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New Bristol Flooring Guide for The New Year! Cameron lee Carpets Bristol

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New Flooring Guide! New Flooring for The New Year! Cameron Lee Carpets Bristol

New Flooring Guide! New Flooring for The New Year! Cameron Lee Carpets Bristol:
Read This! Save Time Effort and Money!

Its a new year and with the new year comes the best intentions for sprucing up the home and completing old interior decoration projects, and starting new ones. In the areas of Clifton, Redland, Henleaze and The Areas surrounding our Bristol Based Carpet & Flooring Showroom, The most popular schemes at the moment appear to be wrap around style ground floor extensions incorporating large bi-folding style doors and larger open-plan living style arrangements for the complete ground floor of the property, and / or Good Old Fashioned Loft Conversion Schemes taking advantage of the available roof space,which is often large and spacious in the period type properties found within the Bristol Area.
For the former scheme, (the wrap-around style extension) flooring requirements are normally extensive as the existing coverings are so significantly changed or damaged during the construction process, matching existing flooring is normally virtually impossible due to the ageing process and colour change, coupled with batch differences of different flooring productions. Normally for this type of scheme a hard and durable floor-covering is required often to accommodate and withstand the demands of an indoor / outdoor family type lifestyle to ground floor areas. When selecting a suitable floor-covering for such areas the following items should be considered in advance:

1) Is there under-floor heating (UFH) present? If the answer is yes, flooring compatibility should be checked with the manufacturer, and normal practice would be for the UFH system to be commissioned ran and tested prior to installation of any coverings, turned off during installation, and gradually brought up to an operating temperature afterwards,
Manufacturers specific instructions should always be strictly adhered to.
2) What is the type of sub-floor construction? Construction moisture is the enemy of floor-coverings causing all sorts of nasty problems if not identified in advance, The moisture contained within new screeds or concrete slabs has to be released and an adequate drying period should be allowed wherever possible, as a general guide British Standards state that a standard screed will dry at a rate of around 1mm thickness per day in ideal drying conditions, (UFH will accelerate this process) for example a 50mm screed (typical thickness) will take around 50 days to dry, Dense concrete bases such as a Power Floated Concrete Slab will take longer and concrete slabs in excess of 100mm thickness can take over a year to dry! To avoid such issues discuss these issues in advance with your designer / architect or builder, Often solutions can be found, either by allowing adequate time for drying within the construction phase of the program, or looking at timber solutions instead of concrete bases. Floors can be checked for moisture issues using first a protimeter as a guide, then an approved calibrated Hygrometer if required  (these can be installed and checked by your flooring specialist) if the moisture stills proves to be an issue this would normally be resolved by the application of a surface epoxy damp proof membrane or a sheet DPM type underlay as typically used with Engineered Wood Floors & Laminate Floors (such as the excellent Isola Platon Underlay System)
3) Existing Floors: Existing Timber Floors should be checked for rot, and that they are sound and fit for purpose. Existing Concrete or Screed Floors (This would also include Terrazzo or Asphalt Bases) should also be moisture checked (as method above item 2) often older buildings do not have effective DPM (Damp Proof Membrane) layers beneath the structural floors, or if a DPM is present it can fail over a period of time, if there are issues with moisture again it can be dealt with using the methods as set out in item 2)
4) Sound, Dry, Level and Even: If in doubt the following simple principals should always apply! Is the base Sound, Dry, Level and Even? if the answers are yes then the floor is usually good to go and ready to receive new floor coverings,
5) Finished Floor Levels:
We are often approached by clients looking for a flooring solution AFTER the extension has been built, and AFTER windows and doors have been installed, this can cause major issues with Finished Floor Heights, Floor-coverings should be selected wherever possible at Pre-Construction stage, Allowing for the thickness of any flooring solution to be incorporated within the build ensuring that Bi-Folding Doors, External Doors, Internal Doors, Appliances and Kitchen Units Etc.. all work in conjunction with the floor-coverings to give a smooth flush finish, if this is not considered in advance the results can often undermine the quality of the finish. consideration should also be given at the stage to the proposed types of transition and threshold strips to be used.
Wherever possible provide your builder with samples of the selected products to set up ready for the finished floor heights.
Kitchen Units: 
As a general rule manufacturers normally ask that units are installed in advance of and floor-coverings, and that floor-coverings are ran under units allowing for any expansion, with plinths being later fitted on top of the floor-coverings

