Real wooden floors vs laminate (decorating)

Tony Williams

Tony Williams

Tony Williams

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I am currently bare floored and it does look a bit scruffy but it used to be carpet, now my mum wants laminate flooring in this room and sisters, am I right in saying putting a wooden floor on a wooden floor is a waste plus there's little benefit?

We have had wooden doors sanded, varnished and they are lovely and smooth. I want the same on this floor. Also theres a floorboard or two that comes up so that stays preserved.

Can someone help/advise me on this?

I also need my walls painting and need a colour scheme. I am thinking Aqua blue/green or pale.
 
Laminate flooring is cheap and 90s. Get some proper wood down.
 
Duke said:
Laminate flooring is cheap and 90s. Get some proper wood down.
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You must have very limited experience with laminate. You can still get cheap laminate flooring. It generally looks rubbish, like the stuff the previous owner fitted in my living room - but it doesn't have to be. There is masses of choice out there at all sorts of price points.
 
Tony Williams said:
I am currently bare floored and it does look a bit scruffy but it used to be carpet, now my mum wants laminate flooring in this room and sisters, am I right in saying putting a wooden floor on a wooden floor is a waste plus there's little benefit?
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Will the OCUK community be able to play a part in your mother's decision? :confused:
 
Lopéz said:
You must have very limited experience with laminate. You can still get cheap laminate flooring. It generally looks rubbish, like the stuff the previous owner fitted in my living room - but it doesn't have to be. There is masses of choice out there at all sorts of price points.
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Think I've only encountered stuff that is very cheap and awful.
 
Duke said:
Laminate flooring is cheap and 90s. Get some proper wood down.
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I used to think this. Then I went to look at some and bought some and completely changed my mind. At a glace you'd be hard pushed to tell it from real wood as it's beveled and have a grain texture.

Plus it doesn't scratch with my dog.

Sweeping statements aren't great.

Personally though I wouldn't put anything hard flooring upstairs, carpet all the way.
 
We have real oak flooring down in our house, my mate has laminate.
Honestly I prefer the look of his, and mine scratches dead easily. Its starting to look tired after only a year of being in the house (new build)
 
Laminate used to be crap, these days you can get some fantastic stuff for great prices, if you have animals its brilliant
 
Kimi said:
Laminate used to be crap, these days you can get some fantastic stuff for great prices, if you have animals its brilliant
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This, I'm about to floor three new rooms and will be using laminate. The idea of real wood if great but in reality laminate is just so more practical.
 
Deffo proper wood mate :)
We recently fitted Oak flooring in our kitchen, was 780 in total.
Got it from costco and imho looks far better than the laminates we were looking at
 
But will the real wood still look beautiful in a year? I'm with others on this thread. My house has very nice floorboards so when I first moved in I got the dining room sanded and varnished. The sealant between the boards has largely gone and there are marks from chairs, stillettos, etc that really show. The rest of my house is laminate and it's clean, unmarked and maintenance free.
 
I put some decent laminate down 4 years ago. Removed the skirting and refitted to avoid the edge beads. Looks great still, and am pleased i went with laminate as opposed to real wood.
 
~Divine~Wind~ said:
Deffo proper wood mate :)
We recently fitted Oak flooring in our kitchen, was 780 in total.
Got it from costco and imho looks far better than the laminates we were looking at
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Keyword being recently - Personally I'd only accept opinions from people that have had their flooring down for at least a year of good use.

Real wood/Engineered wood looks great and is a little warmer on the bare foot And you could make the argument that, if you're prepared to sand it down and re-laquer it, can be revitalised like new.

Most people don't want the hassle of that when their real wood floor gets scratched.

That's exactly why there is a very healthy market for laminate. Laminate offers a much greater range of styles and good quality laminate (NOT Ikea etc) has an excellent scratch guard - I bought quick-step.

The idea that Laminate looks dated is ignorant.

The main drawback of laminate is that, IF* there is real damage, you cannot simply sand it out - you can try the wax blocks to repair the laminate coating bit, in honesty, you will likely need to replace the board.

*I dropped a jig saw onto a board right in the centre of a newly done floor...You know that scene in the Simpsons when Homer goes **** at the top of his voice..
 
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We fitted engineered oak about 4 years ago. Looks nice, but as has been said, scratches quite easily. Ours also clicks annoyingly when you walk on it. I thought this would go away once it settled, but it didn't.

Would go decent laminate if doing again.
 
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