Solid Wood or Laminate?

[Mochudubh]

Just that really.

Were originally looking at laminate for our porch/hallway so I ordered some samples but also some solid wood ones just to have a look and they look so much better than the laminate, which looks a bit meh in comparison.

Only problem is that wood is 3x the cost so getting on for £500 for a 12m2 area when the laminate would be around £200. We could just about stretch to it but I'm wary of making an expensive mistake.

Are there any pros and cons we should thing about? We have a dog so is wood easily scratched for example?

Thanks for your thoughts.

I was just talking about this with my mother in law! She has wooden floors - they look nice but she said they are beyond scratched now (due to late cat doing hand brake turns frequently!) and she doesn't think it looks nice anymore. I have to admit - I've not noticed scratches but it's not like we've been over there regularly at the moment.

She was saying that brother in law has laminate flooring in wood style and she said in her opinion it really doesn't look that different to hers and it isn't scratched at all, even after a few years.

So, as I have a cat and two small children I'm going with laminate - I just think it would be so stressful to be worried about scratching or marks etc. We have a massive area to do so it will be expensive either way.

Thanks @niki26

I experimented by dropping a hammer on some of the samples and it just bounced of the laminate but did put a dent in the wood. I do like the look and feel of the wood though.Sigh.

Yes - I'm not surprised the wood looks better - that's why we've pretty much decided not to even look at the wood options so we can proceed with laminate in blissful ignorance!

But we are shortly going to the flooring showroom to look at the carpet and laminate flooring so I do wonder if we'll be able to avoid it!

We had engineered wood in our old house-Kahr’s-and it was bombproof with a big dog with long claws! Engineered wood is easier to fit and more stable than solid wood. It doesn’t expand and contract so much. We now have a solid wood floor and I find it fine but creaky-as it’s fitted onto the subfloor. I’d love our Kahn’s floor when we can afford to replace it. It was expensive, but felt beautiful,looked lovely and I got pleasure from looking at it which I never got from the laminate I had installed previously. I did it to save money but in fact, it was a waste of money as I ripped it out after a couple of years. I had the wood 9 years before I moved and it still looked great- a few dents but it added character and lovely and warm underfoot.

Wood is better for the environment than laminate and if looked after will last longer. Scratches and marks are what gives wood patina and character and something like oak gets harder with age. Get the best flooring you can afford.

Wood. Any scratches can be sanded away if you don't like them (I do). Laminate will always look pants (to me anyway).

I have wood. It hasn't worn well.
Next time I'll use good quality laminate.

I have both in different areas ( I have dogs). Laminate looks fine as long as it’s not directly against the solid wood.
Things to consider are ages of household/ any animals/ prams etc. Also, and probably more importantly, how long do you expect to live there ?
If it’s your forever home, maybe wood is the right answer. If not , go laminate.

We have gone for Polyflor in our huge area, and it has great reviews.

We've had Amtico and Karndean and preferred Karndean for it's look as it's much more realistic texture and grain and it's got a very thick tread in comparison. Also you can replace individual boards if needed. Ours is from the Van Gough range, worth a look. We've had it in two houses now and still love it x

I agree that wood floors look so much better than laminate. You can always tell it's laminate. We have engineered oak in a large kitchen diner, same as pp (Kahrs) and I've have it again.

We have bamboo is our hallway - solid, pretty much bombproof, been down 11 or 12 years and it still looks lovely. Unfortunately we tried to get the same stuff a few years ago, it had been discontinued and we got some from nother bamboo flooring company and it wasn't as good.

My parents have Karndean, really rate it for durability but I think it's another product (like laminate) that looks like wood but you immediately know it's not. It really depends what your priority is.

We have both and the wood looks way better. It has some scratches but its been down for 12 years so to be expected. Other people don't seem to notice but I can see them, the wood is quite dark which probably doesn't help. Also, it can creak when it's cold. I don't regret it and would get it again over laminate. I would say go for the best you can afford. Afterall it's going to be down a long time.

We’re halfway through having an engineered wood floor installed in our kitchen, utility, and hallway. Sourced from Original Timber. Looking good so far, but we decided to go with stone tiles in the entrance porch.

Leave room for a sunken in coconut mat which then doesn't move and protects the floor as grit is removed from shoes as people walk in.

Engineered wood is a fab compromise, more expensive than laminate but looks much better!! On the whole cheaper than solid wood, can be the same. But you can find cheaper. We love ours and it gets lots of positive comments. We have one that is slight old looking so scratches are not too obvious which is probably important in a high traffic area like a hallway.
This is ours for reference

What you need is engineered wood. All the benefits none of the cons

I wouldn’t have wood again, even engineered wood scratches sadly. Although for some that adds to the character it just stands out too much for me.