Flooring time again....

[NikNak]

OK... so we've had a (quite) nice Quickstep floor in the lounge for the last 12-13 years. Beveled 4 edge in oak. Nothing wrong with it, just fancy a change... like you do. It even fooled my old boss who's a sandal wearing tree hugging beardy weirdy, who thought it was a 'real' wood floor..!!

Anyway...

Have been looking around at all the local 'stores' ranging from the B&Q's to independents, just to get ideas really.

Area is 7 x 3.6 mtrs so around 25 sq mtrs

3 door patio door at one end, East facing, LARGE bay window at the other.

Inset wood burner on the North wall, approx mid length of room, with a hearth.

One single door into room on South wall approx 2mtrs from bay window end.

On a concrete floor....

Its already got the Duralay 'silver' underlay on the floor/concrete. And for extra 'insulation' (because the floor does get bloomin cold :shock: ) i put a layer of the fiberboard on top of the Duralay. Helps a little i'm sure, but when i do the floor i've decided to add a layer of the 1 or 2 mm 'foam' underlay too, as this has certainly helped in the dining room and kitchen =D>

So.... a lot of looking around... a lot of googling... and we've both decided we like the look of a wider plank as it just looks more natural... i.e. around the 200+mm width.

I'm kinda leaning away from a solid wood floor because as i understand it they need to be 'stuck' down (or nailed or screwed), although i dooo understand they are a lot warmer, natural (obviously), maybe not quite so hard wearing as in scratch resistant.?

One google blog i found made interesting reading..... a guy who's a floor fitter with many years experience said "if you're gona buy laminate buy Quickstep or Balterio".... http://www.fitmywoodfloor.co.uk/basic-look-at-quick-step-vs-balterio-laminate-flooring/. I've done lots of Quickstep floors, and love the Uniclic 'fit'. Unlike others i've done where the slightest movement as you're trying to lay the floor and they just 'fall apart'..!!

Engineered boards i've no problem with, and we're looking at them too.

At the moment been looking at Quickstep, Balterio, Parador, Kahrs (got that in 2 of the bedrooms), Woodpecker.

I've seen and fallen in LOVE with a high gloss walnut laminate. But the 'sensible head' says NOOOO... it'll scratch/mark too easily

Happy to pay up to the £50 per sq mtr mark....

Any thoughts, recommendation to also consider etc greatly accepted.....


Cheers guys


Nick


oh.... no pets, no kids, non smokers

 

[RogerS]

If you're happy to pay up to £50 per sq metre then you can use proper oak floorboards. Plus you can go for random widths which always looks much much better.

Whoever told you that oak is not as hard wearing as engineered boards is talking out of their rear orifice. What material do you think they use as the top surface in oak-floored engineered wood ? Real wood is very easy to apply onto a substrate such as concrete etc.

Why not go for real solid wood? Safe in the knowledge that when someone drops a brick on it, the resulting dent will still show oak !

At least you won't have the grief that I went through. Nothing at all due to the choice of oak flooring but what I had to do to get the substrate right. (And yes, I 'fess up...same widths )

 

[skipdiver]

If you want the look of wider boards, i'd go for a good quality engineered board with a thick veneer layer. Much more stable, easier to fit and looks like the real thing when done.

 

[chippy1970]

Have a look at Boen I usually recommend that brand or Kahrs to my customers.

Here's a boen oak floor I fitted a few weeks back.

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[n0legs]

What he said ^ :wink:

 

[Phil Pascoe]

If you love high gloss walnut laminate you are obviously totally devoid of taste. :lol:

 

[chippy1970]

If you love high gloss walnut laminate you are obviously totally devoid of taste. :lol:

Phil, who mentioned high gloss walnut laminate ? I might be getting old but I can't see anywhere that anyone mentioned that.

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[owsnap]

after fitting 22m2 of 20mm engineered oak flooring couple days ago I think I'm a convert and will never go back to laminate crap..the natural feel is just something totally different what you can ever get from a laminate.
look on ebay for someone selling some flooring which they have left over? I got really lucky and got £1.3k worth of the stuff for £100 ( even I doubt I can ever find a deal like that again ,but they are out there if you are not in rush)

 

[Phil Pascoe]

If you love high gloss walnut laminate you are obviously totally devoid of taste. :lol:

Phil, who mentioned high gloss walnut laminate ? I might be getting old but I can't see anywhere that anyone mentioned that.

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"I've seen and fallen in LOVE with a high gloss walnut laminate." in the OP.