Laminate/Engineered Timber Flooring – advice/opinions!

Matt406

I’m at the final stages of a new build and I need to decide on flooring! We have tiled anything that is going to be tiled and have now made the decision not to use carpet anywhere – instead we are going with timber flooring/laminate flooring.

Based on this I have a few questions about Laminate & Engineered floors!

· Firstly am I correct in saying that an engineered floor will have a longer life span (once looked after correctly) than a laminate floor?

· We are looking at using the following in the living room and office downstairs - Engineered – Smoked Oak – 180x14x3mm - €47 sq mt (price as displayed in suppliers – no negotiation yet!) Is 3mm wear layer enough as I see both of these rooms as having a fairly heavy amount of traffic? It seems like a very small amount of oak?

· We are looking at using the following on an upstairs landing - Engineered - Varnished Walnut – 180x20x6mm - €78 sq mt (price as displayed in suppliers – no negotiation yet!). We are installing a painted mahogany stairs (mahogany steps, hand & base rails) and think that the dark colour of the walnut and mahogany will complement each other well! It’s a landing so I don’t see it getting a huge amount of traffic. Does walnut wear as well as other hard woods? Is it damaged/marked any easier than say oak would?

· Laminate – Black Walnut –12mm - grade AC3 - €18 sq mt (price as displayed in suppliers – no negotiation yet!). We are thinking about putting this into all the bedrooms upstairs. Is a grade AC3 laminate ok for a bedroom or should I be looking for a higher grade laminate?? Putting an engineered floor in a bedroom seems very expensive to me – especially as you will cover half of it with furniture!


· Lastly – roughly how much should I be allowing to install this flooring – materials & labour?? I’m guessing that the engineered will be more expensive to lay than the laminate?

Thanks for taking the time to read this!

tenbob1

I will reply in detail to this tomorrow

tenbob1

Firstly am I correct in saying that an engineered floor will have a longer life span (once looked after correctly) than a laminate floor?

Yes and no, it depends on the type of traffic you are expecting. Engineered floors will mark and scratch much much easier than a laminate floor. Some of the latest laminates are top notch quality wise, and not at all like the laminates of old. If you are pre-pared to refinish an engineered floor every 5/7 years then great (bear in mind there can be substantial costs involved in this).


We are looking at using the following in the living room and office downstairs - Engineered – Smoked Oak – 180x14x3mm - €47 sq mt (price as displayed in suppliers – no negotiation yet!) Is 3mm wear layer enough as I see both of these rooms as having a fairly heavy amount of traffic? It seems like a very small amount of oak?

Just having a look at the prices in my store here, smoked oak with a 5mm wear layer is coming in at €40 sq mt. So definately there is major haggle room in the prices you have seen. If the area is getting heavy traffic get at least a 5mm top, that is fine for sanding/refinishing in the future.
Also please bear in mind that "smoked oak" is also just standard oak with a coloured laquer, once you sand it, it will go back to a standard colour.


We are looking at using the following on an upstairs landing - Engineered - Varnished Walnut – 180x20x6mm - €78 sq mt (price as displayed in suppliers – no negotiation yet!). We are installing a painted mahogany stairs (mahogany steps, hand & base rails) and think that the dark colour of the walnut and mahogany will complement each other well! It’s a landing so I don’t see it getting a huge amount of traffic. Does walnut wear as well as other hard woods? Is it damaged/marked any easier than say oak would?

Again very expensive for a walnut floor, personally I feel that walnut is a total waste of money, some of the walnut laminates around at the moment are top notch. Walnut is a much more difficult floor to keep than oak.

Laminate – Black Walnut –12mm - grade AC3 - €18 sq mt (price as displayed in suppliers – no negotiation yet!). We are thinking about putting this into all the bedrooms upstairs. Is a grade AC3 laminate ok for a bedroom or should I be looking for a higher grade laminate?? Putting an engineered floor in a bedroom seems very expensive to me – especially as you will cover half of it with furniture!

Price seems fine for the laminate, please note that thickness does not equate to quality. You should be able to get an AC4 rated board for the same price, it may be 10mm thick, but have a look in some of my previous posts for information about AC ratings.


Lastly – roughly how much should I be allowing to install this flooring – materials & labour?? I’m guessing that the engineered will be more expensive to lay than the laminate?

- This is the million doller questions, currently I pay all floor fitters a "day rate" rather than a standard cost per m2. It all depends on where you live and how much tradesmen in your area are getting paid. Certainly price your current carpenter, and price the stores in house guys.