wooden floor or laminate

[home brewer]

we are looking to replace our downstairs carpet (dining room,lounge,hall,study) and are thinking about wood, albeit laminate,engineered or solid. Anybody any experience with this, I think the laminate products are relatively universal, but wood seems to be far more variable, both in design,quality and pricing. I'm not looking to do this myself as I'm sure I'd make a dogs dinner of it, and I do wonder about the sourcing/quality of some High St 'solid' oak. :hmm:

 

[iceo]

if you havee got the cash go for wood as it looks, feels, and sounds better. i layed so mid priced laminate 3 years ago and its not wearing very well

 

[Zedilly]

In my limited experience I've found a lower end of the range wood floor still better than a high quality laminate.

 

[pittsy]

I'm a chippy and fit it in many bathrooms and kitchens , i say go for a product called ' Uni-click ' by far the better type and it comes in all sorts of patterns to look like stone/wood/tile etc .

 

[graysalchemy]

We layed a laminate and an expensive one at that about 7 years ago throughout the downstairs. It didn't fair well in some places the 'wood' was coming off within 18 months. If I had had my way I would have spent a bit more and got a solid/engineered wooden floor.

 

[PD]

I laid a decent thickness of laminate in my kitchen dining room and conservatory. Love it. Its been down since 2001 and still looks good ( with occasional chip where hard things have got dropped ! ) sorry dear...

Only problem we have is that the darned dog can't walk on it ! Its skidded across the conservatory many a time, and we now have quite a collection of rugs and runners to put down for him !!!!

I'm a bit old fashioned and I like the fact every so often we can move furniture out of the way and give it a good wash/clean with disinfectant etc really does make the rooms smell clean and fresh.

 

[home brewer]

so 2-2 in terms of wood/laminate.
Laminate we have seen is manufactured by Pergo, supposedly they developed the click system. So I'd probably go with them, or Quickstep.
I have read that English oak is much stronger than the quick grown US version, and so carries a price hike over US or other European supplied, tho I am not sure if it is certified as grown in England.
Solid Wood seems double the price and some engineered wood, more again, supposedly down to the strength and structure of the under, preventing movement,warping etc, tho nothing will withstand a heavy watering.
I think the high street probably shifts the Real Wood but sourced from US, going to a bespoke supplier will be an arm and a leg, so anybody knowing any good suppliers would be welcome :thumb:

 

[oldbloke]

After a dishwasher plumbing catastrophe, we had a whole floor re-done with laminate. It's fine. I dunno really what quality of laminate it is as the ins co paid for it, I think we just chose from a range of offered patterns. Seems to be wearing OK considering it's in all the main living areas including the kitchen. So, I guess, if you can get a decent quality one, fine.

 

[PD]

got mine from this company.....

http://www.floors2go.co.uk/

vast range on offer. stores/outlets all over the place

 

[Tim_Crowhurst]

Minor damage to laminate loses its appeal and chic.

Minor damage to wood adds character and history.




If you're worried about water staining, varnish and some oil finishes like tung oil will provide protection against water damage.

 

[JimmyB78]

We went for solid bamboo flooring for our dining room, lounge and hallway. Very pleased with it and had no problems so far (down for 10 months only though). It was from wickes and pretty easy to install.

Meant to be more water resistant than a lot if others which is coming in handy as SWMBO seems kick a glass of water over in the lounge on a weekly basis at the moment!

 

[BIGJIM72]

If you can afford it now I would go for a solid/engineered wood floor. I find it a lot warmer underfoot than laminate. I have an oak floor in the hallway & laminate in another couple of rooms. I would view laminate as a temporary & the solid stuff as a much more permanent feature. the oak is an absolute joy to work with & cut & as a previous poster said only gains character over time,whereas I find laminate tends to look a bit shabby when its worn or taken a knock or two.

