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Engineered oak t&g in a kitchen. yay or nay?
We ummmed and ahhhed for ages and went for tiles in the end. Several washing machine/dishwasher leaks later; as well as loads of spillages makes me very glad that we did.
I guess it might be practical in a no pet or children house
Nay
Kids and lack of time so does seem to be nay.
Was initially thinking tiles but wondering on something warmer. For some reason when I think of vinyl floor I worry about appliances knackering it when being moved - to get to said leak.
May be OK if you don’t mind accumulating ‘patina’. I wouldn’t.
wondering on something warmer
Tiles and underfloor heating
^^^^ +1 ^^^^^^
Especially with dogs.
ufh is a bit tricky as concrete floors, don't really want to go electric. maybe an amtico but I assume that is basically vinyl except you can replace a bit if it gets damaged.
Karndean ?
Had solid oak fitted by me in a previous house then fitted quickstep LVT in oak pattern to the floor I am on now.
Would definitely go with LVT again, the oak had me being really careful all the time but it still got damaged.
We went from tiles to Quickstep engineered stuff, it's hard-wearing and easy to clean, no regrets.
Was initially thinking tiles but wondering on something warmer. For some reason when I think of vinyl floor I worry about appliances knackering it when being moved
The cheap stuff will mark but you can get vinyl that is very hard wearing. Get hold of a sample and go at it with a door key and you'll see difference between the good and the bad. Good vinyl us way better than tiles IMO
I wanted t&G we went with some cheap lyno. Tbh its great. Floor is warmer than the other areas of wood. Its comfy and i dont mind coming in in my biking gear because i can swap it out its so cheap!
I considered it and went tiles. No UFH in kitchen but not too bad really but only a small area. It's an open plan area and I decided against wood flooring full stop based on my brothers experience. He rented out his home for 3 years while he was working abroad and his wood floor was near trashed. Unless you're taking great care they are easily damaged. Small healed shoes putting little dents in the floor, scraping from people dragging furniture around, dents and chips from dropping stuff. It cost him alot of time to re-sand the surface backfill in some small areas and re-wax. Can't think of a less appropriate floor surface really. It's nice but you need to be careful and maintaining a floor is not my idea of fun.
I decided on decent laminate. Saves myself £4k over engineered wood, and although not quite as aesthetically pleasing, though fools most people (has grain texture, bevelled edges and randomised patters so not ever plank is the same), its been super hard wearing and if in a few years time needs replacing I can do it cheaply - but suspect it will last many years. A great compromise and balance between hard wearing surface, cost, maintenance free, and aesthetics.
We went engineered oak. Looked great - for a while. Now the heavy use areas are showing more wear than the unused areas surprisingly and re-oiling never makes them all equal. Underfloor heating on concrete floors is easy with the insulation boards. I have just done it in the downstairs bathroom.
Bottom left of the picture is a bit of rarely used floor and top right is in by the kitchen sink, washing machine and dishwasher so high use
i think if you go with a wooden floor you just have to accept that dont you?
our laminate is battered but it doesnt bother me tbh
Had it for a couple of years now and no issues. No washing machine in the kitchen and no dogs either. Absolutely no issues with other spillages and it all still looks great. If ever we do get issues it can be sanded and re oiled but I can't see us needing to do that for quite a while.
Karndean
Is what we went for - after 5 years it still looks almost like new.
Karndean
Had Karndean fitted a year ago as part of kitchen refurb, its good stuff and some of the marketing holds true, it isnt as cold in the winter as the tongue and groove it replaced, doesnt echo and when I dropped a glass it didnt smash!
If any strips are damaged they can be lifted and replaced by a fitter, not forgetting the floor came with a guarantee too
We have Karndean (mahogany floorboard look, better than it sounds) fitted by previous owner that 10+ years old, runs through kitchen into hall.
Ends of some of the runs by the front door and stairs are starting to lift, we can't get the same pattern anymore (according to local retailer) so at some point the whole lot will need to come up.
It's not cold underfoot but not warm, and in a few areas has got really slippery.
I wouldn't have it again, my mum has a modern lino and it's better in every way, especially as it is totally smooth with no joins so can be wet mopped.