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Property/DIY

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Original poster

Best floor for a play/family room

20 replies

Fiddledee · 15/02/2011 18:39

About to move into a house with a large play/family room 21ft by 12ft. I want to get rid of the carpet to put train sets on the floor and make it easy to clean up etc.. on the floor. Can't decide whether to put cheap laminate down until the kids are older (thery are 4 and 2) or else put down a real oak floor and then sand it every few years to get the felt tip marks off. Any recommendations. Not sure about Amtico just seems like lino to me although I think what I saw down was Kardean and not Amtico.

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ANTagony · 15/02/2011 18:49

I went for something like this in my last house foam floor tiles. They replaced a deep pile carpet that stopped the brio train tracks linking smoothly.

The big advantages being it was easily cleaned from splashes and crumbs, was very forgiving on falls and my old bones when creating giant tracks and could be used as a thick underlay when the kids got older to the wooden flooring I'd used elsewhere in the house. Its very easy to self install, all that's needed is a spare hour and a sharp knife. We moved two years after I put it down and the new people have kept it for the same practical reasons for their three lively little ones.

If you use real oak you could invest in a decent polish system that you repeat annually rather than contemplating re-sanding (we're talking serious dust)

barbarapym · 15/02/2011 18:49

Go for the oak in a hard wax oil finish. We have it everywhere downstairs and we've never had to re-sand any of the rooms, including the play room and the kitchen. If anything it seems to get better with age - and doing it twice is more hassle and more expensive in the long run. I don't like laminate or wood effect Amtico - it doesn't live up to the hype unless you really need something waterproof in a bathroom.

LadyBiscuit · 15/02/2011 18:53

Agree with barbarapym - every single mark came off the hard waxed oak floors I had laid in my last place - pen, marks from stuff being dragged about, even emulsion paint blobs!

noddyholder · 15/02/2011 19:09

Also agree with oak.The labour for the laminate will still be costly as it needs a fair bit of fiddling to get a good fit with it.So you may as well pay a decent carpenter once and then re so the surface in a few years

Original poster

Fiddledee · 15/02/2011 19:12

So glad you are saying real oak. Is the hard wax finish very slippery? is it cat proof - promised the kids some cats

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Anonymousbird · 15/02/2011 19:20

We are about to go with real oak too (shit it's expensive though), phew, this thread is a great comfort to me!!!!

Oh, and we have a dog.

Oak is indestructable, I hope!

LadyBiscuit · 15/02/2011 19:21

Nope, not very slippery and fine with cats. My cat has struggled much more since we've moved and have tiled floors!

CointreauVersial · 15/02/2011 19:24

How about a middle ground? You can get real wood floors (e.g. rubberwood or bamboo) that aren't a lot more pricy than laminate (look for sale offers at Homebase/B&Q) but much nicer-looking.

We put a rubberwood floor in our playroom - it was inexpensive, looks good, but won't need sanding/oiling.

onanightlikethis · 15/02/2011 19:24

we had granite, looked fab, hides dirt and is super hard wearing and shiny.

CointreauVersial · 15/02/2011 19:25

Granite floor? Sounds a bit cold and unforgiving if you are sat on the floor with your train-set.

Original poster

Fiddledee · 15/02/2011 19:42

bamboo is too soft I think, have it in a bathroom at the moment and I think looks good there. Is ruberwood hardwearing.

I want to go for oak - DH wants to go for laminate thinking the kids will destroy the nice oak floor. Granite in a 21ft room

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onanightlikethis · 15/02/2011 19:46

ours is about that size, we had it through in the kitchen and seamless into play room. we have a rug to sit on, but plenty of room to build trainsets etc.

onanightlikethis · 15/02/2011 19:46

obviosly we have sofas too!

CointreauVersial · 15/02/2011 22:16

The rubberwood seems to be holding up - it has only been down for two years, though. It doesn't seem any lass robust than the oak we had in our old house.

ErnestTheBavarian · 16/02/2011 11:35

we have underfloor heating and tiles

tomatoesontoast · 16/02/2011 13:16

why don't you go for wood and then put those mats on top - that's what we have and it's brilliant - protects the wood, easy to clean and protects the kids of they fall

mistressploppy · 16/02/2011 13:20

We have oak and the chap who laid it said the only thing to avoid chucking at it was curry powder! Stains like a bugger, apparently - has to be sanded out....

ErnestTheBavarian · 18/02/2011 06:45

if you?re talking about proper sanding and resurfacing, we were told you could do it a nax of 3 times, so don?t go planning on oak thinking you can sand it as much as you want.

We have oak in our bedrooms and it is lovely, but I wouldn't have it in my living room, dining room or play room.

Helzapoppin · 18/02/2011 09:39

We've got Jonkers oak floorboards, ordered and fitted from John Lewis. It is quite expensive (think it was about 5500, but ours is a massive room) and it's pretty easy to maintain. Looks lovely and our friend's still looks fantastic five years after fitting.

Original poster

Fiddledee · 18/02/2011 09:52

Helza - did that price include fitting it?

I would think that I would only ever sand the oak once the kid were older and had stopped destroying it. Hoping to live in the same house for 20 years so I do want something indestructible!

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