Browse Forums Flooring & Floor Covering 1 Oct 28, 2009 2:42 pm Hi everyone, I am new to this forum, was told about it yesterday and thought yippee - help at last! I am wanting to put floor mats / rugs just inside my back door to stop the grit from shoes scratching and ruining my new floors. I have outside mats, but after looking at the bare floor when the carpet was removed I saw how much grit actually still makes it inside! Has anyone got any good ideas for a classy look? Thanks Lyn Re: Inside door mats/rugs for new vinyl (timber look) floor 2Oct 28, 2009 5:28 pm Get people to take their shoes off. Re: Inside door mats/rugs for new vinyl (timber look) floor 3Oct 28, 2009 8:20 pm I don't think that is going to work Dollar. We are in and out all the time ourselves, plus we have 2 dogs. A matt is the way to go I think, just want one that will look good. Re: Inside door mats/rugs for new vinyl (timber look) floor 4Oct 28, 2009 10:31 pm Okay....ummm not sure what to do then but understand what you are saying. Is there another door rather than the back door that you could enter from (say the laundry) where it is tiled that may reduce the amount of debris entered into the home?...okay so maybe this idea is not practical...as most people enter from the front. Re: Inside door mats/rugs for new vinyl (timber look) floor 5Oct 28, 2009 11:20 pm Yeah we have one of those cyclonic see thru vacuums and you should see the amount of dirt and grit that can still get into the house even with outside mats. We got some material woven mats from the tree of life which are washable, not very stylish but only $10 each. I recently found two large heavy duty woven mats with a nice pattern, so keep those out permanantly near the front and back door and use the material ones for other spots. I found those at a linen store, dont remember the name. Untill you find ones you really like, i'd get some cheap ones and make people take their shoes off. I have mats all over the house now after repolishing our floors, under the kitchen sink, near our bed, one for the cat. After all that hard work, i'm gonna keep the floors looking fab. Re: Inside door mats/rugs for new vinyl (timber look) floor 6Oct 28, 2009 11:55 pm Good thinking Lyn! Well chosen, effective doormats can save you a lot of work! I'd really suggest you go to a matting specialist. The yellow pages should have a listing under MATTING. Or places like Clark Rubber usually have a decent range. To be effective, you need LARGE mats BEFORE the doors, which remain outside the entrances to your home. These should be weatherproof, and NOT made from cellulose fibres such as coir. There are a lot of popular coir mats, but they really are not ideal, as they biodegrade, with fibres breaking off and forming a dust within the mat. A good type of mat is 3M 'Nomad cushion plus matting' or similar mats made by LG. A good large mat of this type will cost at least $100. If you spend $150 for each doorway, it is money well spent and will pay for itself in terms of saving your floorcoverings and housework. These mats are disgned to remove grit & sand from the shoes, and SHOULD BE EMPTIED REGULARLY. Mats cease to be effective if they are loaded up with soil. Then INSIDE the doorways, having large carpet doormat is required. Choose a nice carpet that has reasonably thick pile, and have it overlocked. Here's what I suggest... Go to a carpet store and find a carpet that suits. Buy 1 lineal metre of the carpet (1m x 3.66m) and have it cut into 4 pieces. Get them to cut a radius on each corner and have them all overlocked. Will probably cost around $150 all up. Use these carpet mats at each doorway. Say you have 2 doors. Keep the spare mats stored flat somewhere. Regularly give the used mats a bash outside to knock the dust out and/or vacuum them. Then when the used mats are looking a bit sad, change them over with the spares. After a year or so, get your carpet cleaner to clean all the mats. The strategy above is proven to save a lot of crap entering your home, thereby saving your floors! The other preventative measure is to keep paths to all entrances swept and clean as possible. Ash. Re: Inside door mats/rugs for new vinyl (timber look) floor 7Oct 29, 2009 6:31 pm Thanks Ash! I really appreciate the time and effort you put into your reply. I will be off to the carpet shops on the weekend! I think I will take your advice and replace our outside mats also. Cheers Interested in getting either the Polytec Boston Oak or Palace Peak for kitchen cabinets. Looking at the Boston Oak ones, it appears that the colour varies significantly… 0 1791 Engineering timber is certainly a less fuss option, times cheaper to supply and install and better withstands humidity. 1 11512 Hi l plan to install a self adhesive vinyl plank floor. l first need to attach masonite boards underlay to by plywood subfloor of my house. What size nails and how many… 0 6501 |