Hi. I need some floor-covering that looks like a hardwood or parquet
floor, but is easy to lay, doesn't cost a fortune, and is fairly thin.
So I think some kind of vinyl is probably the way to go, rather than
laminate.

Couple of questions:

Where can I buy some good-looking wood-effect vinyl at a good price?

Is there much difference in quality of the offerings available?

How does one recognise the good-quality stuff?

How does one deal with joins? Double-sided carpet tape?

Is there much skill to laying the stuff (especially around door
frames, etc)?

The floorboards are very old (100yrs) and not 100% even. Is there
anything I can lay under the vinyl to create a more even-looking and
convincing finished job?

Thank you,

Jim D

Jim Drake wrote:
Hi. I need some floor-covering that looks like a hardwood or parquet
floor, but is easy to lay, doesn't cost a fortune, and is fairly thin.
So I think some kind of vinyl is probably the way to go, rather than
laminate.

Couple of questions:

Where can I buy some good-looking wood-effect vinyl at a good price?

You can buy good looking or cheap - not both.

Is there much difference in quality of the offerings available?

Huge. Some cheap vinyls are 80% inert filler (chalk).

How does one recognise the good-quality stuff?

Price usually - or brand name. Amtico for example.


How does one deal with joins? Double-sided carpet tape?

I don't think DIY joining sheet vinyl is a good idea. Commercially its done
using heat welding.

Is there much skill to laying the stuff (especially around door
frames, etc)?

A fair bit. Patience, a paper template & a sharp knife.

The floorboards are very old (100yrs) and not 100% even. Is there
anything I can lay under the vinyl to create a more even-looking and
convincing finished job?

If its uneven boards the floor will soon show through the vinyl IME.


--
Dave
The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk
01634 717930
07850 597257

On 30 May, 12:01, "The Medway Handyman"
wrote:
Jim Drake wrote:
Hi. I need some floor-covering that looks like a hardwood or parquet
floor, but is easy to lay, doesn't cost a fortune, and is fairly thin.
So I think some kind of vinyl is probably the way to go, rather than
laminate.

Couple of questions:

Where can I buy some good-looking wood-effect vinyl at a good price?

You can buy good looking or cheap - not both.



Is there much difference in quality of the offerings available?

Huge. Some cheap vinyls are 80% inert filler (chalk).



How does one recognise the good-quality stuff?

Price usually - or brand name. Amtico for example.



How does one deal with joins? Double-sided carpet tape?

I don't think DIY joining sheet vinyl is a good idea. Commercially its done
using heat welding.



Is there much skill to laying the stuff (especially around door
frames, etc)?

A fair bit. Patience, a paper template & a sharp knife.



The floorboards are very old (100yrs) and not 100% even. Is there
anything I can lay under the vinyl to create a more even-looking and
convincing finished job?

If its uneven boards the floor will soon show through the vinyl IME.

IME of vinyl, theres just one thing it does need, and thats a smooth
floor with no gaps at all. So totally unsuitable for old floorboards.

Why dont you just clean up the boards? Replace any bust ones with well
used boards to match. Result would look far better.

Or if you insist on something flat, smooth & new looking, lay thin ply
down.

The other thing re vinyl is the ones I've seen really dont look good
imitating wood. More of the cheap fake type of appearance.


NT

On 30 May 2007 04:43:23 -0700, wrote:

IME of vinyl, theres just one thing it does need, and thats a smooth
floor with no gaps at all. So totally unsuitable for old floorboards.

Why dont you just clean up the boards? Replace any bust ones with well
used boards to match. Result would look far better.

Thanks for the suggestions. The old floorboards are 100 yrs old and
sem to be some kind of reddish pine - (when polyurethane varnish is
applied, they come up almost orangey in colour) very difficult to
match.

Or if you insist on something flat, smooth & new looking, lay thin ply
down

Thanks; that's an interesting idea. You mean something like 5mm ply?
As it happens I have bought 8ftx 4ft sheets of some rather
nice-looking 5mm ply locally with an almost maple-like top skin for
£not-too-much. I used it to panel out my loft.

