Flooring Options

Floor preparation

Floor preparation is the key to a perfect finish, whether it's a wood plank floor or a concrete floor. All floors need preparation before installing a new floor.

Wood plank floors may require sanding of high spots before overlaying with a floor grade 5.5mm ply.

Concrete based floors may require grinding to remove contaminant's before being primed and an application of latex screed. Latex screed can be applied at 3mm up to 20mm deep resulting in a perfectly smooth finish, perfect for sheet Vinyl, Safety flooring, Lvt

Older properties that may not have a DPM membrane, we would recommend a surface DPM, this will ensure longevity of any future floors, as well as reducing any damp the property may have. Once the DPM has cured the floor would then require a latex screed.

Carpets

Our range of carpets offers comfort and style for any room. From luxurious plush options to durable Berber carpets, we have something to suit every taste and budget.

Explore Carpets

Carpet flooring has been a popular choice for homes, offices, and commercial spaces for many years, but it’s important to weigh the pros and cons before making a decision. Understanding the benefits and drawbacks of carpet can help you determine if it’s the right flooring option for your space. Let's take a closer look at the advantages and disadvantages of carpet.

Pros

Carpet flooring offers a range of advantages that may sway your decision when choosing the right flooring for your home or office. Here are some compelling reasons why carpet might be the ideal choice for you.

Comfort and Warmth

One of the most significant benefits of carpet is the comfort and warmth it provides. Unlike hard flooring surfaces, carpet offers a soft and cozy feel underfoot, making it especially welcoming during colder months. The insulation properties of carpet also help to retain heat, leading to potential energy savings.

Noise Reduction

Carpet acts as a natural sound barrier, reducing impact noise from foot traffic, and minimizing airborne noise such as voices and electronic sound systems. This is especially beneficial in multi-story homes, apartments, and office buildings, where noise from upper levels can be a disturbance to those below.

Versatile Design Options

With a wide range of colours, patterns, and textures available, carpet can be a versatile design element that complements various interior styles. It allows for creative expression and can tie together the aesthetic of a room while adding a touch of luxury.

Safe and Soft for Kids

For families with young children, carpet provides a safe and comfortable surface for play and relaxation. Its cushioned texture reduces the risk of injury from slips and falls, and it creates a cozy environment that children can enjoy. Additionally, carpet can serve as a natural insulator, keeping rooms warmer and safer for little ones.

Cost-Effective Option

In comparison to many hard flooring materials, carpet is often more affordable to purchase and install. Its cost-effectiveness makes it an attractive choice for budget-conscious individuals who still desire the warmth and comfort that carpet provides.

Enhanced Air Quality

Carpet can act as a filter, trapping airborne allergens and preventing them from circulating in the air. This can contribute to improved indoor air quality, particularly for individuals with respiratory issues.

Insulation and Energy Efficiency

Carpet provides additional insulation, which can help to maintain a comfortable indoor temperature. This can result in reduced energy costs by decreasing the need for heating in the winter and cooling in the summer.

Non-Slip Surface

Carpet provides a non-slip surface, making it a safer option for households with elderly individuals or people with mobility issues. This can reduce the risk of slips and falls, providing a sense of security and stability for those who may be at higher risk of accidents.

Insulation

One of the advantages of carpet is its insulation properties. It helps to retain warmth and can contribute to energy efficiency by reducing heat loss through the floor. In colder climates, carpeting can help to create a more comfortable and cozy indoor environment while potentially lowering heating costs.

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Cons

While carpet offers many benefits, there are also drawbacks that should be carefully evaluated before committing to this type of flooring. It's important to weigh these considerations to make an informed decision for your home or office space.

Maintenance and Cleaning Challenges

Keeping carpet clean and well-maintained can be a more demanding task compared to hard flooring surfaces. Regular vacuuming and periodic professional cleaning are essential to prevent the build up of dust, dirt, and allergens, especially in high-traffic areas.

Susceptibility to Stains and Spills

Carpet is inherently more prone to staining and discoloration from spills, particularly in households with young children or pets. While some carpets are designed with stain-resistant treatments, it's crucial to address spills promptly to minimize permanent damage.

