Real Wood vs Laminate

[glenimp617]

Heard mixed views about this

Fitted Laminate in the office room a couple of months back and thinks it's fantastic. It wasn't the cheapest laminate though, but a doddle to fit and after weeks of my office chair going back and forth over it there's not a single mark on it...phew!

Now we are planning to do the lounge and hallway

Whilst I am happy with the laminate in the office, I just thought I'd ask what everyones views are between laminate and real wood.

My friend used to have real wood and after two years ripped it up and replaced with laminate. He said real wood is a nightmare and scratches easily. He is very happy with his laminate.

another friend (well work mate) swears by laminate and has had his down for nearly ten years.

Then I go on some random forums and read people saying to go with real wood I'm not after the glossy look, quite like a natural oak matte finish

 

[glenimp617]

So two of your friends, who know and trust, swear by laminate... and you yourself have laminate and think it's great.

But random people on internet forums think wood is better, for reasons that you don't make clear.

Ok.

well when I'm spending £400+ I'd like to get the advice from as many people as possible.

That ok?

 

[glenimp617]

Laminate can chip, also can be hard to colour match so make sure you buy in one go and it's all the same batch number if you go down that route...

You should be able to get laminate in a fairly "flat" finish, the cheaper ones tend to be a "blonde" sort of birch colour and very glossy, so shop around.

As far as real wood is concerned, have always been told that this is more prone to expansion and contraction, that you should leave a gap around the edge of the room and use very good underlay.

Edit: Real wood will scratch easier as it's natural wood and therefore softer than a man-made material, but don't let that put you off unless it's in an extremely high-footfall area / roller chairs etc...

It's a while since i've been involved with either and prefer carpet myself, but Real-Wood is very good if you can get it cheaply.

Yeah, the chipping part is what is holding me back to be honest. I've seen a few makes of laminate which claims to be ten times stronger than other laminates so I'm thinking about choosing one of them.

I'll be fitting under the skirting and there's a good gap under the plasterboard walls so the expansion gap won't be a problem.

It's just the whole scratch thing with real wood. I have two small children who WILL scratch it with their toys

Thanks for the reply