Real wood flooring

Flamingo_2

Hi
We are thinking of replacing the carpet in our hall and lounge for real wood flooring - saw some in Wickes (on offer) and it looked very smart.
Can anyone who's had it installed comment on whether this is a good idea? Do you prefer the wood to carpet? Any major advantages / disadvantages?
Is it easy to clean - can i still hoover or does it require specialist cleaning / treatment?
We are hoping to save money by laying it ourselves but are relatively new to the DIY arena (but hubby is quite good at it) - do you think we would be ok to attempt it?
Under the carpet is just concrete - would we need to cover the this with a specialist material etc before laying the wood?

Obviously if we decide to go ahead we'll get compete instructions etc but at the mo i'm just after advice

Thanks in advance

ginvzt

We did that in our previous house. We went for engineered oak floors, that 'clicked' together (like laminate). It was much easier to clean than carpet, you can hoover, or just sweep and wash. You can't believe how much dust actually accumulates on the floor!

As I understand, wooden floors do not need any specialist cleaning - wooden floors is what people used to have for a long time and there were no hoovers in old times!

Once we buy our next house, if there is no wooden flooring downstairs, we will be fitting it again.

And yes, we were new to diy, it was our first house, but we did the flooring, changed sinks in the bathroom, tiled splashbacks, learned to silicon and lots of other things. Until you try you don't know that you can do it. There is a lot of information on how to do things online, and people on this forum are very kind to help and explain if you are stuck.

Snippa

I'm just about to do this, as I find carpets make my asthma worse. Wood flooring is great. It looks good - especially with nice rugs - and is much easier to keep clean. It doesn't "hold" dirt like a carpet. The only trouble with it is that it can be noisy for those living below you if you're in a flat.

Snippa

I think it's advisable to put something underneath it. You can get an underlay specifically for wood floors which reflects back heat, I think. Take some advice on that. I'm getting someone to come and fit mine, as the asthma gives me a perfect excuse - oh I can't possibly lift the carpet and deal with all those years of dust

jcorbygas

We did ours last year using the solid oak strips from B and Q. We had been quoted a ridiculous price so my husband and friend did it themselves and it looks far better than our old carpet, and makes the room appear much bigger. We bought felt pads to protect the floor from furniture but our dogs paws havent made any marks as yet.
It is very easy to keep clean by sweeping and damp cloths.
If you go to Wickes or B and Q they will tell you what you need to buy to go on your solid floor. We had taken the skirting board off so it was easier to fit and just bought some new oak effect skirting from Screwfix.

Mankysteve

My parents have got wooden flooring throughout most of the house. We've got a cat that likes to kill lots of wildlife in the house, so makes clean up easier. Also both my bro and dad have got asthma and it made a huge difference to them.