Allergen Retention

For individuals with allergies or respiratory sensitivities, carpet can trap and retain allergens such as dust mites, pet dander, and pollen, which may contribute to air quality issues. Regular cleaning and maintenance, along with hypoallergenic carpet options, can help mitigate this concern.

Potential for Wear and Tear

High-traffic areas and heavy furniture can cause carpet fibres to wear down over time, leading to visible signs of use and requiring more frequent replacement or repair. This is an important consideration for spaces that experience significant foot traffic or furniture movement.

Installation and Replacement Costs

While carpet can be a cost-effective flooring option initially, the installation and eventual replacement costs should be factored into the long-term budget. Professional installation may be necessary, and replacing worn or outdated carpet can incur additional expenses.

Risk of Mold and Mildew

In areas with high humidity or moisture, carpets can be susceptible to mold and mildew growth. This can pose health risks and may require professional cleaning or even replacement of the carpet in severe cases.

Potential for Off-Gassing

Some carpets and carpet adhesives may release volatile organic compounds (VOCs) over time, contributing to indoor air pollution. This off-gassing can affect indoor air quality and may be of concern, particularly in tightly sealed spaces.

Potential for Odour Retention

Carpet has the potential to retain odours, particularly if not properly maintained. Spills, pet accidents, and general use over time can lead to unpleasant smells that may be challenging to eliminate. This can be a concern for households with pets or in areas with high humidity.

Allergen Accumulation

Another disadvantage of carpet is its tendency to accumulate allergens such as dust, pet dander, and pollen. This can affect indoor air quality and lead to respiratory issues for individuals with allergies or asthma. Regular cleaning and maintenance are essential to mitigate this downside.

Vinyl

Discover Vinyl Flooring

For easy maintenance and durability, our vinyl flooring options are a great choice for kitchens, bathrooms, and other high-traffic areas. Choose from a variety of styles and patterns.

Vinyl flooring has become a popular choice for homeowners due to its durability, affordability, and versatility. Whether you're considering vinyl planks, tiles, or sheets, it's essential to weigh the advantages and disadvantages before making a decision. In this article, we'll explore the pros and cons of vinyl flooring to help you make an informed choice for your home.

From easy maintenance to potential environmental concerns, vinyl flooring offers a range of benefits and drawbacks that should be carefully considered. Let's dive into the advantages and disadvantages of vinyl flooring to help you evaluate whether it's the right option for your space.

Pros

Vinyl flooring has several advantages that make it an attractive option for homeowners. From its resistance to moisture and wear to its cost-effectiveness, there are several compelling reasons to choose vinyl flooring for your home. Let's explore some of the surprising benefits of vinyl flooring.

Exceptional Durability

One of the significant advantages of vinyl flooring is its exceptional durability. Vinyl is highly resistant to scratches, stains, and dents, making it an ideal choice for high-traffic areas in your home. With proper maintenance, vinyl flooring can maintain its appearance and functionality for many years, providing long-term value for homeowners.

Water-Resistant Properties

Vinyl flooring is inherently water-resistant, making it suitable for areas prone to moisture such as kitchens, bathrooms, and basements. This feature not only makes vinyl flooring easier to clean and maintain but also provides protection against water damage, a significant advantage over other flooring options.

Versatile Design Options

Another benefit of vinyl flooring is its versatile design options. With a wide range of colors, patterns, and textures available, homeowners can achieve the look of natural materials such as wood, stone, or tile without the associated maintenance or cost. Vinyl flooring allows for creative expression and can complement various interior styles.

Easy Installation and Maintenance

Vinyl flooring is known for its ease of installation and maintenance. Whether in the form of planks, tiles, or sheets, vinyl is generally designed for straightforward installation, saving both time and labor costs. Additionally, vinyl floors are easy to clean and require minimal maintenance, making them a practical choice for busy households.

Cost-Effective Solution

Cost-effectiveness is a significant advantage of vinyl flooring, especially when compared to natural materials such as hardwood or stone. With its affordable price point and long-term durability, vinyl flooring offers a budget-friendly solution for homeowners looking to enhance the aesthetics and functionality of their living spaces.

Comfortable Underfoot

Vinyl flooring offers a soft and comfortable feel underfoot, making it a great choice for areas where people want to walk barefoot, such as bedrooms or living rooms. This comfort can add to the overall appeal and coziness of a space.

