the same flooring in the hallway or something different? Can’t decide whether to extend the flooring in the hallway as well?

[Fourbyfour]

I'm no use as we don't have it yet, but following with interest as we want it in the kitchen. We have solid oak in the hall and living room currently.

[MissRainbowBrite]

We have Karndean throughout the downstairs, it's been down almost 17 years and still looks really good. There are no obvious marks on it and it's withstood 3 spaniels and lots of footfall over it (children included). The only place it doesn't look so good is by the patio doors where the sun has bleached it a green colour but that would've happened to any flooring.
I mop it every few days with whatever's to hand, usually Flash or Zoflora, and it comes up really well.

[highwoodwitch]

I have Amtico in the bathroom - lovely but expensive. Engineered wood in the dining room and kitchen - looks good but scratches and marks. Karndean (Van Gogh) in the hall - looks as good as when new, many years ago. If I had the choice again I would have Karndean throughout downstairs. The only thing that I would not allow on it is stiletto heels.

[chatnanny]

We put in Amtico in our old house kitchen and living area. It looked so like wood that I once had a random cleaner (from an agency) in and had to stop her as she was about to put wax polish on it thinking it was wood. Pros: very hard wearing, it was as good as new after 20 years except for a small melted patch (size of a pound coin) where I dropped oven pan. Had several minor floods : eg dishwasher outlet blocked I remember and real wood would've been ruined. Cons: outrageously expensive, when we came to do utility we couldn't afford it though we did put a marble type one into a small entrance porch which was also very hard wearing and easy, another con is that it is rock hard, on a concrete surface it adds no bounce though there may be newer varieties which do. Can't comment on the other choices.

[RedastheRose]

Didn't like Karndean at all, hated all the stripping and refinishing needed each year. Amtico is very hard wearing and lasts really well but my favourite that I've got throughout most of he downstairs is Pergo (original inventors of laminated flooring) went to a flooring shop for hardwood floors and they advised getting it rather than real wood (which actually would have been more expensive) it's been down for 7 years and looks as good as new even with a family, large dog 2 cats etc. Is warm (had the high quality cushioning underlay put down underneath) and doesn't even mark with stilettos.

[Occadodo]

We have amtico throughout the hall and lounge if our 4 bedroom bungalow. We have 3 DC and 1 severely disabled so a wheelchair is pushed throughout.
It's been down 3 years over underfloor heating and it's fantastic!
When looking for flooring we took a penknife and scratched every sample ... the amtico survived best!!!

[highinthesky]

Karndean needs stripping and refreshing every year? I had no idea.

Floors should be low maintenance IMO.

[wowfudge]

So does Amtico, but I think most people don't bother.

[RedRobin1]

Thanks for all the replies so far I am leaning towards Karndean and really glad to hear of the good reviews. Interesting to know that Amtico has less bounce, with two little DCs we are prone to plates falling on the floor.

Also didn't know Karndean needed re-stripping every year. Has everyone does this?

I have parquet in the front room and hoping to extend that in the hallway.

And then thinking of Karndean at the back through all of the open plan space.

[bijouxxx]

We have Karndean and never knew it needed stripping every year . Looks as good as new 13 years later and that's with 2 DC's under 10 and 5 dogs at one point. I recommend it to all my friends and a few have gone on to get it and also have no complaints. To clean it I just mop with flash once a week, we did buy the proper cleaning products originally but it took too long and left greasy marks if you tried to be quick.

[jojosapphire]

We are probably going with polyflor camero. In our extention as it was put in the lounge by the previous owners and seams bomb proof DH has an office chair rolling across it with no marks!

[PuntCuffin]

We have Karndean. I did the fancy cleaning thing the first year. Haven't done it again since. Still looks as good as new.

Might get round to it this year once current building works are finished.

[bigredboat]

We have Camarro, only been down a year or so but is looking great. Dh is a floor layer and reckons Amtico isn't worth the extra £££ compared to Karndean etc.

