Help with flooring please!
- Thread starter CF93
- Start date
)
Consigliere
I'd say real wood. Wish i could have had it. I have laminated in my room. Yeah its great but i find there are a few stains i can't get out.
Soldato
laminate is generally considered to be more stable (doesnt warp, shrink, cup) but modern techniques have pretty much killed this with real wood too, if its properly installed. Real wood for my money since it looks, well, real.
Soldato
- Joined
- 29 Jun 2004
- Posts
- 12,957
Proper wood. No cheap laminated crap. The proper wood one will look more authentic anf furthermore last longer if you look after it. Additionally it looks much better. Laminate is just what it says on the tin, cheap wood with a picture of wood patterns glued on then laminated to make it look glossy and nice.
Real wood is the way to go. But off course if you want to spend money try some underfloor heating with marble
Real wood is the way to go. But off course if you want to spend money try some underfloor heating with marble
Associate
i agree solid oak flooring would be the way to go
we have it cost a bomb but well worth it i.m.o and also gets her inddors on my back
we have it cost a bomb but well worth it i.m.o and also gets her inddors on my back
Associate
What about wood effect tiles? We have them in our hall way and they look pretty nice. I can get a photo if you like?
Soldato
I got some real hard wood flooring that is a 7mm slice of wood bonded onto a ply base which fits together like laminate. Got some real cherry hardwood, looks great with all the grain and seems be be hard wearing for the three years its been down.
Soldato
With laminate once its worn it needs to be replaced, but with real wood you can sand it down as many as 5 times so it could end up lasting 5 times longer than laminate flooring
Soldato
Defcon5 said:
Aye thats true, apparently the company that makes the flooring Ive got will come out and sand it down and re-treat it for a fee.
The only reason people laminate instead of real wood is £, getting real wood flooring is going to cost a heck of a lot more than laminate, so if money is no object then why would you laminate? i certainly wouldnt. Descent laminate is about 25-30 quid a pack, i wouldnt go cheaper then £20 per pack and ive seen real wood stuff for nearly £100 per pack.
If it where me i would laminate a kitchen but the rest of the house if it where to be hard flooring and i could afford it, real wood definitely. Living room flooring i would prefer carpet any day but for pets i suppose i can understand why you would want hard flooring
If it where me i would laminate a kitchen but the rest of the house if it where to be hard flooring and i could afford it, real wood definitely. Living room flooring i would prefer carpet any day but for pets i suppose i can understand why you would want hard flooring
schnipps said:
Very true. This is why I would not waste cash on real wood if I thought that I either was not going to like it for long or that my kids / dog would be likely to damage it.
I guess it depends on what you can afford and how often you like to redecorate / change the floor covering.
if you can afford it go for real wood. You can find it a bit cheaper on ebay from time to time. You may also want to look at some good reclaimed wood. You can get some really fantastic bargains on hard woods that they cant really cut down anymore.
My old house had 100 year old real wood everywhere except the hallway. It was so much nicer than the laminate rubbish
My old house had 100 year old real wood everywhere except the hallway. It was so much nicer than the laminate rubbish
Bear said:
id go with bear for the best choice, multi ply sub base with a 4mm real wood venner on top. the multi ply is stable as any thing so minimal chances of shrinkage when you put it in a central heated house, unlike realwood which will shrink as it becomes dry and expand when is is damp. it costs a lot less than solid wood and will last just as long, if not longer. as the ply sub base is vennered there will be less defects in the real wood top, as long as you get a good quility one.
used this type of flooring a lot and IMO its the best you can buy.
spend as much as you can and you cant go wrong.
Soldato
Laminate, hard wearing, will take years before it needs replacing, easy to clean, waterproof (if you buy the decent stuff) and great for pets. But buy the expensive stuff, the cheap stuff isnt so great.
Just spent the weekend doing the lounge and hall with it, already done the kitchen and it makes the room look great, plus with having a 6 month old Labrador, its easy to clean up.
real wood would look great but the cost is huge.
Just spent the weekend doing the lounge and hall with it, already done the kitchen and it makes the room look great, plus with having a 6 month old Labrador, its easy to clean up.
real wood would look great but the cost is huge.