Engineered wood vs Laminate

MacDanger

Hi

Looking at flooring for a new build and mulling over engineered wood vs laminate - anyone have advice on which to go for or where to buy? Anyone know of places that do end-of-line deals on EW?

Obviously EW is ~ 3 times the price so we probably can't afford to have it everywhere but do you think it's worth going for in the sitting room and maybe one or two other rooms?

Thanks

Neil

SC024

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058312243/engineered-wood-vs-laminate

engineered wood does look a bit nicer, but for hard wearing you cant beat the good quality laminates.

awec

We got high quality laminate and tbh I wish we'd just forked out the extra for engineered at the time.

For the most part it's absolutely fine, but in very high traffic areas (like under the kitchen table) the top laminate part has been damaged. There's also one area near the sink that has warped very slightly due to water even though the floor is supposed to be resistant to spills etc.

You can only see it if you look for it, visitors would never notice it, but I know it's there and it bugs me.

Wouldn't have these issues with engineered wood, but the price difference is very significant in fairness.

rob316

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121072149#Comment_121072149

I wouldn't go with any laminate in a kitchen area

Padre_Pio

Depends where you're putting it.

If it's upstairs bedrooms then just pick a laminate in the colour you like and go for it. No one but yourself will see upstairs, and between beds, rugs and furniture you'll barely see it.

Mellor

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121069385#Comment_121069385

Good engineered wooden floors have a far longer life time than laminate.

There is no comparison between the two. Engineered wood is real wood. Laminate is a picture of wood with plastic on top. You can scratch resistant top coat etc. And some are better than others. But they are nowhere near the quality of high end engineered boards.

For commercial applications, the better engineered boards are superior to solid board in many respects. Most high end commercial job used enginnered.

Doop

We went a high end commercial engineered wood, and to be honest I'm disappointed with how hard wearing it is (or isnt) we have it throughout the ground floor about 2 years now and we have probably 5-6 instances of damage. I'm not even sure how most of it happened, its herringbone and looks like chips have happened at the joints in some very minor instances. I did also drop a glass bottle of cooking oil which left a dint in it but I suppose thats to be expected.

You do also need to re-oil engineered wood annually which is another consideration. ITs is however very nice aesthetically.

DaftCat

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121079713#Comment_121079713

There is a brand of laminates called QuickStep which have a few ranges suitable for kitchen use. Their boards are wrapped with the laminate around the top and sides, whereas most other laminates are only wrapped on the top. This means when the QuickStep boards clip together on the floor, they are relatively watertight. The quality is also unbeatable as they are incredibly hardwearing.

DaftCat

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121080158#Comment_121080158

The appearance of an engineered wooden floor is 9 times out of 10 nicer than a laminate, but it's very hard to compare the quality of engineered vs laminate as there are hundreds of brands of laminate one can choose from.

I would always recommend a good, hard wearing laminate (QuickStep brand for example) to a household that has kids/animals running around. The QuickStep laminates are usually around €30-50 per sqm and the higher price end of that has some really nice options.

Engineered floors are stunning but take damage easily and aren't easily repaired as they're generally 2-3mm of real wood on top of ply and if you go sanding, you'll just expose the ply underneath. As with any floor, it is possible to replace individual boards with damage but engineered floors are around €90+ per sqm, can be more difficult to take up to replace even just 1 board and as it's a natural product, if you buy replacement boards then there is a chance the colour won't match your current floor.

oinkely

Did a small job upstairs in the last few years and had same discussion - wanted to avoid laminate if possible, mainly for environmental reasons. Where does the plastic go once it's useful life is up? So veered towards something a bit more wood-like. Was looking at engineered wood from loads of suppliers and the costs for a small landing and bedroom were crazy. In the end got a good deal on Hevea solid wood from a crowd in Bangor the North and went with that. Delighted with the finish, its really nice to look at, and if it gets ripped up ever it is solid wood so I'm sure another recycled use can be found for it. It ended up costing on par with medium quality laminate down here and a lot less than any engineered wood i could find. Only catch was they didn't recommend fixing straight to chipboard subfloors so I had to lay a thin layer of ply first. Its been as hard wearing as the laminate in tow other rooms, and has a much nicer finish. Not sure if it is an option for you, but worked really well for us.

Mellor

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121100516#Comment_121100516

Why would the fact that are multiple brands prevent comparison. There are multiple brands of toilet, but I'd be confident enough to say a porcelain toilet is better than a metal or plastic one.

Laminates are cheaper materials. that's just reality. That doesn't mean they are not heard wearing, many cheap materials are durable. But durability is not the only measure of quality. A plastic wine/beer glass might be very durable too, to be point of being indestructible. But an actual glassware glass is universally considered better quality, despite being more fragile.

An engineered floors come in different qualities too. 2-3mm wear layer is on the thin side, and would usually mean hard woods or economical ranges. It can still be sanded back at least once. But plastic laminates can never be refreshed, so a bit of an odd criticism. Commercial grades can have 6-8mm wear layers and can be sanded back multiple times and have lifespans of decades.

MacDanger

Thanks for all the replies, I appreciate the input

Is (2nd hand) solid wood flooring an option with UFH? Or is the risk of the floor warping too much?

MacDanger

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121125911#Comment_121125911

Anyone have any input to offer on this?

Mellor

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121135557#Comment_121135557

Old boards can be more stable, especially is they have been planed flat again. As they have usually settle on MC% and any warping has happened long ago.

Obviously, a huge number of variables still apply, such as how what species, how where hey stored, etc. If they were planed after sitting outside for years, they will rewarp

witnessmenow

Left field suggestion but wood effect tiles have come on a huge amount in the last few years. They are completely maintenance free, work very well with UFH and look good. Probably expensive compared to wood though, especially when factoring fitting. Might be worth checking out.

awec

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121143498#Comment_121143498

Tiles are nowhere near as nice underfoot though.