Nairn Cushionflor – New Ranges

Nairn are a top manufacturer of cushioned vinyl flooring in the UK and owner of the ‘Cushionflor’ brand. ‘Cushionflor’ has become the generic name now for cushioned vinyl floorcovering thanks to them.

I’ve been having a look through some of their new ranges lately. I haven’t got my hands on all of them just yet, but it’s always interesting to see what they come up with.

Their budget range is Cushionflor Classic and is 2.4mm thick with a wear layer of 0.2mm – those specs put it firmly at the budget end of the market, but it’s not a bad product at all. I do quite like the small mosaic ‘Roland’ design shown here:

 

Ideal for Bathroom

They also have a tiny mosaic design in ‘Mosaico’, which have already sold a bit of shown here:

 

Even Smaller Tile

Aside from that it’s wood planks and some bog standard tile designs. Expect to pay around £11-£15 square metre for this product.

A more upmarket range they do is ‘Cushionflor Reflections’, which is a high gloss vinyl and there are not many of those around right now. Maybe 7 years ago or so we sold a lot of these and then they went spectactularly out of fashion, so it’s good to see a limited amount re-introduced. Reflections is again 2.4mm thick and has a slightly improved wear-layer of 0.25mm. You’re paying for design as opposed to heavy wear  with this one in my opinion, but there’s nothing wrong in that – how long do you want to have your bathroom flooring down? In my experience, people change more regularly now than ever. Expect to pay £16-£21 per metre for it.

Anyway, to the designs and here is where Nairn score some big bonus points. The ‘Roman’ small mosaic tile design shown below is stunning when seen close up. This pic does not do it justice, but Nairn will send you samples should you wish.

 

The Gloss is More Noticeable Up Close

I also really like the plain marble ‘Pantheon’ design (once more the image here cannot replicate how good it looks):

 

Great Colour, Great Design

I do hope Nairn don’t mind me linking to their images like this, but nobody else seems to review flooring impartially, so what harm can it do? You can buy ‘Cushionflor Classic’ on Yourfloors, but not ‘Reflections’ so far.

One note of irritation though Nairn, your new sample books are poor. They are plit down the middle and the way they have been done makes them look like they are falling to bits.

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Dublin Twist

Dublin Twist has long been the main budget twist pile carpet sold across the UK, or at the very least in the North of England. In spite of the name, it is not made in Ireland, but in Belgium by Beaulieu International Group/Ideal Carpets.

If you are in the trade then you know all about it. For many it is the standard option to show people when they want something as cheap as possible. There are actually carpets that we can buy cut lengths of for less now, yet still a lot of retailers insist on advertising and showing this carpet to customers. The larger carpet retailers also run it.

It’s now available 4m or 5m wide and comes in around 20 shades and a choice of Action or Felt backing. The pile weight is a mega-low 13oz and yet still most sample books label this as heavy domestic. It is astonishing that this carpet can be labelled ‘heavy domestic’ and surely this makes a mockery of this entire system of carpet classification. If you are a propspective carpet buyer then pay no attention to what the label says in terms of ‘heavy domestic’ – almost every carpet claims this and it means virtually nothing.

The problem with Dublin is that it almost always looks terrible and lasts no time at all. Often it looks lined and shaded as soon as it is laid (some colours seem more prone to this than others) and if you go ahead with it then I can’t imagine you will be happy with the finished job. At best you will be satisfied. I don’t even think that it does a job at a price.

I’d definitely go with a cheap natural if you are looking to tidy a property up to sell rather than Dublin. At least they don’t look shaded immediately, but they won’t stand up very well over time either. Landlords often choose one or the other. If you can afford it, then try and step up a couple of pounds a metre to something like Revolution Twist, Wembley Twist or even Fiesta Twist. While you will pay more, they are easier to look after, look pretty good when fitted and will last at least twice as long, possibly three times as long as Dublin. In a tenanted property you will only get one tenant’s worth out of Dublin (if that), whereas the others may well be able to be used again. Buying Dublin Twist in my opinion is a false economy.

