SPC seems to be pretty new stuff, and the click/loose-lay version of it particularly useful what with built-in underlays and the additional thermal and sound deadening benefits of that extra thickness. So I've been looking at the stuff to lay approx 2m x 2m of it on a screeded concrete floor in our downstairs bathroom. But I'm having a real hard time finding what I want. The closest I've come is supplied by LVT Superstore and called Caress Plus American Walnut. It's perfect in terms of colour with a lovely rich and warm dark grain and at 152mm it's a nice narrow width for a small space. It's also an amazing 7.5mm thick with 1.5mm thick built-in underlay. It's cheap too at £28 sqM. I'd provide the link but I'm a newbie and I'm not yet allowed to. BUT... it don't have a BEVEL. Not even a pretend painted on one. For me, plank laminate and LVT flooring without a bevel just looks wrong, and cheap. I could, if I could stand the hassle of re-screeding and gluing, use a glue-down product which would vastly open up my options, but they are only a couple of mm thick and I want the advantage of the thermal break you get from the extra thickness and the underlay. If I found the right stuff and it went down and functioned OK, then I'd do the much larger hallway in it, and probably the even larger kitchen/diner/lounge. I've scoured every website imaginable, and even looked at laying herringbone in a plank style, but found nothing. So I'm now appealing to the experts for recommends.
I only like Impervia so far. A lot of the others are not very stable Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
So far, i only like the korlok and coretech, they are more expensive, but they have a thicker core, giving them a more substantial joint, which i find makes them nicer to fit,but you get what you pay for
I've already checked out all the recommends made here and not found what I want... and I do respect the critiques offered. But your recommend, Merit... Impervia... is one I'd not found. I looked it up and BINGO... Black American Walnut 128 wide by 615 Herringbone, 6.5mm +1.5mm backing, 0.5 wear layer, 4x micro bevel... it seems perfect and I've sent off for a sample. I've not even checked the price. Can anybody now tell me if there are any downsides to attempting to lay a small herringbone click-plank like this in a straight-up-and-down boarded style. The left and right planks can easily be laid in alternating rows, but until you try doing anything non-standard... you never know.
I checked out Pro-Tek and their range is a bit limited. It looks like good stuff though, and they have something called Layla Walnut which could maybe have fit the bill, despite looking a little busy in the photos, but at 228mm it is far too wide and I can't see any mention of a bevel so can only presume it has none. But I'm intrigued... why do all you guys hate click vinyl?
Most of them are poorly manufactured. We use to supply one from moduleo but after a few of them buckled and we were told it’s due to direct sunlight at doors windows ect… we can only put in rooms with no light. Also looked at a job done with Amtico clic (not ours) that had warped terribly in front of bifold doors. The customer was told by Amtico it’s not the right product. It needs to be a stick down floor. Not ideal. The Impervia does claim to be a lot better than most. I’ve got it in a job that will really test it. Had one spc clic failed miserably which the manufacturer refunded as they should, excellent service, moduleo take note. Impervia is in there now and been fine so far. This summer will be the first test for it. You also need a lot of expansion and the floor prep is similar to a stuck down lvt so it sits at the bottom of the pile. But builders tell me it’s brilliant all the time and they never have any issues with it lol. Yeah right Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I sent for a sample from Impervia and despite it being darker than their online photos I was fairly impressed. It has a close enough colour and grain, the surface texture isn't OTT, being herringbone it's narrow so it'll (I presume) lay plank-style and in a small space look just right, has a bevel, is a decent thickness, and comes with built-in underlay. I emailed them. They seem to have no UK suppliers/retailers so it's direct supply from their Essex warehousing company. They make a flat delivery charge of £122+VAT, or you can collect and you'll still get charged £15+VAT. On two packs of flooring coming in at £166.95 inc VAT, an additional £146.40 for delivery is a bit of a kick in the nuts. I'm hoping to do a work-around with a courier company for approx £30 or less, but then I suppose I'd have the worry of the stuff arriving with all the corners and edges battered. Decisions, decisions. Am very grateful for all the help and suggestions received so far, but I've still got two so far unanswered questions. Despite decades of joinery experience, vinyl flooring is completely alien to me. I've been on jobs and known guys laying glue-down Amtico and Karndean, but never got involved. The first question is... (a) why do you guys hate click so much?... and (b) I can't see it, but are there any downsides to laying herringbone planks in a standard plank layout?
Yeah the delivery charge and set up from the solid wood flooring company is awful. That’s always put me off it. I have managed to knock them down £20 before. I don’t know anyone else that charged that much to deliver and they won’t take it off the truck either Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
That's an excellent, very detailed, answer. Thanks. Do you think maybe that these probs are more common with standard LVT, while the better SPC versions "seem" as if they should be more inherently stable? The reason I wanted this SPC rather than glue-down was because it is going down onto an uninsulated concrete floor and the extra thickness plus underlay is perfect to provide a warm and lightly cushioned feel for stepping out of a shower. The reduced floor prep and easier more DIY installation is just a bonus. In any event, excessive direct sunshine isn't going to be a problem on any of the jobs I have in mind for this stuff, and as to expansion... existing skirtings are going and new hardwood ones going down over the expansion gaps. How about my other question then? Laying herringbone in a plank layout?
In theory it should be fine to lay short planks straight. They do come left and right sided tho so you’ll have to watch out for that. Could be wasteful. It’s not a easy product to install herringbone but it is more forgiving. It’s perfect for laying over very flat subfloors. New build liquid screeds or power floated floors. No smoothing compound and no adhesive needed. I never seem to walk-in to a flat subfloor tho so doesn’t help me. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
