The Mrs wants real oak flooring in our newly refurbished kitchen (the floor is currently half weyrock? and half old floorboards temporarily)
I have heard tales of woe about expanding/contracting boards and that engineered wood doesn’t have these issues.
Price is about the same for both.
Is there a genuine reason why real wood isn’t a good idea?

I think ‘DeadlyDarcy’ is the ‘floor specialist’ around these parts.

It dents when you drop stuff on it
It doesn’t like water
It has cracks that could accumulate food muck
A washing machine or fridge will most likely trash it

Can’t see it’s a good idea myself. We have tiles.

NOOOOOOOOO – Karndean type for wet areas (kitchen) and real wood for living space only. Like it or not at some point someone will spill a significant amount of water and drop something on the wood and it will be fcuked after!

You’ll be surprised at how good some of the KArndean type (cant remember other names) stuff is when put next to real wood – looks and feels almost identicle.

I have heard tales of woe about expanding/contracting boards and that engineered wood doesn’t have these issues.

We have engineered wood in our lounge & dining room. It looks great, but dents and scratches easily, and you’re not supposed to get it too wet. Doesn’t sound like a good idea for a kitchen…

Can’t see it’s a good idea myself. We have tiles.

😐

It has its advantages and disadvantages like any other floor covering that has to live in a kitchen environment.

But, yes, go for engineered timber, not solid.

A washing machine or fridge most likely will not trash it.

You’ll be surprised at how good some of the KArndean type (cant remember other names) stuff is when put next to real wood – looks and feels almost identicle.

You see, I’ve never been even close to being fooled by plastic stuff myself; but I accept I’d probably have a keener eye than most. Some people love it, but I can always see straight away that it’s plastic.

Why should water be an issue?
They make boats out of wood, don’t they?

We have an Oak floor in our Kitchen and Utility Room, Washing machine has blackened off an area beneath itself in the utility room when we didn’t notice it was leaking. Fridge is fine.

Biggest upset was when the hot tap was left running and drowned the whole kitchen in an inch of hot water for a day.

All the joints curled up and it was horrendous and completely ruined. We had the insurers out BUT then over a period of 2 weeks it went back to perfect… I would have bet my house it was knackered but it is fine.

One of the biggest pains is washing it as you can’t just get the mop out and the kitchen is a messy area. So I don’t think it is the best material, but we had it because our Kitchen is massive and we spend a lot of time in it and absolutely love our oak floor.

If you’re having an oak floor in your kitchen then it’s probably best to go for square shouldered stuff rather than micro-bevelled. The main problem with that is that it should be installed and polished flat by a professional. Seal it with a two-part water based lacquer and it’s much easier to clean.

We’ve just had an engineered wood floor put in our kitchen. It looks lovely, but I am concerned it’ll get trashed in short order (2 boisterous kids and a clumsy dad!). We were told that engineered wood was better on an uneven base which we had (old asphalt floor), and less prone to moisture related problems. Time will tell I guess!

(old asphalt floor)

😯

(I’m saying nothing…)

less prone to moisture related problems

This is very true, so you weren’t being bullshitted. 🙂

tbh I’d tile it after putting down underfloor heating – which is what we are doing.

They make boats out of wood, don’t they?

You want peeling paint, salt stains and barnacles on your kitchen floor? 😉

You want peeling paint, salt stains and barnacles on your kitchen floor?

I bet the wood’s still in fine condition though… 😛

She does not cook very often does she?

Wood for kitchen, carpet for toilet and bath room … 😆

Carpet for toilet….. I hope you turn the light on for your pee int he middle of the night 😉

We had Khars engineered oak in kitchen, dining room and hall 8 years ago, never had a problem. Yes it scratches and dents if you abuse it, but normal wear and tear just adds to the character.

Kitchen = Amtico

Amtico = Plastic Fantastic 🙂

We’ve got engineered oak in our kitchen, dining room, lounge and hall. No problems 🙂

We have engineered oak in our dining area/sun room. We had an undetected leak for over two years running under the floor (over the concrete base it sits on). It has stood up to it remarkably well (unlike other water marks penetrating from the upper surface). Wouldn’t want it in my kitchen though.

We’ve got some decent lino in our kitchen. I admit its not the best looking but its pretty hard wearing, practical and it was proper cheap. Really good floor covering.

I was looking at getting it replaced recently, and found that you can get the stuff with a wood effect finish. This obviously has all the benefits of lino and it looks absolutely superb, plus theres a myriad of different styles to choose. Recommended.

We’re now referred to as “them up the road with the wooden kitchen floor” by our neighbours

Don’t suppose anyone has a recommendation for a good flooring person in the Oxford area by any chance?Assuming nothing goes wrong, we should be moving into a new place that will need new floors throughout, so could do with finding someone good.