please talk to me about engineered oak flooring

[ExhaustTed]

Hello,
i am trying to navigate my way through the world of engineered oak flooring. apparently it has to be engineered oak because we are having underfloor heating and anything other than engineered would warp and wobble, and oak because we like oak. its a big space and goes from kitchen, into the dining room and into the lounge.

i have been looking on line and at local shops and found some nice stuff that's untreated, 21mm thick with a 6mm top layer. its really sturdy as they have thinner - but is it worth the extra cost as it is quite pricey? can cheaper be ok? (sales people are of course telling be that the thicker the better, but is it totally necessary? )

has anyone bought from online shops - where they good? (i'm in the south west)
any general tips and thoughts?

thank you

[CreatureRetorts]

Yes the thicker the better but not too thick. We have oiled engineered oak floor with underfloor heating. I can't remember the spec but I googled a lot and got the thickness recommended. There's also something about the layers as well - basically spend money on decent stuff. Gets few samples as well. We got it online and was fine. Can't remember the company. Will check!
In our utlity room we got thin laminate (similar stuff) and it feels thin and it didn't hold up well when cutting to be fit.

[CreatureRetorts]

floor from here

[Talkinpeace]

bamboo works with underfloor heating
as does any solid wood of a decent thickness

[bimbabirba]

We have Kahrs oak everywhere in our house and it's brilliant and ages beautifully

[CinnamonAddict]

We also have Kährs Oak 1-strip matt laquer in kitchen-dining room, living room and study. 3-strip in the dc1&2's bedrooms.
I put it down myself. Had experience, in our old house it was down for 5 years until we sold and it was still beautiful.

We love it. And now have to save for master bedroom and dc3's bedroom, as it is really expensive. We have Oak Hampshire and bought
here

[yetanotherworry]

We have an oiled engineered oak floor from UK flooring direct, this floor. Its good quality, decent thickness. I tried lots of different samples from different companies to see which i liked best. We also played around with them to see which ones scratched easily and what they looked like when scratched too.

[FishfingersAreOK]

A lot is the sales people wanting you to buy the most expensive stuff. I spoke to my carpenter with a couple of samples and he said the best thing to check was that the actually ply layers under the oak were decent - several layers, well stuck kind of thing. We look at the 2 different ones - 8mm oak layer and 6mm oak layer - 8mm was hugely pricier. He said that unless you really were planning on sanding it the difference was not worth it. TBH the reason we wanted oak rather than anything fake/karndeany was so that it ages, gets a few bumps and bruises on the way - you know - looks like wood. good job really as DS scratched it with a Playmobile toy withing 4 hours
We got smoked (or fumed oak) from http://www.ukflooringdirect.co.uk/Engineered/Florence_Engineered_Fumed_Oak_189mm_Oiled.html

[ExhaustTed]

Thank you for your replies. I will get on to ordering samples and let my children test them!
There seem too be so many different brands and types I am getting quite confused.

[PeteCampbellsRecedingHairline]

DH is a carpenter and he says you can go to 15mm for engineered flooring over underfloor heating. Off to the top of his head that should have a 4mm wear layer.

He did say that this does depend on the make of the floor though.

Where are you based? We're on the south coast if that's any help.

[Follyfoot]

Ours is from Howdens. Tis very hardy stuff and looks nice too.

[Talkinpeace]

what do you mean by "go to" 15mm
my floor layers said that with bamboo : which is cross layered : anything over 9mm should be fine.

my floor does not have heating, but its thermal capacity from the summer makes it nice year round

[PeteCampbellsRecedingHairline]

OP was asking about the thickness of the oak engineered floor. She was asking whether she needed a 21mm thickness.

DH said the same floor at 15mm would be fine for the same purpose in his opinion.

[Talkinpeace]

real planks are not 21mm thick

op was being "sold to"

[PeteCampbellsRecedingHairline]

No wonder the OP is confused then!

Definitely best to get the samples and then research your favourites.

I think there is a floor laying forum/website. Maybe worth asking there. They may also be able to recommend a supplier in your area.

Good luck!