[Closed] Flooring. Laminate, engineered wood or solid?

I'm bout to order engineered. For a lounge/hallway. Bathroom or kitchen may have different requirements I haven't looked into.

Laminate ruled out cos it's not real - for looks. Some laminates may be robust but at least engineered or solid can be sanded to refresh after some years.

I chose engineered over solid because it is more stable in terms of thermal expansion/contraction, having a plywood backing with a solid veneer. Seems to be few drawbacks choosing engineered versus solid, only pros.

Thats interesting, on the site I'm looking at engineered is a few quid a metre squared cheaper too.

It terms of floor prep what do you need to do? I know with the existing laminate we have inherited it has some sort of green cardboard type stuff ontop of the old boards, presumably to level off.

How easy are these to cut to shape to fit? Whats the best approach for getting a good cut?

If a floor is in good condition and reasonably level we use Karndean. If it's not level - carpet.

We've done 5 houses that way in the last 3 years.

Yea karndean is quite impressive - much better than floors2go type laminate. I would go for engineered over solid though as it looks as good and is easier to work and less prone to splitting + warping. Never laid it, only made it.

I've fitted hundreds & hundreds of square metres of the cheap solid oak stuff (around the £30m/sq)laid with a Portanailer. Never yet had any issues with stability. Bathroom or underfloor heating I'd go for engineered otherwise solid evertime.

I had a client with a barn conversion. As it was a listed building they were required to fit solid oak boards. They went for 9" width, over the underfloor heating...
It was like walking across a ploughed field, except where the fitter had put the odd nail through the heating, and then it was like walking across a poorly drained ploughed field.
I'd go for engineered myself, oiled , as scratches can be nearly hidden by a wipe over with an oily rag, creating a lustrous patina over time.

If you have dogs, laminate is more fun when the postman calls...

Portanailer

What is the best tool for cutting to shape - I have a jigsaw, circular and multi saw

Plus is it best to remove the skirting beforehand and then replace on top to cover and small alignment issues?

Follow on then, whats the best way of removing & refitting 90 yr old skirting - looks in good nic.

We got good quality quickstep laminate and it's really impressive. Watching our 3 year old drag chairs across it several times a day I'm bloody glad it's not solid or engineered.

Wish we'd removed the skirtings before fitting it though. Didn't even think of it as we were new to it all and in the middle of a big renovation, and now we've got those wooden ugly beads to look at.

We've got oriented strand bamboo. Looks good after 3 years, less than solid wood, looks good, and is tough

Quickstep is really good quality and easy to lay. If skirting is stuck on with panel adhesive you have to be careful not to rip the plasterboard to pieces taking them off. With older skirting you risk damaging the wallpaper + plasterwork; run a craft knife along the top and lever them off. A heavy duty pull bar (for fitting flooring) usually has a sharp flat edge which is great jamming behind things and prising them away. You can also leave the boards on and undercut them with a multitool and chisel (watch out for cables!). Hardwood flooring wise, at this time of year humidity is at its highest so you can get away with leaving a neat 5mm expansion gap round the skirting if you don't want to damage them (floor will shrink slightly when the heating goes on).
Portanailer can be hired; use 38mm nails for 18mm board; pulls the boards up really tight.
Tools wise, DIYers often overlook the hardpoint handsaw; cuts straight and you don't get a face full of chips/dust. Down cutting jigsaw blades are the work of the devil IMO; hold the jigsaw upside down and learn to follow the line with the blade pointing up towards you. Ripping boards to width best done with the circular saw (rail saw even better) or jigsaw then power planer.

We've got solid oak in our two front rooms with underfloor. It's had a little shrinkage but nothing too bad. We sat out in the house for a few weeks to acclimatise first.

In the utility we have decent quality laminate, it's the main way into the house so needed something that can withstand moisture.