To sum this up then:

If you want a cheap carpet on a really tight budget – There is a new twist called Bali (AKA Kildare), which is better and also you could look at a cheap natural like Madrid, Buxton or Palma.

If you are a landlord – Try Revolution, Wembley or Fiesta as Dublin will cost you way more in the long run.

If you are doing it up to sell – Go for a cheap natural like Madrid, Buxton or Palma.

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More Polystyl Vinyls

Following on from the ‘Colours of Today’ post the of last week, I have now got my hands on a full set of new Polystyl vinyl samples. Here is how they look:

Display Stand

Origin:This is Polystyl’s entry level product and is the only one of the ranges of theirs I’ve seen that does not feature their RMAX surface coating. That being said, it does still carry R10 slip-resistance, which is fine for domestic vinyl and will definitely mean less possibility of slipping.

On top of that the other point worth noting is that its warranty from Polystyl is significantly less than the others, coming in at ‘just’ 5 years. The vinyl itself is 2.6mm thick, so respectable enough from that point of view and the wear layer is 0.2mm, which seems now to be about standard at budget level.

Designs are typical fare- several wood planks, some tiles and so on – nothing to write home about here and it’s not winning any design awards, but it does a job at a price.

Elegant:Going up the tree quite a few branches, we see Elegant, which does feature Polystyl’s RMAX coating, which they claim is tougher and stands up to heavier wear. Hence you see the 15 year warranty on this product. Again this is R10 slip-resistant, which you would certainly expect from a high-end vinyl.

Gibraltar Black

 

It is beefed up to a chunky-ish 3mm total thickness and the wear layer here is a pretty impressive 0.3mm. This may not sound much better than Origin’s 0.2mm, but it does make a significant difference in the long run.

Designs are again pretty disappointing – just the usual suspects prevail again here and the only mildly interesting design is a large intricate parquet wood design. As Roy Walker would say, “It’s good but it’s not right!” It seems to me as if Polystyl’s creative juices were all sapped by Colours of Today and that’s a shame.

Elite:This one is very similar to Elegant and features both RMAX and R10 slip-resistance, yet somehow manages just a 10 year warranty (don’t ask me why. The gauge is again 3.0mm and 0.3mm wear layer.

Stromboli Bronze

 

Design is a lot better here though. We see some gorgeous plain metallic designs – the bronze being particularly nice and even the wood plank designs seem to incorporate this metallic theme pleasingly. It reminds me of some of Rhinofloor’s metallic stuff from a year or two back, but it looks more impressive to my eyes. Intriguingly some of the wood plank designs in my sample book run the wrong way and before I sell any of this I need to make sure which way the planks run. I have never seen a vinyl sample book like this before – most run the ‘right’ way, but a couple run the wrong way  – why would they do that?

Agora:Jumps on the felt-backed vinyl bandwagon, which Leolan and Gerflor have exploited so well recently. Felt back vinyls seem to go to well with customers and you can definitely get away with some minor subfloor imperfections with them – it’s not a panacea, but it can get you out of a fix I think.

Agora has a 15 year warranty, RMAX and R10 and comes in at 2.8mm thick and has a wear layer 0.35mm thick – the highest within this range. It’s a good option, but once again the designs are somewhat bland.

Felt Back Vinyl (Better images to follow)

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Lano Carpets and 5m Wide Wilton

The last few years has seen the explosion of choice available in 5m wide domestic carpet. Mostly these have been twists and berber, with the odd saxony and print thrown in for good measure. Where once I would be looking for the best place to position the seams for the customer, now I lazily show them 5m wide carpets and that usually does the trick.

Ceylon Wilton 5m Wide

Until now I had never seen a 5m wide Wilton. I’d read that Ceylon from Lano Carpets was coming out 5m wide, but now we have seen both this and another range from Lano, which a Headlam Group sales rep showed me this week.

The problem I have with them is price. We really need to be selling this out at £27+ per metre. To me that is over the top for the quality of the carpet – it’s just not worth it. Speaking impartially and looking at what else is around at what price, this carpet should be being retailed at £16-£18 per metre tops. If you have £27 per metre to spend on a carpet then this is not a great choice in my opinion. You can buy an Axminster for a little more and have yourself an 80/20 that will outlast this polypropylene Wilton comfortably.

