Flooring options

[R D S]

Looking at flooring options for the lounge through into the kitchen... To be laid on top of T&G board...

Out front is an unmade road, out back is a garden that gets quite boggy in wet weather and leads straight into the lounge. We have a dog, dragging muck in from front/rear at any given time and at the age where it isn't unheard of for her to have a morning piss (or worse) a couple of hours before we notice.

(I know the obvious solution, but we are very fond of the dog)

Is Amtico/Karndean likely to be suitable? I was looking at loose-lay because it looks good and a piece of piss to put down but the more I look into it the more i'm concerned about marks/scratches/mopability and the need to immediately clean up any spills. And it's expensive.

So i'm thinking tiles for a permanent solution? Or go the other way and get a cheap roll of lino.

Any input appreciated.

[Brian Gaff]

Cheap roll of Lino unless you are going to get another incontinent dog. Brian

[Brian Gaff]

In the Kitchen the Mighty Kitchen, The Lino Sleeps tonight. Brian

[John Rumm]

I have done a couple of bathrooms with fully bonded Karndean... it looks fairly convincing (far more so than laminate for example), and retains some grip when wet. I expect if you went for a "natural" or rustic finish pattern, it would be unlikely to show marks and scratches particularly - its quite robust. The basic laying of the stuff is fairly straightforward - its when you start getting into fancy borders, and scribed in curved joints etc that the pro installers earn their money.

The key to success starts with surface prep. So over a boarded floor, that usually means a ply substrate screwed down *very* well, then either filled / feathered, or with a latex cement layer on top. For good water protection, then a full cover of latex, and a properly applied glue layer, should keep it well attached.

Yup, that's not a bad idea either... not wanting to be too harsh, but a cheap roll of cushion floor will likely outlast the dog. Then you can be a bit more fussy with what replaces it.

[R D S]

That's pretty much the conclusion we are drawing.

[Peter Parry]

I've come across both and they are as near indestructible as you can get. You can wash them by chucking some bleach and water down on them and mopping up but in practice something like a Bissell wash/suction cleaner is easier.

[George Miles]

[Andrew]

Or lino tiles, which Nairn used to make ?.

It's no longer cheap though.

[alan_m]

OK if everyone wears flat soled/heel shoes. Some cushion flooring doesn't stand up too well to small areaimpact damage, say, by a stiletto heal.

[tabbypurr]

A big no when dog piss gets under them. And they are cheap - even poundland sells them.

NT

[The Natural Philosopher]

To tile you MUST take any flex out of the floor. Then lay a thick bed of flexible cement

Proibably safer to use something like a top quality industrial lino/vinyl - the sort they use in hositals

[harry]

That is actually sheet rubber.

Virtually indestructible.