Forget all the pro's and con's. They're irrelevant. It's all about budget. Wood is expensive, wether engineered wood or real wood. And i'm not convinced of the benefits other than subjective benefits. People say stuff like real wood "feels nicer", is "warner' etc. and all the rest. Personally i've wanted to like real or engineered wood but failed to see the real benefits. But taking the subjective out of it I struggle to make the case for wood. Laminate is SOOOOOOO much cheaper with so FEEEEEEW downsides I struggle to see past it. It's alot cheaper, better wearing, easier maintenance and aesthetically I personally can't really tell the difference unless I really look for it. Karndeen and the like are just a rip off, just laminate by a different name and more expensive - getting on for real wood expensive. I never fail to be underwhelmed when people tell me I'm standing on real wood. I have the face down like an Oscar winning actor despite my disappointment. But at then end of the day that is my opinion and i'm sure many will not agree, and that's all good. What's your budget and make your decision based on that. It's a floor, you can replace it easily if you are so dissatisfied.

I'll completely disagree with Wobliscott. Laminate nearly always looks like laminate to me unless it's very expensive stuff in which case why not do the job properly.

Big advantage of solid or engineered is that you can refinish it in future (to the extent of a complete sanding) so it's should be a proper lifetime option as long as the next owner doesn't just rip it out. I've laid solid and engineered. Solid in a Victorian house was fine but the wider the boards the more likely they are to warp.
Solid 'character' oak is cheaper and a bit more rustic but has the benefit of more knots and stuff which actually hide dirt, dents and scratches really well so it can look better than a 'higher grade' or engineered. Buy whatever you have completely unfinished and treat with Osmo floor finish.
Our engineered boards were supposedly pre-oiled but it doesnt behave (how it scratches and how you can blend repairs) like an oiled finish so I'd follow my own advice in future.

Karndean is nothing like cheap vinyl. Very hard wearing, very easy to lay and can look good/convincing. Not sure about the wood effect ones though. Amtico even more expensive but looks even better.

Laminate looks rank.

Laminate looks rank.

Agreed, and it sounds different...

Laminate looks like the kind of thing Pat Sharp would put in his hallway.
Hire a Portanailer if you're putting in solid/manufactured, I can't imagine doing the job without it.

Luxury Vinyl tiles for a easy life while you are living there.

But when you go to sell the place you will wish you had put in engineered with hard wax oil.

No prospective buyer every walked into a house and said 'Wow! Nice lamiate!'

I went for solid beech in the kitchen. It's quite high maintenance...

Every few years I have to take the top mm off and re-oil the whole thing...

[url= https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3871/14458291219_e0173fa03b_c.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3871/14458291219_e0173fa03b_c.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/o2Cwg6 ]Sanding the floor[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/brf/ ]Ben Freeman[/url], on Flickr

I recently Went for engineered oak for our hallway,kitchen,utility.

As mentioned by others, There doesn't seem to be any downside of engineered over solid.

But as with everything,you get what you pay for, I'm sure you could get some nasty looking engineered/solid flooring.

The downside of solid seems to be the propensity for warping/moving in different heat,moisture conditions.

Is laminate that bad? I'm thinking of using quickstep and laying a floating floor over concrete so reasonably flat apart from glued down carpet grippers which will be a faff to remove. But can't decide on laminate or engineered.
I had a look in John Lewis and the laminate didn't look that fake to me, there was no wood to do a side by side comparison apart from £100 sqm solid
Are there any other click system floating floors worth looking at?

What's your max budget? [say allowing a hundred quid for sundries - underlay, and other shite...]. Plenty of online guys doing reasonable click together engineered for less than JL prices (which are frankly ridiculous.

Im just about to have my kitchen/utlity and breakfast room done.

Wife is on about quickstep livyn luxury vinyl, looks quite good for what they say but not heard any real world reviews, anyone used it?

I was looking at some Vinyl today in Howdens, it was an exact copy of Laminate. I might try some in a rented house to see how it fairs.

