Laminate v solid wood flooring ?

zwanchef

we would like to floor our Hall,utility & kitchen (approx 32 sqr metres ) but cant decide between laminate or solid wood,price is not a problem.
can anybody offer any advice ?
will we have to remove the skirting ?
how much should we expect to pay for fitting ?

adr0ck

solid wood is better than laminate...but is more of a pain to fit

is your floor solid or suspended (easier to fit on suspended floor)

with regards to skirting - it depends on whether you mind the edging going round or not?????

looks better without edging

if you raise skirting you also need to take the bottoms of your door frames and you may also need to take a bit off your doors

floyd

For solid wood floors you have to store the boards in your home for at least 3 days before laying as they need to be acclimatised to your homes changes in temperature and damp index. If you don't do this, you run the risk of the boards warping and lifting when they are put down. It looks much better than laminate but marks more easily if anyone wears heels.
Solid wood is more difficult to lay but can be sanded and refinished a number of times so can be spruced up after a number of years wear.

ormus

do the hall in solid wood by all means.
do the utility and the kitchen in ceramic floor tiles.
wood and laminate will give major problems in the event of a big leak!

love_lifer

wood every time. laminate is pretend and if u need to get underneath eg for electrics, heating etc, its !!!!!!ed
wood is beautiful and natural. and lasts pretty much forever
think i made my point...

Scoot

hi, dont forget to mention that solid wood also shrinks and swells alot at different times of the year so when looking for a fitter make sure he knows how to fit the product properly and uses the correct method of fitting as this depends on many factors.
fitting for laminate is ave £8 per m2
fitting for solid wood should be about £15-18 m2(not including glue or contact adesive).

regards,
scoot