Moved into a old house (1898 build) eighteen months ago and having sorted out the immediate issues with some rising damp we're now in the process of decorating throughout. As part of the process we're looking at re-placing the flooring and we had originally decided we wanted a hardwood floor downstairs, but after discussing this with a number of specialists there are issues - mainly the uneven flooring throughout (the house has been extended a few times over the years and so there's a mix of floorboards and concrete floors, and slight variance in the levels as a result), and the fact that although we believe the damp issues are sorted it is an old house and there is no guarantee that we won't have issues in the future. The kitchen, utility & downstairs bathrooms are already tiled & in good order and so we won't be changing the flooring there, but there's still another approx. 75 square meters to cover so it's not a small expense.
I had a long chat with a firm yesterday who say they can do it (i.e. hardwood flooring), but also suggested I look at Amtico flooring - a vinyl. My initial reaction was that I absolutely do not want a vinyl, but having thought about the advantages & looked at the product in the showroom today I have to say I'm impressed, and so I wondered if anyone here has had any personal experience with living with the product?
I'm particularly interested in views about the "signature" range v. the "spacia" range i.e. is it worth the extra cost?
The products website is here - http://www.amtico.com/
nothing substantial to add bar that my mum is an interior designer and has used it on occasion and would recommend it,
i have looked at it personally and i think it offers a lot, the look of hardwood with the durability of vinyl.
it certainly is a quality product imo.
We bought a new house about 15 years ago and had it fitted in the hall and downstairs loo plus couple of bedrooms, it wasn't the cheapest
option but has lasted really well. Only issue we had was had something delivered (heavy and metal and would have damage anything except carpet) and they dropped it in the hall. Damaged a couple of strips and we found they no longer made this type anymore so we had to replace with a close match, so probably worth getting a few spare strips just in case.
We went with Karndean (basically the same as Amtico) - we just found a particular style that we really liked (predictably it was the top of their (consumer) range) - I think it worked out a bit cheaper than Amtico as well. I really liked it and would definitely recommend it - worth getting a comparison in any case.
Hello Toshi,
I moved into a new build at the start of May and had Amtico Spacia installed throughout.
Dry Cedar everywhere except the bathrooms where I went for Steel.
The Flat was empty when they installed it and it took 3 days for them to lay 75m2 of it including prep.
So far happy with it, very neat finish particularly around skirting etc. Spillages are no problem, and stuff all moved in and no scratches, seems very hard wearing
In the "show me your lounge" thread in G&D you can see it, near the end of page 1
Cheers
Kevin
We have just signed up to replace a whole heap of vinyl with Amtico. It's a far superior product and AFAIK is not vinyl at all, but PU/PVC or some such.
Karndean is a roughly equivalent product.
Rich, I can't comment on the "signature" range v. the "spacia" range but I do know a few people who have used Amtico flooring and they are very happy with it.
Same here. We went with a slate look Karndean in the kitchen of our previous gaff. Looked very good and lasted well. Got lots of positive comments. Worth checking out.Originally Posted by Jack83
We fitted Spacia through our hallway, living room and kitchen about 18 months ago - thoroughly recommend it
As above, hard wearing, no problem cleaning up spills etc - and nice to know that if you did get some serious staining then the chances are you can effectively grind it out and it'll come up looking like new
Had a similar requirement of levelling out some patchy flooring - has all worked well, although our property is 1980s rather than 1890s so might be less involved
Couldn't tell you whether the premium version is significantly better, but we're more than happy with the Spacia - for info we bought ours through John Lewis which was very competitive on price at the time and offered good after care (we got them to come back and re-do a bit where the finish wasn't perfect which they were fine about)
I can tell you everything you need to know about theses products.
Firstly for years Amtico had the market to their self untill the like of Karndean and a lot of other alternatives came onto the market at less than half the price, so Amtico had to toe the line and launched Spacia a range they import in made for Amtico. this is still a avery good product but offers less choice than Amtico but is as durable. as is Karndean .
Also look out for range called Moduleo their transform range is a contract quality and you could expect to pay around £55 sqmt inc fitting and prep. If it's a wood effect you are looking for you do not need to look at Amtico signature , look at spacia.
The biggest problem you will find is your floor levels will nearly always show , and any issues with damp will cause any of these products to lift . The age of your house I would expect problems.
They make it just down the road from me
It's the factory in Coventry
I'm not sure if they have a factory shop?
It's brilliant stuff and a few guys who work there have there houses decked out - looks great
Definitely worth shopping around
Thanks for all the comments - very useful.
