Hi, Im looking for some advice, I've just bought our first home and the open plan kitchen diner/lounge already had wooden flooring laid, the day we picked up the keys we found that there had been a leak in the kitchen caused by the previous owner moving there dishwasher. This had caused the floor to buckle and damage the existing flooring beyond repair and cause a damp/mouldy smell in that area which a month later we are still trying get rid of. We've taken all the floor planks up in that area to help dry it out. Anyway since then the previous owner claimed on the building insurance and we are now waiting on the money for the damage, we had planned to get new flooring in this area anyway so not all bad. We will be getting a new kitchen fitted in September and would like to have new flooring laid throughout this area, hallway and one bedroom (approx 40 sq/m) at the same time. We have been looking at LVT due to the water damage and believe the LVT would have potentially been able to withstand the water leakage better than wood and laminated flooring and everybody we've spoke to have said to avoid wood in kitchens. Recently we went to the grand designs exhibition in London and found a company there called quick step, prior to this we were looking at Amtico only because this was used by family members in the past and had been recommended but we were really impressed with quick step range called livyn pulse click which we were told was their latest design, they demonstrated drawing on the sample with a permanent marker and how it could easily wipe off compared to a competitors and thought the click system was impressive. What I was wondering was if anyone on this forum has had any experience fitting this range and could recommend it? Would you get a qualified quick step installer or is the click system easy enough for any floor fitter? Can anyone recommend and supplier and fitter in around the north London area? Our nearest stockist to us is http://www.builderdepot.co.uk/ Thanks Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk
Not had any experience of the Livyn click but through talking to other fitters its supposed to be a cracking product. I would recommend using a Qualified quick step installer and I'm sure there will be some in your local vicinity. Check quicksteps website for them. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Your sub floor still has to be decent if you have click, I'd recommend finding a suitable installer to fit your products, there's all sorts of nonsense spoken about click products being this or that, it all comes down to conditions and weather it's been fitted correctly regardless of which product you choose, amtico also offer a click.
The pulse looks amazing. Got samples in, but heard it's going to be a long wait for orders as brand new. Laid a few Livyn click jobs and the gear is very stable and very scratch resistant. On tapatalk HD
Hi All, Thanks for the responses, if I did buy these direct from you, would you be able to recommend a local fitter here in North London? Or should any respectable fitter be able to fit the Livyn Pulse? Thanks
North London there is a company called grange park carpets in palmers green, fairly certain you could buy of him and he would fit too. Yours4floors.
Fitter with us yesterday had a pulse swatch from culpecks. I've been asking for balance for the last 2 months!! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Can anyone advise if you can fit the Quick Step Livyn Pulse Click with a thicker underlay? E.g. a 3mm underlay used normally for engineered wood or the like? I've got Amtico installed by the builders in my bathroom, on top of ply - so it comes to 8-10mm of the chipboard subfloor. Pulse isn't available as glue down yet it seems. But the click system's only 4.5mm thick, so even with the thicker 1.5mm underlay, it only comes to 7mm. Would look bad if the wooden floor is lower than the bathroom floor I think. Actually I guess 7mm isn't so bad. But 8.5mm total height would be better. Can this be cut clean enough to go flush against skirting and finish with mastic like you would with glue down?
No Only use the recommended underlay, anything too thick or spongy will in fact pull the planks apart as there will be very little compression strength.
Alternative is remove skirtings prior to fitting or beading/scotias Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I've had two companies come and give me a quote for the quick step installation and both have tried to talk me out of getting it. The first one was pushing Amtico and Karndean saying as these are stuck down so you can't get any movement, Karndean and Amtico have the advantage that if there is an issue or damage to any of the planks a fitter can come out to remove it and lay a new one easilly enough. Whereas the quick step floating system is more chance of movement and you have to remove all the planks to reach the damaged piece. The second guys had been on the quick step master installation course and initially seemed fine with me going with quick step but then a few days later after chasing him for this quote he said oh I forgot to mention that it is hard to get the subfloor even and would mean after a couple of months you are likely to experience movement and was trying to push me down the laminate. He did say that he could make the subfloor even but would be costly, still havent received his quote so he seems pretty useless!!! Am I just unlucky with the companies I've had round or are they right in trying to steer me away from quick step?
