Mrs Trellis Posted July 5, 2012 Share Posted July 5, 2012 I was thinking tiles for our next (30 year old) house, but OH says he doesn't want to get out of bed and step onto a cold floor. So he wants wood style laminate but I'd prefer real wood. He says laminate easier to fit. We did have quite a good laminate in last UK house and it looks fine after 4 years. Any thoughts on price/suitability of both? I prefer tiles because we have several pets and there are often accidents! At least wood looks OK if a bit dented and stains can be sanded out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
just john Posted July 5, 2012 Share Posted July 5, 2012 I'm impressed with laminate in the kitchen since it is relatively inexpensive and things bounce rather than breaking on tiles, modern laminates are pretty good at taking punishment and all kinds of spills mop up without problem; however they look fake and are colder than real wood, so for looks in the lounge and feet first in the morning on a bedroom floor it has to be real wood, modern finishes also pretty good at repelling stains; more expensive perhaps but real wood is just so lovely. [:)] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pickles Posted July 5, 2012 Share Posted July 5, 2012 [quote user="Mrs Trellis"]I was thinking tiles for our next (30 year old) house, but OH says he doesn't want to get out of bed and step onto a cold floor. So he wants wood style laminate but I'd prefer real wood. He says laminate easier to fit. We did have quite a good laminate in last UK house and it looks fine after 4 years. Any thoughts on price/suitability of both? I prefer tiles because we have several pets and there are often accidents! At least wood looks OK if a bit dented and stains can be sanded out.[/quote]We have had both wood veneer and laminate. The wood veneer was a light finish (probably birch) and looked very nice at first but it has since gone an orangey-yellow colour. It is much more easily damaged. The laminate has been very stable in colour, much more hardwearing, scratch and stain-resistant. It was also rather cheaper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russethouse Posted July 5, 2012 Share Posted July 5, 2012 We've got wood effect Karndean, not the least cold and easy to clean . It's fitted in 'planks' which can be replaced if need be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idun Posted July 5, 2012 Share Posted July 5, 2012 If I had the choice, I'd have tiles too. We had some laminate in one room in France and I hated it. So if I couldn't have tiles, I would have wood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powerdesal Posted July 6, 2012 Share Posted July 6, 2012 We have wood 'effect' laminate, laid in planks that clip together. looks like oak planking and even fooled a ''purist'' who visited and complimented the use of oak planking - he was shocked when informed that it was laminate. It's laid over a layer of insulating rubber sheet which improves temperature and is sound deadening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YCCMB Posted July 6, 2012 Share Posted July 6, 2012 Halfway between wood and laminate is "engineered" wood. We've got a bit of that in the UK and some of it has been down for as long as we've lived here: over 20 years now. Every so often, we sand and revarnish it. It still looks pretty good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idun Posted July 6, 2012 Share Posted July 6, 2012 Engineered wood is good. I know people with that and it looks great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Trellis Posted July 7, 2012 Author Share Posted July 7, 2012 Engineered wood sounds interesting. Do you know of a brand name and where we'd get it in France? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YCCMB Posted July 7, 2012 Share Posted July 7, 2012 Looks like it's known as "parquet flottant" and by the looks of things it's stocked more or less anywhere you'd get solid wood or laminate.[url]http://parquet.comprendrechoisir.com/comprendre/parquet_flottant_contrecolle[/url]What I would advise you to look out for is one where the top layer (the real wood) is as thick as possible. They do vary, and the thicker the top layer, obviously the better if you need in future to resand it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fromage Posted July 7, 2012 Share Posted July 7, 2012 Definitely wood. Looks great and feels good to bare feet. Scratches and ageing only add to the character. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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