Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Property/DIY

Join our Property forum for renovation, DIY, and house selling advice.

Original poster

Engineered oak vs laminate -can you tell the difference?

21 replies

UnrequitedSkink · 27/08/2010 18:32

Am currently in the market for a new living room and hall floor. We've got yucky cheap pine flavoured laminate left by the previous owners at the moment, and I swore I'd never have it again. BUT I've just been to Habitat (big 20% off sale this weekend btw) and had a look at what they've got and I really couldn't see much difference between the two. Obviously in an ideal world I'd be having real wood flooring, but this isn't my 'forever' house, we wouldn't get the money back when we sell, and all I really want is for it to look nice.

So, come on - can you tell laminate at a hundred paces? Should I steer clear? Honest opinions please.

Ta.

OP posts:
Original poster
UnrequitedSkink · 27/08/2010 19:01

NB - when I say 'between the two' I mean between their wood effect laminate and the engineered oak...

OP posts:
FloraFinching · 27/08/2010 19:10

we've got a decent laminate - balterio. we looked at engineered wood, as a solid wood flooring would have apparently been very hard to fit on our rather uneven floors. But looking at the finish we were surprised to find that we preferred the laminate.

A fair few of our guests have mistaken it for wood. Although they might just have been being polite.

nappyzoneloveschinesefood · 27/08/2010 19:20

We have a tough loc b and w laminate right through our kitchen/ diner and living room - we went with it in end based and cost and because i couldnt tell to much different plus also my sil got engineered wood and it really shrunk and she has nice gaps round the edges now and that would have made me cry.

nappyzoneloveschinesefood · 27/08/2010 19:24

sorry i mean b and q.

wildstrawberryplace · 27/08/2010 19:35

Um, I have a Kars engineered oak floor in my kitchen/dining room which was hideously expensive (well expensive to us anyway) and it looked fabulous - really smooth contemporary wide boards etc - until DS arrived and now it is covered in dinks and dents from cars, bashing, smashing, playing etc and it looks ahem - "rustic". Despite being sealed and treated with some ultra protective coating. It just can't take a beating from the kids.

Given that this is not my "forever" home, had I my time again I'd plump for one of the quality laminates. More hardwearing.

Original poster
UnrequitedSkink · 27/08/2010 21:08

Thanks for that - DH has got it into his head that wood will be warmer somehow - something to do with being more insulating? Anyone know if he's right?

OP posts:
wildstrawberryplace · 27/08/2010 21:43

Wood may be warmer to the touch under foot, but I really doubt if it is going to make any difference to your heating bills!

MollysChambers · 27/08/2010 21:48

Wood is warmer underfoot definitely. I would always go for wood personally.

jayne10b · 27/08/2010 22:16

Not sure what your budget is but Wickes have a sale on at the moment for their engineered wood floors. We have already laid the oak version in one room and plan to do the rest of the downstairs too. It is available for just over £20 psqm. We were delighted with the look of it - it is really classy for a moderate price.

IMHO the cheap laminates look absoutely awful, and once you start looking at the mid range ones, a step up to £20 psqm isn't very big, so personally I would go for the engineered wood.

Bear in mind also, that unless you plan to lay yourselves, the cost of putting it down will be the same for both.

Original poster
UnrequitedSkink · 27/08/2010 23:25

Oooh! Thanks for the info - the Habitat laminates were minimum £24 per sqm so that's very good to know! :)

OP posts:
brimfull · 27/08/2010 23:31

we have engineered wood
looks better than laminate imo - but I would sya that Grin
you can also sand it 3 times I think
ours is a bit dented in places but that doesn't detract from the look, make sit look better

def get one with lots and lots of knots in it-fab for hiding the dirt

Original poster
UnrequitedSkink · 27/08/2010 23:36

Jayne, reading the reviews it seems that a lot of people found the wood difficult to slot together - was that your experience? Actually, I'm liking the look of the bamboo a lot but apparently it scratches very easily...

OP posts:
Original poster
UnrequitedSkink · 27/08/2010 23:37

ggirl - yeah, that was the plan Wink

OP posts:
Housemum · 28/08/2010 01:41

We have engineered wood, it does have dinks from dropped toys etc but looks fine. Looks better than cheap laminate imo. The bamboo does mark easily, our neighbours have it, hers has dents from where she walked in and forgot to take her high heels off as the phone was ringing - oops!

Quattrocento · 28/08/2010 01:46

Most people do not have living rooms that are more than 100 paces.

Even at a 100 paces, I reckon I could spot a laminate. Close up (like walking on it) it's a dead giveaway. It's tempting but don't do it.

Nettiespagetti · 28/08/2010 02:10

I remember the cheap pine laminate they use to do when it first came out and didn't like it. I'm sure it must have come on tons and I wonder if my problems is more that I don't like pine.

We have engineered oak in our living room and almost 4 years down line I still like the look which is just as well as we spent a fortune on it and had it fitted professionally. I love it, yes there are dents and marks and the odd pen/crayon but marks clean off and if it gets too bad we can sand it and reoil it and it will look good as new again.

Oops I have gone on .Blush

TDiddy · 28/08/2010 07:35

Proper (sandable) engineered wood can be give you the best of both worlds. we used to have Kahrs.

jayne10b · 28/08/2010 20:02

Dear Unrequited Skink

I too read the reviews which said it was hard to slot together. To be fair, our builder fitted it and he said it was easy so we never had any issues whatsoever, and the fitting is perfect.

NomDePlume · 28/08/2010 20:23

'Wood effect' always looks naff, imo. Even the expensive stuff.

Engineered is a MUCH better choice. Looks like solid wood (but is often cheaper, easier to fit and can be used with underfloor heating).

TDiddy · 29/08/2010 07:15

Yes, engineered wood is more comparable o solid wood. Khars and Junters look good. Installed the former in our old house.

TDaDa · 29/08/2010 07:16

Yes, engineered wood is more comparable o solid wood. Khars and Junters look good. Installed the former in our old house.

New posts on this thread. Refresh page
Swipe left for the next trending thread