Is it worth paying for expensive stuff, or do I go down the Wallis cheapo flooring route? Same goes for Kitchens and bathrooms!

go for better for kitchens and bathrooms due to moisture..

David

There is a difference, but it isn't necessarily linked just to price. Thickness of laminate, composition of the stuff, ease of fitting, permanence of the clicky bit if you're using clicky stuff.

For kitchens and bathrooms, I'd honestly consider using vinyl instead of laminate as it seems to my mind that it'll last longer and not have the problems of moisture ingress. We used karndean stuff in our bathroom, results below...
http://www.chiark.com/image/bathroom/floor.jpg

Easy to fit, easy to care for and it looks fantastic!
Nick.

I've seen loads of houses done out with B&Q/Do-It-All/whatever and they look appalling. usually they start curling up etc, most are badly fitted by the house-owner or even "professional" fitters. I'm thinking of getting laminate for my hallway and front rooms..seen some really nice quality stuff at John Lewis - between £40 & £80 per square meter IIRC

Yes there is a big difference in quality, I did my hall in "Pergo"
stuff (£30per pack) it's been down about 2 years now, and still looks as good as new, I also did downstairs loo in the B&Q stuff (£10 per pack) it's rubbish compared, the laminate flakes off and its only made of compressed cardboard.
Ya get what ya pay for..

Well there's laminate and there's other stuff.... Do you some research, go and have a look and then decide what you want.

We went for Kahrs (http://www.kahrs.com/) as it looks much better IOHO than laminate - it's real wood. Nice to fit, looks great. Cost £35/m2. We went to a few shops before we decided on it. You can by laminate for £10m/2 but it looks like it.

In our bathroom we used Amtico(http://www.amtico.com/)cos its waterproof and was remcommended to us by bathroom installers. Not cheap 50m2 :o, but worth it.

[Edited by Nigel H - 1/30/2003 1:03:43 PM]

Yeah amtico also has a 10 year wear guarantee so delaminating trouble is not a concern ;) As already mentionned not cheap but hey they have 2 pay my salary ;) Seriously thou is top quality sh!t m8 so if u want the best Amtico duz rule if u can afford it :D
Si

Did i mention whatever you want we/amtico can do in terms of layouts & design so again you can also get a 1 off flooring if u like that standing out from crowd or just have sumin a bit fruity in mind ;)
Si (sales mode off :p lol)