Earthscapes (Carpet One) or Naturcor (Canada Flooring)

parimar · October 23, 2006, 10:52 AM

I'm debating between the Earthscapes and Naturcor products - though I do like some of the DOMCO and Tarkett styles as well. But I have a floor which is 12' 2" wide and I haven't really had a seam process described the samew way twice to me - so I'm sterring clear of the 12' roll manufacturers.

Is there any difference between the Earthscapes or Naturcor product lines? Is the service/installation provided by either Carpet One or Flooring Canada (Flooring America) anything to be concerned with or are they both approximately the same?

Any specific questions I should be asking about installation - dry or glued? why one method over the other? Should the insatller have experience using this material? Any special glue need to be used if the floor is glued down?

Other than fridge and stove, I also have a sofa in the family rrom area and use bar stools in the kitchen - will this impact of the "cushion" effect by leaving dents in the floor? Etc ...

I'm prone to the tile look, but I have a 26 ft by 12 ft 2 in room - any advice on size of tile (6 in, 10 in 12 in), or grouping of the tile look (random layout, fixed layout, or diagonal layout?)

This is new material for me so I'm not sure what the pros and cons are or whether I should stick with resilient flooring instead - right now anything is better than Builder's Grade.

Thanks in advance for any advice.... from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Nick Arrera · October 23, 2006, 11:59 AM

Welcome to the board Parimar , I installed around 500 yds of earthscapes so far ..
really like it .. it does take a special glue .. are you going to be installing this yourself ? If so let us know and the members here can guide you in the proper instalation .. lot of good pros here that won't steer you wrong ..

parimar · October 23, 2006, 03:32 PM

Thanks Nick - I'll be getting the product installed. What kind of glue should the installer indicate will be used? Would you say there are any major differences between the Earthscapes or Naturcor products?

Are there any concerns regarding the product being laid over the "builder's grade" vinly? Should the old vinyl be pulled up or will a skim coat of "levelor" /embossing be enough for the new glue/floor to adhere to? I'm really new at which questions I should be asking to ensure a proper installation.

Thanks again for your help ...

hookknife · October 23, 2006, 06:13 PM

Use the manufacturer reccomended adhesive, which will be a pressure sensitive releasable adhesive, it will be rolled on and allowed to dry before the vinyl is layed into the adhesive. As far as the existing sheetvinyl, I usually like it removed because I never know what the guy did before me????But that decision should be left up to the installer as ultimately he is responsible for the product bieng installed and accepting the substrate it is going over. I have heard nothing but good so far about earthscapes

Nick Arrera · October 23, 2006, 07:19 PM

Agree with Brian .. use a 3/8 inch roller , also you have to double face tape all door ways.. a lot of the new pvc vinyls will leave a dent where something heavy is put on it , and the next day its gone .. Not sure about earthscapes ..

KHartman · February 5, 2007, 09:19 PM

I am trying to choose between Earthscapes at CarpetOne and NaturCor at Flooring America. I am going to have it installed and I like the idea of a roll and not planks like laminate (which has leaks in every test I have done). We will be laying it over concrete subflooring (carpet there now). Can anyone tell me the difference? Pros/Cons of each? Any advice would be great. Thanks.

hookknife · February 7, 2007, 08:33 AM

KHartman, We recenly reinstalled a customers earthscapes sheet vinyl after thier floor flooded, we were able to remove it, dry it out, replace a small section of underlayment, then install the same vinyl. IMO that is a pretty good residential product

gpark411 · June 11, 2007, 04:06 PM

I don't suppose anyone has any installation instructions for the Naturcor stuff? I'm thinking of purchasing some for my living/dining area and also my kitchen. The place I'm buying from provided me with install instructions for Tarkett but I don't know if those would apply to Naturcor specificially as well?

From what I'm reading on here it seems like this stuff changes names quite a lot lol

June 11, 2007, 04:10 PM

The Naturcor is a different brand I think.

