Advice on Engineered Flooring

RoseLondon

Hi,

I'm really lost in the vast amount of choices for engineered wooden floor.

So we have two young children -7 and 1. We are going to put the new flooring in the living room - which is narrow 3.4m but long 8m- and in a small bedroom -2.3m x 3.5m.

Colour - So we are favouring golden reddish but bright colour. Not sure if it would suit a narrow space.

Finish - Still can't decide if oiled or lacquered is better. Gloss or matt? With small children, which way is practical?

I saw some claim UV oiled is low maintenance but still gives the advantage of good lifetime to the wood. Is that the case?

Grade - I'm a little worried some planks are rated as rustic. Does it make them difficult to clean as the surface hide dirt and children's vomiting?

Can someone share their experiences on their flooring choices? Thanks!

missile

We had light oak gloss engineered boards. No issues until we rented the property and the lady wore stilettos.
I would suggest lacquered is easier to maintain. I would not go for rustic. Do not buy cheap.

mvteng

We have kahrs oiled matt in our kitchen. it must have been down maybe 10 years now, and it still looks great. We have not re-oiled at all, just swept and mopped on a weekly basis.

As above, the only issue is stiletto heels, you need to ask visitors to remove othewise you get lots of little dimples in the wood

whatsthenews

Hi RoseLondon! We're also wondering about using engineered wood in our hall and kitchen/diner . About 24m2 in total
I've read elsewhere that oiled isn't as hard wearing as lacquered, which seems to male sense and I don't fancy the faff of having to oil a floor either.
I tried to join the flooring forum, but there seems to be an issue with the registration- or there is for me anyway!
What width plank looks more modern? Our kitchen is a double galley with no wall units and has j pull handleless slab fronts in matt dove grey and carbon with an xtreme matt duropal matt (very smooth and amazingly soft to the touch!) laminate worktop in light cortona granite so I want something that will look modern, and definitely not rustic. Wondered about a slight gloss to contrast with the matt doors, worktop and paint finish.
No kids or pets and we don't wear outdoor shoes in the house and neither do visitors. We do cook a fair amount and use spices that can stain if not wiped off straight away (which in the new kitchen we do!)
Have seen this which seems cheap for the total thickness and 4 mm thick real wood layer but I don't know who the manufacturer is?https://flooring365.co.uk/engineered-wood/glanwell-engineered-natural-oak-lacquered-125mm-x-18-4mm-wood-flooring.html
Any thoughts?
Also, how much would you expect to pay for fitting? We're in the NE. There are no skirting boards or architrave on ATM so it should be easier to fit (I think?)

bluewater

We've has engineered wood before - oiled not lacquered, but this time wanted a change from oak. So going for bamboo.
I think it's worth a look.

whatsthenews

bluewater wrote: »

We've has engineered wood before - oiled not lacquered, but this time wanted a change from oak. So going for bamboo.
I think it's worth a look.

But if that's solid wood will it not be prone to warping etc in the same way that solid ( as opposed to engineered) hardwood flooring?

bluewater

It is solid but not really solid wood. It's called Strand Woven.
It can be supplied in engineered wood format - ie with a plywood backing and a thinner face of (again) Strand Woven bamboo, but I think this version is for wider planks.

We like the look and it's said to be twice as hard as oak.