We are building a new room and have decided to go with Karndean loose lay flooring. We are trying to figure out whether we are best to put the flooring down first then the skirting, or skirting first? Hubby said that it would be easier and better to do the flooring first and then the skirting and would be more forgiving on cutting it. But the flooring place said that you put it against the skirting, not under it. I know it's quite a new product so haven't been able to find any advice online.
Because it loose lay and the planks are just butted up to each other I would have the skirting on and cut up to them very neat.
I only found out about this last week. For anyone not familiar with the product it's large vinyl planks and tiles literally laid loose and not fixed to each other. They're 4.5mm thick with a .55mm wear layer. They also do not require a dpm. One thing I did find out about fitting them is because they are loose the pieces round the edge must be contained or they will move so that answers the skirting question. This would also apply to kickboards in kitchens and doorways. Also vinyl tile doesn't like direct sunlight unless it's bonded down so if you have large windows or patio doors that should be taken into account. Personally I can see this as a product designed for the commercial market and I see potential problems in an average home. I know it's quite expensive too so I would go for a more traditional tried and tested vinyl tile installation and let someone else be the guinea pig
Erm....... Don't like the sound of this product. Still trying to get my head round the click lvt . Time will tell i suppose !!
My rep was round the other day showing me the gear Has since sent up a few full size planks for me to get a better look at Its....dif.. lol Mega grippy backing to it, am just not convinced that it wouldnt change dimensions with atmospheric conditions being what they are 4 seasons in 1 day up my way! -2 first thing this morn - 12degrees this afternoon! If its a problem floor then maybe, but its only guaranteed upto 85%rh Time will tell
until it's been tried and tested stick with the traditional way and get it installed by a quality LVT installer don't try to do it yourself it's false economy.
I would of thought if it was loose lay you would need a expansion gap? I was thinking it wouldn't stay in place with expansion gap tho? Weird
The cfs click lvt doesn't require an expansion gap either, apparently that because of the 2 layers of fiberglass. May this is the same
A fibre glass mesh core. They have forgot to add the epoxy tho which makes things stable. Im yet to find a LVT with fibre mesh that is stable when tested in the labs. I have not tested the cfs one yet tho so maybe it has some miracle adhesive built in.
Couple of options regarding the skirtings. If they are fitted, as the other guys have said keep it tight and butt them against each other. If the skirtings are off you can either run a series of panel pins in the floor in a straight line leaving them 4mm proud and fit the flooring against them and cover with skirting when finished. OR you can glue the first row with high temp adhesive or pressure sensative adhesive, let it set them fit against and cover edge with skirting. Like the others, it can be a grey area when its something new but our first one worked out fine. Admittedly, it took a bit longer than we had hoped but a lot of that was down to getting to know the product and not wanting to rush it. Also, as Sandy said it is an ideal product for the commercial market where shops don't want to be closed for any length of time. As for domestic work, you lose the whole design aspect of lvt flooring. You can't introduce borders or any intricate detail which for me, is one of the main features of lvt flooring.
project floors is a better product to use i find as a company they tend to care a lot more about the customers and the product is just the same and a little cheaper but would not suggest loose laying it or karndean as it will curl in sunlight or just the heat of your house
The product is actually called 'Looselay' James, we're not talking about loose fitting the standard product.
Well we have done the tests. We cooled the product down to 10c and then raised its temperature all the way up to 60c . Anyone want to take a guess at what happened?
nope, it stayed the exact same size. even stayed flat. Cant get my head around it, im convinced i have made a mistake so going to run the test again.
Ya bugger Matt! I read you're first post and started to panic, thinking about my customer phoning me in the morning telling me her floor had all buckled!! Although I've probably just cursed myself anyway ;-)
