Running Amtico flooring throughout

Thoie

I have a 2 bed apartment which is currently carpeted (with vinyl in the kitchen and bathrooms). The carpet's looking pretty worn in high traffic places, and I'll have to think about replacing it in the next 6 months - year.

I fancy having Amtico stone effect run throughout the entire place. I think actual tiles/stone would be quite cold, and noisy for the people downstairs (though soundproofing isn't bad).

A few questions:

• For people who have Amtico a few years, how do you feel about it? Any problems/issues with upkeep?
• The floors are concrete, with some kind of cork underlay throughout, and I have underlay under all the carpet already - can the Amtico be laid directly onto the existing underlay, or does it have to go directly onto concrete?
• What do people think about stone effect tiles running throughout a place in Ireland? I like how it looks in holiday apartments abroad, just not sure how it would transpose to a grey, wet Ireland.
• If you were putting in a border, would you run the border all the way through the house, or separate in each room. For example, where the sitting room runs out to the hall, would you have the border going in a line across the doorway on each side, or would you run the border from the sitting room out through the doorway and then around the hall, into the next room etc?

tenbob1

• For people who have Amtico a few years, how do you feel about it? Any problems/issues with upkeep?

I have sold amtico for years, I have it my own kitchen for over 5 years as well, and in a house with small kids, I find it fantastic, and much easier to keep than the tiles I covered.

• The floors are concrete, with some kind of cork underlay throughout, and I have underlay under all the carpet already - can the Amtico be laid directly onto the existing underlay, or does it have to go directly onto concrete?

It cannot be fitted onto an underlay at all. Amtico must be fitted directly to a smooth solid surface. So you will either need to get your floors stripped to the concrete and put in a self-leveling compound, or strip to the cork underlay and use some high quality plywood. Your local retailer can advise.

• What do people think about stone effect tiles running throughout a place in Ireland? I like how it looks in holiday apartments abroad, just not sure how it would transpose to a grey, wet Ireland.

Personally, its a look I like, especially if you use a feature strip or border to soften the look of it.

• If you were putting in a border, would you run the border all the way through the house, or separate in each room. For example, where the sitting room runs out to the hall, would you have the border going in a line across the doorway on each side, or would you run the border from the sitting room out through the doorway and then around the hall, into the next room etc?

This depends on the layout of the rooms, I like having the border run through the house if possible. Some layouts just dont suit, suppose it all depends on the tile size/shape any type of border you are looking at.

Thoie

tenbob1 wrote: »

It cannot be fitted onto an underlay at all. Amtico must be fitted directly to a smooth solid surface. So you will either need to get your floors stripped to the concrete and put in a self-leveling compound, or strip to the cork underlay and use some high quality plywood. Your local retailer can advise.

Thanks for the feedback. Stripping back the floors may be a deal breaker - I live in an apartment, and the cork was part of the building specs (presumably for soundproofing). I suspect they put it down to deal with the myriad of people who would install wooden floors and drive their downstairs neighbours crazy, but I'd be loathe to pull it up. I currently have thick vinyl in the kitchen and bathrooms, and that went straight onto the cork, so I thought Amtico could do likewise. Will take some photos and drop into a shop at some stage to see what they say. I'll bring plans of the apartment as well to get opinions on the borders. Who knows - it might be your shop