Oak wood floor advice please!

[sophiepumpkin]

We are renovating our home at the moment and very much in a dilemma about flooring. My dream is to have engineered oak throughout but everywhere I go people suggest vinyl. We have two small children and I don't want to be precious about it so I understand I will need to accept some marks etc. My question is with regards to quality brands/wear layers. Can anyone advise on experience with different brands and if you think paying more means less marks etc or if this is relevant. Can anyone recommend a brand or finish that will work for us? Thanks in advance...maybe with your help I can get some sleep tonight!!! 😂

[undertheradarplease]

I have engineered oak from Howdens too, it's been down two years in January. I'm not careful with it at all - like you I don't have the energy to be precious with my house within reason.

We don't 'do' shoes in the lounge but stuff gets spilled and items get dropped on it without any trauma. I hover it every other day and damp wipe with a cloth once a week.

On the other hand, I have tile effect amtico in the kitchen. It chips and marks if you even drop a crisp. Would NOT recommend at all.

[dylandogs]

I would not use Karndean if I were you. We have had it fitted in the summer, it scratches easily and looks very plastic - and we chose the premium range! Lots of reviews too about UV discolouring it and shrinkage issues.

[sophiepumpkin]

Can I ask which brand you went with puddleducks123 ? We won't be able to have different flooring in the kitchen because it's all one big open plan space. Thanks for all the replies...I guess I'll just need to make a decision, it seems so mixed. Can't believe some people have oak and say it's perfect and some say it's battered! Brand or general care problem??? I want to relax in my home with my babies, but I really would like to have wood. I just don't want to regret it. Probably overthinking it.

[opinionatedfreak]

Engineered birch here - I like the blonde wood effect.
It is 14yrs old. Not been especially well looked after and still looks good. The marks make it look real IMO.
I'd replace like for like if I was changing it but I'm not!!
I'm a fan of vinyl in kitchens...

[missymayhemsmum]

We had a heavy duty, contract quality wood effect laminate (think the kind they fit in pubs) in the dining room and kitchen. It looked good, you could mop it, it was pleasant underfoot, not slippery, and it withstood kids, dog, cats, pushchair, roller blades, gardening boots and dropped crockery. It never quite looked real though. It finally gave way due to a plumbing flood and I went up-market and replaced it with engineered (layered) oak flooring. Which was slippery in socks, scratched easily, looked beautiful for about 6 months, and then went dark in the joints and worn in areas of traffic and looked shit thereafter, even with me wiping it on hands and knees as you couldn't mop it.
I would go for either high quality laminate (indestructable) or real wood floorboards (wash, wax, sand if you have to) in an area of high wear. Wooden floors look gorgeous, but are pretty high-maintenance.

[BroomstickOfLove]

We have bamboo downstairs, too, including the kitchen. It looks great, and the occasional scratches are only to the varnish rather than the wood itself. It has survived one minor flood.

[Silvercatowner]

We have solid wood flooring throughout downstairs, and love it!

Us too, apart from the kitchen. Expensive but so worth it.

[Ttbb]

Have you considered amtico, it's more durable apparently.

[FallingOrbit]

@mumtonoah5

That looks VERY nice indeed. Friend of mine who just moved in a few doors up is doing exactly the same thing - looks excellent!

[AmayaBuzzbee]

We have engineered oak all over downstairs (underfloor heating). We also have two small children and a large dog. The floors keep well and look and feel lovely. We went for wide plank and a bit more rustic style which already looks "imperfect' with some deeper grains and dents. Firstly because we prefer this look, and secondly because any new potential scratches or dents just add to the character!

[Puddleducks123]

We have engineered oak throughout hallway, kitchen, dining room and utility room. Have underfloor heating so couldn't use solid. Have 2 very active children under 5 who scoot all over it, drag stuff everywhere and scrape chairs. It looks perfect.

