New Product Launch. Glueless Cushion Floor from Quickstep Flooring.

 

The flooring market is changing and developing at a rate of knots with the manufacturers constantly looking to keep up with current trends and innovative interior design concepts. With this in mind quickstep ( Unilin décor flooring )have recently launched a unique product line branded as the LIVYN Luxury Vinyl range. Vinyl sales over the past 2 years have been rising rapidly and quickstep have focused on this growing market with the Introduction of Quickstep LIVYN Vinyl range.

         

To give you an insight into exactly what Vinyl is  ?. Vinyl flooring is sometimes referred to as Cushion Floor or Lino, manufacturers such as Karndean or Amtico have sold this particular style of floor covering for a number of years it was widely used in kitchens through the early to mid 80s and is now making a come back.

So what makes Quickstep cushion flooring different ?

The main unique selling point that quickstep have over the competition is the way that this product is fitted. In years gone by Lino could only be fitted using a specific adhesive which can both be time consuming and expensive.

Quickstep have now designed a multifit locking system that requires no adhesive. This is a huge step forward as it now allows the carpenter or general DIY installer to fit a cushion floor to a high standard without having to call in the specialist company.

So what do the experts think of Glueless Lino flooring ?

We sent out three experienced Laminate floor fitters / builders to fit the product in  domestic houses to see what their opinion was.

Fitter 1 ( Dean Qualified Carpenter -  Fitted in a bathroom )

His overall opinion was that he felt that the product was really good. However due to his inexperience at fitting Lino flooring he felt that he needed a little bit more practice with the cutting of the product up against the bath and the basin in order to get the perfect finish. He commented that he should have fitted the product in a larger area that would have been easier on his first attempt.

When asked if Dean would use this product again the answer was a yes but he would require a little bit more experience before he worked on another bathroom.

Fitter 2 ( Chris General builder – Extension at side of house )

This small straight not complicated area is the best starting point for any fitter. Chris had no problems fitting the floor and couldn’t believe that something so thin had gone together using the multifit click system.

Overall he felt that the Quickstep Vinyl gave him the ability to fit cushion floor, in the past he had to call in a specialist contractor.

 

Fitter 3

Rhys ( Carpenter Joiner )

Rhys has fitted over 10 separate Vinyl floors, he has recently purchased a guillotine to cut the product as he feels that this will improve the overall ease of fitting of the Vinyl. He has completed a number of full houses in the Vinyl and is looking to promote the product in 2017 as a specialist in this area. Rhys has recently completed a master installers course in Quickstep Vinyl at their academy in Manchester.

 

Negative aspects of Glueless Vinyl

The feedback wasn’t all positive there were a few negative issues highlighted by the fitters. The main negative feedback that we discovered was that the floor levels had to be spot on in order to fit the product correctly. On a concrete sub floor this quite often meant a small amount of self levelling to ensure that the floor was fitted correctly.

There was a learning curve in getting use to the product if you were unfamiliar with fitting Vinyl cushion floor. The click system was a little fiddly until you got use to it.

Overall the feedback has been really positive, as a company we have sold over 1000m2 with no real problems. There are new ranges becoming available throughout 2017. Watch this space.