A white oak wood floor;need your advice?!

Arequipa

Hi! I hope you are well! I currently have 2 downstairs sitting rooms, with sanded and varnished original floorboards. These have become very worn, so I plan to get white oak floor boards,skirting boards and doors fitted to these two rooms.
I plan on getting a good job done which will last me a decent period of time with little maintenance.

I am getting a quote for solid and semi solid floors.
Which would you recommend in terms of looks, cost and durability?
I share the house with two others & we look after the place very well!

I would appreciate all & any advice which you can provide!

Arequipa.

toshy321

Being in the trade myself be careful if your buying a solid floor this can be alot less durable than an ordinary laminate floor or even semi solid. In my experience a good laminate floor 8-10mm can be more durable than an 18mm oak floor. Have you ever seen an oak floor high gloss finish after taking the brunt of high heels they destroy them. To be honest I personaly would go for engineered semi solid floor and a darkish durable one at that these are usually 12-16mm. What are you laying floors on ply or concrete semi solid dont need to nailed neway. I'm carpenter myself if your newhere near me in meath pm me if you want a price on the work you want done I Do floors,doors,skirting etc cheers.

Arequipa

Hey Toshy! Thanks for the reply. The guy I'm getting the quote from recommended semi-solid oak. He said they look 99% as good & are very durable,cheaper & allow for expansion & contraction with heat-cold etc?

I currently have an original,varnished floorboard in both rooms, so the new floor will be going on top.

Do you recommend semi-solid in these circumstances(I live with 2 ladies?!!)

Thank u!

toshy321

I'd go for the semi solid you would never be able to tell it wasn't solid and it looks just as well just be careful of the particular semi solid floor your choosing is good and durable have seen plenty of instances where solid floors have been taken up due to wear such as marks scratches etc other than that you shud be fine also be sure to leave floor aclimatise to room temperature for a wk or so or you could have trouble.

One shot on kill

i my experiance semi solid will make just as easy

and there is enough in the price to justify it

i can get my hands on a chinesse or its very durable and it white oak solid of coarse

if you were in the vacinity of me id like to give you a qoute and samples and i promise you wouldnt be disapointted

no harm in another opion food for tought like

Hydro 69.

Arequipa wrote: »

Hi! I hope you are well! I currently have 2 downstairs sitting rooms, with sanded and varnished original floorboards. These have become very worn, so I plan to get white oak floor boards,skirting boards and doors fitted to these two rooms.
I plan on getting a good job done which will last me a decent period of time with little maintenance.

I am getting a quote for solid and semi solid floors.
Which would you recommend in terms of looks, cost and durability?
I share the house with two others & we look after the place very well!

I would appreciate all & any advice which you can provide!

Arequipa.

22mm engineered semi solid is the one to go for. I think it has a 7mm layer of oak on the top so that way down the road if you want to sand it and freshen it up you have the debth to do so. Dont put down that three strip semi solid crap about 15mm thick or you will be sorry. With regards to marks and dammage the fact is that if you buy wood flooring then you buy marks and you may accept that. Another option would be to buy the engineered oak but with a distressed look, which means it has already got marks. It looks authentic. Ive layed it with whitewashed markings on it and with smoked oiled finish. The sky is the limit. There are loads of options. There are a crowd in Castleblaney in county Monaghan that have one of the best selections in the country. They put a number of Artic loads into the new O2 in Dublin. I layed some of it there. Another thing not to forget is that when you lay the new floor on the existing one it means that the new floor will be higher than the one the other side of the door, if you get me. For example out in the hall. You will have to alter a saddle board to suit or a feathered egde will have to be made up from solid oak.
this means that the doors will probably have to be cut down to suit the new height so be sure that you get somone that knows his jigsaw from his router. By the way qualified cabinet maker joiner hear with full workshop at you service. I might as well throw my hat into the ring for a quote as well. No job too big or too small Profesionalism and experience guranteed. Best of luck.

1chippy

I agree with hydro on the 22mm. costs a bit extra but a far better floor even sounds better to walk on. The crowd in blaney are Irwins. they have a brilliant range of flooring especially in various grades of oak. murdoks in newry do doors at a pretty good rate.

paddy147

22mm wide plank,beveled semi solid/engineered white oak flooring in my living room

My architect specified semi solid/engineered as its hard wearing,ideal for high usage areas and can can take serious abuse and load bearing weight (heavy furniture and weights) and is not prone to sinking,warping and movement like sold oak flooring.

Bought here in Dublin for not alot of euros.

Hydro 69.

Your on the ball Chippy, spot on. I bought stuff through Murdocks also. There are a lot of showrooms going outa buisness so from time to nime if you watch done deal or the liquidation auctions brand new doors and display kitchens appear for the right money. I have about forty various doors in my shed from such auctions. Oak, walnut, beech and pine veneers also a couple of fire blanks. Anyone wants to take a trip to the midlands they are for the right money. There are all sorts of designs so you would pick up two or three of the one type to make a set. There was never a better time to be building or renovating because there are deals to be had. Not like the rest of us that built houses in the past few years and were hammered with prices.

cork2

One shot on kill wrote: »

i can get my hands on a chinesse or its very durable and it white oak solid of coarse

if your saying you have chinese made boards avoid them like the plague!!!! i dont know how many of these ive seen buckle and burst and twist! their solid is an accident waiting to happen and their semi solid moves at a savage rate. they not suitable for our climate theyre made for an asian climate with a totally different humidity and a dryer atmosphere. if i see the word china on the box i wont even give a price to lay it!

Arequipa

Lads, thank you for the replies. My living rooms have a combined area of 25 sq metres.

• I am looking for solid oak floorboards,
• skirting boards,
• 4 doors & door frames;The arcatrays are currently built into the walls & will have to be removed/cut out.
• 1 door with glass(I think they'll be Shaker doors)
• replacing a cabinet (70cm x 200cm) with oak vaneered door.

I have been quoted 3000 euro for the work.
2,800 Euro for semi-solid oak.
Does this sound about right?
This is for solid oak, 5 inch floorboards & also other work.

Thank you for your advice!

One shot on kill

cork2 wrote: »

if your saying you have chinese made boards avoid them like the plague!!!! i dont know how many of these ive seen buckle and burst and twist! their solid is an accident waiting to happen and their semi solid moves at a savage rate. they not suitable for our climate theyre made for an asian climate with a totally different humidity and a dryer atmosphere. if i see the word china on the box i wont even give a lprice to lay it!

first of all SEMI solid flooing moves at a savage rate does it

also if the board is dryed properly and factory finished and sealed you wont have a problem also the flooring doesnt come from china and end up in your liven room in hours its more like weeks

a floor does cup and warp because of bad flooring exclusively 99 per cent of its because the floor is not layed right ie. not nailed enough or two much of coarse and not enough expansion room

also if it was bad flooring due to climate and moisture content it would even be able to be layed square or semetrical because every one knows that timber will expand or shrink more on the width than lenght or thickness

also it is chinese white oak didnt say it was a chinese manufactored board

boatbuilder

Be careful with Irwins in Castleblayney.
I bought an "end lot" of solid oak flooring from them a couple of years ago.
When I took it home and unpacked it, I found that it was more like "second hand"...muddy footprints all over some of the boards hidden in the middle of the packs, all of the planks were slightly difference widths by a few mm, which made it an absolute nightmare to lay. They make you sign a disclaimer at the point of sale about the "defects because wood is a natural material" so basically there is no come back. (before you can examine the goods).

They also sell tiles and push you to buy the white plastic trim pieces for the edges. They have now all discoloured to yellow in less than 2 years.