Durable Floor Coverings Suitable For Ground Floor Open Plan Living:
Durable, Resilient Flooring suitable for open plan style living would include the following types of products:

1) Engineered Wood Flooring: 
Pros: Costs Effective Solution, Warm Underfoot, Often Compatible with UFH, Underlays can incorporate Damp Proof Layers, Sound Reduction and Thermal Insulation, Can be re-finished and sanded in the future, wide variety of species and colours / designs, a real wood flooring system looks more natural than a laminate flooring product or luxury vinyl tile.
Cons: Wooden Floors can be thick and this thickness cannot always be allowed for typical thickness with an underlay would range from 17mm up to 25mm, Slightly less durable than a Luxury Vinyl Tile such as Karndean or Amtico.

2) Laminate Flooring:
Pros: A thinner durable floor-covering, less expensive than an Engineered or Solid Wood Floor, lots of decor finishes, can incorporate the same underlay systems as an engineered wood floor.
Cons: Can be synthetic looking, and does not offer the natural look of a real wood floor, Does not offer the option of future re-finishing, thin wear layer easily penetrated

3) Luxury Vinyl Tiles (LVT) (Amtico, Karndean Flooring & Polyflor Flooring):
Pros: Very Durable, Extremely Hardwearing, Easy to Clean and Maintain, Thin at only 2.5mm thick for the Flooring Only, (finished floor height with a latex smoothing compound Typically 6-9mm or with 6mm plywood 8.5mm), suitable for use over UFH, lots of design options including wood and ceramic tile effects.
Cons: Surface preparation is always required in the form of a latex smoothing compound (over screed or concrete) or a minimum plywood layer of 6mm thickness (over a timber base, Chipboard or floorboards) this additional preparation with attract additional costs, can be synthetic looking when compared to a real wood floor

4) Loose Lay Luxury Vinyl Tiles (such as Karndean Loose Lay)
Pros: Thicker than normal Luxury Vinyl Tiles and can often be installed without surface preparation, installed using only a thin layer of approved adhesive, Very durable & Hardwearing, Suitable for Use over UFH, lots of design options including wood and ceramic tile effects
Cons:  Can be synthetic looking when compared to a real wood floor, relatively new product.

5) Sheet Vinyl, Linoleum  & Cushioned Vinyl:
Pros: Cost Effective solution, endless design options, Thin averaging between 2mm - 6mm, Hardwearing,
Cons: Preparation is often required but not essential, Careful planning is required to ensure that joins are eliminated where possible of carefully placed where they cannot be avoided.

6) Carpets & Natural Floor Coverings:
Pros: Superb Sound Deadening and Comfort / Thermal Insulating Properties, Ideal For Comfort Areas such as Lounge Areas, Stairs and Landing Areas, And Converted Loft Areas, A wide range of products available at all cost points
Cons: Not ideally suited to rooms leading directly to outdoor areas, and obviously not suited to Kitchen type Areas, (With the exception of Flotex Type Carpets), Careful planning is required to ensure that joins are eliminated where possible of carefully placed where they cannot be avoided.
Often large carpets cannot be lifted through narrow staircases to converted loft areas, dimensions should always be carefully checked in advance.

Installation:
As always expert installation of all floor-coverings, and expert floor preparation is always recommended, with the exception of high quality engineered wood and laminate floors which can often be installed by a competent person with a good level of DIY experience.

Got a Flooring Problem?
Call us! Cameron lee Carpets 01179420984
Email Us: +Cameron Lee Carpets Bristol Limited sales@cameronleecarpets.co.uk

For a full range of all types of floor-coverings, Free expert home measuring services & surveying services, and a new carpet and flooring showroom, Call Cameron Lee Carpets 01179420984
email: sales@nandsflooring.co.uk or pop in to meet our friendly team at 91 Henelaze Road, Henleaze Bristol BS9 4JP,

*** Specific Manufacturers Recommendations should always be strictly adhered to! information as detailed above is to be used a general guide only.