Choosing flooring - your help needed!

seaner

Hi All
I have just spent all of last Saturday scouring DIY shops/floor places/dumps for flooring for my new place.
Basically I'll be wanting to lay wooden floors in my kitchen and in the living area. Its roughly 30 M2 (not a huge place I know!) and I went to a few different places. In the floors place the guy said that he would recommend the laminate, and that this was the best flooring on the market today as far as he was concerned. Its the laminate that has the grooves in it, so it looks more realistic. We want to go with a dark flooring - maybe light walnut or a rustic oak. I don't like the maple looking floors > so the guy at the place said that his advice would be to go for the laminate (its a clicky one) and this will save me the space that solid or semi solid would take up under the floor? So i wouldn't have to remove doors etc.

Anyway I saw a "Connect V-Groove II" in Woodies DIY - think it was rustic oak, we worked out we'd need 16 packs and each pack costed €57.89 - so it will cost 926 in total - does this sound reasonable?

Do you think this laminate flooring is any use? It looks lovely down, but id love if someone whose maybe purchased this could let me know? Of if someone whose purchased something similar would be able to advise me?

seaner

bump?

misty floyd

That sounds really expensive for laminate flooring. I got solid oak for €24 sqm in tubs n tiles. You'd be mad to go for laminate over semi or solid at that price imo. Mind you I'm no expert but I just don't like that fake look of laminate. I don't like the sound of that sales guy telling you laminate is the best flooring in the market today. I don't know what is the best on the market but its certainly not laminate oak! Are you sure its laminate?

Mellor

Laminates has its advantages, cost being one. But going too cheap will result in a laminate that wears quickly

Laminate is good in terms or ease of installation and durability (sort of). They are hard wearing, but once that are damaged they are no good.
Solids get marked easily (high-heels), but these can be repaired.

Qwerty?

Prefinished solid and semi solid walnut are terrible for showing every little scratch, so if you want walnut you probably should go laminate if you are happy with the finish/effect of them.

Just make sure at €24/m2 thats its a high trafific one. There are cheap ones for around 7-8 euro designed for low traffic areas.

€24 does sound dear to me, considering you can get semi solid/solid for not much more? also as for the sales pitch about doors not needing taking off and planing, that's not a reason not to go for solid. I'd always take the door off to make working around it easier, and generally you find you will need to plane a little off it anyways.

magicbastarder

i've heard that irwin's in castleblaney are the cheapest in the country for flooring - this was borne out when they quoted me €17 per sq yard for tavern grade solid oak.

joemc99

I'd defo go for the solid floor, got 90mm planks from that place in renelagh for 30sqr mtr.....got it glued down too, great fell under foot. Very durable too, cna can be resanded and finished after 5 years to look brand new again. When I walk on a laminate floor now, I think it feels very cheap.

dools

We got semi-solid Maple from here http://www.woodworkers.ie/offer.htm. We found them very reasonable fro flooring. Try also Mulveys in Ranelagh http://www.mulveys.com/ as they are very competitive for solid and semi-solid flooring. Personally, I would recommend semi-solid flooring. However, any type of dark wood will show up every scratch and mark.

We got the rustic maple which has different colourings running throughout and different grains which disguises any marks

dools