Flooring help. Getting desperate!!!

[PollyPolo]

Hi,

I have had an extension built, so we have a large kitchen diner area. All great but I am really struggling with flooring.

With two young children, and dogs it needs to be robust and I am after a wood look.

I have looked at Amtico, I have samples coming out of my ears, it looks great in some light but when the sun hits it, it looks like shiny plastic.

I'm now at a loss. I have been advised against engineered wood as it will just get ruined.

Does anyone know of a product that looks as close to wood as possible, but without the shine?

Thanks

@SheenMcQueen

Lacquered is harder wearing than oiled.

@nothingcanhurtmewithmyeyesshut

Depending on the thickness of the real wood layer, you can sand engineered wood a few times.

No staining on the bamboo after 24 hours testing of:
EV olive oil
Curry paste
Tomato purée
Lemon juice
Vinegar
Red wine

@nothingcanhurtmewithmyeyesshut thanks. I have seen the most beautiful oak parquet floor, it's quite pale. It's engineer's wood. But I am a little concerned about it's robustness.

@hasadigaEebowai Thanks, I have found the same. It seems really tough. I would like to see it on a sample board now, I find the little samples helpful but the bigger boards would help me make a decision.

Well the engineered wood floor I loved came to 15k, so compared to the 5k for Amtico, looks like that isn't an option.

One thing I have noticed with the LVF, that when I see something I am interested in, then I look further and discover it's discontinued. That is a slight worry, if I need some in the future chances are I won't be able to get it.

Anyway I have one more wood quote coming and still looking at LVT.

With engineered wood is there a particular brands that are good? I keep seeing Karhs popping up when I look for wood floors.

I am waking up in the night thinking about floors.

I had a reasonable quote for this engineered wood

www.tedtodd.co.uk/product/petworth/

My OH isn't enthused, he thinks it will be ruined (sigh).

The only thing that remotely looks like wood is laminate. I went to the FlooringSuperstore, and some were ok.

The bamboo is another option but nobody sells it apart from online, so I can't see it on a board, only small samples. Feels a rather expensive investment to get wrong in a rather big space.

@Ismellphantoms did you just dive in with your bamboo? I don't suppose you have any photos? If it was a small space I would take the chance, but with it being 65m2, I'm just not sure.

I'm boring myself now with the flooring. I seem to know more than the people in the stores as I'm look so much.

I'm on my second time round with bamboo. I wanted it again in my new house. It's very hard wearing. No marks from stiletto heels which wrecked a newly laid oak floor.

@Iwantcauliflowercheese That's really lovely, thanks for sharing.

I think I will buy a pack and then see how it looks.

I have bit of a bamboo theme going on outside, just purchased a few 11ft high bamboo plants.

I had some free samples from the bamboo company and some from Woodpecker. Woodpecker is almost double the price, I can't see a difference in the product.

I know exactly what you mean about the amtico looking shiny in the sun. We’ve just had amtico laid, having spent weeks choosing one that didn’t look like a reflective mirror once the sun shone in it. But it’s been down a couple of weeks now, so we’ve seen it in different lights. It doesn’t glisten at all in the sun. It really depends on which one you choose. Let me know if you’re after a dark wood look, as I would be able to direct you to the one we chose. I think it’s brushed oak (it’s part of the signature range) but I may be wrong.

We’re having karndean flooring put down this week. Very outing for friends who know me but here’s a picture. In real life it looks just like wood - more than I expected.

We have lvt flooring and great with the dog and kids but yes it doesn't look like real wood at all but that wasn't look we wanted so was fine
My dad has engineered wood and out dog is there a lot and hasn't damaged it all

That looks gorgeous motherofdragons. What’s it called?

Pale limed oak from the knightstone range. It feels like wood under foot. Only went down today to replace the karndean that was down before that was 18 years old with life left in it if we hadn’t had a leak in the cloakroom. We took the opportunity to replace all the flooring as it was quite dark and the lighter shade is much more “us”.

@m0therofdragons That looks really nice.

I saw something similar today and was given a sample. It's by a company called Project who do some nice LVF.

I think I'm going to have to bite the bullet this week and make a decision.

@PollyPolo www.karndean.com/en-gb/floors/designflooring-ranges/knight-tile

Karndean is great. The parquet version is lovely.

I have an oak effect in my hall.

@motherofdragons what is the herringbone one as I'm looking at that for my extension?

@m0therofdragons ah I see pale limes oak I think I have a sample of that but not sure if same grade - will check looks great!

@thatonehasalittlecar Thanks, that sounds good, in what room do you have your engineered wood? Also do you know what brand it is.

There are so many, some ultra expensive.

Also I have seen this from Woodpecker floors, who have a great reputation from what I can tell.

woodpeckerflooring.co.uk/product-category/flooring/stratex/lynton/

It states "Our ground-breaking new Lynton range combines the beauty of mature European oak with the impressive stability of our unique Stratex technology. With a real wood top layer and built-in underlay, this innovative range offers the beauty of real wood with the practicality of incredibly strong and stable, dent-resistant boards."

I have ordered a sample of this.

@PollyPolo

We have it throughout the downstairs, including the kitchen. I do have a runner along the hob to protect from oil splashes but I’m not sure it’s necessary- just something my parents had when I was young, so probably a hangover from then!

We have Kahrs, which is an established brand, but has ranges in various price brackets. I bought from a chain, but actually ran out at one point and had to order more in; the place I bought from was out, so Kahrs recommended a place in Scotland that not only had stock, but was also a bit cheaper - no problem with delivery within a few days. Orchard Timber or something similar. If I was doing it again, I’d go straight to them.

Underlay is very cheap so I wouldn’t be swayed by having it included - I would look for the best wood for me.

My parents have solid wood and have had it sanded 2 or 3 times in my lifetime - plenty of animals and kids running about - so any engineered wood with enough of a top layer to do that should last you.

If you’re having it fitted, have you tried a local specialist company to supply and fit? They definitely got better deals than I could find.

The other thing to remember is that it isn’t that hard to replace a damaged board, so if a catastrophe happens, it can be fixed.

@thatonehasalittlecar Thank you. I was looking at Kahrs and was thinking of a distressed look as apparently it is better at disguising any scratches.

I have been quoted on Ted Todd and woodpecker which seem much more expensive than Kahrs. They seem to be around £70.00 and upwards to 120 per m2 whereas Kahrs in some store ranges from £30.00 a m2 up to £70.00

Two floor fitters have said I don't need underlay with straight forward engineered planks, unless I go with Herringbone, then it needs ply.

I normally avoid the latest trends, so happy with just planks. If I had LVT then it would ne herringbone as it looks more wood like.

Ideally I would source the floor myself and get someone to fit it.

I would not recommend laying anything without underlay - are you sure the fitters didn’t mean you don’t need a subfloor preparation? As long as your floor is level, you don’t necessarily need ply, but you will need an insulation layer, which is called ‘underlay’. This helps with deadening sound and also makes it warmer underfoot. It also has a waterproof barrier on one side, which protects the wood from moisture.

The Kahrs we laid definitely needs an underlay, and I’d be very surprised if any others didn’t require it - it would invalidate the warranty to lay without.

Planks don’t need as level a floor because they themselves are large enough to account for a bit of difference in height. Something like herringbone or other parquet does require ply or similar to make the floor as level as possible - or it will end up very wonky.

Finally I have come to a decision, well I know what I want. I have opted for engineered wood after a very helpful fitter came for a visit.

I was worried about engineered wood and still am slightly, but I the answer to the questions about the robustness of engineered wood, clearly is about what type you have.

I am going to for a distressed brushed look, oiled natural oak, probably Kahrs. Easier to repair if need be, with a 3 or 4mm layer of wood.

I just need to go out now and find the right one.

We have oiled Oak engineered wood with underlay. Had it for about 5-6 years. Very hard wearing with kiddos. All the builders recommend it over natural wood.

That is EXACTLY what we want. Brushed, distressed and oiled. I concluded that although lacquered is harder wearing upfront it is much harder to patch fix than oiled. Please please do let me know how you get on and wbat you end up with.

The stuff that I love comes from a place in the Scottish Highlands. My quote for supply only is 7k which I don't think we'll be able to stretch to anyway by that point but a girl can dream. That was without any underlay and I think it was glued instead of floating which Im not 100% sure about.

Are you fitting soon? We won't be until August at the earliest.

@theonlywayisup33

We have engineered wood. It looks great - 2 young kids running around all over it. No shine whatsoever.

That’s what we’re going for, oiled not lacquered, glad it’s ok with kids as we have on on the way and I can’t see anything else I like!

So finally my floor is fitted in two weeks, we went with Ted Todd, engineered wood, Sugarcane. Managed to find some good deals sourcing it myself.

I noticed @Rosita had mentioned the same one on a post from a couple of years ago. Much cheaper than getting it from a flooring shop, they have quite a high markup it seems.

It's quite rustic, but not overly, as I didn't want it to look perfect, may as well start with how it will end up. :)

I can now throw all my LVP samples in the bin.