I'm no expert but I was told that for a kitchen use engineered wood. If you have any type of leak it will cope better.

I've put solid oak in my current house, but planning to go engineering next time for most of the reasons listed.

mmmmm engineered is sounding better then. Thanks folks.

Geoffj, unless the existing floor is all over the place, 6mm ply should be ok. If they're really really bad, then wouldn't it be better to lift them and put an 18mm structural sub-floor in. Sounds obvious, but a floor is only as good as the sub-floor under it. Covering it with ply and engineered oak won't necessarily sort it out. Just a thought…

dd – yes, it's currently covered with a building site, but I'm going to make a proper assessment once its clear.

And what about this bamboo stuff? I've just had a look at some in Wickes, and it looks very nice. Solid though.

And what about this bamboo stuff? I've just had a look at some in Wickes, and it looks very nice. Solid though.

Not sure about Bamboo…it was going to be the "next big thing" when it came out all those years ago, but it's never really taken off. I've seen only a few examples of it laid (I've never worked with it myself) and it hasn't looked great after a few years. And I think the "look" has never really taken off here. We just tend to prefer oak here – it's a timber that works well with the temperature/humidity levels in UK houses and tends to complement our tastes in interiors. It's relatively easy to work with (machining-wise) I would say well over 90% of all the floors I've ever laid have been oak – I get a wee bit bored of it, but as soon as I've done a "different" floor, I'm relieved to get back to oak. Nobody's ever going to not buy your house because they can't stand an oak floor…if you get my drift.