Wooden Floors; Laminate -V- Semi Solid

islanderre

Hello All,

Have spent the last two days going shop to shop looking at timber floors.

I've four bedrooms and 2 living rooms plus a landing to do which equates to approx 111M cubed.

Anyway, due to cost constraints I've more or less decided on laminate for the bedrooms and semi solid for the living rooms and landing.

So the question is would people agree with the above and have people any experience with timber flooring imported from China???

Thanks folks.

spikealmighty

I dont see an issue with laminate in the bedrooms, there some decent stuff out there for cheap now.

I'd put laminate on the landing aswell, whos really going to care? Its a small area and even if you go with a more expensive laminate its still a fraction of the price of semi solid.

Ive never heard of anyone importing flooring from china.

Depending on your financial restraints and usage of your living rooms if you had a "good sitting room" which wouldnt be used quite that often possibly think about a more expensive laminate.

creedp

islanderre wrote: »

Hello All,

Have spent the last two days going shop to shop looking at timber floors.

I've four bedrooms and 2 living rooms plus a landing to do which equates to approx 111M cubed.

Anyway, due to cost constraints I've more or less decided on laminate for the bedrooms and semi solid for the living rooms and landing.

So the question is would people agree with the above and have people any experience with timber flooring imported from China???

Thanks folks.

Yea you would think this stuff should be easy but its not the case ... Its like a a lot of things in a new build it comes dow to 2 things: what you like and what you can afford, with the latter often being the deciding factor. In my view its irrelevant what other people might thing or care what matters is what you want. I would prefer semi-solid flooring to laminate and would therefore use it in a living/sitting room and landing. In bedrooms on the other hand I think laminate is fine, especially in kids bedrooms and they will quickly scratch/write/etc on the wood. Although semi-solid can be expensive, its worthwhile shopping around and bargaining down the price, especially if you are covering a large area. Know nothing about Chinese imports Im afraid.

islanderre

spikealmighty& creedp,

Many thanks for replying; will take on board what ye ahve wrote.

Will continue to shop around and may also visit the north for price comparison...... found the customer service up their a year and a half ago excellent when I was shopping for sanitary wear.

Thanks again.

Islanderre

daithiard

would advise you to be careful of semisolids, many are a cheap quality and while they may wear ok (be aware not all semisolids are the same, and many Chinese imports are notorious), but they WILL scratch, and they will be a nightmare to fit especially in the longer 2m boards. Laminate are a good cheap option, their quality is v good and the colours are getting better and better. A 8mm-9mm AC3/AC4 rated floor will last forever, fit easily and look good. Cheap semis are risky, it's why they're cheap, a huge number of wholesaleers etc have stopped doing them simply because of the after sale problems.