Wood/like wood floor advice

lancslass17

Hi,

Am after something wood effect for the  whole of downstairs  in a terrace but needs to be toddler proof (water/toilet training, cars, paint etc).
What  woukd  you reccomend? 
Thanks

Ted_Head

B&Q have a good range and the staff seem really knowledgeable. There are different grades for heavy use or lighter use and different water resistant ones. You need to budget for underlay stuff as well as the laminate if that's what you are opting for.
They often seem to have offers on but you can check on-line.

Petriix

Wood is great. It's so much better than carpet when it comes to cleaning up after kids. You can always sand and varnish it again to refresh it.

We managed to pick up a whole bunch of reclaimed solid oak flooring that someone was just ripping out of a house they were restoring. The battens it's screwed to cost more.

I imagine B&Q would be vastly more expensive than some of the other suppliers out there. Shop around a bit.

grumbler

IMHO water-resistant laminate doesn't exist - unless you seal all the joints. However, "water/toilet training" might be not a big issue in this respect.

531063

LVT flooring?

JIL

I want the whole of my downstairs to be the same all the way through. I had imagined doing wood, but I'm now considering tiles that look like wood. Thinking if I kept a few back they wouldn't be too difficult to replace.
I'm looking at these 
https://www.wickes.co.uk/Wickes-Heartwood-Light-Oak-Wood-Effect-Porcelain-Wall+Floor-Tile-850-x-200mm/p/153680

grumbler

Ceramic tiles in UK? Without underfloor heating?

ka7e

Good old vinyl! You can get realistic wood-type finishes, textured with grain. No gaps for liquid to seep through and you can scrub it or mop it. https://www.flooringsuperstore.com/vinyl-flooring/medium-woods

NewShadow

Petriix said:

Wood is great. It's so much better than carpet when it comes to cleaning up after kids. You can always sand and varnish it again to refresh it.

We managed to pick up a whole bunch of reclaimed solid oak flooring that someone was just ripping out of a house they were restoring. The battens it's screwed to cost more.

I imagine B&Q would be vastly more expensive than some of the other suppliers out there. Shop around a bit.

I agree with this - If you've either got decent boards under the existing flooring or can get lucky/afford the real thing then it can't be beat by any laminates...

Hardwood doesn't get beat-up by such minor things as toddlers playing with cars, paint can just be sanded off and refinished, splashes and spills can be wiped or mopped up and are unlikely to do serious damage - any significant 'puddles' left to stand for a long time or flooding would also ruin laminate, and likely vinyl tile if you went that route, but the difference is that wood can often be repaired whereas the other options would require replacement. 

But I'm bias  

suki1964

 Cushioned Vinyl 

I took up the wood floors here and put distressed oak vinyl down and its lovely 

No one realises its not wood until they actually touch it. its warm and doesn't suffer the damage wood does from shoes, And so easy cleaned. Very dog, cat and child friendly. Mines been down 10 years now and I have only had to have one tiny area repaired where mum decided to drag a bit of furniture over it and it got caught on the banister and caused a little rip. Easy done, just lifted the bit of rip, squirted a bit of glue, can no longer be seen

JIL

grumbler said:

Ceramic tiles in UK? Without underfloor heating?

I thought that too, but there is some underfloor heating in the extended kitchen.
The house is well insulated.  I am also a fan of big rugs. Which would just leave the hall way exposed.
I'm still in two minds. Will follow this thread with interest.