What sized pieces would you lay, to end up with a good effect? 8ft x
4ft sheets wouldn't look too hot, IMO, but if cut down to 9"-wide
strips it might look good with a decent finish. What would you use to
fix them down? (Something that's near-invisible, yet durable, but
allowed for easy future removal would be ideal.) Any sugestions on
finish? Stain and then polyurethane floor-varnish, perhaps?

Cheers,

Jim

On Wed, 30 May 2007 12:01:01 +0100, "The Medway Handyman"
wrote:


If its uneven boards the floor will soon show through the vinyl IME.

Yes, I feared so. Perhap a once-over with an industrial sander would
be worthwhile. I will need to cover the floorboards with *something*
though, as it'll be too noisy otherwise. Vinyl does have that slightly
impact-absorbing cushioning effect which would be helpful in this
application. It's in a flat and the inter-flat sound insulation isn't
that great.

Thanks also to Owain for the input.

Jim

Jim Drake wrote in
news

Hi. I need some floor-covering that looks like a hardwood or parquet
floor, but is easy to lay, doesn't cost a fortune, and is fairly thin.
So I think some kind of vinyl is probably the way to go, rather than
laminate.

Snip
Jim D

There is Karndean www.karndean.com
which is very good quality vinyl which comes in 'planks' when bought in
wood effect. I think the brand for wood effect is Knight Tile.
It used to only be sold to registered installers, but I gather that you
can now buy it direct. The installers instructions (there's a two day
training course) are to lay it on board over floorboards, or on a latex
scree if over anything more solid. It has it's own glue, but I think
it's a standard PVA type glue.
I'm highly impressed with the stuff, and if laid properly beats
'normal' lamintate hands down (in my opinion).

On 2007-05-30 17:42:09 +0100, Jim Drake said:

On 30 May 2007 04:43:23 -0700, wrote:

IME of vinyl, theres just one thing it does need, and thats a smooth
floor with no gaps at all. So totally unsuitable for old floorboards.

Why dont you just clean up the boards? Replace any bust ones with well
used boards to match. Result would look far better.

Thanks for the suggestions. The old floorboards are 100 yrs old and
sem to be some kind of reddish pine - (when polyurethane varnish is
applied, they come up almost orangey in colour) very difficult to
match.

The problems here are that it is very difficult to stain pine in a way
that doesn't look totally crap, and adding polyurethane varnish simply
compounds the felony and makes the whole thing look like cheap and
nasty plastic.

Adding more cheap and nasty plastic on top is not going to make that
look any better.


Or if you insist on something flat, smooth & new looking, lay thin ply
down

Thanks; that's an interesting idea. You mean something like 5mm ply?
As it happens I have bought 8ftx 4ft sheets of some rather
nice-looking 5mm ply locally with an almost maple-like top skin for
£not-too-much. I used it to panel out my loft.

What sized pieces would you lay, to end up with a good effect? 8ft x
4ft sheets wouldn't look too hot, IMO, but if cut down to 9"-wide
strips it might look good with a decent finish. What would you use to
fix them down? (Something that's near-invisible, yet durable, but
allowed for easy future removal would be ideal.) Any sugestions on
finish? Stain and then polyurethane floor-varnish, perhaps?

Noooooo!!!!!!! Mega yuk. You will not achieve anything looking in
any way decent with these techniques.

A far better solution would be to go with what is in character for the
type of floor. That would be to give it a thoroughly good cleaning
and sanding, treat it with some good quality wax and not try to make it
something that it isn't. There should be no need to cover it with
plasticy coverings whether by roll, sheet or out of a tin. If the
floor is mechanically and visually that bad, then the solution is to
rip it up and replace with new floor boards.






Cheers,

Jim

On 2007-05-30 17:47:58 +0100, Jim Drake said:

On Wed, 30 May 2007 12:01:01 +0100, "The Medway Handyman"
wrote:


If its uneven boards the floor will soon show through the vinyl IME.

Yes, I feared so. Perhap a once-over with an industrial sander would
be worthwhile. I will need to cover the floorboards with *something*
though, as it'll be too noisy otherwise. Vinyl does have that slightly
impact-absorbing cushioning effect which would be helpful in this
application. It's in a flat and the inter-flat sound insulation isn't
that great.

Thanks also to Owain for the input.

