Laminate floors....

All of upstairs at home is laminate, I'm going to lay the same downsatirs in teh summerbut in dark oak colour as that will hide any temporary marks etc.

It's a pain in the butt having to keep on spending a whole day every few months shampooing the landing carpets from them getting marked by heavy traffic from people coming into the house.

Also looks much nicer than carpet, more open feeling.
 
I fitted Karndean to my hall and kitchen last month and am over the moon with the results. Considering I have just paid 1k for new carpets in the lounge and bedroom, it cost £500 for the karndean which per square meter is about the same tbh.
 
As it's downstairs you'll need to lay a water-proof membrane - DIY sheds and laminate retailers will be able to supply these.

We had really, really expensive thick stuff (office/workspace use) in our last place and it was a nightmare to fit (the joints were far too tight). Got el cheapo IKEA stuff for the kitchen in our current house and not only does it look better, but it's just as durable and just as warm. It's a cheap flooring material, no point spending silly money on it.
 
I like it, personally. Have it in the living room currently. The only real problem I have is the amount of dirt/dust that becomes immediately visible, so you're constantly cleaning.

On top of that, we have a dog. It's funny watching him slide around when he's chasing toys, but when he's pacing about it's "clack clack clack" and it can drive you mad. Also, the dog hair settles all over so again, you're running around like a headless chicken brushing, hoovering and mopping the damn place.

When he was a pup he also dug 2 nice big gouges out of it. Now need to get the single boards replaced and that'll be a nightmare when we finally get around to it.

The noise can also be horrendous when something drops - even a remote falling off the coffee table makes a huge bang, which irks me.

However, I realised today why I love it so much. Let the dog out to the toilet and he came back in (gives a bark at the patio door), leaving nice little muddy doggy prints all across the living room, to the hall, to the kitchen. Out came the mop (again).

If this was a carpet, we'd be having to steam-clean it almost religiously, which would be SO much more damn hassle.
 
I think it has it's place and that place is bathrooms, kitchens and dinning rooms places where spills are likely and being able to clean them up easily is a massive bonus. I'd never ever under any circumstances ever ever ever have anything other than carpet in my living room and bedroom you just can't beat that cosy feeling under foot.
 
i have got actual hardwood in my room, the thickness of each piece is 1 inch, its really good, the only problem is that the varnish or whatever that makes it a bit glossy has been completely worn off where i put my bare feet after the years.

still better than the laminate nonsense
 
a1ex2001 said:
I think it has it's place and that place is bathrooms, kitchens and dinning rooms places where spills are likely and being able to clean them up easily is a massive bonus. I'd never ever under any circumstances ever ever ever have anything other than carpet in my living room and bedroom you just can't beat that cosy feeling under foot.
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like i've said previously laminate doesn't exist for kitchens or bathrooms. I challenge anyone to find laminate flooring suitable for bathrooms.
 
platinum87 said:
i have got actual hardwood in my room, the thickness of each piece is 1 inch, its really good, the only problem is that the varnish or whatever that makes it a bit glossy has been completely worn off where i put my bare feet after the years.

still better than the laminate nonsense
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great if you don't mind a 1 inch drop from room to room or you can afford 30K to do your whole house :D
 
cheets64 said:
Or Karndean.
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It scratches too easily. As does amtico. Its not so noticable on tile patterns but on the woodplanks it's very noticable against the grain.

We had floor protectors on our chairs in our dining room and there was a kind of plastic smear where a chair had been dragged an inch or so. In natural light during the day all the marks would show up and it was dissapointing.

It was warm underfoot but I'd rather go for a decent laminate to look better after 3 years than Amtico. Plus the cleaning is much easier.
 
a1ex2001 said:
I think it has it's place and that place is bathrooms, kitchens and dinning rooms places where spills are likely and being able to clean them up easily is a massive bonus. I'd never ever under any circumstances ever ever ever have anything other than carpet in my living room and bedroom you just can't beat that cosy feeling under foot.
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bathrooms? lol. OK :o laminate is a nightmare when it gets wet. im not talking about it warping if you leave it (which it will), but rather the 'OMG this might as well be a block of ice" effect you are left with when it gets wet. seriously, laminate in the bathroom is a broken neck waiting to happen. people dont put it in a bathroom for a reason you know.....
 
Real wood or nice carpet for me please, or just ALPHA concrete ;)

*Shudders at the though of laminate*
 
jas72 said:
like i've said previously laminate doesn't exist for kitchens or bathrooms. I challenge anyone to find laminate flooring suitable for bathrooms.
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I've used aqualoc in mine which states it is designed for bathrooms. It doesn't seem to mind splashes at all.
 
I would never have laminate in high traffic areas of the house on suspended floors - they're just too noisy.

In a living room, the high quality laminate or real wood is lovely, put a good decent underlay underneath and seal up anything if you can and it's still warm.

But, I do still prefer carpet.
 
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