Laminate Flooring

[YorkshireTyke]

I'm looking to have some sort of laminate flooring laid over the 10 year old tiles in my living room.

 

Anyone got any advice on which type of material or do's and don't's?  Thickness ? In Homepro I see 4mm up to 8mm.

 

I haven't been to any stores yet, I've looked online at Homepro who have some very good prices but when I asked online about fitting they quoted just over 500 Baht a sqm which would be 20,000 Baht for 40 sqm which is crazy price.

[nikmar]

could you not try fitting the flooring yourself - i did my old plave in the UK with no previous experience. it wasnt that difficult.

 

if youre in BKK, i d cheerfully help for a few Changs!!

[kinyara]

I went for laminate flooring when I bought my condo from new, one of the companies selling in Homepro, ( Leowood ). I can't remember the exact fitting cost but I don't think it was anything as high as that so I'd recommend double checking in person in-store. The one thing I forgot to do was to buy some extra pieces for potential damage replacement, I can't get an exact match now.

[Golden Triangle]

Be wary if you have pets ie: dogs, I had laminate flooring in my lounge in the UK, I also had 2 Rough Collies (long hair) so when they got wet no matter how many towels I used on them they reained damp for a while. it played havoc with the the floor tiles, along with their claws, man I was forever sanding and re varnishing the floor.

[lopburi3]

If ground floor would remind that tile just requires a wash after flooding - other materials - not so great.

[kiaora1968]

9 years ago I bought some cheap laminate at Home Pro. The top layer was as breakable as glass and after many small accidents and chips on the surface, I decided to change it.

 

For laminate, go for the 8mm ones, on top of a 2mm foam underlay, that will be much more stable than a 4mm laminate!

 

I found a much wider choice at Baan & Beyond, for very reasonable prices. There were in stock so I could see the real colour and feel their texture.

 

They also stock PVC flooring planks (not linoleum, the planks look and feel like real wood/laminate) which is completely water resistant. I might go that way for my next renovation.

 

 

[YorkshireTyke]

Thanks for replies, no pets and no flooding.

 

Just back from Homepro and having to deal with 3 assistants as I can't speak Thai, they confirmed fitting is free, I have to pay a measurement/survey fee of 500 or 1000, again depends who you speak to. They also confirmed the plastic underlay is free as part of the service, I will check the quality to make sure its 2 mm not 1 mm thick or I will buy that seperate.

There was also a poster on the wall saying if I bought Hoffen Brand for over 12k then fitting was free but they confirmed other brand like Inovar was also free.

I'm guessing all brands and prices are similar so as long as I get 8mm plus 2mm underlay I should be OK. 

My one concern which was difficult to explain in the shop is my sliding door rail to the outside is only about 5mm high and 8mm tiles would be higher, I will take some photos to show in the store when I book my survey.

 

Nikmar, Thanks for the offer of help, I live in Hua Hin not BKK and as now free installation no need of your services but if you holiday in HH I will buy you a Chang for your kind offer.

[Tracyb]

There is probably a fix to ease the transition from 8mm+ to the 5mm height.  The “fitters” probably have experience with this.  Think about stopping the planks a bit away from the slider rail and fitting an edge molding that will slope between the two edges.  Just a thought!

Edited September 29, 2022 by Tracyb

[nikmar]

20 minutes ago, YorkshireTyke said:

if you holiday in HH I will buy you a Chang for your kind offer

sounds like a plan ????

[Srikcir]

What about for stair step replacement or cladding? Wood stair steps did not wear well, some termite damage and either need to be replaced or covered (hence cladding). I'd prefer cladding.

[YorkshireTyke]

I'm looking at Inovar Brand but have to decide what is best between Laminate flooring and SPC solid vinyl tiles. The product features seem similar, waterproof, termite proof etc

[scorecard]

1 hour ago, YorkshireTyke said:

I'm looking at Inovar Brand but have to decide what is best between Laminate flooring and SPC solid vinyl tiles. The product features seem similar, waterproof, termite proof etc

Does waterproof mean:

 

- Water cannot soak down into the laminate from above and canot soak up into the laminate (if somehow there's moisture/water under the boards? Or....

[YorkshireTyke]

1 hour ago, scorecard said:

Does waterproof mean:

 

- Water cannot soak down into the laminate from above and canot soak up into the laminate (if somehow there's moisture/water under the boards? Or....

I think it .just means you can clean it with a wet mop.............

Technician is coming tomorrow afternoon to measure up, he will probably have more answers than the guys in the store.

[Grusa]

Don't do it. All laminates are ruined by maids' washing methods. Lay good wood effect ceramic tile planks instead. Wide range is available, you won't regret it even if it costs a bit more.....provided (it's a biggy).... the substrate is sound.

