Reasonably priced flooring options...

[tomw2000]

Wife and I are currently mid-build with a renovation job.

We're always keen to find 'better priced' options. And we're now looking for flooring.

I'm after advice on type and suppliers.

It's for the ground floor and will be underfloor heated.

We like the idea of slate/stone - something that has a bit of texture (not smooth) and that comes in different tile sizes - so that the floor when done, doesn't look chessboard regular. The issue is cost....we've ~200m2 to do No giggling at the back please....

Obviously I am Googling around, but if anyone has experience of finding 'end of line' stock suppliers etc, it'd be gratefully received.

Hmmm, I also ponder what price be m2 polished concrete works out at....but then, that's smooth..../sigh

HELP

[jon-]

200m2??!

You do realise you don't have to refloor your front and rear gardens too, right?

[tomw2000]

jon- said:

200m2??!

You do realise you don't have to refloor your front and rear gardens too, right?

If we were doing the 'grounds' as well we'd be needing over 36,000 m2....

[dazwalsh]

Wtf are you renovating?

I bought porcelain slate effect tiles for the kitchen in my old house, remember paying about £14 sqm and they looked the part when laid in a brick pattern. Large 600x300 tiles.

Maybe an option?

[RedLeicester]

dazwalsh said:

Large 600x300 tiles.

For a large area, they'll be wanting large tiles, not small ones.

[tomw2000]

dazwalsh said:

Wtf are you renovating?

It's a relatively modest old farmhouse...where we're knocking the existing kitchen through into the existing dining room, into a tack room, into a stable, into a barn....and some other bits.

The scope has kinda evolved over time.... :/

[RedLeicester]

tomw2000 said:

Obviously I am Googling around, but if anyone has experience of finding 'end of line' stock suppliers etc, it'd be gratefully received.

We spent ages going through options for here and were aiming for around 320m2 in a single design we could run throughout the main rooms on the ground floor. We'd excavated and installed UFH, so it had to be tile or something similarly transparent. In the end we went for Karndean for study, lounge etc which despite £70+psqm headline prices, we found online for £18psqm so just had to find a local accredited installer to cover ourselves with the official warranty.

For kitchen, utility, cloakrooms, pantry etc we hunted high and low. Last house used reclaimed quarry tiles which 15 years ago were dirt cheap but are now getting trickier to find. In the end we found a whole load of end-of-line / over ordered stock on Ebay and just ordered a bunch of single tiles until she found one she liked. We contacted the sellers who'd listed a certain number of boxes at £20psqm or similar and asked if they had any more... they immediately came back and said yes they did and if we ordered more it'd be £16psqm.... job done.

I've since found the same tiles elsewhere for £85psqm, so it was a hefty saving. Ebay may be a den of fleas, but just occasionally it comes up trumps and it pays to ask a question, you never know what the answer will be!

[tomw2000]

Thanks for that. Really useful.

I've already started looking on eBay