Is laminate vile? Your thoughts please.

[Fillyjonk]

oh we are talking IKEA crappola laminate btw cos thats all I can afford

I have the most manky, vile carpets in the whole world and am now prepared to remortgage my firstborn to get rid of them.

Right I think its hideous but less so than cream coloured carpets which have hosted drunken parties and 2 toilet training toddlers.

But it has that b&q chic feel

aaargh.

Help.

I am not keen on laminate and I have it in several rooms. Would much rather have solid oak parquet, but can't afford it. Screwfix do a nice oak effect one with actual grooves between panels which does look more like wood floor (have this in front room in oak)

B&Q do laminate that doesn't look like wood, looks like tiles.

The first thing I noticed when I got laminate was how much dirt must have been lurking in my carpets before. So wouldn't have carpets downstairs again.

As for floorboards, remember that unless you seal up the gaps in between they can be a very very cold choice as the air comes up through the gaps in between. I read somewhere that you can seal the gaps with the dust from sanding them or use a wood substitute.

we have resolved the situation somewhat

we will sand, BUT

we will also invest in a rather lovely huge wool rug (IKEA but nice)

Total cost of all this will be around £300, so still cheaper than laminate.

Oooh and I love the rug

Oh and advice please-have discovered that some eegit has cleverly painted the frigging floarboards. Now obviously will do a lead test and if its lead will get someone in to strip it professionally. Assuming its not-can I sand as normal?

Have just asked DH and he said yes you can sand, if it's lead based, as long as the person doing the sanding is masked, windows open, door to that room sealed off etc, no probs.

have been reading this old thread

what did you do in the end Fillyjonk?