Best flooring?

masterwriter

What is the best type of floor covering for a new house? Want something that is easy to clean. Has anyone experience of the various kinds of laminate wood flooring or lino which has the look and colour of boards.

Thanks

PS Copied this from Accommodation and Property. Hope that is OK

ircoha

IMO good quality non glued laminate is the best for wear: kids: dogs, inlaws etc
My only choice is http://www.alloc.com/

I always put a tiled area inside each entrance door for mats.

masterwriter

ircoha wrote: »

IMO good quality non glued laminate is the best for wear: kids: dogs, inlaws etc
My only choice is http://www.alloc.com/

Thanks

I always put a tiled area inside each entrance door for mats.

How large a tiled area? just big enough for mats? Have you seen the magic carpet at Dunnes? Any opinion on that?

Redpunto

we have lino in our kitchen and bathrooms and everyone is convinced its tiles until they touch it. We got it mainly due to it being cheaper then tiles and the labour is so much cheaper and with two kids who fall occassionally it has probably saved us a couple of trips to a & e! there are loads of difference kinds and designs and depths of lino.

We have semisolid wood flooring in the hall and sitting room and then the same carpet everywhere else. OUr house was brand new so we were working with concrete floors.

Trying to decide the design for each room can be daunting but cost and availability has a huge influence. The place we went to promised us we'd get all our flooring within a week as we wanted to move in as soon as we got the keys. They came with the carpet when they said but we had to wait 4 weeks for the lino (it was coming from Italy!). And the labour fellas got in a snot when fitting the lino coz of course we had all our kitchen appliances in and they didnt want tohave to move them even though they were supposed to come before we got them in and the "manager" of the store had said it wouldnt be a problem.

masterwriter

Thanks for that Redpunto. I thought about leaving the stairs without covering but painting with Ronseal clear varnish Can anyone advise me if that would be a good idea

TequilaMockingBird

With regard to the stairs, although they can look great varnished, bear in mind the noise. A couple of kids clattering up strairs make alot of noise! If you are in terrace house, the neighbours probably wouldn't appreciate it!

I agree with the lino aswell, some of it is great these days, it is safer with kids aswell, as when they drop things (not only themselves!) they don't tend to shatter as easily. When they get a bit older, and funds are a bit healthier, you could tile.

There are so many expenses moving into a new house, I would concentrate on getting the best flooring for the high traffic areas, and make do with the rest till a later date.


EDIT - Sorry, you don't say in your OP whether you have kids at all!

Clink

Even if there's no kids it can be noisy! Varnished stairs look great are cheap and easier to clean but unless you want to be driven mad with the noise carpet is more practical.

masterwriter

sueme wrote: »

With regard to the stairs, although they can look great varnished, bear in mind the noise.

I just remembered don't they have to be sanded before varnishing?

I would concentrate on getting the best flooring for the high traffic areas, and make do with the rest till a later date.

Wouldn't the stairs be high traffic?

EDIT - Sorry, you don't say in your OP whether you have kids at all!

No problem. No kids
Thanks

TequilaMockingBird

masterwriter wrote: »

I just remembered don't they have to be sanded before varnishing?
Wouldn't the stairs be high traffic?
No problem. No kids
Thanks

I would give them a light sand, hoover and wash to make sure everything is smooth and clean beforehand.

Well high traffic in my house is the hallway, sitting room, and kitchen. I got a semi decent laminate for the hallway and sitting room and tiled the kitchen. On the stairs, I got a carpet I think around e11 per yard, with a good underlay. All are still perfect 3 years on. I put cheap carpet in the bedrooms, with no underlay and it shows now, for the extra few euro, the underlay would have made them last much longer.

The tiles for kitchen and bathrooms would have been pricey, but I got them at cost and laid them myself, so it worked out cheap - my back however will never be the same!

ClimateGirl

Have you considered bamboo or some more natural flooring products? Woodie's is selling bamboo now and it looks gorgeous in the display! It's much stronger than soft woods/laminate.

I've written up a big thing on "green" flooring options, if you're interested in learning more: http://greendiy.ie/wiki/projects/floors

genie

Does anyone know where I can buy cork floor tiles? I have been Googling for the past hour and HomeBase/Woodies etc don't seem to sell them. I can't find any on the various Tile retailers websites either.

Many thanks.