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So.... we are having an extension being built. It finishes in about two months.
We need to start thinking about flooring. Knowing nothing of such things, interested in any recommendations.
It is for a living room and dining room. Each room is about 6x8m. The floor is concrete base. Don’t think I want carpet as the living room gets a quite a lot of sun and opens onto the garden and with the kids that is asking for trouble (I think - but interested if views differ).
So thinking either laminate or perhaps engineered wood (ok in a warm room?). Don’t want dirt cheap, but at the same time we don’t have limitless cash. So something in the middle, whatever that might be, We will be getting someone else to fit it.
<span style="font-size: 0.8rem;"> Doing my research now but interested in any recommendations. In typical STW form I have no doubt missed some important info!</span>
You really have to want engineered wood / wood in my opinion, it is many many times more expensive than laminate and requires maintenance and gets damaged so a PITA all round. Our extension and into our dining room the quote for engineered wood was about £5k which was built into our budget. In the end I just baulked at the ridiculous price of wood and got the Laminate for £400 trade price instead. Wood does look nicer I'll grant you, but not that much nicer and some of the better laminates you can get these days are quite convincing - convincing enough to pass he quick look test. Has textured grain, bevelled edges - much more than just a photograph of wood on the floor. Also wood is so thick it would have beet a PITA to lay in our open plan area where we go to tiles int he kitchen and carpet into the lounge and another floor into the hallway would have had steps and ramps all over the place. Laminate is so much more hard wearing too. We've done stuff to the floor where if we did have wood would have scratched it up to buggery and damaged it no probs, dragging chairs and tables across it, dripping heavy stuff onto it, ladies walking on high heals on it, all would have marked real wood, but not even a blemish with the Laminate. With the money I saved I paid for wet underfloor heating and a completely new CH system instead of plodding along with the original ageing system, a big-ass TV and a quoker hot tap (by far and away the best thing I've ever bought for the house), and still had some budget left over to upgrade to bi-fold doors and get a German electric garage door (the second best thing I've ever bought for the house).
We got Karndeen (or some other similar branded stuff) in our hallway and not really impressed with that considering the price. Nice enough, but at the end of the day it is just like laminate, but made more expensive to lay needing a perfectly flat and blemish free floor and glueing to the floor and at the end of the day looks just as good (or bad depending on your view) as laminate.
The beauty of laminate is that it is so cheap and easy to lay after a few years if you fancy changing it you can.
Go on, it's a house at the end of the day, not a show home, it has to be practical and functional first and foremost. Anything requiring on-going maintenance is a big no-no for me. Life is too short.
I used some bamboo (both tongue and groove and click lock) and have been really happy. It is incredibly hard wearing and is in the kitchen. You have to try pretty hard to dent it and the finish on it is really robust. I know others on here have more knowledge on this than me, but you will need a vapour resistant membrane and then some sort of cushioning beneath it. The flooring still comes in at about £24 sq/m (inc VAT) which I still think is quite reasonable and it looks amazing as well.
Cheers.
My head is saying laminate (it is what was in one of the rooms before), but my heart is saying wood. The doors in the house are all oak so not sure bamboo will look right?
Over the winter I ripped out our utility rooms and adjacent hallway so as to start from the concrete slab. Looked at a load of options and went with Balterio (one of their oak designs) and liking it so far. No signs of wear even after kids and animals have been tearing around on it.
NOTE: I first put down an Ardex NA screed then topped with some Natura Gold Acoustic DPM/underlay (on the recommendation of a builder mate).
If you're anywhere near Brizzle, I know someone who's a bit handy with the wood.
Floors, that is.
Captain - I am. Well Taunton if not too far
The beauty of laminate
Yes, of course.
Right on cue...!
Have a look at porcelain wood effect flooring. We put it down - really happy with it.
Hardwearing - looks great
Life is too short.
unlike that post. Sorry, couldn’t resist.
Laminate looks horrible unless you go for the good stuff like quick-step, I went for engineered, Kahrs, very easy to fit and looks great, I did the skirting at the same time as I can’t stand that scotia beading which looks half arsed. Used good underlay too (sonic gold) think it ended up £40-£45 per meter.
do check your subfloor, it needs to be flat, couldn’t believe how wavy my concrete floor was.
Just spend a fair chunk on a new floor, engineered wood as I have underfloor heating and you can't use solid wood.
Small boards, laid as herringbone "parquet" style.
It went onto a solid sub floor, with self leveling compound, then the floor was glued.
It looks fantastic, feels great to walk on, I have had floating floors before, both laminate and engineered and never liked the way they felt when you walked on them.
I don't see any need to change it for the foreseeable future, will get it sanded in 10 years or so. It's clean and pretty tough. I really like.
The only downside is the cost, worked out at £100 per sq metre but will be worth it over it's lifetime.
Laminate, Karndean, Amtico even porcelain are all imitation products and whilst some are better than others, you'll always appreciate the real thing.
From what you say, I'd go for an engineered wood floor and fit it yourself......it really isn't that much more expensive and is very easy to fit.
The quality of the product and the installation matters more than the material - I had bamboo put in, but this particular stuff is nasty, scratches if you as much as breathe on it.
Quick-step here in our hall, kitchen, back room and conservatory. Been down a year and it hasn't got a mark on it. Very nice and lots cheaper than actual wood!
Look up LVT now .... thank me later.
My wife can vouch for deadly's laying services... photos available as well if needed 😀
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