The subfloor is most of the job
Glue-down vinyl is only 2–4.5mm thick, so it telegraphs everything underneath it. Every screw head, board joint and trowel ridge will eventually show as a shadow line. That means ply overlay on timber floors or a latex screed on concrete, and we quote that separately and up front rather than discovering it on fitting day.
We moisture-test concrete before bonding. A slab that reads high needs a surface damp-proof membrane before the screed goes on — skipping that is the single most common cause of lifting tiles.
Design work worth paying for
- Contrasting border to define an open-plan dining zone
- Design strips between tiles to imitate grout on stone-look floors
- Herringbone or basketweave lays in hallways
- Feature inlay at a front door where wear concentrates
Living with it
Karndean is cleaned with a pH-neutral floor cleaner, never steam and never a wax polish that will build up and yellow. Felt pads on chair legs matter more than they do on carpet.
Individual tiles can be lifted and replaced if one gets damaged — a genuine advantage over click systems, where a damaged plank in the middle of a room means dismantling back to it.