I have the earthscapes in my house and it was completely worth the cost of having it installed. They leveled my floor and made it look much smoother than I would have just by rolling it down.

I think you can just by double stick contractor tape and lay it down from that. But as a word of warning- I did that in my mother in law's house with the HomeDepot plank stuff and it was a mess. Professional installation! It's worth every penny.

gpark411 · June 11, 2007, 05:29 PM

If you don't mind me asking, how much did it cost for the installation?

I currently have carpet in the living/dining area and old pergo in the kitchen. I figured it would be easy to just pull up the carpet and pergo, then clean up the concrete subfloor and level if necessary.

Nick Arrera · June 11, 2007, 06:20 PM

Installation cost will vary depending where you live .. Important thing is to get a installer who knows how to install it .. If you want to do it yourself , We are here to help you ..

gpark411 · June 12, 2007, 02:33 AM

Thanks Nick, I appreciate the help!

I'm out here in Seattle in all the nice, mild weather

I'll ask the place where I'm buying the Naturcor from for a install price quote. But I'm seriously leaning towards installing myself to help save on cost. I'm moving into a 2 bed/2 bath condo that's fully carpeted aside from the kitchen. What I'm planning on doing is pulling the carpet from the living/dining area and also the hallway, leaving the bedrooms carpeted. To make a better aesthetic look, I'm also pulling the pre-existing pergo in the kitchen and replacing that with a stone-look style Naturcor laydown as well (which extends to the entryway nearby). Living/Dining area will have a nice red oak look to it.

So I've basically doing a lot of reading on how to install this stuff and I think I have all the basic steps lined up but I have some questions about finer details...

In the hallway I have doorways to the bathroom and the two bedrooms. Since I'm leaving the linoleum in the bathroom and carpet in the bedrooms, how do I cut the doorjambs to allow the Naturcor to slide underneath for a transition install? Or do I even need to cut the doorjambs at all?

Do I need to leave a 1/8" to 1/4" space from the perimeter to allow for expansion? The dealer at Flooring America says no but based on some opinions in here about that company, I'd like a second opinion lol I do have colonial style wall moldings, which obviously need to come off first.

And finally, when I roll out the material, how much extra should hit the far wall? I figure at least a few inches...and the way to cut is to press into the corner and slice along the edge of the floor with a good utility knife, correct?

I'm so glad I found this forum

Thanks again for the help!

Nick Arrera · June 12, 2007, 03:45 AM

Lo Down posted this video you might want to check out .. Flexitec Vinyl
You need to cut the jams .. what i do is put a piece of the material next to the jam and use that to lay the saw flat and cut the jam .. if you are lucky enough to have a powered jam saw , jut draw a line across the top of the vinyl and remove , adjust the saw to the line .. you need the gap 1/8 to 1/4 , depending on length of floor .. you need to put double face tape in front of all doorways ..
Watch the video first then post back with any questions .. Nick ..

gpark411 · June 13, 2007, 12:17 PM

Awesome, thanks Nick! These videos help a lot. Couple questions though...

I'm unfamiliar with the term "double cut". I played that part of the video several times to see how it's done but since the video size is rather small, it's hard to discern. Does it mean one layer of Naturcor overlaps another next to it and then cut the other along the edge of the layer on top?

As for doorjams, I'll be dealing with a couple Naturcor/carpet transitions in doorways. Do I need to saw the doorjams all the way around or just the half where the Naturcor is? I'm told it's best to have the transition right under the door for the appropriate look.

Thanks!

Nick Arrera · June 13, 2007, 02:56 PM

You can thank Lo Down for the link , he posted it .. Double cut is overlapping the vinyl making sure you are dead on the pattern , and using a strait edge cut through both layers at the same time , preferably
in a grout line .. Keep the knife in the vinyl from one end to the other .. never take it out and move the strait edge and insert the knife back in .. it will cause gaps in your seem .. all materials should be cut in the center of the jam under the door .. this is so you can not see the other floor when the door is closed ..