I am going to lay an oak floor in my hall which is concrete, and in my dining room on joists.
Which wears better and which is easier to repair oiled or laquered? What are the pros and cons of either? I was thinking of buying from Easy Step Flooring, have you had any dealings or can you recommend elswhere?

I’m interested in this too as we’re also looking at the same thing

Oiled for the easy win

Oiled every time.
Unless you have dogs,when lacquered on a tricky corner creates hours of amusement.

Has any one used Easy Step Flooring or could you recommend me anywhere?

Just about to post a similar post.

I’ve got a non concrete floor with not dpc. I’m wondering if laying a solid floating floor on top would just buckle and warp even if I put down a damp proof sheet and some roll out insulation….

On product point of view if you are ‘chippy’ inclined, I bought my upstairs engineered oak floor from PeakOak.co.uk Lovely stuff – long lengths (1.5 to 3m which looks better IMO). They do a 14mm solid product for £21 – £25 which will work if your existing floor is moisture stable – they give good advice I think because they don’t want any comeback…

They overcharge on postage a little so its best to organise your own pallet courier.

Oh and if its ‘unfinished’ then had wax oil is the 650b of finishes…. I used Blanchon brand stuff as it dries in 5 hours. I did a tin of Osomo as well and I cant tell the difference in finish.

Get unfinished engineered oak and use Osmo HardWax Oil (or Polyx as it is now called).

Any damage can be sanded down and spot patched without it altering colour.

EDIT: Beaten to it.

I’ve got a non concrete floor with not dpc.

How do you mean? Can you explain further?

We are looking at this too as we are looking at getting the downstairs and new extension done, around 84sq mtrs

I currently have wood but get fed up with it bowing in the summer.

Have heard good things about Boen engineered wood

I currently have wood but get fed up with it bowing in the summer.

We had engineered oak and never had a problem with bowing, despite it running straight trough from a very sunny sun room with lots of light though to a darker kitchen/diner. We also had a pretty severe leak for over a year (ie, from when the extension was done until we spotted it) running under the floor and it never bowed at all – I think you must have either had cheap flooring or it was installed badly.

I currently have wood but get fed up with it bowing in the summer.

Even properly installed solid wood can give problems. Generally, in the summer, the air in your house is more humid, as you don’t have the central heating on meaning the relative humidity is the same as outside. Whereas, in winter, the air is dryer – with already kiln-dried wood, it’ll soak in any moisture during the summer and lose it in the winter.

Engineered wood flooring minimises the risk of this happening (while not negating it completely). It also allows the odd “shadow gap” here and there whereas solid timber needs a 10mm-ish gap everywhere. It will need solid wood for thresholds though if you don’t want those shitty pre-made ramps, t-sections, etc. Any dampness problem should always be treated before installing a floor and as a precaution, a 2-part liquid DPM painted on to the floor (in the case of concrete, whether there’s a DPM in the base or not) is never a bad idea.

As with everything, there are good and bad engineered timbers – they differ mainly in the quality of the ply backing (which is 2/3 – 3/4 of the thickness of the board) but also in the quality of the oak and finishes used during manufacture. It’s such a competitive market these days that generally, you tend to get what you pay for.

Wow – I need to check my writing…its rubbish.

I’ve got a 2cm concrete floor on top of dirt – no dpc or insulation. Mid terrace 1900 2 up 2 down. At some stage prev owners took up the joists as filled it all in with a thin layer of concrete.

I’ve got a 2cm concrete floor on top of dirt – no dpc or insulation. Mid terrace 1900 2 up 2 down. At some stage prev owners took up the joists as filled it all in with a thin layer of concrete.

2 cm?!?!? That’s not very much. Is it solid?

Anyway, if your sub-floor is secure and not crumbling, for a prawper job, I’d recommend the following:

Latex over concrete (use a compatible latex primer which is rollered on before latexing). Liquid DPM over latex. Lay floor using adhesive compatible with DPM.

dd – I was amazed how thin it was when the plumber cut through the floor to work some pipes…

What your recommending makes tonnes of sense – its just had work as its 3 bedrooms and hall way and I don’t relish moving the family out for a week…. Is the work as described above included in the skill set of a wooden floor layer?

used Ardex Na on my concrete floor which has bitmastic paint on it. Looks alright I hope!

Just been offered el cheapo three tons of prime seasoned solid oak to be rasherd up and tong and grooved. … tempting. 😉

Post above reported.

EDIT: Not wheelies 😆 the astroturfing one that has now disappeared.

Is the work as described above included in the skill set of a wooden floor layer?

Yes, it should be. Though, tbf, a few might not be happy to do the latexing. Applying the DPM is just a case of mixing and trowelling (or rollering) it out. It may be that you can get the rooms done one-by-one, but I imagine it’ll be more expensive and drawn out to do it that way. If the concrete is solid enough, you might get away with just doing the DPM…I’m not sure I’d recommend it on top of 3/4 inch of concrete, but only you know how solid it is.

We’ve got a Tarkett engineered floor on top of quarry tiles. 19mm of engineered backing with 3mm of oiled birch on top. Been down 12 years, never moved or bowed.

Clean it about every 2 years with detergent and scotch pad, wipe clean and then a couple of coats of linseed oil.

My aunt worked for Tarkett when we bought it, otherwise we would never afforded it. Retail price is eye watering.

DD – why is a liquid dpm better than a sheet dpm?

DD – why is a liquid dpm better than a sheet dpm?

Oh, shite, yeah, you wanted to float your floor didn’t you? I was recommending a method for gluing it down. I don’t ever really do floating floors (I’m not keen on it) but in some situations, it’s the only choice. A liquid DPM seals and primes the concrete to allow adhesive to be used. If you’re going to float the floor, then a sheet DPM should do the job. It will never feel as solid as a stuck down floor, but I’m not saying “don’t do it”. Laying a sheet membrane can be a pain in the arse – there are underlays that come with a DPM already just requiring a tape over the seams to seal. Search for something like Timbermate Excel. Also if you’re floating, consider a click together product rather than gluing the t/g.

I remember the 2.5m wide timbermate we used to sell. Was good training for moving dead bodies should the need ever arise. Awkward stuff.

2.5m wide?!? Jeez.

I’d struggle to shift the 1.5m 15sqm rolls.

If any wants 3 unopened boxes 5m2 of abbey wood engineered oak at a discount price my email is in my profile 🙂

<suck up>
dd – whenever a wood floor questions pop up on this forum you always share the knowledge of your trade.

I’m sure everyone appreciates it and that’s one of the reasons this forum is so popular.

If I ever see you out and about in Bris let me buy you a few pints.

</suck up>