Flooring disaster - coir matting any good?

[MrsEricBana]

After several years of being stressed about small children, cats and visitors making mess on pale carpet that runs right through our ground floor from just inside front door to back door, I have ripped up to save sanity as surely life is too short, shouldn't be moaning at small children about carpet etc. However, while one area is niceish boards, another area is hardboard and concrete plus, to add insult to injury, there are loads of burglar alarm wires everywhere - aaaargh! DH wants to get alarm company to hide wires (expense) or do it himself (not got time), then repair, sand and seal floors himself then decide what to do with the board/concrete area. I agree in idea world but money and time not of the essence so would it be a total cop out to have nice practical dirt coloured (!) coir matting fitted and be done with it. Bit of a compromise but quick, not too expensive and, I am hoping, practical. Any thoughts please - is coir matting really practical or bad in dif ways? Thanks !

Stick laminate/wooden flooring over the top.

Thanks for speedy reply! Yes I think we'll do that in back area, just need to sort out spaghetti junction first somehow and I guess couldn't stick laminate over wires?

Don't use coir matting, it's impossible to clean properly, and gets slippery when worn too.

I think you can lay laminate over wires as long as it's a floating floor. You put a sort of foam stuff underneath.

Ah, so perhaps back to plan A then, and just accept that there's going to be cost and effort involved but better in end. Thanks!

If the wires are round the edge, you can put them in the expansion gap you have to leave round the edge of the floating floor. Or, you can cut a channel in the foam underlay for them.

If you go for laminate/wood, get the sort that looks like a single plank of wood, not the sort that looks like it's made up of several narrower ones stuck together. The single plank stuff looks infinitely better.

Where we need new flooring, wires are mainly at edge so could put in gap as you say. May need to go for reclaimed boards or new distressed/stained ones as is old house (to match in with ones want to sand) but presumably is same principle. Good tip about not getting joined boards. Just hope not too hard to hide wires under the boards we plan to sand. This has put me off coir matting at least - dh will be pleased as he thought that was just a quick fix that didn't really solve problem anyway. Thanks!

I wouldn't sand the existing boards at all, I'd lay the new floor throughout.

Seagrass is better / harder-wearing / less scratchy than coir.