Laminate V Engineered

Foxdown

I was planning on putting in engineered flooring throughout my home including over concrete stairs ( living area is upstairs)- hadn't considered laminate as to be honest thought it might look cheap. Recently someone mentioned that it is more resistant to damage and given I will have underfloor heating that it will let more heat through. Would be great to get some opinion on this? - a lot of things in house are high spec so don't want flooring to look cheap - but also don't want something that wont withstand the traffic... thanks

MisseyB

Hi there. I'm in the process of writing up a 'house manual' of sorts. Here's an extract on timber flooring. i'm in the process of sourcing an expert editor to cast his/her eye over it but thought you might find it useful.

E

Semi-Solid Floor / Engineered Flooring
Semi-Solid and Engineered Flooring are effectively the same thing but some manufacturers use the term 'semi-solid' for boards with a thin layer of wooden veneer on top and 'engineered' for boards with 5-6mm layer of wood on top. The benefit of having a substantially thick top layer of timber on top is that is allows the floor to be refinished a number of times. Semi-solid boards are typically 100, 150, 200mm wide and 6, 9, 12, 14 or 25mm deep. Engineered boards often come in wider planks than solid timber because it is less susceptible to shrinkage and expansion due to fluctuates in temperatures. It is also cheaper than comparable solid wood planks. Semi-Solid / Engineered Flooring can be laid as floating floors or if the flooring is thicker than 21mm, nailed directly to joists.

Solid Wood Flooring
Solid wooden floors are a desirable feature in any home and when chosen and installed correctly can add thousands to the value of a house. Solid wooden floors can be installed on a concrete slab as long as the floor is on or above ground level. They can be sanded and refinished over several generations and unlike semi-solid floors can be 'aged' with treatments. Wood is a dynamic material meaning it expands and contracts with extremes of temperature and moisture, to the extent that small gaps may appear in your wooden floor temporarily. Most solid timber floors are unsuitable for use over under-floor heating although some manufactures offer products that they claim are suitable. The dynamic nature of solid wood can make it unsuitable for south facing rooms, conservatories, bathrooms and kitchens.

Tom Joad

Foxdown wrote: »

I was planning on putting in engineered flooring throughout my home including over concrete stairs ( living area is upstairs)- hadn't considered laminate as to be honest thought it might look cheap. Recently someone mentioned that it is more resistant to damage and given I will have underfloor heating that it will let more heat through. Would be great to get some opinion on this? - a lot of things in house are high spec so don't want flooring to look cheap - but also don't want something that wont withstand the traffic... thanks

Can't comment on whether laminate is better at letting heat through but have had both laminate and solid flooring in our house. Solid looks fantastic but marks very easily in my experience (anything from stilletos, stone stuck in shoes moving furniture, wear and tear from kids playing marks them) - Yes I know you can sand them down but that is a lot of work and hassle!!

In current house we decided to get laminate (didn't scrimp on them so actually hard to tell they are laminate) They have withstood 6 years of general wear and tear including lots of kids playing etc and look as good as the day we got them.

Bottom line for me was laminate was more hardwearing but was willing to pay a bit extra so it didn't have the look of cheap laminate - hope this helps.

firlodge

Hi
there are some cheap laminates & some quite costly ones also - you do get what you pay for.
That said I believe that engineered flooring looks far superior to laminate.
There is also more potential to reduce the amount of trims used if you are careful over detailing in advance.
Trims really do cheapen the overall look especially if you are planning to use the flooring throughout.
On that point.....putting either laminate or engineered floor over a concrete stairs can look very bitty as to do it safely the correct trims need to be used.
I would advise taking a look at a stairs done this way before you commit.
Good Luck!

toastedpickles

Underfloor heating will warp the laminate over time,and it lets out heat faster, so personally Id go for engineering board, it's a bit more costly but worth it in the long run

jprboy

toastedpickles wrote: »

Underfloor heating will warp the laminate over time,and it lets out heat faster, so personally Id go for engineering board, it's a bit more costly but worth it in the long run

+1

Ayla

On our entire open-plan ground floor we put a semi-solid (ie: solid on top with engineered layer beneath) and it has held up amazingly well considering all the torture we've put it through over the last 5 years. We have underfloor heating (which, out of fairness, hasn't been turned on the last 2 years b/c the boiler died) but the flooring has held up perfectly. And we've done *everything* on that poor floor, including having 3 giant dogs, furniture dragged around, kids riding bikes w/ plastic wheels, hard construction, etc etc etc.

Now upstairs we've gone with a cheap-as-it comes Ikea laminate in our master bedroom b/c we knew it wouldn't need to be as strong (and our budget was well shot!). I won't be putting it under any stress but it seems to be doing the trick. We still hope to replace it in coming years with reclaimed hardwood (part of the reason we didn't invest much €€€ in the laminate) but for now it's grand. Oh, but I should mention we don't have u/f heating (or any heat source actually) upstairs so that didn't come into the equation when we decided on laminate upstairs.

MisseyB

Hi Ayla. Which brand of semi-solid flooring did you use?

paddy147

I have light oak engineered wide plank flooring in my house.


Sourced it at trade price from Barefoot Flooring in South Dublin.


Great robust flooring indeed.

Ayla

MisseyB wrote: »

Hi Ayla. Which brand of semi-solid flooring did you use?

Unfortunately I can't remember offhand. I know it's still sold b/c I've seen the displays in flooring shops recently. I'll ask the hubby & come back if he can remember.