Flooring - what and where to buy

f00b4r · 29 May 2013 at 20:12

I will shortly be moving into a new house and before i do i am looking to rip up the carpet in the hallway, living room and dining room and lay down either engineered wood or laminate.
My wife and i have a baby on the way so although it is driven partly by cosmetic reasons we are also looking at the practicalities (prams in and out of hallway etc).
I am looking for advice on the following:

- Laminate or engineered wood (including any particular brands)
- The price range i am looking at for each (per sq. m)
- What underlay (i am unsure of the floor yet - it will be concrete or boards i would think as it is a 1930's house)
- Where to buy
- Anything else i may have overlooked

I am leaning towards engineered wood as years of seeing cheap laminate in houses badly laid with thick beading all around the edges has put me off a bit but i want to remain openminded.

f00b4r · 29 May 2013 at 21:04

Skirting will definitely be removed and it is likely to be installed by someone recommended to me, unless the budget really won't stretch.
Thanks for the tip about getting a tight grain.
I am also not too bothered about really thick layer of wood as I don't see myself staying long enough to sand more than once at most.
What is a good online place where I can compare prices and are the good laminates comparable?
Also with children should I get pre-lacquered rather than oiled?

f00b4r · 29 May 2013 at 21:52

Chauncey's do some very nice stuff but out if my price range I think, I would struggle to justify that outlay for a house I may only live in for a few ears before selling or renting.
I was thinking more around the £25-35 per sq m range, is that realistic?

f00b4r · 29 May 2013 at 22:12

I was thinking about that price for the flooring only.
It is a friends of the wife's husband who would be doing other work to the house as well so it would be part of a bigger job. I am aware they would probably only take a day to do the floor.

f00b4r · 11 Jun 2013 at 17:25

Thanks for the advice guys, i think i am going to see what the quotes for the rest of the work we are having done come back like before making a final decision.
I would look to do a lot of the work myself but the wife is expecting so it is a case of getting everything done ASAP and moving straight in to the finished article.

I will have to be content to add in some network cabling, bathroom speakers etc afterwards, although it does not help that the entrance to the loft is tiny there is what used to be a coal shed in the garage that i might look to be node zero (i just need to do some more research on whether it is advisable with the Newcastle winter weather).