Wood effect floors. Can they be cheap?

[Newscastle]

Hi, just moved into new house with horrible carpet. I want to change it all out for wood floors. Is there an option that's doesn't cost a fortune? Unfortunately the boards under the carpet aren't in good condition so sanding and varnishing them is not an option. Are the lvt boards any good? Any good discounts around on that kind of thing? Or what are my alternatives pls?

Following as in a very similar situation

Wood laminate isn’t expensive but I don’t think it looks good at all myself and isn’t always that durable. I’ve sanded wooden floorboards which looked very unpromising and they’ve come up great - you can also get reclaimed floorboards to replace ones which are particularly damaged. So maybe don’t give up on that option yet…..

B&Q often have sales on their laminate and it can work out quite reasonable.

However having had laminate down in my house for about 4-5 years now it is not very durable. Several bits are swollen at the edges where liquid has been spelt and not wiped up right away (cups of tea, dog pee, dog sick, excess cleaning water etc etc)

If you want cheap and durable I would go for vinyl. Not click vinyl cos it's expensive but the old fashioned roll stuff. You can buy it in a wood effect. It will be cheaper than laminate and quicker to get fitted too. You can tear it if you move heavy furniture on it without lifting ie a fridge but apart from that it is pretty durable and waterproof.

Okay I might be calling it the wrong thing. I think I am talking about linoleum

Colours Vinyl rolls Light grey Wood effect Vinyl Sheet vinyl, 4m² | DIY at B&Q

Colours Vinyl rolls Honey Wood effect Vinyl Sheet vinyl, 4m² | DIY at B&Q

Have a look at quickstep laminate. Not crazy cheap but very DIYAble which helps hugely with costs. We had it down for years and save a flood which ruined it (insurance sorted) it did do ok!

Laminate is hugely variable in both looks and durability, and it will depend how well it's laid as well as the quality of the product. People often use the word to mean the most poundland version of flooring and so talk about it being low quality and looking bad, but it gives a wrong impression. "Engineered wood" is in the general category of laminates because the word just refers to the fact that it's layers of different materials put togethe. Laminates are good because they are consistent, resistant to expanding/shrinking, can be very durable, easy to care for. With engineered wood the top layer is real wood, with floors sold as "laminate" it's often a man-made material on the top, but how that top layer looks and performs varies hugely by product so it's something you really need to look around in person and get samples to judge what works for you on a balance between cost and finish.

LVT is definitely not the cheap option - partly because it is very sensitive to the quality of the base floor, so needs to be fitted by specialist, which you pay for. Thicker click-fit laminates are quite easy to DIY and get a good result, which can reduce cost significantly.

I had Evocore flooring fitted about 5 years ago. It still looks fab and is super easy to look after.

Engineered wood is cheap and more sturdy than the real thing. Cost of material same as labour.

We have sheet vinyl flooring from Tapi and it was pretty cheap. It looks like what it is, essentially lino printed to "look like" wood but is clearly a printed sheet. I like the look and am happy with it, but no one is going to think it’s actually wood if that matters to you.

It was about half the price of the big name LVT brands and about £10 per square metre cheaper than the click tiles. We personally weren't fussed about having anything really nice as this isn't our forever home and we have a toddler so didn't want to be worried about nice flooring getting scratched or stained.

Wood effect tiles are really nice and look quite convincing. They are durable and very easy to clean, although cold underfoot if you don't have underfloor heating