Moduleo or another over UFH

Hi everyone
I'm new to the forum and would welcome advice.

I've just bought a lovely little house which has UFH (wet system) downstairs, but really hideous ceramic floor tiles (sorry whoever chose them!) over the whole of the ground floor. Apart from being unpleasant, the tiles are dark and make the place look gloomy. They are in good condition though, and pretty level. The floor area is approx 40 square metres.

My idea is to go over the tiles with self-leveling compound, and fit glue-down LVTs. I understand that this product is fine over UFH, so long as the floor surface temp doesn't exceed 27 degrees centigrade. The wood plank effect would look good, in a fairly light tone with some colour and texture variation,

I've been looking around for a few weeks now. My first t hought was Karndean because I've had previous positive experience (and there's no way I can afford Amtico). I've looked at Distinctive and today I saw some Moduleo designs. I was very impressed with the 'Impress' range (ha!) because the product looks so realistic. (There is a design called Country Oak which has good colour variaton and texture ... but honestly, looking at the pic online I would not have looked at it twice .. the reproduction is very poor .. which goes to show you need to get to the showrooms and see the actual products!!)

I came home happy and googled Moduleo for reviews ... but shock horror, most of what I found were horror stories. Problems with tiles apparently shrinking seemed to be quite common and this worries me because I have the UFH to consider. Other problems were with wear (as in not standing up to domestic use) and discolouration apparently put down to using the wrong floor cleaner ?? Also, custommer service came in for major criticism.

You tiler, fitter people who lay the stuff, will I'm sure know more about the products than those who sell them, and probably as much if not more than those who make them ... please advise me. I want a product I can rely upon to stay down, not to shrink, and not to show damage. I like the Moduleo design because it looks so blinkin' realistic .. it's more of a 'rustic' look, I guess .. subtle 'saw marks' and colour/grain variation are really well done.

Have you seen problems with the Moduleo range? Is there much real difference between the different manufacturer's products? What about experience of installing LVTs over UFH in general. Really .. any advice based on your experience would be very gratefully received.

 

Moduleo impress is my best selling LVT and I love fitting it too.
Had some issues with the select range but none with impress.
Chances are any skrinking planks will be due to planks laid wrong or wrong adhesive used.
Like country oak but castle oak is my favourite.

 

On the UFH I keep it low, about 10*c while screening and fitting. And use Uzin KE66 adhesive.

 

Hi Joan.

Moduleo impress is a great product.
But if you can afford that you can afford spacia.

Get it installed by a professional and you won't have a problem.

And remember people are quick to complain and write bad reviews most people aren't as quick to write something positive.

If you believed everything on Google no one would ever buy a new build!

 

Why would you have Spacia over Impress Dan ?

 

There is not a lot between them.
I personally think the graphic is far and beyond the most realistic on the amtico. We have Sherwood oak on our shop floor and most customers think it's real wood.

It's been down for 5 years had countless pallet trucks and trolleys dragged over it. Give it a mop and looks as good as new.

And also I try not to sell moduleo since they don't even do fast track delivery!
We were desperate for a pack short measure and no one could override for any amount of money 3-5 days delivery. They really put customers first.
As you can imagine my customer was chuffed.

 

I have Spacia honey oak in my front room and hate it. Will be coming up when we do that room again.
Tick finish which imo is very dated. The Spacia in my loft is aged hickory which was great as has a nice texture but they dropped it.
I like Spacia tiles but not a fan of the woods.

 

Thank you everyone for your help.

You're quite right, Dan, people are ready to make a fuss when they're upset and don't give praise so much than when things go well. A general failing, probably.

But that said, it doesn't mean that complaints are always unfounded. Taking the points about poor installation being responsible for failure .. I can see that could be the case where tiles don't stay stuck down, or appear uneven ... but in one instance I read of, gaps appeared and some planks were lifted . These were compared with new replacements (same design but new ones which had been acclimatised on site). There was a definite size difference between old and new. I can't get my head round this .. how and why would tile size be affected when both were in the same envoronment? (These people didn't have UFH, by the way). Anyone else heard of planks 'shrinking' and why would this happen?

Dazlight .. castle oak is lovely but in my setting, ta bit oo dark. I do like the (gently) rustic look .. are there any other ranges that do this kind of design? I don't want my house to look like an old warehouse, but I don't want it to look too 'neat', either. I must say, my purse 'pips' are squeeking a bit at the prospect of spending £37.99/meter on the Impress ( I can get 10% off from the loal shop, so more like £35). Any other ranges similar to Impress Country Oak which are good products but a bit less costly?

Thanks again ....

 

I’d prob have another look at distinctive Italian range, maybe signature range.

 

The cost of preping and fitting for lvt isn't cheap (if done correctly)
And it's not at all easy to rip up and replace. Stretch the budget to get the highest spec product you can.
I had vusta fitted as "it's the same as spacia" according to the rep. It was scratched so badly within 2 years it had to be replaced. Luckily I never paid for it
I've had spacia and signature since both have worn well.

 

Thank you again ...

I've ordered some amtico spacia samples ... but I think I need to track down stockists with good displays of a variety of ranges.
I'm going to look again at Karndean (any reason to avoid?), Amtico spacia/signature, Distinctive (if I can find one!) .... any other's I should give the once or twice over??

 

Check the store locator out on our website www.distinctiveflooring.co.uk

 

I've got the application from one of your colleagues Adam, arranging a meeting then hopefully I can start dishing out some Italian range distinctive.
Cheers for the direction mate

 

Thanks, Adam .. that's where I looked originally. The store I came up with (nearest to Gloucester) only stocks the classic range .. and that's where I first saw the Moduleo range.

The store have been out to measure and have given me a price which seems OK. The chap who measured made a song and dance about the levelling screed and adhesives they use being top notch ... but these are not named on the paperwork.

Please can you advise me on specifics .. ideally, and bearing in mind I have the UFH, what products would you recommend i) for levelling the existing tiles and ii) for the adhesive?

Thanks ... J

 

Hi,
A lot of replies already so I’m sure you have an answer already.
But what I find is domestic customers who haven’t much flooring knowledge (no offence intended) are only naming amtico & karndean simply because they are the names who have marketed & developed LVT for years. But as fitters we come across products that we personally rate when we physically fit them, maintain them. Moduleo is in my opinion one of or if not, the best LVT companies with such a great range & stands up to amtico with ease.
As a company we lay Moduleo to Tesco stores across the U.K. & with the 1000+m2 we lay every week - we have never had any Issues

 

Hi again ..

Please ... can any of you help with my last questions?. I gather that correct laying of the flooring is crucial. So ....

Over UFH, i) what levelliing screed do you recommend (to go over unpleasant looking but well laid ceramic floor tiles); ii) what adhesive to go with the screed and the UFH; and, iii) the biggy ... if I go through a stockist, how do I ensure their fitter is super-brilliant?? I'm in Gloucestershire ..Cheltenham/Gloucester area, by the way.

Not much to ask, eh?

Thank you ..
Joan

 

Ask to see some of their work. Im sure they will have pictures or have a previous customer that would let you see the work they have done. Your contractor will have a preferred levelling compound and adhesive. Get them to give you details of the product and you can research it if you feel the need to.


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Thank you, Merit .. of course I should ask to see their work! About 20 years ago I had a Karndean floor in my kitchen which was fine, so I had a similar one laid in the next house I moved to about 12 years ago ... but, as far as understanding the qualities of the materials involved, I'm quite ignorant. The rep who came out to measure 'seemed' to know his stuff .. but how would I know? He talked of using particular adhesives etc which they have tried and tested .. but did not give the names on the quote. I will ask more questions.