Edited September 29, 2022 by Grusa

[bangkok19]

I'm assuming you're removing the (ceramic) tiles yourself so that they have bare floorboards to start on.

I'm at present getting vinyl planks installed in my brand new kitchen. They look like fake timber which is what I want.  The first thing they do is staple/glue sheets of masonite to the floorboards then glue the vinyl on top of that. For a small kitchen it's costing me AUD$1,550.

The quote for laminate was AUD$2,600 (rubber underlay extra).

Both are waterproof, and after all my visits to the showrooms, they both look very similar. 

Here in Oz there are regulations when laying flooring on bare floorboards.

You must allow for expansion and contraction of the original floorboards so that when you fix a covering to the bare floorboards it can't butt up hard against fixed (kitchen) cabinets or skirting.  The seller/installers here, give you all the options to suit the regulations (as opposed to leaving a gap between flooring and cabinets).

I was going to attempt the job myself but for AUD$1,550 I can get a 'professional' to do the job properly to compliment my brand new kitchen.

[scubascuba3]

57 minutes ago, bangkok19 said:

 

Here in Oz there are regulations when laying flooring on bare floorboards.

You must allow for expansion and contraction of the original floorboards so that when you fix a covering to the bare floorboards it can't butt up hard against fixed (kitchen) cabinets or skirting.  The seller/installers here, give you all the options to suit the regulations (as opposed to leaving a gap between flooring and cabinets).

 

How do you allow for expansion and contraction of original floorboards?

[YorkshireTyke]

1 hour ago, bangkok19 said:

I'm assuming you're removing the (ceramic) tiles yourself so that they have bare floorboards to start on.

I'm at present getting vinyl planks installed in my brand new kitchen. They look like fake timber which is what I want.  The first thing they do is staple/glue sheets of masonite to the floorboards then glue the vinyl on top of that. For a small kitchen it's costing me AUD$1,550.

The quote for laminate was AUD$2,600 (rubber underlay extra).

Both are waterproof, and after all my visits to the showrooms, they both look very similar. 

Here in Oz there are regulations when laying flooring on bare floorboards.

You must allow for expansion and contraction of the original floorboards so that when you fix a covering to the bare floorboards it can't butt up hard against fixed (kitchen) cabinets or skirting.  The seller/installers here, give you all the options to suit the regulations (as opposed to leaving a gap between flooring and cabinets).

I was going to attempt the job myself but for AUD$1,550 I can get a 'professional' to do the job properly to compliment my brand new kitchen.

My intention was to lay it directly on to the existing tiles so there is a solid flat surface to begin with. Any pitfalls to this?

 

My area is around 41 SQM according to my measurements and laminate including fitting and underlay is around 1,000 per SQM depending on brand, colour etc

[4MyEgo]

19 hours ago, YorkshireTyke said:

I'm looking to have some sort of laminate flooring laid over the 10 year old tiles in my living room.

My wife just purchased LVT flooring on Lazada for about 120-130 per square metre and laid it herself on a concrete floor, the same product costs 5-8 times that amount back in the old country.

 

It looks so exactly like those floating timber flooring systems, it really looks good and she has saved us a bundle, just purchased another 10 boxes, each box comes in just over 5 square metres.

 

I think another term for it is PVC flooring, check it out, and you can thank me later, that said, over floor tiles, not sure, as you may have to lay some kind of board down fist (glued) so no lines where the tiles meet show up if you know what I mean.

 

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/hanxi-36-5-pvc-i4142853181-s16293161136.html?clickTrackInfo=undefined&search=1&spm=a2o4m.searchlist.list.i40.38f254880MWLZc

 

 

Edited September 30, 2022 by 4MyEgo

[YorkshireTyke]

13 minutes ago, 4MyEgo said:

My wife just purchased LVT flooring on Lazada for about 120-130 per square metre and laid it herself on a concrete floor, the same product costs 5-8 times that amount back in the old country.

 

It looks so exactly like those floating timber flooring systems, it really looks good and she has saved us a bundle, just purchased another 10 boxes, each box comes in just over 5 square metres.

 

I think another term for it is PVC flooring, check it out, and you can thank me later, that said, over floor tiles, not sure, as you may have to lay some kind of board down fist (glued) so no lines where the tiles meet show up if you know what I mean.

 

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/hanxi-36-5-pvc-i4142853181-s16293161136.html?clickTrackInfo=undefined&search=1&spm=a2o4m.searchlist.list.i40.38f254880MWLZc

 

 

Yes, that is cheap, however, I won't be going down that route, thanks.