The main reason I'm contemplating going for the "signature" is the fact we can have a parquet floor effect with that collection. I think parquet would look great in this house, and I had considered a hard wood parquet floor (until I realised the huge cost - both of the material and the prep / installation). Knowing that with the signature range a parquet floor is a possibility is a big attraction. Unfortunately parquet isn't available in the spacia range.
I realise that any variations in the height of the floors will be noticeable but I'm assured that these can be ironed out during prep; and regarding the issue of damp, I've insisted that any concrete floors are tanked completely before the latex screed is put down, so that shouldn't be an issue. All of this has been written into the quotes & the floors will be fully tested for damp prior to the prep.
I've had quotes for both the Spacia boards and Signature herringbone parquet and there's about £2,500 difference between the two. I guess I just need to decide if I like the herringbone parquet enough to spend the extra
The quotes we had (for about 40m2) was 50/50 Labour/Amtico for Spacia and about 40/60 for Signature. The heavy labour bias means there is not too much in it.
Like you, we are having Signature for the parquet in the hall, but Spacia in the kitchen as that was the design we liked. The two product are the same thickness so can transition from one to the other.
Final words - the glossy magazine does not illustrate how they look in real life - make sure you get a decent sized swatch/sample in your home to choose, also stripy or knotty styles look gash in parquet.
I quote for and see these floors fitted every day . I would'nt expect floor levels to be ironed out due to it being a vinyl finish it reflects the light and thus will show floor imperfections that cannot be seen on the ply/ screed . But this will not affect the wear . You are about parquet though . But moduleo have introduced one and I think karndean do one too
http://www.moduleo.co.uk/news/moduleo-propels-new-market-parquet-0
Last edited by saturn5; 9th July 2015 at 18:37.
We have had amtico flooring installed recently in our ensuite as part of a total gut and rebuild of the room. We love it. It feels nice to walk upon and the texture is especially good if the floor is slightly wet. Our bathroom installer, something of a perfectionist, was insistent that the base was flattened and properly screeded before laying the stuff. I've no issue with that because the stuff we had before was a different product and far inferior and looked so.
So many coverings try to look authentic and fail. We have weathered oak and feel that it looks the part.
We have it in our Kitchen and it is really nice, warm to walk on and easy to clean.
It does get scratched, but we were told it can be buffed out and a surface dressing can be applied to reduce it, but I never got around to it.
Apparently Tesco use Amtico in their stores, so its considered to be pretty robust.
I'd highly recommend it.
I have Amtico fitted through the hall and into the kitchen. The fitter suggested laying the oak finished pieces on the bias with very thin silver stripes separating each one (looks better than it sounds I think) and it was a great choice as it does give the floor a bit more depth and interest. I find it very serviceable too and easy to clean. As ever, it's the surface beneath that is so important though.
Good luck with your choice.
We used Amtico in a bathroom in a mid-nineteenth century house and are not impressed. The floor would have needed to be very level to get a good finish. Having said that, it's been down for sixteen years!
It's up for replacement this year and we will be going with something different.
I used to sell Amtico and from experience is a great product but with that comes it price.As already mentioned look at Karndean.I had it put down at my last house lounge and living room.Worked out at approx £50 per square meter fitted and the choice is amazing.
I run a commercial flooring business and supply and and fit most of the LVT products available depending budget and suitability .Ive been been laying Amtico for over 30 years and it was the premium flooring to have in its day.the wear layer ( clear top surface) is 1 mm ,this meant that what was laid in marks and spencer John Lewis shops floors was the same product as you had in your house .All the others would range from .35mm to .80 or there about allowing these products to be cheaper but still more than good enough for domestic use.Amtico don't make spacia and Karndean don't make anything, they are a superb marketing company and the products are exellelent.Karndeans parquet tiles look suberb down will be hard to beat. As mentioned prep is everything with these floors and with the screeds available now a good base is achievable if you get someone who knows what they are doing . Also look at Forbo Allura they have a great selection of LVT,s. (luxury vinyl tiles)
We put Karndean parquet effect in our sunroom/dining room and it gets more comments than anything else in the entire house.
Really does look good and hasn't a mark on it yet, despite several glasses being dropped on it. Warm under foot too, which is nice
We've just had Karndean laid in our new extension through the kitchen diner, it looks fantastic, so much so that I was very tempted to rip up the solid oak I put down in the lounge and hallway a few years ago and replace it with a Karndean parquet!
experienced both over the years and would recommend but either must be installed correctly to maximise the advantages (and cost).
Thanks everyone. As has been stated previously, the floor prep seems to be the key here and the quotes reflect that. Lots to think about.
