Wood Flooring

Is this not a DeadlyDarcy question?

We have real wood flooring (was in the house when we bought it)

Boy does it creak, and appears to be a common issue with no easy way to resolve.

Apparently if done properly it wont creak, but it would appear that it is difficult to do properly given how much stuff is on the web about creaky floors

We got engineered boards, secured to a concrete floor, after levelling compound was applied.

Doesn't creak at all. Looks great, really easy to keep clean.

It was £100 per sq metre, supply and fit. That was pre-covid and I though it was expensive at the time but the fitters did a great job.

After lockdown, got the same company to quote for another room. It was coming in at £160 per sq metre. Didn't bother and left the crappy carpet that came with the house.

Are you laying it yourselves?

As a (very) amateur DIYer I have laid both in the recent past. Solid wood using hidden nails and engineered that had a 'click' system. Both with an underlay sheet and removing skirting.

Personally - the engineered floor was easier to lay, thinner (so I didn't need to shave doors) and looks great. The solid wood was (in my mind) more authentic, but doesn't look quite as 'neat'.

I bought both online using a couple of websites to compare and ordering a load of free sample (sometimes its only X number allowed - but you can do it multiple times) to try and get the colour and finish that I wanted.

Not sure of a technically correct answer - but I will go engineered again next time.

EDIT - cost was about £45 - £50 m2 (including underlay). Took me about a day to do a room - but that's very slow, and lots of tea breaks!

I've used
www.directwoodflooring.co.uk/

But if buying cheaper wood understand the lengths will be shorter, which is OK for bedrooms etc where most is hidden under furniture.

For one of the best https://www.tedtodd.co.uk
We have this in lounge and hall.

We used glue jointed engineered which was floated on a foam membrane.

Thanks guys, I'm probably going to be doing it myself (fitted a kitchen recently). We're probably going to have to level the floor first.
It sounds like engineered is what I want.
Does it need sealing because its actual wood on top?

I'll check out those two sites for ordering.

https://www.oakleywoodtimber.co.uk/engineered-wood-flooring
local firm, large showroom, engineered oak due to electric underfloor heating
used their fitters
cant recall what we actually have (all looks a bit samey online) but do remember the different plank sizes made a difference to both look and price.

@catdras
We laid an solid wood floor (not engineered). Looks great for the most part. The KEY to a great floor is the preparation prior to laying it, my advice is take your time and get the base as level and smooth as you possibly can.
We did LVT in the kitchen and that is fantastic, really practical and looks great. The plants had a 3 mm cork layer which helped loads with underlying imperfections.
Good luck

Thanks everyone. The idea of leveling the floor is pretty daunting tbh so may get someone in to do it. Think engineered wood is the way to go. I'll check the sites mentioned.

Engineered is (imho) the superior product as it’s laminated so should be stable over time. The solid stuff that’s always cheap at the big sheds is always short boards and (again in my opinion) usually looks cheap.

We’ve used unfinished engineered oak in a few houses now - nice big wide and long boards, 18mm thick with a decent amount of oak in case you ever need to sand it back

Being unfinished, you can use your finish of choice (stw folks always recommend osmo polyx) so when it inevitably gets damaged, a quick rub down with a scotch pad and a wipe over and it’s good as new. The downside is of course an extra load of elapsed time in the fitting before tou can use the room

^^ is pretty much what I was going to say

I bought 50m2 of reclaimed gym hall floor in 2015 for £500 delivered. 22mm thick maple in 4m lengths already de-nailed - Junckers I think is the brand name. Bought a used hidden nailer from eBay. The entire ground floor is covered by it. Took me a week to do it, as a first timer. Wifey hated the random markings of the various courts/tape so we got a pro into sand and varnish it. It creaks constantly but I like that, it's kind authentic, if that makes sense? I move out of here on Friday, new place is all carpets. I will miss it!

Sorry should have said, new build type of house, membrane on top of floorboards, then flooring nailed through both- lots of nails, every 6 inches or so.

I fitted engineered when we first moved in here nearly 5 years ago.

As said got loads of samples from various online places and eventually ordered one, the best value wide and long one I could find. Was about £2.5k for the entire downstairs. Used a foam underlay.

I didnt level but it wasnt too bad.

It does creak a bit.

Fitted new skirtings as well (also online, pre painted) but remember you'll still need to cut down the bottom of the door frames and almost definitely the doors.

I've never reoiled it, but probably should at some point, its not a job that I look forward to. There are a few stains (thanks to the children) that I should rub back and hope that the reoiling covers.

Overall very happy with it. In the kitchen I used a wood glue on the joints to seal it, the rest was just click and play.

We did LVT in the kitchen and that is fantastic, really practical and looks great

This, great product and when done by an approved installed 25-30 year warranty too.