Wooden or Laminate Flooring?...

melt71

flippinmental wrote:

thanks to all of you for your feedback - still have some thinking to do then...
Carpet would be nice, but have two school age children plus a large very hairy black dog. A bungalow is brilliant, but the kids run all through it from th e garden with dog in tow! WE also have a central multi-fuel stove so a light coloured carpet could get marked pretty easily. Now I just have to choose real wood or laminate. Will I ever make up my mind!?.....

Taking into consideration you have a dog I would definitely go with wood/laminate (whichever you decide you can afford). We have a dog and although she is a short haired dog the carpet was really starting to wiff and if we can smell it, I can't even imagine trying to sell the house to people who don't own any pets!!

We have gone for the top end laminate, it was quite difficult to fit it as it's 12mm thick and we went through 5 jigsaw blades trying to cut it but it's been well worth it. It looks great, doesn't feel or look cheap and even the dog seems happy with it, although she has to remember not to run around like a lunatic or she slides around on it! lol

We used the thick boards as underlay rather than the foam and the noise isn't that bad at all - in fact the stairs, which at the moment are bare but they are real wood are 10 times noisier than the laminate we have down.

I love it and it was well worth the money.

lush_walrus

Personally, I would go for wood everytime. Laminate as a rule looks what it is, cheap and false!

Have you considered other types of flooring such as stone or slate. Both are quite expensive but pretty much match wood in price and can be more stylish.

simonts

The house we bought has laminate top to bottom but it was a decent price, All the laminate will go the second I can afford it. Horrible stuff especially with a dog.

If its not the clumps of fur in every corner its putting up with her tap dancing everywhere

happy_miser

I agree that real wooden floors are by far the best if you can run to the extra cost. Its now very competitive between the flooring companies so the prices have really come down and the price differential between laminate and real wood has narrowed anyway.

I totally agree with tawnyowls that if you do go for real wood it really is imperative that you have the boards in the house for at least a week prior to fitting for them to get acclimatised to the conditions they will be in. Unfortunately this didn't happen in our case, the builder said it would be OK to put them down straight away, we didn't think this was correct but as he was the 'expert' we went ahead with it. As we feared, we started getting gaps after a while and got him back to correct them, but there are still a few that can't be fixed without taking a lot of the floor up again, so we are living with those for the time being. The beauty of the flooring outweighs the niggles and cleaning-wise its easier and more hygienic as you can actually see the dirt whereas carpets hide a multitude of sins and allergens.

tawnyowls

You probably have a case against the builder to re-do that floor for you at his expense. A properly laid floor really should not have that happen.

andycarmi

happy_miser wrote:

I totally agree with tawnyowls that if you do go for real wood it really is imperative that you have the boards in the house for at least a week prior to fitting for them to get acclimatised to the conditions they will be in. .

Defiantly agree with this. Also store the wood in a horizontal position. Don't lean them up againsted the wall or they may bow!

tawnyowls

And mix the boards from at least 3 packs when you're laying, so you get an even distribution of colour variation.

gardnt1

lush_walrus wrote:

Personally, I would go for wood everytime. Laminate as a rule looks what it is, cheap and false!

I can only agree with this to a point......Having fitted all types of laminate and wooden floors for customers, IMO as i have previously posted. top end laminate is or can be just as good as wood, and i think better! I am often asked when people see my lounge if its real wood, when in fact it is quickstep 950 'living'. Ok, so its a laminate, but tough and the dog has no problems. As with everything in this world its all down to personal choice, i know those with wood who haven't been happy with animals as they have left marks on wooden floors, those who are unhappy because their wifes (or own) hi-heels have left dents in the wooden floor and equally just by reading these posts those who dislike laminate.............

these days there is a lot of choice both in wood and laminate and also a vast price difference. with wood, any accidents can be repaired, but does that mean re treating the whole floor? With laminate repairs can be made but dont always look that good....many pros and cons!

decisions decisions!!!

jennifernil

We have Junkers solid beech flooring laid over our chipboard floor in our very large and awkwardly shaped hall. If it had been a small/regular shape I would have had carpet.
The Junkers has been down 18 years now and still looks good. A few scratches in places, but it could be refinished.
It really does not like water. We had a radiator leak, and despite mopping it up within 15 minutes the water got into the joints in two boards and marked the floor. Luckily it is not in an obvious place.

To go to the other extreme..........our daughter has (probably cheap) laminate in her flat, laid by the first owner. The installation leaves a bit to be desired, but it is wearing really well. Chair ( dining ) legs do not seem to be affecting it much, I am actually quite impressed!!!!!!!

flippinmental_2

Oh my word!! It's luvly to have all of you taking the time to give me your thoughts and comments,but I am still just as undediced!! I read one comment and think "Oh OK, it's wooden flooring, then read another about laminate and think "maybe I should have laminate". I hate making decisions, and it's such a large area and big outlay, it has to be right! Leave it with me to mull a bit more I think!! Thank you all...