Lano seem to be backing this to sell big for them and I will be surprised if it does. A rep for an Axminster manufacturer came in last week and I showed him the Lano and told him the price and he immediately told me that he did a nice 80/20 Axminster for £2 per metre more and he’d whisk me up some samples as soon as possible. I couldn’t argue with his reasoning.

Only around 2-3 years ago we were selling Wilton very simiar to this for £16-£17 a metre and it was hardly flying out of the door back then. The escalation in the price of a style of carpet in decline is staggering to me. On top of that we are now pretty much bereft of any budget Wilton to show our elderly customers who aren’t looking to break the bank (we used to call it Granny Carpet). All the stuff we could sell between £10-£15 a metre is now no more – it wasn’t great but it served a purpose and filled a real hole in the market.

Nice Ad

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Delta Carpets Delivery Driver on St. Patrick’s Day

For those of you who don’t know how your local flooring shop is supplied – most of them are supplied by wholesalers and/or manufacturers who deliver throughout the week. The drivers are pretty friendly in the main and have to work extremely hard for not very much money. Carpets are heavy, underlay is heavy and full rolls of safety floor break your back before long.

We deal with one wholesaler called Delta Carpets who are based in Leeds and here is a photo of one of their drivers who turned up to deliver carpets to us dressed up to the nines on St. Patrick’s Day (so he did). I think wholesalers should make this get-up compulsory in future:

Got Any Dublin Twist?

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Crown Prince & Crown Regent

Omce a flagship product of Wilton Royal, Crown Prince and Crown Regent has returned to production with Associated Weavers launching it recently.

I got hold of a sample book today and although the designs are similar to the old days, the carpet itself has been thinned out considerably. In its heyday, Crown Prince was a top selling carpet – a chunky cut-pile print with a choice of Fleur de Lys print (Prince) or else simple pindot (Regent). Now it’s a budget felt-backd print.

The Label Sports The Butterfly!

To be fair, it’s not all that bad. Comparing it with Associated Weavers’  Hollywood felt-backed pint, this does feel and look a little more substantial. The colour bank is pretty good, with blue, burgundy and a chocolate brown available. There are barely any cut-pile prints left around now and it’s a welcome addition from my point of view. Sadly the designs are along the same lines as ITC’s Heritage Collection (although that is significantly heavier). A couple of new small motif prints could definitely sell for us right now.

Such Groundbreaking Design...ahem

It is a shame to see a once decent carpet cut down to the bone like this, but these things happen quite often in this trade – Balta’s Wellington Wilton has seen some major changes in its lifetime, for example.

Expect to sell it for £10-£12 a square metre I reckon.

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Why I Prefer Balterio Laminate to Quickstep

I’m often asked the simple, blunt question by customers, “what’s the best laminate flooring?”. When you are dealing with good quality laminates, the question can only really be answered based on personal preference rather than a dazzling amount of technical data.

I used to swear by Quickstep. The Uniclic joint was always far superior to so many of its competitors and the designs always seemed to be one step ahead. I remember when they introduced their ‘Antique Oak’ and ‘Harvest Oak’ in the 9.5mm V-Groove Perspective ranges and those decors just sold and sold (can’t give them away now though). This was maybe 5 years or so ago now and for me, Quickstep have not moved with the times at all. I find their new ranges to be dull, awkward, overpriced and far from eye-catching. To a certain extent they have done something about this with their latest update and included ‘Largo’ which does look interesting, as well as dropping a few tired decors, but ultimately it isn’t enough.

I can’t abide their ridiculous ‘Lagune’ bathroom range. Retailers do not want this product! At best you will supply around 6 square metres and for that dubious honour the customer expects a wholly waterproof laminate floor. The fitting instructions are a nightmare and hence we just don’t offer the product fitted. Even DIY I hesitate to sell it and I never recommend it. Why laminate companies seem so obsessed with bathroom laminates is utterly beyond me .

