Wood floor v carpet-experiences as about to change

[TipsyFairyHic]

I'm considering changing our lounge carpet for engineered wood (pale oak.)
I've had carpets for over 25 years and in lounge we have pale cream. It's lasted well (was expensive) but now has a single worn area in front of the sofa which looks grey but is worn (we've had it cleaned and no change) from DP's feet!

I like the cosiness of carpet but it is a bit of a nightmare. We have a shoes-off policy but it's harder when visitors come if they don't offer to take their shoes off.

Is there anything I need to consider if I have oak flooring fitted?

I'm just about to have engineered oak laid throughout my new bungalow. I can highly recommend it as we had it for 10 years in our previous house. It's easy to keep clean, I use Osmo Wash and Care on it weekly, any spills just wipe up. You might get a few dents but these can be rubbed out with wax. It needs re oiling every few years but you can do it yourself with the the Osmo products whuch are excellent. It's warm, but not as cosy as carpet but I just put rugs down where I want that. It always looked pristine in our last house and having lived with the previous occupants carpets for the last few months I can't wait to have wood floor again so I say go for it.

Thanks so much @Lovemydaxie
I've just come back from a supplier and I think it's going to be a 'no'!
They explained it needs re-oiling every 18 months, or re-varnishing.

But the biggest downside is the depth of the wood - around 17mm, plus underlay and plus (possibly) skimming the concrete floor to make it even.

This means it would stand 'proud' of the flooring in the hallway and create a 'step' between the two rooms.

I think the only way to do it is to have it throughout the house (as you have?) and not just in one room.

And we won't be doing that. The hallway is Amtico 'limestone' and too £££ to change.

Having always had engineered wood flooring we recently fitted luxury vinyl tile. OMG a game changer and I honestly don't think I'd ever fit wood again.

Edit..now realise you have this in hallway

It is very thick and we are doing the whole house so it's not a problem with adjacent rooms for us. What about wood effect Amtico? That would look really good.

We’ve got LVT - Karndean in an oak effect (spring oak). It’s pretty realistic and has worn really well. I’d imagine that would be the same depth as the amtico so maybe something to consider.

Another one for the experts here...

What's the difference between laminate (fake wood) and something like Amtico, in terms of appearance and wear?

Keep in mind if you get a different coloured carpet. It will be far less of a nightmare than your current one.

I personally don't like hard floors in the lounge, Rugs can be a trip hazard (& a nightmare if you or visitors have any mobility issues).

If you really want to change yi a hard floor I'd go with the same as you have in your hallway you

if you get carpet, if neither of you currently have any mobility issues you could get a small rug for in front of DP's seating position to protect the carpet (which you could lift if necessary if you have visitors with mobility issues)

Have you thought about bamboo?
We have just laid it throughout and it looks gorgeous. I think it was only 14mm deep so should not leave a step to the hallway.
It is supposed to be as longlasting as oak, but I can let you know about that in 15 years.
No oiling needed

We have had engineering wood flooring since 2013 (in a hallway, dining room, kitchen and bathroom) and it has never required oiling or re-varnishing.
We don't have children or dogs or elephants.

We clean it with a Bona-type of spray mop.

I'd go with carpet just because it's cosier. I always buy a carpet that's not a solid colour and they're more forgiving in terms of stains.

I have engineered wood in my hall. I like it but it doesn't half show the dust when the sun is shining.

Laminate is no where near as hard wearing as Amtico. We had that down for at least 10 years in our old house and it only came up due to renovation. It still looked perfect. It also survived a washing machine failure which our laminate definitely did not. We have similar in our new house and while it's starting to look a little tired its more than 20 years old. It's still very much down though, not lifting at all. I'm a fan just because of how hard wearing it is and warmer than tiles. It's also quite forgiving if you drop mugs or glasses less likely to break.

I have laminate throughout (I couldn't afford engineered wood) and much prefer it to carpet. It says looking good and despite being on a concrete floor isn't cold.