A mate has put me in touch with a friend who owns a local company that sells & installs both Amtico and Karndean, so we're talking through the options. I'm leaning towards Karndean's "Morning Oak" parquet, which is slightly more expensive than the Amtico Spacia boards (product is about the same cost but the extra installation time pushes it up somewhat). I'll keep you posted
I have some photos of the darker parquet Rich, if I can get photobucket to play ball I'll upload them....
Morning oak is nice too though.
iPhone photos in poor light, but you get the idea
Last edited by demonloop; 10th July 2015 at 10:26.
Just had Karndean put down. Had a rear extension built and it run through the hall, original back room and into the extension which is a kitchen diner. We were going to use Amtico Spacia but the colour we wanted got discontinued earlier this year and the Karndean was the best match. The cost of the two was very similar and due to the Karndean box size became even closer. Amtico Signature has a lot more colours and plank sizes but I'm not sure it is worth it over the cheaper alternatives for most domestic use. The fitters use a leveling scree over the floor to get the levels right. I also have a front room worth in hand for when we do up the last room downstairs. That way I have matching batch and some spares for any replacement required. So far I am really pleased with it but as it has only been down 3 weeks or so can not comment on longer term wear.
Thank you - looks very good.
Got a quote for the Karndean parquet and it is more expensive than the Amtico Spacia planks. The fitting was always going to be more expensive because fo the extra time it will take, but the discount I have been offered on the Amtico range is far better than I can get on Karndean. Going to spend some looking at the options with Mrs Toshi this weekend, but it does mean that the Amtico Signature is no longer in contention (if we decide the parquet is worth the extra cost, the Karndean works out £1000 cheaper than the Signature)
Would put a decent liquid DPM down before you do anything for a little protection (well depends on your subfloor), if height is not a issue stick some 6-9mm ply down to level out the floor. Plus makes fitting much easier on a fully level surface.
Where are you based? What price per sq have you been quoted for fitting?
You have to bear in mind that Amtico Spacia is no where near the quality of of Karndean parquet.dont get me wrong for domestic use they are both excellent but not the same.
I get it for bathrooms and kitchens, but why buy plastic wood when you can have real wood for less money?
Whoever does not know how to hit the nail on the head should be asked not to hit it at all.
Friedrich Nietzsche
I realise that, but I suppose you get what you pay for - the Karndean parquet is more expensive than the Spacia (an additional £1700 in this case), and the Amtico parquet is more expensive than the Karndean (an additional £1000). As you go up the cost scale there's a slight increase in thickness of tile, and thickness of wear layer (which is the important aspect if the floor is likely to get a lot of wear), but we aren't putting this into an industrial space where it will get hard use so I'm sure any of them will be up to the job. When you consider that even with solid hardwood flooring you can't sand more than about 0.4mm before you have issues with the tongue & groove I think the Spacia will be fine.
That was exactly my attitude before I saw it, Andy, but when I had a look at it all my preconceptions went out of the window. It looks & feels great, means no ongoing maintenance, and for our needs it is going to work out about £3k cheaper than solid wood (just the cost of removing and re-fitting skirting boards was coming in at £1200 - necessary with hardwood but not necessary with the Amtico / Karndean).
I'm wondering the same. I understand it if you want a different kind look, but I'd never use fake wood looking plastic flooring.
This is true for existing builds, but I thought the OP was talking about a new build?
The Amtico/karndean products are really excellent, but when we looked at them to replace/cover our existing maple wood in the kitchen (which after 20 years was looking a bit crap) we were told that the first thing we needed to do was cover it in ply before laying the tiles. This meant taking off the skirting and cutting all the boards at the bottom of cabinets, removing the appliances, etc, etc. and then paying about £70/m2 for the tiles!
in the end we just had couple of guys come in with belt sanders and some very heavy duty lacquers and £350 later we had a new floor.
It is nice, but I still prefer the real thing.
Whoever does not know how to hit the nail on the head should be asked not to hit it at all.
Friedrich Nietzsche
Andy, I am the OP. If you read the opening post it starts off "Moved into a old house (1898 build) eighteen months ago and having sorted out the immediate issues with some rising damp we're now in the process of decorating throughout."
We had Amtico laid in the hall/passage about 12 years ago and it looks as good now as it did the day it was put down.
The Karndean which was around at that time was a much cheaper option then.
Another vote for Karndean. It looks great and is very hard wearing (which is great if you've got kids). I was very anti imitation wood before but now I wouldn't go for anything else. The cost varies quite a bit according to which range you choose but I've heard that even the least expensive is very robust.
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