I tend to recommend one of Balterio‘s ranges now. In ‘Tradition Exotic’, ‘Magnitude’, ‘Tradition Sapphire’ and several others, Balterio supply the most impressive looking laminates today. The quality is excellent and most fitters seem to enjoy working with the product. Best of all, customers are continually bowled over by the design.

Used to Great Effect on Tradition Sapphire

Balterio even beat Quickstep at the lower end, with ‘Senator’ and ‘Vitality Standard’ easily outselling Quickstep’s Classic 700 (or whatever they call it now). The constant changing of the names of ranges and the huge array of products to fit on their horrendously overpriced display stand. I refuse to pay £300-ish to have it updated with a few samples when I have already shelled out a lot for the stand. Unbelievable!

Balterio’s stands and sampling are invariably free and they win hands down in this department. You also don’t get every Tom, Dick and Harry giving it away on Ebay for peanuts, like you do with Quickstep – way to go gentlemen.

One word of warning to Balterio though – where are your brochures? In over 10 years of selling your stuff we have never had any brochures and that’s bizarre. Also your website is not a patch on Quickstep’s, so you really need to sort that out.

People in the trade often talk about customers having brand awareness of Quickstep, but in my experience I think this is overstated. Mot customers I come across are only aware of ‘Floormaster’ the B&Q range and have no idea about quality until you get the chance to talk to them about it and show them some samples close up.

 

Of course there are several other notable laminates, but I am talking about my personal favourite here. Pergo is excellent quality, Egger make some decent stuff, Tarkett do too (some dodgy old colours), Parador are there or  thereabouts and we also have a new Austrian laminate called Kaindl which is undoubtedly impressive.

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Stainfree Destiny from Abingdon

Abingdon have unveiled a couple of new budget twists (should sell between £10-£15m) in Stainfree Destiny and Stainfree Essentials.

Destiny is the cheaper of the two and is available in felt or secondary back (unusual for Abingdon). Here is an image of the standout colour for me, which is ‘Zebra’.

Best Colour!

Essentials is a wee bit heavier and handles a lot better. We’ve priced it £2 per metre more than Destiny and it looks well worth it I would say. Neither carpet is especially ground-breaking, but Abingdon’s ranges seem to crop up in many retailer showrooms and are distributed widely by Headlam.

The samples we have say 4m wide only, but I’m not sure if they are available direct from Abingdon in multi-width cuts – as they do with most of the Stainfree range.

As per usual, they carry the now ubiquitous ’10 year’ warranty info as well as the new ‘Clean Air’ branding, to convince us that apparently after all carpet is way better for us all than smooth floor with regard to allergies. Forgive me if I’m not yet convinced of the science behind that claim.

Overall then a decent couple of low-mid price British made carpets in a saturated market for this kind of stuff. Personally I prefer the likes of Stainbuster and Weaver’s Twist from Domo, or Carousel from Condor Carpets.

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New Crazy Colours From Balta

Balta Carpets have been promising us all some vibrant and eye-catching colours lately and they finally seem to be delivering on that promise with some of their new ranges.

Yesterday we received sampling for a new budget natural carpet on felt back called ‘Tempo Tonic’. The colours are crazy and well up with the ‘funonthefloor‘ campaign (or possibly mentalonthefloor in this case).

  

I’m not convinced this well sell very well, but at least it brightens up the racks and gives you something to joke to the customers about. It might sell well to chavs though – we have plenty near our shop so we shall see. It should sell in most places for under £10m, we’ll have it on for £8-£9 or thereabouts.

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New Polystyl Vinyl: Colours of Today

Just received a new sample book for a new Polystyl vinyl called ‘Colours of Today’.

It contains mainly abstract and modern designs and includes a weird ‘wine cork’ design called Vino Natural:

Vino Natural Design

There are also metallic wood designs, but another eye-catcher within this range is definitely the Pavia design. A small flowery mosaic, shown here in black and white colourway:

Pavia Design

We’ll be selling this at £14.99m and I think it will sell okay, but not massively. It bears all the hallmarks of a range where people look at it, marvel at it and then decide to take the safe option instead.

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