Medium/high quality wooden flooring cost

dhokes

I'm trying to work out all the costs associated with purchasing and fitting a new build house and I'm unsure about flooring.

I'd like to have wooden flooring and whilst the developer might try to include the flooring in the asking price, I was wondering how much would a medium-high quality wooden flooring cost to purchase + underlay + fit? The house measures approximately 45m. squared + staircase. I'm based in the East Midlands. Can anyone recommend any brands?

P.S. I've also posted this in the 'House buying' section here.

nickperry68

Depends what you are looking for... some of the laminate is good for the price... look at the Schreiber range from Homebase... under £15 a m2 - under £700 for your house
Solid wood seems to be around £30 m2 and up - £1,400 and up for your house
A decent underlay will be a few pounds a meter - budget £2 to £3 m2 for the cheap stuff or double that for something decent with acoustic properties
You might want to pick something different for the kitchen/bathroom as not all wooden floor types are suitable for such areas (quite a few are though)

As for laying, if its a new build off plan I'd have thought getting the house builder to install it would be the cheapest option.... they have to put something down so a good time to negotiate the difference in cost
Its also a lot easier to put it in before the skirting and door frames go in!

dhokes

Personally I'm swaying away from laminate and real wood, and considering engineered wood. Wise choice?

DRP

A lot depends on how it is fitted & who fits it. When we were looking around, our local flooring shop said all their engineered floors were nailed rather than floated (because "we are receiving too many calls from customers with issues".

Our builder convinced us that he could float it well ... a bit of a mistake as our pretty good/mid quality flooring creaks all over, and has developed a bit of a bounce at some of the edges too.

nickperry68

DRP wrote: »

A lot depends on how it is fitted & who fits it. When we were looking around, our local flooring shop said all their engineered floors were nailed rather than floated (because "we are receiving too many calls from customers with issues".

Our builder convinced us that he could float it well ... a bit of a mistake as our pretty good/mid quality flooring creaks all over, and has developed a bit of a bounce at some of the edges too.

I've fitted several floors (as a DIYer) and I think the creaking and bouncing is probably more to do with the sub floor than the floating floor or whoever laid it. Its only ever going to be as good as what is underneath.
Our old house was a "new build" and the carpeted floors creaked because the sub floor had not really been screwed down at regular enough intervals (in my opinion). If I'd just stuck a laminate/solid wood floor over it it would have bounced and creaked... I spent a day correcting it and everything was fine...

I've just laid one in out new place. Concrete sub floor, celotex insulation board, vapour barrier, 22mm chip board on top of that, hard floor underlay and then laminate - all of it floating in that there wasn't a screw used and the floor is great - ever such a slight bounce in hte middle of a large area (barely noticeable unless you are barefoot and looking for it) but I suspect that movement is needed to allow for natural contraction and expansion.

nickperry68

dhokes wrote: »

Personally I'm swaying away from laminate and real wood, and considering engineered wood. Wise choice?

They all have pros and cons
With the engineered and real woods you have the ability to sand them a little if they become damaged but most of the laminates I've used are pretty durable to start with and are generally cheaper.
Engineered is going to last longer and is possibly better if you are going to have underfloor heating or splash a lot of water but a decent laminate will last 20 years and how long until styles change/you sell up/it would be replaced anyway

I'd just spend a bit of time looking at plenty of different types of floor and choosing the one you like the most and not getting too hung up on if its laminate, real or engineered and if you need it for a specific area like a bathroom or kitchen or UFH just make sure it can cope with that environment... I'm sure you'll find some fantastic looking laminates and some horrible looking real/engineered woods and vice versa