Flooring - real wood,engineered, laminate?

[nappyzonecantrunfortoffee]

Need florring for new room that leads to garden also to be continuous into kitchen, dining room and utility - now im confused as i like real wood look but then see enginerred, solid , laminate, wooden topped - arghhhh. Whats to avoid and whats hard wearign and not cost the earth? I like the look of oak and not the block effect we have on our current laminate which is now wrecked following a flood but thats about as far as i get. Any bargais to be had?

We've recently bought a house with oak floors throughout the ground floor...we're building an extension at the back, and want underfloor heating: you can't have solid wood over it, so we have to match engineered wood in that part. According to the experts, it'll look fine.

Obviously, engineered cheaper than solid, and nicer looking than laminate IMO.

Don't know about engineered but lived with solid oak for 5 years with dog & toddler, it damaged really easily. We now live in a house with decent quality laminate, although I thought I wouldn't like it I now think it's much more practical in a high traffic area.

We have a laminate down now and tbh apart from a bit of fading its lasted a good 10 years. Its that block look though which i dont like anymore. So enginerred is just as good but cheaper - is that the laminate with a real wood topping or is that a whole other avenue of wood effect flooring? I dont want grooves for dirt to get trapped in and it needs to be splash proof.

I have been looking at flooring for 2nd home that has horrible chipboard flooring so no original planks to sand and varnish.

Love the look of real oak but not the price. Love the price of laminate but swore I would never have it. However have seen some laminate that I really like. I actually thought it was real wood. Just a bit worried about the click-clack noise that laminate can sometimes make.

The fact that a few of you have mentioned that the oak marks easily is making the laminate even more appealing.

The other option I am cosidering is Karndean.

Don't have laminate-horrible, horrible stuff.
Engineered is good but imho can't beat solid stuff.

I have just had my third Kahrs floor fitted this very morning. The eldest floor is now 10 years old and has lasted pretty well. I polish it up in areas of wear every three months or so.

Kahrs floors have about half a centimetre of real wood on the top on top of something that looks like plywood. They fit together in rectangular pieces.

Have you thought of having bamboo? It is a totally renewable source and fairly cheap. It is stronger than most hardwoods and extremely difficult to dent. It is also very good for kitchens and bathrooms as it is very resistant to water.

We had engineered oak put down in our kitchen last year. It scratches easily. Am thinking of sanding it down and revarnishing or replacing with tiles, tbh, although it does look lovely.

yes i did wonder about bamboo for the eco nessof it - am going to google kahrs floor now. Is kahr engineered then - you know real wood on top of ply?

We had bamboo in our bathrooms in last house - loved it. Hard wearing, beautiful, eco-friendly, no damage from water spills...

we have laminate because:
Ok price
its the 2nd floor we have put down, came up easily, easy to put down
Hard wearing
easily cleaned
not too perminant when you want a change or it has served its purpose
its GREAT for knee skidding (apparently)
Its GREAT for motorway pile ups (toy cars abviously)
Its great for jigsaws
Its great for wellies and all other outdoors apparatus covered in mud
I am just not arsed if it gets mucky, rough treatment as it cleans up and is very easily replaced
Cant be bothered to be all precious about a kitchen floor with young kids.

we have laminate because:
Ok price
its the 2nd floor we have put down, came up easily, easy to put down
Hard wearing
easily cleaned
not too perminant when you want a change or it has served its purpose
its GREAT for knee skidding (apparently)
Its GREAT for motorway pile ups (toy cars abviously)
Its great for jigsaws
Its great for wellies and all other outdoors apparatus covered in mud
I am just not arsed if it gets mucky, rough treatment as it cleans up and is very easily replaced
Cant be bothered to be all precious about a kitchen floor with young kids.

ooops, sorry!