www.ultimatehandyman.co.uk

I'd prefer real wood flooring throughout but it aint gonna happen unless the lottery nos come up so I'm looking at laminate instead for the kitchen.

Which make/brand/type is best and most hardwearing and can also handle occasional spills?

The other alternative is lino. Again...suggestions on type/quality?

I dont want to tile the kitchen as I have a football mad muddy son and a new muddy puppy and the grout lines would be disgusting in no time. We practically live in our kitchen and use the back door as the family main door so the floor will get trampled big time.

Ideas?

This is my own humble opinion, but I would deffo go with the tiles and a dark grout if possible. much easier to keep clean and wont "blow" like laminate flooring if spills/flooding occours.
Dont know anything about the brands of laminate flooring, but the advice I would give is look at the edge of the boards the thicker the laminate the better quality. (usually a blackish colour'd line is the thickness of the laminate) I know that as I work in a factory custom cutting Laminate Worktops for Kitchens and Offices. But the way the boards on Laminate floors fix together also makes a difference in price.
hope that helps a little..

Ive laid stacks of different flooring as a joiner and the one that always stands out from the rest as far as laminates goes is the Quickstep Uniclic range.
A good quality laminate is recognised by the ease of installing the boards and the tightness of the joints once snapped together.

As you say its for a kitchen then obviously there is always the worry that a water spillage from somewhere will inevitably wreck the laminate.

Some other Manufacturers claim that their laminates are suitable for bathrooms etc and so stamp their packs as being moisture resistant, but this is purely resistance to moisture not water.

So i personally would choose the Quick step Uniclic laminate.
This type of flooring also comes in a ceramic tile effect as well as a huge range of timber types so im sure you would find something suitable.
Dont forget when measuring up for quantity to allow more for the tiled laminate than wood laminate as you will end up with more wastage due to having to match up grout lines.

I have nowhere the experience of Steve, and it is always good to hear from experience what has worked well, but I will still throw in 3 words ....

B&Q AquaLoc - quite a few people here have had good experiences with that and there is a 15 year Guarantee with it for Kitchen and Bathrom use.

I also saw in B&Q some laminate sealer that you can apply to the joins to seal it to make doubly sure. Not sure if that is REALLY needed - prob depend on how wet your floors tend to get

And good point about the wastage on Tile effect compared to Wood effect I bought an extra pack "just in case" when I did my bathroom and ended up using most of it due to grout-line matching

Ive just laid some quickstep majestic, its guaranteed 33 years domestic, 5 commercial environment


www.quick-step.com

Ooooooh isnt that just like me, reading the bloody installation instructions after Ive fitted the floor, apparently on this uniclic X range, you can remove a damaged board on its own, in the middle of the room, will read some more

http://www.quick-step.com/media/divers/ ... icX/EN.pdf

It does say not suitable for bathrooms saunas, excissive moisture must be removed immediately

With regard to hoovies comment on B&Qs Aqua loc laminate i have actually installed this type in my own house. (in the toilet area)
I went for the slate type tile effect as uni clic did not do this at the time.
As with all B&Qs products they wont break the bank and can say that i have had no problems with it other than a small amount of swelling directly underneath the toilet cistern due to condensation dripping onto floor during the winter months.
As fas as installation goes its not a patch on the uni clic for fitting however it probably is a considerable amount cheaper.

Ali, FYI, this is what the B&Q AquaLoc White Slate effect looks like down (this is prior to finishing off around pan with sealant and ftting skirting, obviously )

Have you looked at http://www.karndean.co.uk vinyl floors?

Has anyone got experience in using it? The in laws have just had their kitchen and dinning room fitted and it looks lovely! I'm interested in getting it but unsure of a DIY install as they had it professionally fitted.

Ive came across Karndean floors only a few times in my travels and i must say that it looks a quality product.
On commenting on a particular floor that i once saw the owner told me it had been professionally laid by the company he purchased it from.
He then went on to tell me that they would only sell the product on a supply and fit basis.
I can honestly say that i have never seen this for sale in any shop or builders merchants for a self fit, that leads me on to thinking that perhaps the company likes to keep a dedicated team of fitters to go with the products sales.
I dont think you would want to try a diy job on this stuff knowing what the cost of a Balls up could be!!!

Wood and water just don't go to gether unless its a boat
If you do use wood expect to replace a lot sooner than you would tiles

unclek wrote:Have you looked at http://www.karndean.co.uk vinyl floors?

Has anyone got experience in using it? The in laws have just had their kitchen and dinning room fitted and it looks lovely! I'm interested in getting it but unsure of a DIY install as they had it professionally fitted.

Bathstyle on this forum can advise you about karndean - I believe he fits or specifies it frequently . I had a look at Kardean flooring and vinyl - it is very nice, but VERY pricey

Steve F - FWIW, there is a shop very local to me (and I live in a rural place) that sells the Kardean range to anyone coming in the door, so I didn't realise the rarity!
Having said that, given the price, I would agree that you would want to be knowing EXACTLY what you are doing to avoid thowing your money away - especially as a lot of the Kardean stuff seems to feature marquetry style pattens that I bet need a top man fitting to look right

Indeed