What is the best flooring?

frogglet

We have laminate flooring in the living room, dining room and all the bedrooms which has been down for over 20 years. We want to replace every room with something , definitely not carpet due to pets and not tiles. What would people recommend ? I would like a mid brown wood effect

taffytiger

I am having the same dilemma. Was thinking about solid wood, engineered wood, laminate and karndean. There appears to be
Lots of pros and cons but would like some ideas.

Doozergirl

Lived with every type of flooring with a house full of builders, kids and dogs.

LVT is the thing that will withstand everything. My husband resisted and resisted LVT, do we genuinely tried a different floor each time we moved.

Dirty boots, poo, pee, vomit, steam cleaning, you name it, LVT wipes the floor with everything else. The traditional brands are Amtico and Karndean but there are loads on the market now at good prices.

getmore4less

Lots of the stuff you see in shops and pubs is LVT takes a beating.

bluewater

Anyone have electric underfloor heating with LVT? I spoke to an underfloor heating supplier and was told that there are two ways to go:

1. Under tile mat or cable buried in 10mm of latex levelling compound. or

2. Foil mat (usually for under laminate etc.) with two layers of plywood on top. Not clear why 2.

Is the adhesive an issue? We have LVT throughout 1st floor on plywood using pressure sensitive adhesive.

getmore4less

You can go floating floor with LVT much easier and cheaper.

You can still get real lino.


One of the options with LVT as there is a print layer you can have custom patterns done.

wineo(german) showed what can be done with LVT beyond the traditional wood and stone styles site seems to be down.

frogglet

Thanks for the tips. I was wondering about LVT having seen it in hotels. Can anyone recommend a supplier in the Warrington area in the northwest.

faerielight

I love my real oak flooring I put down just before I moved in, recently. It was an end of line bargain from Wickes at £15/m, reduced from £54

MichaelMe

Interesting thread. I was having a similar dilemma but decided with to go with the vinyl option. Mainly for the stronger resistance to water. It's very good if you have pets and little ones running around. Toilet accidents can and do happen with them around!

chrisw

In case anyone else was wondering like myself, I've googled it.

LVT = Luxury Vinyl Tiles

bluewater

Just and update on LVT and underfloor heating. A bit more googling and I see that special high temperature adhesive is available if installing with underfloor heating.