[YorkshireTyke]

12 hours ago, Grusa said:

Don't do it. All laminates are ruined by maids' washing methods. Lay good wood effect ceramic tile planks instead. Wide range is available, you won't regret it even if it costs a bit more.....provided (it's a biggy).... the substrate is sound.

Presumably these are grouted like a normal tile or do they butt together like laminate flooring?

[Grusa]

2 hours ago, YorkshireTyke said:

Presumably these are grouted like a normal tile or do they butt together like laminate flooring?

They are laid and grouted just like any other ceramic tile. The only differencee ias the plank-like shape. I would recommend dark grey grout, regardless of tile colour - it ends up that way whatever you do, and light grout looks terrible until it achieves greyness, which could take a year or more.

[YorkshireTyke]

11 minutes ago, Grusa said:

They are laid and grouted just like any other ceramic tile. The only differencee ias the plank-like shape. I would recommend dark grey grout, regardless of tile colour - it ends up that way whatever you do, and light grout looks terrible until it achieves greyness, which could take a year or more.

Which is why I asked as it's impossible to keep white grout clean in floor tiles.

[scubascuba3]

4 hours ago, 4MyEgo said:

My wife just purchased LVT flooring on Lazada for about 120-130 per square metre and laid it herself on a concrete floor, the same product costs 5-8 times that amount back in the old country.

 

It looks so exactly like those floating timber flooring systems, it really looks good and she has saved us a bundle, just purchased another 10 boxes, each box comes in just over 5 square metres.

 

I think another term for it is PVC flooring, check it out, and you can thank me later, that said, over floor tiles, not sure, as you may have to lay some kind of board down fist (glued) so no lines where the tiles meet show up if you know what I mean.

 

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/hanxi-36-5-pvc-i4142853181-s16293161136.html?clickTrackInfo=undefined&search=1&spm=a2o4m.searchlist.list.i40.38f254880MWLZc

 

 

was it easy to cut the tiles? I'm thinking bathroom, round sink and toilet

[4MyEgo]

28 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

was it easy to cut the tiles? I'm thinking bathroom, round sink and toilet

For her it was easy doing it on the floor, that said, for the bathroom, what she did is put a waterproof board down, put the basin on top of it and then used a laminate type material then a film on top of it, if that helps.

[scubascuba3]

26 minutes ago, 4MyEgo said:

For her it was easy doing it on the floor, that said, for the bathroom, what she did is put a waterproof board down, put the basin on top of it and then used a laminate type material then a film on top of it, if that helps.

If i do it it will be over existing tiles, waterproof enough 

[4MyEgo]

9 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

If i do it it will be over existing tiles, waterproof enough 

She went over existing tiles, best to put a waterproof board down, but she didn't use the LTV or PVC flooring tiles for that, so I don't know how you will go with them, as they say they are for floors. 

[Don Chance]

Mold will grow. Make sure you use a underlayment.

[bangkok19]

On 9/30/2022 at 9:22 AM, scubascuba3 said:

How do you allow for expansion and contraction of original floorboards?

From what the flooring people tell me, in the case of the vinyl , the 'base' comprising of the sheets of masonite act as a 'buffer' between the floorboards and the vinyl covering (as well as smoothing out any defects in the floorboards).

If I had chosen Laminate flooring (with thin rubber underlay)..  the regulations stipulated that they would have to protrude 5mm under the kick plate and any vertical (to the floor)  panels of my new kitchen with a 1 mm (minimal contact) gap. 

 

[bangkok19]

On 9/30/2022 at 9:53 AM, YorkshireTyke said:

My intention was to lay it directly on to the existing tiles so there is a solid flat surface to begin with. Any pitfalls to this?

 

My area is around 41 SQM according to my measurements and laminate including fitting and underlay is around 1,000 per SQM depending on brand, colour etc

Adhesives these days are pretty good..  although I was warned against putting laminate or vinyl over my existing sealed Cork Tiles.. apparently they would have come unstuck over a short period...   so I ripped them (and the underlay masonite out).

Perhaps a bit of "Dr Google" research is required, if not already...

[bobbin]

I had Leowood laminate installed over 15 years ago. It still looks great..

 

I had the existing tile removed and new concrete applied and leveled. This makes for the best installation. I did buy some extra boxes in case of damage. They have not been used.. yet. Well, actually less than one box has been used.

 

But you will fear rain. My condo is sea-facing with aluminum windows and in extreme weather, strong wind and rain, some water was entering. Result was water-swollen boards that abutted the windows. That was the first year. Windows were resealed with silicone inside and outside. Now I only fear cyclone/typhoon wind and rain.

 

After all this time, I'm still pleased with the look and performance...