real wood,laminate or bamboo flooring

scotty1971

as the title says,what do people recommend and their reason why.

it will be used in a living room,heavy traffic,2 adults 3 children and 1 dog if that makea a difference to a recommendation.

and how much is the average cost to fit it.

cheers


scott

Tr1pp

Personally I would go for real wood, I like the idea of bamboo but only like the laquered stuff which seems to defeat the point and would be a !!!!! if it got scratched.

wood looks much better than laminate and will be a something worth pointing out if you come to sell in the future.

Cant comment on installation costs, it can be laid a few different ways. best talking to an independent fitter about costs.

abankerbutnotafatcat

We're going for engineered wood. It is solid wood rather than just a photo like laminate but it's a top layer of hard wood on a cheaper soft wood so is more cost effective and depending on the brand some are considered more practical than solid wood due to the construction.

scotty1971

my only worry was paying for really expensive real wood flooring and it getting damaged easily by the kids

System

We paid a small fortune for bamboo flooring about 4 yrs ago and i bitterly regret it , its very cold especially in winter and it has lots of small scratches and marks that im sure will come out if sanded but as we are planning to move soon i will wait until we are ready to go before we do it after that it will be carpet all the way

iwilldoitthistime

Ive got real wood and a six year old. Its standing up to the punishment really well! I previously had laminate and it scratched much easier.

wobblegobble

Something else to consider is vinyl tile flooring like Amtico, Karndean or a cheaper version like Polyflor? Extremely hard wearing, looks great, and less maintenance than real or engineered wood. Will probably last longer too. It is expensive but brands like Polyflor,Project Flooring or True Forest might be in your budget.

Hintza

We have just put down good engineered oak underfloor heating (GSHP) so it is great. Don't think I would be quite as keen in an older poorly insulated house.

One of my requirements was to find the most rustic (full of knots) so that any scratches and dings will not be as noticeable. Try finding decent rustic boards is a nightmare.

Get boards with a decent thickness of oak and check the construction of the ply is top notch (to many cheap boards around that are actually quite dear to buy) Good rustic boards can be had for around £40 (inc VAT).

I would avoid exotic boards very expensive and you might not like them in a few years time (initially I was not keen on Oak but it does look good and timeless).

rita-rabbit

laminate is cold and not very hard wearing: - I had the `more hard wearing (expensive) more waterproof type' laid & I would opt for real wood in the future.

bluebird

Laminate is also very slippery and with children and animals it can be dangerous.

paddypaws101

Whilst at the Ideal Home Show recently I saw some amazing laminate from Quick step. ( and trust me, I have never liked laminate! )
Their show case had various types of flooring laid side by side, both my friend and I liked one rustic looking version and deduced it must be the more expensive engineered wood as it was textured and a really nice colour, whereas the other option was bland and smooth.
Well we were both wrong!
They do a demonstration with Quickstep where they score a coin or a scouring brush across the surface and it does not mark, it seems to be amazing stuff and I would seriously consider it myself.
Presently I have a very scratched varnished, original board floor which the cats' nails scratch easily and I have heard that solid wood is not much better.