I've just done a complete bungalow with the Howdens laminate (cheapest one, ~£6/m2) and have been impressed with it. So much so that I put the Howdens bevelled edge laminate boards in my living room a couple of days ago. We had been looking at engineered but at about 1/4 of the price it was a no-brainer for me. It's on a screed floor in a converted barn that does get a little damp in places over winter. With the DPM underlay it should all be good and low maintenance. My better half was dead against laminate but she went away for a couple of days and we've now got it! Luckily she's been won over! The money saved will do a long way to a shiny new bike...

One thing to note about timber versus laminate: A timber floor still looks great even when it gets a bit bashed about (lines on an old face...); I wouldn't personally be refinishing a floor like Footflaps every few years (I'd get the Wonderwipes on it before getting that drastic!). Lacquered floors cope better than wax finishes in areas where folk walk about with muddy shoes.
Laminate, however once damaged just looks crap!

Laminate is utter utter crap. I used to sell the cursed stuff, put it in my first house and I swore I'd never have it in a house again. So unbelievably naff, I can spot it from 50m away every time. Looks crap, feels crap. Only redeeming feature is that it's cheap, I'd rather have a bare floor. I don't earn much money but I'd save for a year to have solid wood (or engineered) and live with a bare floor while I waited.

You can get real wood very cheap if you know where to look and are patient.

I got 9sqm for my small bedroom for £50 delivered, 20mm solid oak brand new, and 11sqm for my hallway of engineered for the same price.

Laminate is horrid.

Solid wood for lounge, dining room, hall, etc

Engineered for kitchens, bathrooms, conservatories as it's thermally stable

I would have Karndean or Amtico but evidently although I have a concrete floor (80's built flat) I will have to mess around with levelling compound before I can lay it but for engineered it's just underlay.
I could pay a karndean fitter but I only want to spend £1000-£1200 all in for 22sqm

We did Amtico. Interestingly people comment on how nice our new wood floor is...

MrSmith - get a few quotes as ours was a fairly big area covered and relative cost was in your ballpark iirc

We did Amtico. Interestingly people comment on how nice our new wood floor is...

The need to go to specsavers. 😀

Anyway, MrS, that budget should see you get an engineered oak floor - with fitting I'd imagine. You might have to be looking at the more budget end of the market. Is it just one room? (Although in London, that's probably a two bedroom flat isn't it? 🙂 )

There's an online company called Luxury Flooring & something else...furnishings I think. They have some good options around the £40/sqm - with free underlay etc. I'm afraid, at that budget, there will always be some compromises though - short lengths, lower grade timber etc.

If anyone starts talking about Karndean "Loose-Lay", pay no attention.

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Can't disagree DD but there you go - it's rather surprised me. We did it because it's easy maintenance and relatively cheap compared to wood and looks good enough to non connoisseurs

Just done the whole downstairs of the house in engineered. I don't see any benefits of solid over engineered. Looks great to.

Ordered from - https://www.luxuryflooringandfurnishings.co.uk/

Fitted it floated with 6mm techni board underlay.

You know in cartoons when there's a chase and the scenery whizzing past is basically on a loop?
Laminate 😀

I fitted an engineered Oak floor recently in a shop. Pre-oiled.
Beautiful.

Working with wood as I do, I'd choose engineered over solid for stability gains.

If you can't afford a real wood floor fitted properly with expansion joints then use a different material. Anything else looks just looks like a cheap imitation. The human brain is pre-programmed to easily differentiate between fake/ real wood.

In kitchens/ bathrooms use something else more suited for the situation like vinyl/ stone/ concrete/ ceramic.

Of course most people who have laid a laminate/ engineered floor think it looks great as they chose it and paid for it.

We've just had a fairly large extension on the rear of our house.

Concrete screed with hot water or 'wet' underfloor heating.

We were thinking of karndean or amtico but have decided to go with [url= https://www.stonesuperstore.co.uk/aspen-grigio-porcelain-wood-tiles-1000x250mm-2 ]porcelain tiles in a grey wood effect[/url] for the ultimate in hard wearing.

