Not for the lazy (Amtico)

Member Name: dave27

Product:	Amtico
Date:	31/07/04 (13849 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Classy, Sumptuous

Disadvantages: Fiddly

The subtle and mysterious world of floor coverings have now enmeshed me in their sleazy grip and I find myself strangely attracted to their icy visage?

A couple of days ago, I was reviewing some of my reviews written for Ciao and I checked out which exactly had received the most viewings. When I found that a pretty drab opinion on Ikea laminate flooring had pulled in over 1000 readings, although the enormous majority weren?t by members, I thought that I would have to investigate further, and then did another review which has yet to touch anywhere near that figure, but decided that, Hey Hey we?re the Floor Coverers, people say we?re floor covering around, but we?re too busy singing?

So here we are, back again in the whacky world of floor covering, with today?s subject matter being Amtico?

Please note that the start of this review includes quite a lot of cutting and pasting from the Amtico website, but please persevere, I will get on to my own views eventually, and the vast majority of this review is all my own work (Davey Babe Age 6 and three quarters)?

First things first and I just love to give you that little bit of insight to the manufacturers, so here?s the lowdown on the Amtico website at http://www.amtico.com/home/other_sites.asp which also has the following links to relevant company sites:

STRATICA - www.stratica.com
The unique construction of Stratica Eco-polymeric flooring combines the performance benefits of modern synthetic materials with unrivalled environmental benefits.
www.macroview.net
Macroview promotes the latest international interior projects that demonstrate design innovation in practice.
www.amtico-synthesis.com
An innovative commercial wall covering from the Amtico Company, combines excellent aesthetics with practical
performance benefits.
Amtico at home
Amtico for your home - presenting hundreds of design ideas, our favourite installations, tips and advice on how to choose your floor, and an interactive product selector.
http://www.amtico.com/marine
Not only does the Amtico Marine meet the stringent requirements of IMO and MED, it is lightweight, and offers all the benefits of Amtico

The company is around 40 years old and its UK operations are focused at Coventry in the West Midlands, where it was formed by a joint operation between Courtaulds and American Biltrite. It now has spin offs in Sweden, France and the US, and has annual turnover of £90m, so it is by no means a small organisation, although it?s small enough to care and want to look after its customers.

And, as to the question, Why Amtico? The site provides the following: ?The World's Most Exciting Flooring Company - Exciting new products are at the heart of Amtico?s culture and success.
New products are the life blood of Amtico and keep the company exciting, dynamic and fresh. The design team monitor new trends in home furnishings continuously. As soon as something new starts to break, the team interpret ?the look? into a floor tile which is totally new. Just browse the couture and special effects sections of the product guide to see what has been achieved.
Glass became a fashionable element of interiors a couple of years ago. Amtico pioneered the glass-look floor tile which has become a huge success with designers, architects and consumers alike. Metallic finishes is another exciting area that the team explored to produce the fantastic Molten, Micro and Techno ranges.
All these developments not only rely on a real ability to spot and interpret the trends but they also cal
l for totally new, innovative manufacturing techniques. No other Company has this capability to create interesting new options or the drive to invest in the future.
Amtico have always led the field in product development which is one of the reasons it has become the preferred choice of interior designers around the world.?

Well, we?ve all heard that before, but it?s quite a neat and well designed site, with some reasonably tight navigation and you can have a look at their products, and they claim ?An Amtico floor is an individual floor. It is not a sheet material,but made up from individual pieces cut specially for your design. From simple to spectacular, you will be amazed by the possibilities.?

Okay, enough enough already, it?s over now with the rampant cut and past facility and down to what dave27 thinks of the Amtico product.

Well. It certainly is impressive and there?s a cool sophistication about the stuff which smacks of something a little bit more substantial than yer typical Ikea or B&Q range. These guys are specialists who have made a career out of this stuff and it certainly shows.

They offer a range which runs from just under 34 quid per square metre, right up to £53. With an average sized kitchen, around 16 square metres, that would run to anywhere between £544 and £848, and if you?re serious about making the kitchen your pride and joy, then that is quite a reasonable price.

From my point of view, Mrs D insists that we stick to real kitchen tiles of a robust order, so Amtico isn?t really for us, but the possibilities and quality offered by Amtico certainly makes it a realistic and impressive option for the discerning buyer, especially given the promise of amazing durability. Hmmm?

With the quality, however, comes an awful lot of hard work and both fitting and maintaining your Amtico floor is a l
ot more trouble than a lazy devil like me (or most men for that matter) would contemplate.

Amtico isn?t that popular a brand and isn?t very well known, although it enjoys a decent reputation in the trade and is well recommended by those that know.

It?s not for me, but is well worth checking out.

Summary: