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Original poster

Quality Real wood floor vs karndean

25 replies

Goodmum1234 · 21/09/2019 13:29

Your experiences please.
Cost?
Quality?
Keeping clean?
Wear and tear?
Cannot have underfloor heating.
Thank you, struggling with this for whole of downstairs except kitchen.

OP posts:
JoJoSM2 · 21/09/2019 13:52

We’ve gor real wood as it’s the real deal. However, from a practical point of view Karndean would be better. I’d have it if I could find any that didn’t look plastic-y.

Original poster
Goodmum1234 · 21/09/2019 14:22

Thanks jojo. What are your practical issues with real
Wood?

OP posts:
soulrunner · 21/09/2019 14:33

We have kardean and I love it. Easy to clean ( can mop) and we have underfloor heating which is amazing.

JoJoSM2 · 21/09/2019 15:14

We’ve got oak floors in the formal sitting and dining rooms. They’re low traffic areas so it’s been ok but there are some big pots with plants and those leaking moisture has caused permanent staining (the pots don’t have holes just the moisture that got into the pot itself or sth).
In the last house we had sanded floorboards in most of the downstairs and they suffered quickly in the kitchen and the hallway as they were walked on daily.
You also need to use special products for wooden floors. I’ve had some un-clever cleaners that used the wrong detergent.
I don’t think you can get too much wrong with vinyl.

Digestive28 · 21/09/2019 15:19

We have kardean and love it. You just can’t ruin it in the same way as wood. So guess depends on your lifestyle

TreeCalm · 21/09/2019 15:21

We have LVT and it’s amazing. Can’t tell it’s not wood and it’s comfortable and not cold to walk on. Super easy to mop and doesn’t warp like wood or laminate. Which I hate as it’s orange and shiny and slippy usually. This was a third of the price of real wood

Africa2go · 21/09/2019 15:27

I havent had Karndean but my parents have it. I have real wood (oak) floors throughout the downstairs including large kitchen diner.

Parents love Karndean as they dont have to be precious about it with grandchildren - pushing trucks around, racing toy cars, not overly worried about spills etc. I dont have to be massively careful but we dont have little ones anymore, dont tend to wear shoes inside, spills are wiped up straightaway etc. Its been down 3 years and still looks fab.

The oak cost more than the Karndean but probably wont last as long. For me however, the look of the oak is so much more natural than the Karndean.

BettyBooJustDoinTheDoo · 21/09/2019 15:30

You can’t beat the look of the real deal, unfortunately though the pay back is it is often easily damaged and can be hard to maintain if high traffic area, however real wood can get better with age and the knocks and bumps can add to the character, many people pay a fortune for reclaimed wood flooring and it can generally be restored to its former glory. I can see the practicalities of LVT but I’m not keen on pretend wood myself.

BillywilliamV · 21/09/2019 15:32

Love our Karndean, dread to think what my teenagers would have done with a real wood floor

Metempsychosis · 21/09/2019 15:34

How much does wood flooring cost? Thinking about this for myself for ground floor (except kitchen) but have no idea whatsoever about what budget we’d need.

FastAway · 21/09/2019 15:34

I hated pretend wood but was eventually talked into Karndean in the hall, kitchen and dining area. I absolutely hate tiles and polished concrete didn’t seem to fit with the rest of the house which is 30s with lots of 30s features, so I gave in and we have it. It looks great actually and is so low maintenance and I find it very easy to clean unlike the sanded floorboards we use to have.

wonkylegs · 21/09/2019 16:02

We inherited kardean from previous owners in the conservatory and it's fine but I don't love it. Can't afford to replace it and it's not offensive so it's staying for now. Still looks like 'fake' to me especially against the real wood furniture.
We had oak floors throughout our downstairs in our old house except the kitchen and I wasn't precious about them but I suspect it depends on the finish ours was more rustic so living with small kids just added to the character. We will be putting real wood in the dining room and hall when we have some spare cash.

Original poster
Goodmum1234 · 21/09/2019 16:04

Thanks all,

Price wise for 100m sq inc fitting was quoted 5k for top range karndean so £50 per sq m.

The only thing I am
Worried about is that sometimes a screed is needed underneath or plywood? Type base lying. My friend has this wood base and so cannot mop karndean!!?? Only hand wash it. That would be an impossible job for me I’m afraid.

Anyone else had this issue?

OP posts:
Localher0 · 21/09/2019 16:16

Isn't the one that goes over plywood called loose lay? I don't think you have to have that if your preference is one of the range which goes on to screed.

Original poster
Goodmum1234 · 23/09/2019 18:25

Thank you, yes.

Has anyone else had a screed, then karndean, enabling them to mop?

OP posts:
Thelaughinggnome123 · 23/09/2019 18:32

I've got screed and karndean, it's easy to care for and I can mop as much as I want. However I wish I'd had wood as it would look nicer.

HugTrees · 23/09/2019 23:00

Screed and moduleo LVT here. No plyboard, can mop just not steam mop as it would melt the glue. Also no beading/scotia with the glue down as it’s edge to edge and no expansion like laminate.

Bunnyfuller · 23/09/2019 23:04

Engineered wood for us. Several carpenters warned us off real wood for the lack of durability and maintenance needed.

WeeM · 23/09/2019 23:08

We had screed and karndean put down, I love it. Dead easy to look after. It does pick up a few scratches but nothing obvious, and I really should treat it with the stuff we bought for it...too lazy though!

WeeM · 23/09/2019 23:08

And yes the no beading was a winner for me as I’m not keen on that.

IncrediblySadToo · 23/09/2019 23:16

Which is best for steam mopping?

I need to replace the entrance way & kitchen floors.

I’m not giving up my steam mop!

Sickoffamilydrama · 23/09/2019 23:18

We have LVT a click lock one, is really hard wearing and doesn't look bad some people have thought it real as has wood grain in it although I don't think it does.

We've had things like the washing machine have a small leak and that we didn't notice for a few days and once it had dried there want a mark on it.

I'd you do go for LVT I'd recommend you get a few samples we tested a few by scratching them and soaking them in water just so at knew we were getting a hard wearing floor. Some scratched more badly than others.

Sickoffamilydrama · 23/09/2019 23:19

Ignore the typos 🤦‍♀️

Countrylifeornot · 23/09/2019 23:25

I've got 100m2 of LVT downstairs, I love it!! We had the screeding option as its practically bomb proof, comes with a 25 year guarantee (Polyfloor).
It's wood effect but doesn't look like real wood, but as we're in a 70s house that was the look I wanted IYSWIM.
I'd say get lots of samples, visit lots of retailers, but I'd definitely recommend it.

LazyFace · 24/09/2019 18:27

We just had the cheapest range of Karndean installed. I don't like it. It looks like lino and it's very slippy.
We have engineered wood downstairs, everybody compliments on that and it's not slippery.

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