Quick step is by far the best laminate out there, that i'm aware of from a fitters point of view, any LVT that comes in click form, acts like a laminate. You will still get movement with stuck down LVT as buildings/houses move. There is a chance you'll never have that issue. Tiles on ps adhesive are easier removed but isnt always the easiest replaced, but it can be done. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I'm just a consumer, but I'd speak to someone else. If you go on the quick step website you can search for master installers in your area. Depending on your subfloor, advantages of going for quick step click: * No ply necessary - can reduce cost, even with click being more expensive than say quick step glue down. If you care about FSC etc, it seems getting FSC ply can be difficult/expensive. * No glue necessary - so no VOC issues. Also, you can keep your floor - and take with you to a new house for example when you move, letting the new owners put down their own floor. * More like engineered wood/lamate in feel. A floating floor will be softer. Some don't like this, but there can be some give, rather than for example LVT glued directly to ply or screeded concrete. Quick Step make quality products. And Liyvn comes highly rated. There's no way it'd have quality/technical issues. If it's installed as it should be, with the quick step underlay, it'll be sound. It's a thicker product, so a bit harder to cut than especially Kardnean etc, but nothing a decent installer can't handle. I've looked at loads of flooring and I'm getting the new quick step pulse click installed. To me it looks like a better product than everything else I've seen really - including Kardnean Art Select and all that other overly plasticy/glossy LVT I guess it's LVT for people that don't like LVT. So you get the practicality benefits you talk about, but without the plasticy look. Oh, and the Balance range is available as glue down if you want to go that way, and the Pulse range will be available as glue down in a couple of months I think. From what I can tell, it's much easier to get Kardnean etc. well below the RRP. Pulse is a very new product. So if you're getting a supply and fit quote, they may well be pushing Karndean etc. to make more money.
To put that into perspective, I got a quote from a CFA fitter for Kardean Van Gogh at around £3.5k for 55m2 Pulse click fcame to £4.1k. Amtico £3.1k. The Karndean and Amtico RRPs are a joke. I say save yourself the hassle and if you've found a design in the Pulse range that you like, get a qualified fitter from the website and get it installed. I would rate Quick Step over Karndean. It's a better product.
Speaking to another couple of flooring companies and they have all recommend not going down the click system route as they said it is more for homes that cannot take adhesive LVT for what ever reason, also they said that if your putting anything heavy on the floating system then it could cause it to dip over time. I've now found an Amtico Spacia style that looks identical to the Quick Step one we liked so am just going to go with that and use the adhesive. Thanks for all your help and advice
Dip over time? The underlay is hard (it's crispy), and only 1mm thick. Unless your subfloor is really unlevel, I don't see how that can happen. Which Amtico did you go for? The surface finish is very different, especially when light hits it. And I've found nothing behaves like QuickStep Livyn when light hits it - which behaves differently to traditional vinyl flooring - both in good and bad ways. For example QuickStep will change colour depending on the light level and warmth - red tone to yellow tone, yellow tone to red etc. Also the design is less visible when viewed at an accute angle - the reflection means you see a surface sheen rather than the design so well. However, it's overall more matt and less reflective than a lot of vinyl. And compared to Amtico, it doesn't have the dreaded ticks. Amtico has some of the hardest, deepest and most abundant amount of ticks. Only polyfor is as heavy in that regard. Karndean for example is much more subtle. Pulse click has also has register embossing. Two of the pulse clicks have just register embossing. Other's have register embossing with simulated grain/brushing as well. As well as other effects. Oh and the bevel is pretty odd, but avoids the fake reflective bevel problem. It's just matt coloured plastic - it doesn't even feature the surface design, but just a colour match. Anyway, I doubt anyone cares. Best of luck! Hope you find a decent fitter! From my personal experience now, I'd go with QuickStep click and fit it yourself. Wish I'd done that.
