Amtico flooring- need to level up 3 areas 60m2 total :o/

[JayHS]

Hi there
advice needed please

conservatory 18m2, lounge, 14m2, dining room 16m2,, kitchen and front hall area are all slight different levels.. from 6mm - 18mm plus dips n holes and slight mounds/hills. total about 58m2 all of which is original solid concrete.

what is the best option to get the floor areas all the same level?
should i use a cement product ( not self leveling bags as this would be too costly ) but just get a ready mix from a local cement ready mix supply company and place a strong floor screed over the entire area? and boom.. job done, start laying the flooring

please advise

cheers all for reading and replying

 

[dazlight]

You do know amtico ain't laminate don't you mate?

Is the sub floor concrete or wood?

 

[JayHS]

hi there.. yes mate, i know it is a "Luxury Vinyl Floor Tile" i did state that it is a vinyl in my OP (but i have since decided to remove details) as i do simply wish to know the best option to level up my floor before doing anything else

it is a solid concrete base ( sorry i missed out that bit of info) of which all the levels are all over the place, not only room to room.. but also in each room which have high's n low's and some fool did a bad job of the original laminate flooring before i bought the house.

so i am thinking!

level entire area with a cement mix.. screed? on top of original concrete base/floor

please advise

 

[dazlight]

You want to use a smoothing compound.
Bag and bottle like mapei trade plan, f.ball green ball or laybond ultimate.
Have you used this before?
If amtico is going down it needs to be perfect mate.

 

[JayHS]

hi Daz
cheers for you replies so far, you are a star

yeah i know it needs to be perfect.. and this is the problem

i have been told nnnahh, just pva the old lam flooring, and stick it down on top lol. but i kinda like my house and plan to live here for a few more years lol.
hence asking the question as to what is best.

i have looked into getting a mini cement company in, to supply the pre mixed cement, and myself and a couple of friends can have a screeding party, with loads of coffee n bacon rolls.. and NO beer we can all do the work, but I do want this done right first time, and hence doing the cement layer to remove all problems.

i have used a bag here, and a bag there of the self level stuff.. never liked it that much, but this is a whole new ball game as it is a vast area to do.

all the types you state, are these bags n bottles of additive. and how much are we talking?

i got a price for £300 or so, for a lovely runny cement mix, to my door plus i can have additive added to set it faster, plus string/fiber strands added too at extra cost
it is a catch 22, if i have the additives/fibers added, its more costly.. but it can be a thinner screed. So saving on materials
or i can have a cheaper cost just for the cement, but i will have to use more of it, as it is not as strong on its own. so i will need more to thicken up the cement layer

the problem is also, 4 kids all young and 2 stinky cats. so i will need to do this fast.. and quick and swiftly, and in 2 stages i recon.
i.e. conservatorie and lounge.. stage 1, and kitchen and dining room, and hall stage 2.
let it all dry out over a number of weeks.. and then ply line the floor with 12mm ply ( gluein this down ) then pva it all, amtico ps floor glue ( which i have 2 massive tubs ready )
and stick the vinyl down and then get the kids to roll around the floor to help it stick

 

[lymmranger]

dazlight is politely trying to suggest that this job is beyond your skills....

if you watch a "pro" at work it looks a straight forward job - but it is NOT!

I am a retailer, I deal with the customer, I am not a fitter

From experience - what you are proposing is fraught with difficulty.

1/ if your screed (and it must be screed) is not chosen correctly it will fail and so will your finished floor

2/ If it is not "perfect" your finished floor will look terrible (and will then fail)

3/ you will need to screed in stages to make up height differences of those dimensions

4/ Do you have the skills to "undercut" your woodwork and cut and trim your fiddly bits?

5/ You mention a conservatory - have you chosen "high temperature adhesive" - if not it will fail next summer (if we have one)

6/ etc

This type of flooring is expensive because of the above and more.

It is possible to buy the tiles quite cheaply but it is the floor preperation and skilled labour required to install it that costs the money. - it can quadruple the overall sqmetre costs easily

If I had a £1 for every person who has come crawling back needing professional help following a spot of DIY LVT fitting I could retire

You need to get your floor prepped perfectly PLEASE seek advice/help from a local "fitter" NOT some guy in the pub!!!!!!

Good luck

 

[dazlight]

Lymmranger is right there. If amtico is going down the prep has to be 100%. I know floorlayers who don't get it right.