 

[Vossy1]

You've seen our front room F, probably don't remember it though :lol: It's laminated with Quick Step which we had installed in 2004. It's done very well, beyond our expectations and though we don't have a children we do have 2 dogs. The only areas where it's age shows are where I dropped a chisel and a hammer on it causing small chips. These can be filled but I've never bothered. The only downside to laminate is the joints and water, you have to be very careful not to leave standing water for much more than a few minutes otherwise you'll end up with raised joints which can wear as they get scuffed. Luckily ours aren't in an area of interest but if they were in a sunlit area they would show up, albeit only visible to you :lol: but that would be enough for me

I have no experience of wood but if it doesn't behave in the same fashion re joints and water I'd go for it over laminate in retrospect, but it would depend on cost.

 

[anthonyUK]

+1 for the Unicliq quik step
We have some over 10 years old and it is as good as new.
We went for this as our children were young at the time and whilst wood may look better it isn't as hard wearing or easy to maintain as decent quality laminate.

 

[Megaross]

Laminate is horrible ****, so tacky, it's like the equivalent of wood veneered tv's or lycra in the modern day.
I always say if you can't afford decent engineered or solid, just stick with carpet.

The engineered walnut on here was glorious stuff to lay and it looks very nice once down http://www.jfjflooring.co.uk/
It's pricey but the grain and finish was nicer than any of the others floors I've seen.

Can't comment on the oak (not an oak fan) but I should imagine it's easily comparable.

 

[pittsy]

Laminate is horrible ****, so tacky, it's like the equivalent of wood veneered tv's or lycra in the modern day.
I always say if you can't afford decent engineered or solid, just stick with carpet.

The engineered walnut on here was glorious stuff to lay and it looks very nice once down http://www.jfjflooring.co.uk/
It's pricey but the grain and finish was nicer than any of the others floors I've seen.

Can't comment on the oak (not an oak fan) but I should imagine it's easily comparable.

Just a tip for anyone , laminate can be crapola but it can also be excellent . If you buy a pack of laminate and it's lets say £15 while others are around £40 a pack then your not getting the quality stuff , also you can buy the type that has external wood glue used in it's construction so when water gets on it it isn't a problem (you can't just leave it though) you can easily tell as the edge of the laminate is green , if it's brown/yellow then it's the cheaper type that has been made with internal glue .
Also the so called solid wood type aren't , they are around 1 to 2mm thick with pine on the back so sort of laminate really . They are nice though but expensive .
Carpets stain , tiles crack and wooden flooring chip or swell .

 

[graysalchemy]

I paid about £25 + a sqm wish I had paid a bit more and got wood at £30-40 as I wouldn't be now contemplating spending £30-40 a sqm on wood 7 yrs later. :evil: :evil:

 

[anthonyUK]

The engineered walnut on here was glorious stuff to lay and it looks very nice once down http://www.jfjflooring.co.uk/

Everyone's entitled to their opinion and I much prefer a lighter wood even if it is laminate over that walnut :sick:

 

[Titus A Duxass]

Having a 30 square metre bedroom I prefer the 8 - 9 euro range.
The wife would not entertain carpets anymore, after 12 years of not hoovering she wouldn't go back.

 

[Megaross]

Everyone's entitled to their opinion and I much prefer a lighter wood even if it is laminate over that walnut :sick:

Thats fair enough I don't like light wood, too modern, too "ikea" for my tastes.

Plus the grain of walnut is freaking awesome, I think, so nice.

Just a tip for anyone , laminate can be crapola but it can also be excellent . If you buy a pack of laminate and it's lets say £15 while others are around £40 a pack then your not getting the quality stuff , also you can buy the type that has external wood glue used in it's construction so when water gets on it it isn't a problem (you can't just leave it though) you can easily tell as the edge of the laminate is green , if it's brown/yellow then it's the cheaper type that has been made with internal glue .
Also the so called solid wood type aren't , they are around 1 to 2mm thick with pine on the back so sort of laminate really . They are nice though but expensive .
Carpets stain , tiles crack and wooden flooring chip or swell .

Even the pricey laminate I wouldn't have, it's just too reminiscent of new builds.

Anything done well can be as durable as the next, carpets stain but if scotchgarded they will be very resistant, quality tiles laid properly will never crack under weight - even dropping cast iron cookware or similar.
Solid wood tends to have problems on concrete, although it can last a long long laid correctly, but engineered floor is the king of that route.

Then theres other stuff - parquetry, marble, brick. It's all a question of budget and preference.