Is Amtico the best LVT?

The question that all flooring experts, fitters, labourers and general consumers ask, get asked and ponder... Which is best? Kardean? Amtico? or something else...?

Amtico is a great product to make you floor look like real wood or stone without the increasing cost of wood flooring. 

The simple answer is.... Both?! That's the end of this blog, thanks for joining us... wait your still here? We answered the question didn't we? Oh I guess you want the long answer? Well you asked for it. 

I have been fitting floors for 12 years with my boss who has been fitting for over 35 years... When all this was grass, I am told.  Everyone who works with and sells these products will have their allegiances and preferences so I will give some facts but also some opinions with these products. 

Let's start with the head honcho AMTICO. Amtico has 3 core ranges. Spacia, Form, Decor and Signature all increasing in price and range option as you increase the ranges. 

Amtico is considered the original LVT flooring, the most recognisable brand and probably the reason you may be reading this article. Spacia comes with a healthy 0.55mm wear layer, 94 designs in wood and stone and a 25 year domestic warranty. This increases to 0.7mm wear layer with form and a goliath 1mm wear layer with signature which boasts a lifetime warranty and hundreds of designs. Amtico comes with a a variety of different finishes including a rough wood grained barnwood, a smooth inward grained tick finish in spacia and many more going up the ranges. 

For its quality of ranges and guarantee Amtico flooring is a very good choice for getting that exact floor you want. When compared to unnamed cheaper alternatives to Amtico you will have more choice and typically longer manufacturer warranties compared to said cheaper alternatives. From the perspective of fitting I have found the fitting of Amtico flooring; especially herringbone finishes to be particularly difficult to fit and gaps to appear with the flooring being fractionally out of plum, meaning gaps appear much quicker and can be very frustrating for the finished article. Amtico is typically more expensive than the cheaper alternatives which can come with, 10 to 20 year guarantees and often be the preferred choice to the everyday person. 

Karndean flooring comes with 5 core ranges, Knight Tile, Van Gogh, Kaleidoscope, Heritage collection and Art select. Each increasing in quality and cost as they go up the ranges. splitting the difference between Amtico and Karndean is like choosing between a nice shirt from Ted Baker or a nice Tommy Hilfiger shirt, to the untrained eye they are basically the same. 

Amtico and Karndean are both giants in the LVT game with a beautiful arrange of styles and designs, bespoke border features, chevron, herringbone and intricate designs. Both coming with heavy warranties for their products both domestcially and commercially. Both types of floor would create a wonderful feature to any home, either as a centre piece with a motif or as a standard wood plank designed to look inconspicuous and follow the design of the home. The standards and ranges these two products have is of the highest order and the possibilities of choice are endless... You'll just have to pay a premium for the more extravagant designs.

The Cheaper alternatives

Now here's for the MEGA plot twist... in the year of 2025 everything is getting more competitive and more difficult to do. With sky rocketing Mortgages, Bills, Taxes etc. etc. We find that more and more people are looking to alternative products to these "Big Brands" to save where possible, we used to have to compromise on quality and looks when we are trying to save our pennies. But right now with how competitive the LVT market is; you'll find a beautiful LVT flooring for half the price of the big brands who dominate the market. For example Elegance Royale range is one of many new products that are under cutting the "big brands" but still coming with the same 0.55mm wear layer and 20 year warranty. Having fitted all the flooring stated in this blog first hand i can confirm the high quality of Elegance Royale and other flooring products like it to compete at the same level as Karndean and Amtico. 

Now the downside... These products usually come with a limited 8/10 colours and the bespoke motifs, designs and features are not available with these floors, just a basic straight plank LVT or Herringbone design, so if you want a beautiful compass motif then you'll have to look elsewhere. But in this modern age the trends are pushing more towards a simpler finish, a floor that looks good but doesn't over stay its welcome. Sometimes less is more and styles of 2025 show that is the case. Still if you want a beautifully detailed floor that looks like Michelangelo himself designed it then sure Karndean and Amtico have got you covered. But if your on a budget and want your home to look very classy but to remain within your budget then the cheaper alternatives will bet perfect for you.