Engineered wood v LVT v laminate for kitchen

[MotherOfDragon20]

We’re renovating our home and are having a flooring dilemma. We have a large extension on the back with a large area (70m2) that is an open plan kitchen, dinning and livingroom/family space. We previously had an oiled hardwood in this area however a leak in the kitchen and 2 young children has meant that the floor is now a bit ruined. I love the look of wood but am keen to try and get something that is practical and hard wearing. I would like a varnished engineered wood but worry we would run into the same problems as before so debating a wood effect LVT or a good quality laminate. What do you have in your kitchen and how has it lasted?

I've got laminate that looks like tiles and comes in large sections. It withstood a flooded kitchen with no damage. The bamboo floor in the rest of the downstairs warped. Engineered wood wouldn't cope well with water. I've had it in the bedroom and it scratched and was easily damaged. If I were to replace my kitchen floor I'd go for Amtico.

Definitely not engineered oak. We stupidly chose it for our previous flat, and honestly you could drop a wooden spoon and it would dent. Get something more hard wearing

We have amtico and it’s great. Not indestructible but close. I wouldn’t touch engineered wood with a barge pole for a room with any water in.

I’ve had a look at some of the LVTs and maybe I’m being a bit snobby but it just seems very very expensive for basically a plastic imitation wood? Have never seen a full floor put down though so maybe I’m just not getting the hype?

We saw an entire floor of the oak style. It looked great.

If you have hardwood (not engineered), can't you just sand it and revarnish? Or have a joiner change a couple of the most damaged floorboards?

You could get a very cheap laminate floor if you don’t want to spend much but trust me, you would see a difference compared to LVT. If you want something practical and hard wearing that also looks good then it’s going to be pricey - good flooring is expensive! Even if it isn’t wood! The whole point is that it isn’t wood - it’s much more durable and hard wearing.

We did consider this however unfortunately the joiner who put it down didn’t do a very good job so the whole floor would need to be taken up, the floor levelled, put back down, sanded and varnished. And then I would worry about another leak and having future problems, we have a 2 year old and newborn so really hoping to get the floor done once for at least a few years, so looking for something easier to manage.

Not too worried about the cost as long as it’s worth it. Happy to spend the money if it is as good as everyone says, just looking for some opinions. I think I’ll head to a showroom this weekend and try and have a proper look at some options.

We've got engineered wood in our kitchen area and love it. It still looks good after 4 years. There are a few scratches but it's a floor and I like the fact it shows some use.

LVT looks fake. I have it in bathrooms but I can tell it’s fake. It does a job though. Laminate feels and looks awful (and water exposure means it gets ruined)

we went for kahrs engineered wood for downstairs everywhere. Including utility, kitchen and WC. 3 kids, 2 dogs and a cat. You can imagine the wear and tear (and water!). It’s bomb proof. We got a satin finish (not oiled).

If I moved would not hesitate to do it again. Really impressed.

LVT looks fake if you know what you're looking at. My DH had it in his flat and I didn't realise it was LVT. He mentioned it a couple of years later when we were planning to renovate our house. Now it seems obvious. It was softer and warmer to walk on bare foot compared to wood. It didn't creak like normal wood. I love it and would have it again in a heartbeat.

I'd say not laminate if you want it to last.

I have both engineered wood flooring and LVT. I'll say that the LVT really does seem to be bombproof. The stuff has been down years and still looks good. You can also really clean it which I like in kitchens and bathrooms. It's also relatively warm underfoot unlike tiles.

I’d choose engineered wood or tiles that look like wood.
I don’t like LVT.

We have engineered oak in the kitchen. As long as you get good quality and go for the lacquer rather than oiled finish then it’s fine. Ours has been down for 2 years, had things dropped on it, and had the cat haring round over it and it hasn’t shown any signs of damage. No issues with water - obviously you don’t leave it wet if there are spillages.

We went with LVT (Amtico) after originally wanting engineered wood. It's for a large area including kitchen/diner, hallway, loo and two office areas so we wanted something that could work across the lot.

Absolutely love the LVT. It feels and looks so much better than the laminate we had in our previous house. We have UFH but even when it's off, the LVT feels nice under foot.

We went for the mid-priced Amtico range which is slightly thicker.

This. Was just about to suggest wood-effect tiles which are an option you haven't mentioned

Had oiled oak in last house, which looked amazing but got damaged by someone dropping bleach on it and not drying it. Now have varnished oak in kitchen, which doesn’t look as nice but much more practical. Just put amtico in hallway and find it very hard underfoot. Going to have to get a rug to go over it. It just doesn’t have any give. But ours is layed on concrete base.

Love LVT
Warm
Not slippery when wet
Easy to care for
Soft when things drop
Looks as new years later
And most people are fooled into thinking it's the real thing

We are opting for lvt as I want hard wearing but not stone (had stone, was so cold)

2 doors down’s Karndean looks amazing after 10 years and she says it’s indestructible.

We’re gojng cork for the eco element (plus it’s cheap). You can get wood-look if you want.

I have laminate everywhere exceptt he kitchen and bathroom. One thing is that if you spill water on it it becomes very slippy.

The thing I forgot about LVT - it's much safer if it does get wet as not slippery. We found in previous houses with laminate or tiles in the kitchen any wet patch also became lethally slippery.