Jim

So put a rug in the middle of the floor. You can change that on whim
and seasonally.

On 2007-05-30 19:37:20 +0100, Owain said:

Andy Hall wrote:
Jim Drake said:
As it happens I have bought 8ftx 4ft sheets of some rather
nice-looking 5mm ply locally with an almost maple-like top skin for
£not-too-much. What sized pieces would you lay, to end up with a good
effect? 8ft x
4ft sheets wouldn't look too hot, IMO, but if cut down to 9"-wide
strips it might look good with a decent finish.
Noooooo!!!!!!! Mega yuk. You will not achieve anything looking in
any way decent with these techniques.

Actually, ply can look quite interesting if it's laid in sheets but has
the top layer routed out in very thin lines to make panels.

Owain

It can, but does need to be a good quality grade. I would certainly
be dubious about doing this with 6mm material anyway.

On 30 May, 17:42, Jim Drake wrote:
On 30 May 2007 04:43:23 -0700, wrote:

IME of vinyl, theres just one thing it does need, and thats a smooth
floor with no gaps at all. So totally unsuitable for old floorboards.

Why dont you just clean up the boards? Replace any bust ones with well
used boards to match. Result would look far better.

Thanks for the suggestions. The old floorboards are 100 yrs old and
sem to be some kind of reddish pine - (when polyurethane varnish is
applied, they come up almost orangey in colour) very difficult to
match.

Elementary to match, any salvage yard will have the same thing in
stock.


Or if you insist on something flat, smooth & new looking, lay thin ply
down

Thanks; that's an interesting idea. You mean something like 5mm ply?
As it happens I have bought 8ftx 4ft sheets of some rather
nice-looking 5mm ply locally with an almost maple-like top skin for
£not-too-much. I used it to panel out my loft.

What sized pieces would you lay, to end up with a good effect? 8ft x
4ft sheets wouldn't look too hot, IMO, but if cut down to 9"-wide
strips it might look good with a decent finish. What would you use to
fix them down? (Something that's near-invisible, yet durable, but
allowed for easy future removal would be ideal.) Any sugestions on
finish? Stain and then polyurethane floor-varnish, perhaps?

Cheers,

Jim

5mm would be very thin ply. Cutting it into strips would be out of the
question. Quarter inch would work better, but dont chop it up.

But I'm still not that clear why you need to refloor. Replacing a few
bad boards and a good srcub up is all they usually take. Some people
sand, but it sometimes ruins the floor by exposing worm holes, and
just isnt needed.

As for putting yinyl straight onto sanded boards, forget it. Nowehere
near good enough base.


NT

On 30 May 2007 04:43:23 -0700, wrote:

IME of vinyl, theres just one thing it does need, and thats a smooth
floor with no gaps at all. So totally unsuitable for old floorboards.

Why dont you just clean up the boards? Replace any bust ones with well
used boards to match. Result would look far better.

Or if you insist on something flat, smooth & new looking, lay thin ply
down.

The other thing re vinyl is the ones I've seen really dont look good
imitating wood. More of the cheap fake type of appearance.

Thanks to all for the input. In light of what's been said, I am now
leaning towards having a fitted carpet throughout. It'll deaden
footsteps, give some thermal insulation and smarten the place up for
selling, and, it'll create easier access to the underfloor space when
needed.

I've never really mastered the art of carpet-fitting, so I may just
employ a pro to (hopefully) ensure a top-quality-looking job.

Jim

On Wed, 30 May 2007 12:01:01 +0100, "The Medway Handyman"
wrote:

Jim Drake wrote:
Hi. I need some floor-covering that looks like a hardwood or parquet
floor, but is easy to lay, doesn't cost a fortune, and is fairly thin.
So I think some kind of vinyl is probably the way to go, rather than
laminate.

Couple of questions:

How does one recognise the good-quality stuff?

Price usually - or brand name. Amtico for example.

Also look for the thickness of the "wear layer" - the bigger the
better.

The floorboards are very old (100yrs) and not 100% even. Is there
anything I can lay under the vinyl to create a more even-looking and
convincing finished job?

If its uneven boards the floor will soon show through the vinyl IME.

Always use ply or hardboard over floorboards first. Make sure the
floorboards are as flat as possible beforehand.

M