[NewPapaGuinea]

We have Quickstep downstairs and water proof Quickstep in my DS bedroom and I think it's excellent. Easy and quick (sic) to lay, looks great, 15 year warranty and very reasonably priced. Amtico and Karndean I believe need a completely flat and level sub base to lay on as it's glued down to it. Quickstep you have an underlay that means any flaws in the sub base doesn't matter.

We have Karndean in the bathroom as needed something waterproof and Karndean being plastic was perfect. However it was more costly and laying it was more difficult. Quickstep now do a waterproof laminate that can be used in bathrooms.

[Brittbugs80]

Can I ask those who have Karndean, what its like for slipperiness? I originally wanted wood flooring in our kitchen and would love it to go through to the living room. The issue is my dd has mobility problems, and our old house had laminate (cheap stuff) and she found it very slippery

Ours has a texture to it and isn't slippy like laminate is. Obviously when it's wet I wouldn't recommend running on it.

[Babybluegiraffe]

Thank you so much for the link!

[ivykaty44]

I did dads entire down stairs with engineered oak and it's fine

Also did my dd room and spare room - again 3 years later it looks good

Now going to do lounge and dinning room as have decorated this year

I used wood and beyond and the level of oak means you can take it down if needed

Easier to refresh than carpet

[nocake]

We have engineered wood (walnut) in the hall. It was an expensive brand and fitted professionally but it looks amazing. If we could afford it we'd have it throughout the downstairs except for the kitchen and futility room. My in-laws have a cheaper engineered wood in their kitchen and after a few years it's looking a bit rubbish.

My parents have Amtico in their house and it is about as hard wearing as you can get. They've had it for years and it looks exactly the same as when it was installed.

[Mumtonoah5]

Babybluegiraffe, thank you. It's called camero, not sure if it's Amtico or Karndean. Each tile come individual so it took an age to fit but worth it. I'll add a link, we choose the Cambridge colour.

www.flooringsupplies.co.uk/vinyl/16976/polyflor_camaro_cambridge_parquet_2251_vinyl_flooring

[Babybluegiraffe]

Mumtonoah5 - that's a beautiful floor. Do you mind me asking what type/colour/design it is? Is it Amtico or Karndean?

[GoldenBlue]

We've put engineered oak in and it's great. Yes it does mark and scratch, but that just makes it look more like real wood, and differentiates it from laminate.

We chose a textured oak, hand scraped so it looks like it's been here for ever and divots don't matter.

If you want shiny and glassy smooth then it wouldn't bear up to pets and small children.

[livingthegoodlife]

We installed solid oak parquet after debating about engineered wood or kardean. It has scratched and marked but it just adds to its charm. It's gently weathering in. We can always get it resanded and stained if we want to. I think it is better than engineered wood for that reason. Plus think of all those houses with 1939s floors still looking beautiful 80+ years on.

[ILoveMillhousesDad]

We have solid oak the whole of the downstairs and it all flows and looks bloody gorgeous.

My husband laid it with the help of a good jigsaw thingymabob.

Had no issues with it so far.

It was expensive, but soooo worth it. We got it online. Much cheaper than in the shops

[Mumtonoah5]

We recently installed a wood effect vinyl tile and we really happy with it! Easy to clean too.

[MirrorTable]

We have the Howdens oak flooring and in disappointed in it, it looks cheaper than it is and a high quality laminate looks better.

BiL has some real wood flooring from B&Q that looks great, the edges are slightly bevelled and it looks really good.

[Oliversmumsarmy]

We have engineered oak throughout the house.

We got the bare wood and oiled it after it was laid. It means I can oil it if I need to sand any part and blend it in

[mimiholls]

We have engineered oak and its fab. Bear in mind you can't use solid wood with underfloor heating so it needs to be engineered. You need to look for a thick layer of oak topping (think ours is 8mm) so it doesnt ever wear through. Ours also has a lacquered finish rather than varnished so it is hard wearing. We have zero scratches or marks. We have had leaks and spills and there are no marks. Sorry I think vinyl always looks cheap.