Andykirk , do you think a solid wood floor looks different to an engineered wood floor?

How does it look different?

Of course most people who have laid a laminate/ engineered floor think it looks great as they chose it and paid for it.

Laminate is easy to spot. Engineered IS solid wood floor on top but with an engineered underside, normally ply or something to make it more stable with temp/humidity differences.

NEWROB - Yes I know.

JULIANS - You can tell that engineered floors were sanded and sealed before they were installed. Every board on an engineered floor casts a reflection in a slightly different direction. A solid hardwood floor has a continuity of surface and reflection if it is sanded and finished in place, as it should be. A solid floor can also be refinished, you may struggle with refinishing an engineered floor more than once or twice, if at all. Engineered floors sometimes feel 'plastiky' and sound 'plastiky' underfoot. I am an architect and have never seen an engineered floor that looks or feels as good as a real wood floor. If you are paying the money for a very posh engineered floor then you may as well get solid wood.

Why on earth should a solid wood floor be sanded in situ? If it's made well it won't need at finishing once fitted.

Sorry but you're talking a load of crap right through your post. I've got both in my house, both 20mm thickness, the engineered stuff has a 6mm solid wood top. There is no way you can tell the difference between the two.

You can tell that engineered floors were sanded and sealed before they were installed. Every board on an engineered floor casts a reflection in a slightly different direction. A solid hardwood floor has a continuity of surface and reflection if it is sanded and finished in place, as it should be.

Hmm, interesting, and your reasoning make sense to me , but I think it would take a very expert eye to spot the difference, I certainly cant tell any difference. and even then the difference should only be apparent if the solid floor was laid , then sanded and sealed. I'd guess that most are finished before being laid.

Good view point nonetheless.

There's going to be variation in the quality of solid, engineered and laminate floors, and variation in terms of the fit and finish too. I have solid wood throughout most of the house but would consider refurbishing it in places to get a better finish.

NEWROB - If you want the best finish it should be sanded in situ. Of course it doesn't have to be done like this but in my experience this method gives the best finish. I bet you a quid I could tell you which floor was which. I suppose I just detest fakery and modern construction methods as well.

The nicest timber floor I have ever seen was reclaimed solid flooring from a school that was installed glued and screwed (exposed screws) in approx. 3 inch wide strips. Beautiful. Part of the problem is I think that most people have not seen what is possible and are therefore prepared to put up with all the crap flooring and installation that is peddled these days.

We did Amtico. Interestingly people comment on how nice our new wood floor is...
The need to go to specsavers.

We had Karndean 'stone' with their grey plastic grout lines. It looked really good and wore really well but I was never under any illusion it looked like real stone. People were regularly surprised though - always amazed me. .

A solid floor can also be refinished, you may struggle with refinishing an engineered floor more than once or twice, if at all.

All depends how thick the wood is. I think ours is 12mm, which is a lot of sanding to wear through....

We had engineered wood put down in our lounge and hall, we wanted it to be stable so went for that over solid wood. Laminate was never in scope

All depends how thick the wood is. I think ours is 12mm, which is a lot of sanding to wear through....

Is that the total thickness of the floor boards, or the thickness of the finishing layer that you can sand?

Is that the total thickness of the floor boards, or the thickness of the finishing layer that you can sand?

No idea, was about 20 years ago...

Will take a look tonight if I remember...

However, I have sanded some big iron drop dents out of it, so there's several mm of real wood there at least...

All depends how thick the wood is. I think ours is 12mm, which is a lot of sanding to wear through....

Possible but unlikely. When we were buying ours the wear layers were mostly either 4 or 6mm. That's more than enough to sand to take out scratches a couple of times and I'd be surprised If you'd be wanting to do it within 10 years or even longer. Even if you'd got solid wood you'd not want to take more than the thickness of the wear layer on engineered off it. Big dents you're better off filling.