Browse Forums General Discussion 1 Jul 14, 2010 11:55 pm Hey there guys, Just wondering if i can get a little advice. My wife and I have recently bought our first home and we are looking at putting in a floating floor in the loungeroom and hallway. The only problem is that the loungeroom is sunken and I was wondering what options I would have in relation to covering the stairs. There is only 2 steps as you leave the entry way down into the lounge area. I was thinking Vinyl as a covering for the stairs as an easier option, but do they make vinyl to match floating floor colours? We want everything to match, so the final decision will be based upon ease of job and how the end product will look. Neither of us are really keen on using vinyl as a total floor covering solution. Any thoughts or advice? Bricey Re: Floating floor in a sunken loungeroom 2Jul 15, 2010 2:17 am My opinion..... May have my bias here, but its an informed opinion. The word lounge room implies a comfortable softer environment = CARPETS! Well chosen carpets will make it a true lounge room. Warmer, more comfortable and acoustically friendly. As for the choices of floorcoverings of the rest of your new home, well there are lots of options. Its hard to offer advice without more info or a floorplan. NOTE: You have no LOCATION in your profile. Can I inquire why you omitted to include this when you registered? It may be relavent to your selections. Ash. Re: Floating floor in a sunken loungeroom 3Jul 15, 2010 6:51 pm Thanks for the reply Ash. Location is added. We already have carpet in the lounge, and I do understand where you are comming from. However this is our first chance to have something that not only have we always wanted, but something that would suit our needs as a family, not those of a landlord. We are both shiftworkers with 2 very active children. Cleaning for us needs to be not only be efficient but quiet. Carpets require vacuum cleaning that is noisy, esspecially if someone is trying to sleep during the middle of the day. Floating floors or floorboards can be swept quietly and any point of the day and mopped when needed for spills and stains arise. We would also hope that done correctly, the floorboard/floating floor would add a little bit of value to the home. After all, it is our most expensive and prized asset. Which brings me back to the original question regarding the floating floor in a sunken loungeroom and a solution to the 2 step issue. Anyone tackled a steps using a floating floor system? If so.... how did you manage the verticle aspect of the step? Re: Floating floor in a sunken loungeroom 4Jul 15, 2010 7:11 pm OK Bricey, Congrats on your new home BTW! I see your point about the noise factor. Good to see that you are thinking about the impact your decisions may make on your comfort and lifestyle. About the noise issue.... the average carpet will require a vacuum about once a week, (give or take a bit). A small area doesn't take long to vacuum, and a good carpet sweeper can pick up surface stuff efficiently and quietly in between vacuums. And cleaning up spills & accidents is easy if you do it properly. Now you say you have active young children. Have you considered that the inevitable noise made by the children and all living activity is noisier and carries more with all hard floors? That's one of the great things about quality carpets... they provide excellent thermal and acoustic insulation. Of course its your home, so you can choose whatever you like. Now your question about floating floors and steps. My understanding is that the boards must be fixed to stairs, as movement is not wanted here. There are a number of trims that can be used over the nose of the stairs. Some metal and some timber to match. There are some floor installers on H1, so they may have more info on this. Cheers! Ash. Re: Floating floor in a sunken loungeroom 5Jul 16, 2010 4:23 pm I'm sorry I can't help with your question as I have no experience with sunken lounges/ flooring on steps. I hope someone may be able to help you out with that. I just wanted to say I hear you on the carpet issue. I absolutely loathe carpet for many of the reasons you mentioned. I know you said you don't like the idea of vinyl but just to play devil's advocate have you looked into something like the Karndean Vinyl planks. http://www.karndean.com.au/site/index.cfm That's what we have chosen for the home we are building. Re: Floating floor in a sunken loungeroom 6Jul 16, 2010 6:54 pm Bricey ... and a solution to the 2 step issue. Anyone tackled a steps using a floating floor system? If so.... how did you manage the verticle aspect of the step? How would you feel about doing the horizontal part of the steps (treads) in the same floating floor, but then (for simplicity of installation) use MDF cut to size for the vertical part (risers) and then paint the risers in white? That look no good for you? The sides of your stairs can also be made of MDF cut to shape. I also think the flooring places can find a matching "nosing" for the treads (the nice curved front part of treads), or they might even have it in the same species. I know I noticed those "accessories" in some brochures, maybe from UTF or ReadyFloor products. My signature is distracting people from my wise posts ... No access to subfloor unfortunatly. 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