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Original poster

kitchen flooring

37 replies

hana · 06/11/2003 20:04

Wondering if anyone out there in cyberland has a a dalsouple rubber floor in their kitchen? ( Or similar, Altro also do one) It's the rubber flooring with raised circles. DH is convinced its THE floor to have once we've installed our new kitchen, but I'm worried that it will be hard to clean around the base of the raised circle bit, and that dirt and grubby things will accumulate there. Anyone near Kingston might have seen this in the stairwells of John Lewis.
And if not rubber flooring, what would be your top choice?
Your opinions would be great, thanks!
hana

OP posts:

hermykne · 06/11/2003 20:13

its a grovvy flooring but not my recommendation, my dads an architect and wouldnt use it in kitchens, elsewhere though.
black slate is what i have and i love it, at night with low lighting its almost reflective and the dirt marks are not noticeable so you dont have to wash it every day!, you do, however have to seal it initially at least 3 times but that effort is worth it.

gingernut · 06/11/2003 20:33

hana, look here for another thread about kitchen flooring. Personally I don't like the sound of the rubber flooring - I know the sort of thing you mean, and it sounds hard to clean. I'm still in love with our Amtico. (and my dh of course )

Blu · 06/11/2003 20:36

I was very happy with marmoleum, the new version of lino, and quite trendy these days, available in many funky colours from John Lewis. Wuld probably go for slate or someother tile in our new place, if / when can afford!

I think rubber has to be sealed regularly or it stains. Soap and detergent stain it, don't they?

Original poster

hana · 06/11/2003 20:44

dh IS an architect and won't be persuaded ...oh no...but he's now saying maybe wood?
thanks
hana

OP posts:

handlemecarefully · 06/11/2003 20:48

oh blimey - trust your instincts...raised circles = dirt magnet. Save it for the hallway

Eeek · 06/11/2003 20:55

wood's a lousy idea - if you get water on it you get stains, it's a pain to wash, shows all the marks and if your washing machine floods it's knackered (yes, within a month of putting it in) I'd say go with Amtico's wood lookalike.

florenceuk · 06/11/2003 22:53

We have one and I would advise NOT. You do need to have it sealed regularly, otherwise it does stain, and it will mark (dents) if you drop heavy things on it (not hard with DS!) We had the raised circle one in our shop and yes the circles do collect dirt. On the plus side it is nice and warm and soft underfoot.

elena2 · 06/11/2003 22:55

Slate looks fantastic, and easy to keep (looking) clean!

SofiaAmes · 06/11/2003 23:23

I too am an architect. Stay far away from rubber circles....they were all the rage a few years ago (tell your dh that he's behind the times) and no one I knew who had them liked them.
Definitely go with the slate. I've got it in my kitchen and it's great. I've done really big tiles (600mm x 900mm).

anto · 07/11/2003 09:18

I had dalsouple flooring in my bathroom in old house. Had to seal it, clean it with special dalsouple cleaner (which of course I never did) and reseal it every 6-12 months (or sooner, if you'd been using Flash express on it like I did!). It did look nice but collected the grime and seem to show up hair/dust bunnies.

We have inherited oak flooring in our new kitchen - new boards not old ones - with underfloor heating. It's lovely underfoot and quite easy to keep clean but I don't know if I'd choose it myself.

I have got Amtico in my bathroom and I'm very pleased with it. No-one realizes it's not real wood (perhaps b/c we've got wooden flooring elsewhere in house?) and it's so easy to keep clean with 2 kids.

My mum has slate. It was a bit of a nightmare when dd1 just started walking as quite a tough surface to fall on. Also if you drop anything it shatters into 1000 pieces.

Good luck!

codswallop · 07/11/2003 09:24

Karndean tiles?

suedonim · 07/11/2003 09:47

We looked at Karndean but you have to strip and reseal it every year - they must be joking. We've quite a large area to do and I really don't fancy having to do that. After looking at all the options I've decided on good old-fashioned vinyl. Its warm, durable, soft, easy to clean and comes in a zillion patterns and colours. Everything else seems to have drawbacks that I'm not prepared to live with.

Whatever else you choose, DON'T put Flotex down. That's what we have now and it's a blummin' nightmare to keep clean.

BearintheBigBlueHous · 07/11/2003 12:46

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

noddy5 · 07/11/2003 15:48

Karndean doesnt need any maintenance apart from a quick mop now and again as far as I know.I have had it twice and it is warm and easy to clean but does look a bit fake next to anything authentic.

jimmychoos · 07/11/2003 16:17

We have got rubber flooring in our bathroom. It's just not worth the money - hard to clean and does not look good after only a year of wear and tear. I'd never recommend it to anyone and we're thinking of ripping the whole lot out and starting again

suedonim · 07/11/2003 17:16

The salesman himself told me about the stripping/sealing so I assume he's correct!

suedonim · 07/11/2003 17:23

It's worse than I thought. According to Karndean you're supposed to do it 6mthly!!!

codswallop · 07/11/2003 17:59

bollocks to that - ours looks great. Its just to gett you o buy the stuff. Friends parents have had it for years and it has never been done. I just mop it. dh did seal it once but that was in march

suedonim · 07/11/2003 18:18

I've just collected dd from a party and guess what the folks had on their kitchen floor?! Having seen a bigger expanse than a sample, it really isn't for me, too 'dead' looking. And I don't like the colours anyway, so I don't know why I'm looking, lol!.

handlemecarefully · 08/11/2003 09:00

I've had karndean for nearly 2 years. I don't think we'll be stripping and resealing it! When it starts looking knackered we'll replace it with something else!! (way too much work otherwise..)

suedonim · 08/11/2003 11:41

Lol, Hmc!

BearintheBigBlueHous · 08/11/2003 13:31

Have decided to follow Codswallop's advice over Karndean's - what do they know anyway, they only make the stuff, they don't actually live with it on the toddler frontline, I'll bet. The floor was part of a total kitchen rebuild this summer which cost way more than first budgeted (surprise surprise). Looked up last night to notice a patch of wallpaper bubbling near the ceiling, on investigation the patch is right below the shower in the bathroom - bloody marvellous. Arse. Top tip - if your kitchen is below your bathroom, get your bathroom done first.

codswallop · 08/11/2003 13:39

we have done ours but cant put aside the 12 hours t do it reg - it does look nice when you do but also fine when you dont! we have beech wood tile - very warm, laid diagonally

Demented · 09/11/2003 13:14

Another vote for slate. We have just put it down in the kitchen only problem is that you have to seal it and coat it with tile polish stuff but it looks great and cleans as easily as any other tiled floor now.

jasper · 09/11/2003 22:24

I don't know what any of you mean by slate flooring - is it grey like slate roofs?

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