Karndean, Amteko or laminate?

[TheVeryHungryPreggo]

I have a large flat with resin floors throughout which have cracked all over and look awful. I can't sell it so need to let it out instead just to be able to move. Replacing all the resin would cost £100sqm - it's a 190sqm flat so there is no way I can replace that! £19k is just not in the budget!

Have underfloor heating so my options are limited.

Of the three which do you think would look best over a large area and be good value for money? Which is most easily fitted? We have asymmetric walls so the material would probably need a lot of cutting to fit.

If you're letting I would go for the vinyl options as laminate could be trashed quite easily if water spilled and not cleared up straight away.

Of those 3?

karndean.

You do need level floors though. Asymmetrical walls aren't an issue but wonky floors are

We have amtico and love it, we have the entry level (called Spacia I think)

Ha! One vote each, that's helpful

How much do they each cost, approx?

Floors are fairly level but the covering needs to be fairly flexible - there are some water pipes underneath as well as the u/floor heating. The resin has swollen in some places and cracked in others - useless. It's only 7 years old and is completely trashed.

Karndean is cheaper than amtico. You can get a mid range Karndean for the same as a bottom range amtico.

I have Karndean and u/f heating, it works very well.

Whether you use Karndean or amtico, you will need a specialist fitter. The fitting is more expensive than standard carpet/lino fitting

As for pricing, I have a an upper end Karndean product and paid about £35 per square metre for it (not inc fitting).

Polyflor also do similar lvt. Speak to an independent flooring retailer - there are lots of brands you won't have heard of all doing very similar things. Bear in mind the additional cost of shaving the doors down, if needed. Also if you have skirting boards, beading looks pretty bad attached to it.

Think ours was about £30 a sq/m echo others posters that the fitting is key, it's not a job for an amateur. If you look on the websites they list out the local authorised retailers, ours was very helpful.

I do have skirting boards, but I also have frameless glass internal doors (like in fancy lawyers' offices! We bought this place from an architect and I had no idea where she had got them from - and then I saw them on Suits!) which is part of the problem - they can't be shaved and the existing floor is swelling so the doors stick on the raised floor in some rooms and the pivots/hinges are starting to move in others.

I need a house doctor to make the whole thing work together right...

If that's the case Preggo get someone round to have a look, if your in Surrey I can recommend a shop.

Just before you splash out, check the lease doesn't require carpet ... Friends of mine have had to recarpet their flat before selling.

I don't understand how you can put flooring on top of the existing resin then, without replacing all the doors too?

When you say you can't sell do you mean there is a reason the house can't be marketed for sale or that you haven't had any offers? Any niggles and things which aren't right have to be sorted before you rent the place out or you will just be fire fighting complaints from the tenants.

Hanging We are in London, sadly...

Iguana Lease does not require carpet, we are on the ground floor and there's only concrete underneath.

wowfudge That's right, we can't put flooring on top of the existing resin without replacing the doors, so that all has to be chipped or sanded off. More expense.

I mean that we have had it on the market since February and no offers. I would and have lived with the niggles but horrible cracked floors and WC/bedroom doors that won't close are something that would have to be done before letting, and I have had the agent's advice on that, so I am trying to work out a repairs budget now and get it done. If it makes the flat more saleable, great, but at the moment I am thinking about making it better for tenants because there is a lot I would complain about if I was paying central London prices for this.

Lino less expense and cheaper fitting but still look good

Look at Polyflor Camero

Definitely do the work and try to re-market for sale then OP. But try to get it back on asap. We have Polyflor Colonia in our bathroom. It's good stuff but not as pricey as Karndean and Amtico. Polyflor do shop flooring, etc so it's really hard wearing.

How does it look? It has to cover such a large area since the resin is everywhere, all the bedrooms/dining/lounge/bathrooms etc so the last thing I want is to fork out thousands and for it to look a bit crap/low-budget.

Polyflor looks like Karndean and Amtico. It is very good quality available in different colours and finishes. It doesn't look low budget.

Oh good. I'll have a look into that. Thanks for the info!

Mine looks like Oak flooring and looks great.
I've have polyflor put in my hall about 5 years and it looks as good as new, I had it put in my adjoining kitchen to match the hallway a year ago.
I also find it quite warm underfoot.