Hardwearing flooring

Rosa_Damascena

Next dilemma for me is flooring!

Wood vs LVT vs laminate? I was thinking that LVT is a no-brainer given the rave reviews it has on this board, comfortable underfoot, hardwearing and scratch-resistant. The drawback is that the images I have seen online and in catalogues don't actually look that realistic. I'm looking to match what I already have, what is it? It doesn't feel like flimsy / lightweight laminate but I am reliably informed that because it is fit under skirting boards it can only be this or real wood as Karndean is not. I'm certain its not real wood because although I have been careful with it it doesn't seem to scratch as you might expect.

Ideas?

Picture from phone added:


And here are a couple of images of Karndean from a friend's home - I much prefer my own:

maisie_cat

I've had them all over the last 20 or so years and as a rule I will now only fit flooring that is in a natural state, because as it wears it gains a patina and if required is repairable.
Anything that is a laminate of different materials may delaminate over time and anything plastic or varnish coated will scratch.
Even natural things will wear, the slate tiles in front of my Rayburn have worn away over decades of somebody standing in front of it, but the wear looks nice.

koalakoala

I've just had a large kitchen, utility and two bathrooms done with LVT, and I hate it. Looks and feels so plasticky. Covid dictated what I could have right now, but I will be changing them as soon as I can

rob7475

Does the pattern repeat on your boards at all? If not, it's likely real wood.

I do prefer real wood myself but living in a house with kids running around, we ended up going with quickstep laminate. We tried several samples of real wood and they all scratched easily. We've had the quickstep throughout the ground floor of our house for around 8/9 years and it hasn't worn at all apart from where something was dropped on it once (quickstep do a repair kit which does a decent job of hiding any damage.

Price was around the same as solid / engineered wood and I'm glad we went for it as my OH would have me repairing every tiny scratch if we'd gone for natural wood.

As for LVT - I think putting 'luxury' in the name is a very clever marketing trick that hides the fact it's basically lino / vinyl like you'd buy on a roll for your kitchen etc. I wouldn't want it in my living room.

neilmcl

@Rosa_Damascena It should be pretty clear to the touch whether it's wood or laminate, or indeed LVT. Also, as mentioned above if there are repeating patterns then it can't really be wood. There's really no way any of us can tell for sure from the picture alone. It may be an engineered wood floor.

I agree, yours looks a lot more natural than the later pictures of your friends flooring.

Doozergirl

Some LVTs look fake, some don't. 

When stores reopen, if you go to a lovely independent flooring provider, you'll see what you like.  They usually have quite large boards of finished product.  

During lockdown 1, I had a lot of samples sent and couldn't make a decision, but afterwards, I was able to choose quite easily, taking boards outside the shop to see daylight etc.  and then I took a board home. 

We have friends with Karndean and it does look like an LVT.  They have seen the Amtico in ours and they were convinced it was wood.  Most people assume it is.   I've been asked since what we have as they have a new house 😉 

It's not an Amtico/Karndean thing, I've seen other relatively obscure brands that have a really convincing look/texture.  

For me, I knew exactly what look I was aiming for and didn't settle until I found it.   It also feels right to the touch.  

Those Karndean edging bands are an absolute giveaway, by the way.  Even if it did look like wood, those bands are people advertising that it's Karndean.   

Keep it simple.  

Emmia

Having ordered several lots of samples of "wood" LVT from Amtico, it is clear that some are definitely more realistic than others 

The spacia in Featured Oak, Noble Oak, or Royal Oak is pretty good,  but the Nordic Oak looks very unnatural.

I also like the signature in French Oak and Rotterdam Oak.

Rosa_Damascena

Thanks all. I picked up a couple of Karndean boards today and am not particularly impressed with it, mine is much more realistic.

I'm starting to think it is engineered wood because it doesn't scratch. When I had an early-morning mooch around B&Q yesterday there was nothing that matched that description so I'm wondering where from? Roll on Monday when I can have a proper look.

Rosa_Damascena

rob7475 said:

Does the pattern repeat on your boards at all? If not, it's likely real wood.

It does not, but it is hardwearing and scratch-resist which is what makes me think it is not real wood. 

Doozergirl

Rosa_Damascena said:

Thanks all. I picked up a couple of Karndean boards today and am not particularly impressed with it, mine is much more realistic.

I'm starting to think it is engineered wood because it doesn't scratch. When I had an early-morning mooch around B&Q yesterday there was nothing that matched that description so I'm wondering where from? Roll on Monday when I can have a proper look.

I don't understand what you're saying.  Engineered wood is real wood.  It scratches.  It has a wear layer of x mms of solid wood on top.  underneath is cross-laminated, making it a more stable product in terms of not expanding/contracting/warping as an entire board.  But the top layer wears like real wood because it is.  

It's a modern, more stable version of solid wood.  

Karndean is LVT.  Vinyl.  Won't wear, will stay stable
in colour and not be affected by stiletto heels, doggies sliding towards the front door for the post, or be susceptible to water penetration. 

I'll tell you what you aren't.  You're not a B&Q lady.  

Rosa_Damascena

rob7475 said:

Does the pattern repeat on your boards at all? If not, it's likely real wood.

I do prefer real wood myself but living in a house with kids running around, we ended up going with quickstep laminate. We tried several samples of real wood and they all scratched easily. We've had the quickstep throughout the ground floor of our house for around 8/9 years and it hasn't worn at all apart from where something was dropped on it once (quickstep do a repair kit which does a decent job of hiding any damage.

Price was around the same as solid / engineered wood and I'm glad we went for it as my OH would have me repairing every tiny scratch if we'd gone for natural wood.

As for LVT - I think putting 'luxury' in the name is a very clever marketing trick that hides the fact it's basically lino / vinyl like you'd buy on a roll for your kitchen etc. I wouldn't want it in my living room.

Never heard of Quick Step your post before but from a browse of the website just now this seems like a good match: 


https://www.quick-step.co.uk/en-gb/laminate/eligna/el996_merbau