Howdens rigid luxury vinyl flooring

[Murdo]

Morning,

Considering fitting this across entire ground floor of house. Says its waterproof and has 30 year residential guarantee.

Would be appreciative of input regards:-

-folks experience of this in terms of wear/appearance/wear over time

- feel underfoot

- scratch resistance,

- anything you think we should know

- is it true that rigid vinyl detracts from house values versus other flooring?

We have dogs, cats, in and out of outdoor repeatedly

told in store scratches not as visible as pattern extends through vinyl layer

 

Our pro points are  that our builder appears to get decent discount with Howdens. The classic light oak is a good fit for existing furnishing/ not yellow toned. Seems fairly anti slip. (Old dog struggled on other shinier floors). Open to other suggestions. Anyone know who makes this product for Howdens, as wanting to look at reviews.

Many thanks
Murdo

Edited July 22, 2021 by Murdo

[saveasteading]

I have one experience with this sort of floor, using a manufacturer that is not the biggest name.

Had seen it in a busy cafe and it was standing up well, so asked what make it was (which I cannot remember.

It had 2 years of use with baby/toddler and a cat. No sign of wear or problems, and later the house sold v quickly.

There was a hardboard underlay and screed to ensure flatness, so the labour and prelim was as much as the supply.

[Carrerahill]

31 minutes ago, Murdo said:

Morning,

Considering fitting this across entire ground floor of house. Says its waterproof and has 30 year residential guarantee.

Would be appreciative of input regards:-

-folks experience of this in terms of wear/appearance/wear over time

- feel underfoot

- scratch resistance,

- anything you think we should know

- is it true that rigid vinyl detracts from house values versus other flooring?

We have dogs, cats, in and out of outdoor repeatedly

told in store scratches not as visible as pattern extends through vinyl layer

 

Our pro points are  that our builder appears to get decent discount with Howdens. The classic light oak is a good fit for existing furnishing/ not yellow toned. Seems fairly anti slip. (Old dog struggled on other shinier floors). Open to other suggestions. Anyone know who makes this product for Howdens, as wanting to look at reviews.

Many thanks
Murdo

What are the spec's of it such as product thickness, how thick is the wear layer etc.

 

How much are you talking about per m­²? 

 

We have Amtico, as for feel underfoot it is good in the winter as it never feels cold, more forgiving if you drop things as it's not as hard, it does scratch, but so does all hard flooring. With Amtico you can buff small to medium scratches out with a repair chemical which as far as I can tell softens (melts) the wear surface a bit so it blends back together.

 

I would not believe that it would reduce a house value, I think perhaps what might be true is that hardwood floors are known to increase value, the oak flooring we have is often mentioned by name in house listings if it has been used. In fairness I would do exactly the same to indicate to buyers a high quality fit for life floor was in existence. Sadly I am sure people will still come in, decide they don't like the colour or something and rip it up! So perhaps LVT just doesn't add value the same. 

 

Having said that, I know of a small development of near us where the private house builder used Amtico throughout the ground floor and it was a big push in the selling literature. It was stunning with all the motifs and borders etc. I reckon good hard flooring is going to add value over a carpet unless it's Axminster, Wilton, Brintons or Voverk to name a few of the potential lifetime quality carpets.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 22, 2021 by Carrerahill

[patp]

Take a look at what used to be called Flotex flooring now supplied by Forbo. It is carpet but not as you know it. You will see from he website that is sold as a contract floor covering. I have had it in my house/s for nearly fifty years and never ever seen any wear and tear on it. It will burn of course. They tested it in lorry loading bays and post testing put a 21 year guarantee on it. It used to be called Flotex 21. My only problem with Forbo is that they aim it at commercial use and so the patterns are not as house friendly as they used to be. You used to be able to get terracotta tile effect or just a multi random effect. I have, at the moment, wooden plank effect which every single person who comes into the house thinks is wooden planks until they try to slide their shoes or walk on it without shoes.

 

https://www.forbo.com/flooring/en-uk/commercial-products/flotex-flocked-flooring/ctbual?gclid=CjwKCAjwruSHBhAtEiwA_qCppgL2DG8oFWU-tRb79FnzSWeUUwkpp_-4n8_uXYA7_isY1rvWkVO6DRoCAtAQAvD_BwE

[patp]

https://www.forbo.com/flooring/en-uk/commercial-products/flotex-flocked-flooring/flotex-sheet/flotex-naturals/bfrpbw

[James Newport]

Quote

Howdens rigid luxury vinyl flooring

This is LVT - luxury vinyl tiles. There are loads of versions around. 

I've fitted it in two bathrooms and it's been great. Think of it as a fully waterproof laminate

It's usually only 5-6 mm thick, so although they call it "rigid" it's still bendy plastic, so you need a very good subfloor. It won't bridge imperfections as well as something that is thicker. 

[Thedreamer]

@Murdo

 

We had Howden LVT (Quickstep) fitted last year.

 

It's the one area in the self build where we have had some snagging issues.

 

This has now been sorted following the fitting of a couple of thresholds/expansion joints, but the staff who advised about this not being necessary for the size of the area we were fitting. A pain taking of skirting boards.  

 

It's fine now and the LVT stuff is very robust no scratches, easy to clean and waterproof etc. 

[Murdo]

Thank you all, all your responses very much appreciated and will look at all links

Re queries: depending on how much we buy, Howdens talking off between £20-30 sq m ( builder not adding to cost of materials)

Thickness is 5mm…doesnt say thickness of each layer but from a you tube video its 0.55mm
it has a rigid limestone based core and built in underlay.

its click fit

have seen Amtico ( lovely) but as we have 200m sq to cover/wanting same floor thoughout, we thought would be outside our budget. However, we can wait longer if need to spend more/ Howdens product not recommended.