What you could do is prime and screed the floor yourself with your mates using the correct screed. Then get someone in to do the top coat of screed.

Pulling cement down won't work as if putting it on too thin it will blow.

Does your sub floor have any old adhesive on it?
Is there a damp proof membrane under the sub floor?
How old is the sub floor? Houses built before 1965 prob won't have a dpm under the floor.

I job I did in November the customer who was a plasterer. He screeded the floor with the wrong screed, a water mix. Because I needed to put a surface dpm on it the lot had to be dug up. He then did it again with the correct screed. Which he did I good of, i then put a dpm on it and another coat of screed. Then laid Karndean which looked great.

My point prep is the key to a good long lasting floor.

 

[dazlight]

A bag an bottle from a flooring supplier is around £10-£15 per unit which will cover 5m2 at 3mm thickness. If you use the right tools like a good big trowel and a spike roller you will do it ok.

Who's laying the amtico?
What area do you live in mate?

 

[JayHS]

Hi LymRanger and Daz

I hear what you are saying.
i am looking at getting a professional in to do the work.. but being this near to 2013 no one is replying back to me, hence me asking a load of questions as to what i can do or get done, and how best to go about it.
I would sooner just get a professional in and do away with the need for ply.

there is no woodwork other than the door frames, as the skirting and such like have all been removed.

Does your sub floor have any old adhesive on it? do not know yet.

Is there a damp proof membrane under the sub floor? , not sure but i would guess not. as it is 1950's built house

1/ if your screed (and it must be screed) is not chosen correctly it will fail and so will your finished floor i hear you

2/ If it is not "perfect" your finished floor will look terrible (and will then fail) this is why i am asking the questions

3/ you will need to screed in stages to make up height differences of those dimensions again, this is why i am asking

4/ Do you have the skills to "undercut" your woodwork and cut and trim your fiddly bits? yes i do

5/ You mention a conservatory - have you chosen "high temperature adhesive" - if not it will fail next summer (if we have one) yes i have a tub of HT glue from Amtico for the conservatory

i am emailing a number of companies to arrange a price for the work. but it is always nice to get the low down on the problems now, so i can understand what they are talking about nearer the time

 

[JayHS]

hey Daz

i live near coventry

and i have done laminate flooring in the past, and i will be helping out with the fitting of the Amtico, if needed, But i am fully aware that Amtico is nothing like laminate flooring.
but otherwise i will be getting my mate who is a registerd amtico fitter ( well a mate of a mate ) but he is away on holiday down under at the momment. I know this as I aint seen him down the pub all week

and he is back in mid Jan, so i know he will have some great ways to do the work and bring it all up to the same level, but he would not be too chuffed if i called him right now lol

but maybe it would be great to get some advice as to what I can look at doing and finding out about.

i think first thing is to rip up the old flooring/laminate and see what is down there, fill any large dips n holes with self level mix and prep with a surface dpm, so most of the hard work is done

 

[JayHS]

and yes i got hold of 17 packs of Amtico vinyl flooring for £20 per pack, knowing it was more labour intensive to fit, than the normal laminate stuff
just didn't know how bad my original flooring was, and what a poor state until i looked closer! so to make good of a poor situation, here we are...
me asking stupid questions as per usual lol

 

[dazlight]

and yes i got hold of 17 packs of Amtico vinyl flooring for £20 per pack

Wow that's really cheap, are you sure it's amtico?
Amtico standard planks are 2.5m2 per box costing approx £100-£150 per box, about £40-£50 per meter.
Is it amtico spacia?

 

[JayHS]

hi Daz

yes it states on the worn Amtico branded label - Amtico 915x114 x 40 units per pack. Wood Tick wenge and other numbers or codes

the one pack i have handy in the house is hard to read as it is all been taped up and re opend so many times i can not read anything else on the label.

but it is Amtico, not sure of the age but i was told it is about 12 months old or so.

a job lot left over from a job and i bought the excess from the company.
i think they had planned on doing more with it, but they wanted to get rid of old or sitting stock

 

[lymmranger]

Remember this stuff is very enviromentally unfriendly to manufacture and therefore is all made in china (probrably in the same factory.

LVT has many trade names and many ranges
- most is very durable

....if fitted correctly!!!!!!!!!!!

........glad to see you are considering ALL options - after all you may be an "ace" screeder, sadly also you not be!!!!

 

[dazlight]

Laid some of that this year. Great gear. Amazing price that.

Being a dark colour, even more so you want the screed to be completely flat