Sound Absorption

Vinyl flooring has the ability to absorb sound, reducing noise from footsteps and other movements. This makes it an ideal option for apartments, condominiums, and multi-level homes where noise control is important.

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Cons

While vinyl flooring offers numerous benefits, it's important to acknowledge the potential drawbacks that may influence your decision. From environmental considerations to susceptibility to damage, there are some aspects of vinyl flooring that should be carefully evaluated. Let's take a closer look at the disadvantages of vinyl flooring.

Prone to Damage from Sharp Objects

While vinyl flooring is durable, it can be susceptible to damage from sharp objects such as high-heeled shoes, heavy furniture legs, or pet claws. The surface of vinyl may be punctured or gouged under excessive pressure, requiring repairs or replacements. Homeowners should exercise caution to prevent damage to their vinyl floors.

Limited Resale Value

Another drawback of vinyl flooring is its limited resale value compared to natural flooring materials. While vinyl offers affordability and practicality, it may not carry the same resale appeal as hardwood, tile, or stone flooring options. For homeowners concerned about the long-term investment value of their property, this factor should be taken into consideration.

Susceptibility to Fading

Exposure to sunlight can cause vinyl flooring to fade over time, particularly in areas that receive a lot of natural light. It's important to consider this factor when choosing vinyl flooring for sunlit spaces.

Potential for Discoloration

Certain vinyl flooring products may be prone to discoloration when exposed to certain chemicals or cleaning agents. It's important to follow the manufacturer's guidelines for cleaning and maintenance to avoid potential discoloration issues.

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VOC Emissions and Environmental Impact

One of the primary concerns associated with vinyl flooring is the emission of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) during manufacturing and installation. These emissions can contribute to indoor air pollution and have potential health implications. Additionally, the production and disposal of vinyl flooring may raise environmental concerns, particularly regarding recycling and long-term sustainability.

Wet Room Floors, and Safety Floors

We highly recommend ALTRO for all our wet room floors, and safety floors. Altro offers a high slip resistance for the wettest areas, These options are not only stylish but also practical for different environments.

We offer an exceptional fully heat welded floor, with all joins and wet room corners sealed with a matching weld strip.

Browse Specialized Flooring

LVT (Luxury Vinyl Tile)

Are you installing new floors and want to know all about LVT flooring pros and cons?

LVT floors are an ongoing trend in the renovation industry, considering their affordability and durability compared to natural floors. But like any other type of floor, they come with drawbacks that you should consider before installing.

Luckily, that’s what we’re about to discuss in this article, so keep reading!

What Is LVT Flooring?

LVT floors are manufactured with the sole purpose of mimicking natural-material floors with more affordability and durability. They’re made from multiple layers, a stabilising underlayment, a core layer, a decorative layer, and a protective film. The layers may vary from one manufacturer to another, but the general idea remains the same.

LVT floors come in many colours and patterns, but most of them look like natural wood, stone, and marble. They’re mostly resistant to scratches and wear signs, and some types are waterproof.

The Pros and Cons of LVT Flooring

Before installing LVT floors around your house, you should know what cons you’ll have to deal with and what pros you’ll enjoy. Here’s our roundup of the advantages and disadvantages of LVT floors.

The Pros

Let’s begin with the bright side of installing LVT floors!

Highly Durable

The multi-layer nature of LVT floors renders them highly durable, especially the protective film that manufacturers add. It’s often made from PVC, a synthetic type of plastic that protects against scratches and tears. This feature makes LVT floors a wise choice for high-traffic rooms and commercial places.

Water-Resistant

LVT floors are water-resistant, and some manufacturers provide completely waterproof floors, which might be the most important advantage of installing them. The resistance of these floors makes them a perfect choice for rooms susceptible to moisture issues, like basements, kitchens, and bathrooms.

Another prevalent issue that accompanies moisture is the growth of bacteria and mould. Luckily, the upper layer of LVT floors is often made using antibacterial materials that prevent their growth.

Low-Maintenance

Natural floors are high-maintenance, so you shouldn’t put them in high-traffic rooms, clean them with water often, or place your furniture on top without adding furniture pads. Luxury vinyl floors, on the other hand, are easier to maintain since they’re more durable.

