Wood Flooring: Real vs. Engineered?

oHUTCHYo said:
We've decided on engineered for ours, primarily as it would suit the open plan design of flowing from kitchen to lounge, keeping a nice aesthetic and longevity.

I'm currently trying to play off Howdens and Travis Perkins to get the best price I can :D
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What sort of cost are Howdens giving you for the Eng Wood floor?
 
alx said:
Out of interest, what's your view on engineered wood vs luxury vinyl (or laminate) planks? Is a just case of better look/feel vs harder wearing & ease of maintenance?

When refering to luxury vinyl I'm talking about Amtico/Karndean.
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That is actually a good question, as a lot of work colleagues are asking me if I've considered Karndean flooring instead which seems to be in a lot of new builds. Apparently it's more like a rubberised flooring which has the effect of wood? It doesn't sound very appealing :confused:

-Ad- said:
What sort of cost are Howdens giving you for the Eng Wood floor?
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Popped in at lunchtime..

https://www.howdens.com/flooring-collection/real-wood-flooring/

Left to right: 180mm = £29.99m2 + VAT, 130mm = £26.99 + VAT, 3-strip = £15.99m2 + VAT

I can get solid wood from B&Q at a similar cost, though then as I've learned it would be no good for kitchen use.
 
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oHUTCHYo said:
That is actually a good question, as a lot of work colleagues are asking me if I've considered Karndean flooring instead which seems to be in a lot of new builds. Apparently it's more like a rubberised flooring which has the effect of wood? It doesn't sound very appealing :confused:
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If possible, check out Karndean/Amtico flooring at a flooring place to see if you like it (Googling both of them will also give you an idea).

It looks pretty similar to wood (although they have lots of design, including non wood ones), has slight texture but is hard wearing. It's not rubbery at all, it's designed to mimic hardflooring without the downsides.

Obviously it's not perfect and nothing can truly replace real wood, but I'd definitely check it out if you can.
 
alx said:
Out of interest, what's your view on engineered wood vs luxury vinyl (or laminate) planks? Is a just case of better look/feel vs harder wearing & ease of maintenance?

When refering to luxury vinyl I'm talking about Amtico/Karndean.
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It has its uses, in fact we are looking at this type of flooring in the bathroom.

In my opinion you just can't beat the look and feel of a real wood product, be in a solid or engineered.

Trust me, I know it is a lot of money to put down but you will not regret it.

When selling a house it makes it much more attractive also...the amount of people that would come in after buying a house and wanted to rip up the newly laid laminate that was put down to help sell was crazy!
 
GinG said:
It has its uses, in fact we are looking at this type of flooring in the bathroom.

In my opinion you just can't beat the look and feel of a real wood product, be in a solid or engineered.

Trust me, I know it is a lot of money to put down but you will not regret it.

When selling a house it makes it much more attractive also...the amount of people that would come in after buying a house and wanted to rip up the newly laid laminate that was put down to help sell was crazy!
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Is engineered wood actually more expensive? One of the downsides of luxury vinyl is that it tends not to be cheap (~£40-70 per square meter all in depending on the brand, type etc).

Out of interest do you lay anything underneath engineered wood? Because my flat is a new build it only has 15mm clearance for the floor at the front door which may be a deal breaker. I guess I could always just put matting down for the area the door opens into but still a pain.
 
alx said:
Is engineered wood actually more expensive? One of the downsides of luxury vinyl is that it tends not to be cheap (~£40-70 per square meter all in depending on the brand, type etc).

Out of interest do you lay anything underneath engineered wood? Because my flat is a new build it only has 15mm clearance for the floor at the front door which may be a deal breaker. I guess I could always just put matting down for the area the door opens into but still a pain.
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I am not fully clued up on the fitting of a LVT floor, however I would imagine even thought the LVT is more expensive to buy initially the installation would be much quicker and cheaper than an engineered wood, budget around £30 per m2 for fitting including labour, glues, trims etc.

When fitting an engineered wood floor, you can either float the floor (like you would a laminate) over a underlay (usually around 3 - 4mm thick) or you can glue direct to the chipboard which would give a much more solid feel very much like a solid wood floor.

If you are fitting the floor in a hallway I would recommend you have a coir mat well for a metre or so in order to trap and dirt and grit which would help stop any unnecessary scratches. - for example http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/c3/cf/54/c3cf54bceba213eb3d92ae1e94de0f24.jpg
 
GinG said:
I am not fully clued up on the fitting of a LVT floor, however I would imagine even thought the LVT is more expensive to buy initially the installation would be much quicker and cheaper than an engineered wood, budget around £30 per m2 for fitting including labour, glues, trims etc.

When fitting an engineered wood floor, you can either float the floor (like you would a laminate) over a underlay (usually around 3 - 4mm thick) or you can glue direct to the chipboard which would give a much more solid feel very much like a solid wood floor.

If you are fitting the floor in a hallway I would recommend you have a coir mat well for a metre or so in order to trap and dirt and grit which would help stop any unnecessary scratches. - for example http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/c3/cf/54/c3cf54bceba213eb3d92ae1e94de0f24.jpg
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Thanks for the info :).

My new flat isn't ready until at least August so still have time to go back to the flooring place to chat about engineered wood.

Only potential stubbling block is I want the same flooring in the hall, lounge and kitchen and the kitchen is semi open plan so water/spills/stains may be an issue.
 
alx said:
Thanks for the info :).

My new flat isn't ready until at least August so still have time to go back to the flooring place to chat about engineered wood.

Only potential stubbling block is I want the same flooring in the hall, lounge and kitchen and the kitchen is semi open plan so water/spills/stains may be an issue.
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Spills and stains mot a problem as long ad you mop up quickly
 
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