Sisyphus and an LVT setting Out Question

[Square Feet]

Amtico/Karndean is a devil to lay properly. I've only ever laid about 5sqm in a campervan and that was enough for me.  Also if you are using different patterns then you may find the planks/edging etc are different thicknesses (sometimes by as much as 2mm - enough to feel underfoot) - they do seem to vary a lot and not every pattern or edging will match and be compatible with each other. I think the lad is quite right to just say that he can't do the job and walk away. It's really quite skilled. I found that it was nearly impossible to stop a very small amount of glue pushing up between the planks and causing a slight gap, which when repeated enough can throw the whole thing out of whack. I'd ditch Mr Bodgit and start looking for a specialised Karndean/Amtico flooring fitter.

[Spinny]

I think I have entered a new twilight zone now. Maybe time for Nurse Ratched with medication.

 

So now we have more boxes on site and I have looked over 4 boxes or 108 planks it becomes apparent that this is not throwing up any further 'image space'. It seems as though there is really quite limited unique wood grain image area equivalent to maybe 12-14 ish 102 by 914 planks - or maybe 1 to 1.5 sqm. These have then been cut at different start/finish points on the image so they are offset length wise, and/or reversed in direction. 

 

When you try and lay these out by eye you really have not got a great deal of choice to work with. It is all but impossible to avoid repeated features within a meter or so of any point.

Dry laying can only achieve so much given the limitations of what there is to work with.

 

[Gone West]

2 hours ago, Square Feet said:

I'd ditch Mr Bodgit and start looking for a specialised Karndean/Amtico flooring fitter.

Wot he said ^. It requires a skilled fitter, it's definitely not something I would try, nor would I want the assistant doing the job.

[Tetrarch]

My Amtico fitter was outstanding. It is all he does and he is so good that he limits his quote area

 

When he installed our >100sq m he trimmed every single plank on two sides at a 45 degree angle to stop the "glue squidge" problem. This was absolute genius and I cannot fault the quality of the install. I had some very fixed ideas about how I wanted it laid but all his "suggestions" were the exact right ones in hindsight.

 

I have laid Amtico myself in a previous house and I got the "glue squidge" problem and a line where two plywood boards butted together, I was still pleased with my efforts but a proper professional makes a huge difference in quality

 

Regards

 

Tet

 

 

[Nickfromwales]

The youngster may turn out to be a better fitter, be more meticulous, work with you out of respect, and do a good job.

 

Just speak with him and explain your concerns, and see how he responds.

 

Sounds like the product isn’t a top shelf option and the repeats are the fleas coming with that dog.

 

For want of a better phrase, Champagne job on lemonade money? Feel free to tell me to FO, I have thick skin.  

[Spinny]

So we have been going around the houses, but I think we are coming back to where we started !

 

Young fitter laid the central strip 4 tiles wide on Tuesday and was happy to transpose tiles I had loose laid first. Has done a good job I think. Just one place where you can see a curved line reflecting the light and running fingers over it shows there is a small ridge running across the planks - he has agreed those tiles will need to be taken up and relaid. Seems unclear why the ridge (about 50mm wide) is there - whether it is the floor finish or some excess adhesive. Seems to follow a curve like a trowel would.

He has loose laid another central strip 4 tiles wide alongside for me to rearrange as I see fit.

 

Overall the current layout looks better than the first go, but still has a tendency to look marbled as much as planked when viewed over a distance. Not that keen on that, and so we took a rain check on laying more to go around the Amtico range again to see if there might be something better. Only found 2 alternatives, both Spacia, somewhat lighter in tone, and a 1 week wait to get even 2 boxes to lay out - Amtico completely control distribution and pricing, nobody except them holds stock.

 

Only signature has a larger image area. Twice the price and we cannot find one we like. No featured oak in Signature, and generally speaking the designs/colours are a little more artificial and processed looking for our taste. Going with the fashionable parquet or herringbone layouts would hide the limited image size more, but we always wanted to emphasis the straight through line and feel these layouts may perhaps go out of fashion again.

 

As time has ticked by I have grown more accustomed to the Spacia featured oak, and as it is more mid tone than our alternative of Alverton Oak or Westmere Oak, will probably hide dirt/marks better. So likely to continue with that this week now. I attach some photos and welcome any more comments though.

 

I have some wider 184mm plank featured oak - interestingly in a box of 9 planks there are only 5 unique planks (or 1.2 sqm). So even less scope to manage repeats.

 

I see no reason why Amtico should use such small image sizes in 2026 in the digital age. I can only suspect they have done it the same way for 25 years and have lost zeal for continuos improvement. Large open plan rooms is a long standing trend now. Digital image handling is now trivial. By not having any large floors on show they conceal their weakness, but ultimately evasion is never a good business plan.

 

I have used ChatGPT to investigate other LVT makes and Moduleo seems to have the biggest pattern repeat, but have seen some mixed reviews.

 

Yes I have become like a mum's net poster here, fussing over detail that may soon be forgotten if we ever finish. But in posting at length maybe someone else will find the factors in our deliberations might influence their own decision making. I would certainly encourage people to buy 2 or 3 boxes of an Amtico wood design and lay it out on their floor before making a final decision.