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?

Ultimately these threads never help!
Love karndean
No Karndean scratches
Love wood
My wood warped/scratched

I think I'm going to get loads of samples and scratch them with stones and see which survives best!

Just had Karndean fitted and I love it-we got Van Gogh range. Fitters said because it's textured don't do the remove/refresh because the surface isn't flat it's tricky. Said just to clean it with fairy or similar. We live in a new build detached with open plan living/dining room and it cost around £1500 and took 2 days-screed floor day one, lay floor day 2.

a bit OT but I was considering Karndean flooring for my main living room so sent off for free samples to see if I liked it
As I pursued another option I used the nice square samples as coasters - the top layer has started to lift and it scratches from use so I am glad I did not use it for flooring.
Maybe the quality has fallen over the years

ruby - good idea to get samples and then see how durable it is. They do make very good coasters!

We went looking for Karndean type and ended up with wood effect ceramic. It's been down in our hall about a year. It's immaculate, and we've a scratchy dog and walk on gravel and mud paths which we trek into the house despite taking wellies off at the door. Some people think at the door stretches all the way to the kitchen.
If you are having a wet underfloor heating system, then the tiles won't feel particularly cold.

The only downside is plates don't bounce, so possibly not in a kitchen.

I think the samples would be a very good idea.
I have just had a good look at my Van Gogh floor and definitely no scratches and the dog does skid round having a funny five minutes at times, although her claws are kept short from frequent walks. I think the Van Gogh being textured helps.
Plus when we had the floor laid I got loads of felt pads from amazon and stuck them on the legs of everything, sofa, dining chairs, bar stools. I do think that I wouldn't expect to drag the feet of chairs, etc on the floor and not expect it to scratch.

Yes we've gone back to the fitter bernie and they've said it's just normal wear and the scratches are to be expected. I'm pissed off but it's only 10 sq m so we'll redo it with stone at some point, which is not far off the same price and lasts for hundreds of years.

And I'll never get Karndean again.

Mando we've got felt pads on everything too. We had Karndean come out and look and the guy tried his best to scratch the floors with our chair legs and couldn't!

We also have Knight tile in the bathrooms which is a flat finish and there isn't a scratch it.

Wouldn't recommend Art Select to anyone.

This is a controversial topic on Mnet, but if you're having underfloor heating then anything that required a plywood base + vinyl is going to cut down on conductivity and make the system less efficient. I think you can still use certain types that are appropriate, but they're not the optimal material, IYSWIM. I'm having the same dilemma - I love the look of wood but ended up going for porcelain tile instead. You can get very good looking wood fakes, but I couldn't get past the conceptual strangeness of a tile that looks like wood!

Just peacemaking, and not even being subtle about it!

Placemarking, I mean. Arf

@shovetheholly We're going for underfloor heating with Kahrs Linnea on top - the thinnest Kahrs board. Slightly nervous about not being able to sand it down like the other Kahrs boards, but hoping it works out OK :S

Don't like the idea of tile, drop anything on it and it breaks.

If you really want to be freaked out by the conceptual strangeness, have a look at Flotex wood effect :D

shovetheholly I have wet underfloor heating in both my kitchen and living room. I have bamboo flooring in the living room (awful decision by the way, scratched, ingrained dirt, looks terrible) and ceramic tile in the kitchen. My friend, 4 years after me, put wood effect ceramic tile throughout her ground floor of her very very expensive flashy architect designed house. It. looks. fabulous. So wish I'd done it. You genuinely can't tell the difference until you are down on your hands and knees with your nose about 1cm from the floor. Research that as an option - it will last forever.

We had one sample of bamboo a while back and despite being"hard" we easily scratched it without really trying.

savage - wood effect CARPET? Mind. Is. Blown.

chinup - I totally believe you that it looks great. I was very impressed with it in the shops, it's absolutely photo-realistic! It's just my head being weird - I can't get past the whole "It feels like tile, but looks like wood" thing. I also have a problem in that I have engineered wood already laid in a floor that will butt up to the new one, and I was worried the transition might look strange, so went for something that looks totally different - tile that looks like tile IYSWIM!

Exactly!! I had the samples laid out on the floor (evening, so no daylight) and asked OH what he thought looked good, and he actually liked the look of one of those first till he felt it underfoot . I think you'd be able to tell it was carpet in full sun though.

I can't even imagine what it is like. I have a kind of 1970s nightmare in my head, with really obvious 'fake' wood lines. Sure it isn't like that in reality!

Does anyone have an idea of price for the wood effect tile (to include fitting)? And whether it is cold without underfloor heating?

We still have half the house to go, and I just don't know what to put down given that it would be a nightmare for us to take up the Karndean we've already had fitted (kitchen and skirts fitted to it), so need something very practical and hardwearing that 'matches' iyswim.

New Karndean scratches so easily! Had it just a year and it's full of scratches. We have small kids also but I honestly don't think it's them causing it. We regret Karndean so much but it was so pricey it has to stay. I could send you pics if you like. I'd never recommend it to anyone.

I would be very grateful for pics Monte and anyone else. Did you complain to Karndean and get anywhere? We have raised a complaint now with Karndean and they are very difficult to deal with. Sent out a rep, who then blatantly lied in his report. They wont deal with us directly so everything is through the supplier/fitter which makes it longwinded.

I'm reading so many stories of this all over the internet, but people are seeming to just accept it or replace it with something else at their own cost.

I'd love some pics of it after it's been down a while. we were wondering whether the scratches 'fade' somehow and become less noticeable.