Wood flooring - I had no idea it was so difficult. Please help.

[nkf]

I need to replace flooring in bedrooms and was looking at wood flooring. Which is expensive but there are lots of reductions but the reviews suggest that the stuff that is reasonably priced are not much cop. And what is parawood? And is bamboo okay? I like oak but the cheap oak (at Homebase for example) has been royally slated. I can't afford more than about £16 per square metre and I don't like laminate at all. What should I do?

I have bamboo in my kitchen (thanks to a tip from someone here) and absolutely love it. I have the natural strandwoven sort and it's beautiful and hardwearing and seems to be more or less scratch-resistant. All the companies who do it will send free samples.

Another vote for bamboo flooring. I have it thoughout the ground floor of our house and it looks beautiful. V hardwearing.

Have a look here www.ukflooringdirect.co.uk/

There engineered wood floors look good and a better price. Lots around £15.
They send you free samples so you can see how 'thick' the wood is.

Thank you everybody. I've done some more research and it looks to me as if the choice is between a) laminate, b) solid softwood floor ie bamboo or parawood or c) engineered wood floor. I've sent off for some samples.