Forbo fitting, nationwide

What DCTUK commits to

Site survey	Free, within 72 hours
Typical programme	Around 15 working days from first call to fitted floor
Pricing	Fixed price, no hidden charges
Fitting warranty	12 months
Design service	Free — floor layouts and colour selection
Old flooring	Uplifted, removed and recycled, with a carbon savings certificate
Delivery	Just-in-time to site
Payment	Option to spread over 3 or 12 months
Coverage	Nationwide, United Kingdom

The subfloor is where projects go wrong

Almost every flooring failure is a subfloor failure. A tile that telegraphs every ridge in the screed, or lifts at the corners because the slab was still wet, is rarely a product fault.

• Moisture testing. A new concrete slab takes roughly one day per millimetre for the first 50mm to dry under good conditions, and longer below that. If it is not dry, a damp proof membrane is not optional.
• Smoothing compound. Textile flooring telegraphs trowel marks and old adhesive residue far more than people expect — and Flotex, being thinner at 5mm, telegraphs more than a thicker tufted tile.
• Tackifier versus permanent adhesive. Tackifier holds tiles while allowing clean lift for replacement and reclamation. Permanent adhesive belongs on ramps, in heavy trolley environments and anywhere lateral shear is severe.
• Flotex in wet areas. Where the floor will genuinely be wet-cleaned regularly, the adhesive and perimeter detailing need specifying accordingly. Waterproof flooring on an unsealed perimeter is only half a solution.

Layout options

Monolithic	All units in the same direction. The most seamless, broadloom-like result; least forgiving of shading and individual replacement.
Quarter-turn	Each tile rotated 90° from its neighbour. The safe default — hides shading, tolerates replacement, forgiving of almost everything.
Brick bond	Rows offset by half a module. Standard for planks, softer grid for tiles.
Ashlar	Plank rows offset by a third or quarter. Strongly linear — good for corridors and direction.
Herringbone	Planks at 90° in a zigzag. Highest impact, highest wastage, highest labour. Worth it in a reception, rarely across a floorplate.

Directional ranges need the laying pattern named in the specification, not left to the fitter. Tessera Inline in particular reads as a continuous grain laid monolithically and as a basket-weave laid quarter-turned — two completely different floors from one product.

Wastage: 5–7% for square tiles on a rectangular floor, 10–12% for plank and herringbone layouts, more where there is heavy cutting.

Maintenance

Tessera

• Barrier matting at every external entrance — a minimum of two strides in each direction of travel, more where weather or vehicles cross the threshold. It is the single highest-return decision in a flooring budget.
• Vacuum daily in circulation, weekly elsewhere. Dry soil is abrasive and cuts fibre; wet soil stains.
• Spot clean immediately. Solution dyed ranges tolerate aggressive cleaning agents including dilute bleach without colour loss.
• Periodic low-moisture encapsulation or hot water extraction depending on soiling.
• Rotate tiles at year five to seven where the design allows.

Flotex

Different rules, and simpler ones. Vacuum as normal, but where a carpet would need specialist periodic treatment, Flotex can simply be washed — mopped, scrubbed or machine cleaned — and dries in 4–6 hours. That is why it ends up in canteens, nurseries and care homes: the maintenance regime is closer to a resilient floor than a textile one.