All you have to do is put on a rug or mat for extra protection, and you’re good to go. Even if you have kids and pets running around, LVT floors aren’t easy to wear.

Easy to Install

Although we always recommend getting professional help installing floors, you can lay your luxury vinyl tiles without help if you have DIY experience. They’re easy to cut and have three installation methods that are all doable at home.

Some tiles come with a layer of glue that you can peel and stick to the subfloor right away, and they’re called glue-down floors. The other two methods are the locking system and loose lay, and they don’t always require adhesive.

Locking system floors come with interlocking shapes that make them easy to lock together. Meanwhile, loose-lay floors are manufactured with a grip backing on their undersides, making them easy to lay on the subfloor. They’re the easiest to install out of the three.

Cost-Efficient

LVT floors are more affordable than natural-material floors—that’s one of the reasons they’re famous. But their prices don’t mean they’re low quality or will show signs of wear and tear a few months after installation. On the contrary, LVT floors provide superb value for money because they last an average of 10-20 years if maintained properly.

Easy to Clean

LVT floors are insanely easy to clean and maintain. All you need is a damp mop—not dripping—to wipe the dust off them. Even better, these floors don’t attract dust as easily as natural floors, so you’re good to go with a weekly cleaning session. You don’t have to get out your mop and bucket every other day.

You can also use your vacuum if you don’t want to bother with moisture and slippery floors till they dry.

Budget-Friendly

One of the most significant contributors to the fame of LVT floors is their price. The average cost to install vinyl tiles in the United Kingdom is £20-30 per square metre. Meanwhile, wooden floors have a higher average that starts at £35 till £50. So, they’re a better option for people on a budget.

Available in all Colours and Patterns

LVT floors come in all shapes and patterns. Do you want to go modern and install stone or marble-like vinyl tiles? Check. Perhaps you want a touch of classic extravagance in your house and are looking for wooden designs. Also check!

No matter what colour or design you’re looking for, you’ll find vinyl tiles that match the interior decor in your place.

Soft Underfoot Feel

LVT floors absorb shocks and have a soft underfoot feel. While they aren’t as soft as carpets, they’re softer than hardwood floors, which makes them more comfortable for your feet and knees.

High Resale Value

If you plan on selling your house in the near future, you’ll be glad to know that luxury vinyl tiles can add to the resale value of your home, especially if they’re new.

The Cons

Now, let’s get into the reasons why you should think twice before installing LVT floors.

Challenging Removal Process

Once installed, LVT floors are challenging to remove, so if you’re prone to changing your opinion after installing them, they might not be the best option. In most cases, you won’t be able to remove them by yourself and will have to call in professional help.

Prone to Wear Signs From Sharp Objects

While the softness of LVT floors makes them feel comfier under your feet, it also makes them more prone to wear signs due to traffic or high heels. And if you place sharp objects on top of them, they might leave tiny holes or dents.

Susceptible to Dents

Similar to the point above, LVT floors are easily dented by heavy furniture because of their softness. So when choosing the room where you’ll install them, make sure to get reasonably sized furniture.

Not Sunlight-Resistant

If you plan to install LVT floors on your patio or near a large window, you should know they’re susceptible to sunlight damage. The protective layer, while it keeps some damage at bay, isn’t entirely proof against UV rays. So over time, you may notice some fading or discoloured spots on your floors.

There’s an easy fix to this issue, though. Only install LVT floors in rooms that don’t get too much sunlight during the day.

Residue Installation Odour

Despite the easy methods of installing LVT floors, it doesn’t come without a price. Glue-down floors often leave behind a synthetic odour that doesn’t fade right away. Instead, you’ll have to live with it for a few days.

Difficult Repair Process

Compared to natural materials, LVT floors are much more challenging to repair, if even possible. Scratches and wear signs can be concealed to make them less visible, but they never go away entirely.

More than that, if an accident occurs and a large area of your floor is damaged, including the design layer, it’s often impossible to fix. Instead, you’ll have to remove them and install new floors.

Low Resale Value Compared to Natural Floors

While LVT floors can boost the resale value of your house, it isn’t comparable with natural floors’ resale value, specifically hardwood. If you want to sell your house in the long run, you’re better off installing natural floors because their value doesn’t go down too badly over time.