[lljkk]

Our Karndean was destroyed quickly by barstools with little screws in bottom (sigh). I am more careful with the replacement Karndean which I would be happy to last 15 yrs.

[CycleHire]

We have Amtico in the kitchen and are very happy with it. It's been down 7 years and looks as good as new. We don't have under floor heating though so I don't know if that makes a difference. It's a small kitchen and the floor was outrageously expensive. In the hallway we have Spacia which is Amtico's slightly more affordable range - less choice of colours and widths etc.

[rallytog1]

We've got Amtico in the kitchen and it seems to scratch pretty easily.

In our family room we have moduleo and while you'll read negative reviews of it in here we're actually impressed with it. It looks just like wood and is standing up well to a lot of punishment. I think the important thing is to get it laid by an accredited fitter.

[Madbengalmum]

Had karndean da vinci down in various houses over twenty years, great stuff takes lots of hammer and ive never had to use the special cleaner on it or strip it. So i wouldn't worry about stripping etc.

[StillSmallVoice]

We have Spacia in the kitchen/diner and after four years it is still lovely. Thinking of putting it in the hall as well.

[mando12345]

We've got karndean all through our downstairs and it hasn't scratched, I don't do any of the fancy finishes to it. We have a large labrador.
We have one from the van gogh range. A friend had one from the Knights tile cheaper range and it has scratched. I think the van gogh and art select have a thicker wear layer to prevent scratching.

Initially I didn't like it as I felt it looked too fake, however it is so practical and I have grown to love it. Visitors actually comment on what a lovely wood floor!

[RubyRedRuby]

Very glad you started this thread RedRobin, saved me doing it!

Can anyone tell me how much Karndean costs to fit?

I'm trying to decide between engineered oak or a laminate/vinyl alternative. Our driveway is unmade and we often get stones in our shoes/hallway so I'm worried about engineered oak getting very scratched and am wondering if vinyl might last longer.

[Fourbyfour]

I don't think lino on a roll wears well, it fades easily and gets worn down quickly.
I'm also interested to know the cost of having karndean fitted as it's about £1200 for the product alone for our room.

[RedRobin1]

RubyRedRuby I have had various quotes on the Karndean Van Gogh range

For supply and fit the quotes range from the cheapest at £48 per sq m to the most expensive at £60 per sq m.

The cheapest for product alone is £30 per sq m and I am not sure where to find the fitter.

[BernieKosar]

This thread is really interesting as we had Karndean Art Select (Summer Oak) fitted about 7 months ago. We chose it over other Karndean or engineered wood as we were assured it would be the most hard wearing of those choices. 'Bombproof' was the word used.

We love how it looks, but it started scratching immediately. The scratches are in random places and we've no idea how most of them were caused. We don't have pets, we leave outdoor shoes at the door and are generally quite careful of our stuff.

So far, we've had it fitted in the kitchen/dining room. We had planned to have it in both living rooms too, but that's on hold while we try to understand why it is scratching as there seems to be more each day despite us treating it with kid gloves.

We also had Karndean Opus Urbis fitted in the Utility Room and this has scratched badly too, but in less places.

Apologies if this hijacks your thread a little RedRobin but I guess it might also be useful for you too.

Has anyone else with Karndean Art Select had these kind of scratches on their flooring? I would be really grateful to know, thanks.

[JaniceBattersby]

Bernie a similar thing has happened to our Karndean. It's only been down for two months and we've already got those little scratches in. I'm gutted as it was so expensive and we only got it as we were assured it would withstand our four boisterous children. I think some of the scratches were from the kids dragging a wooden chair across it but it wasn't a particularly heavy chair and the feet were not sharp.

[BernieKosar]

Janice Can I ask if you've gone back to Karndean or your fitter about the scratches and if so, what they've said?
We're talking to them now, but struggling to get a useful answer at all.