Pros/Cons of Wooden Floor v Wooden Laminate

Smythe

Was wondering what you think are the pros & cons of sanding a wooden floor and staining/polishing it, as opposed to laying laminate wooden sheets on top of it?

For example, does the laminate reduce heat loss though the floor, noise produced when walking on either surface, aesthetics, price, or anything else.

Thanks!

mad m

Well the first thing is obvious, sanding down, staining, lacquering will take more time than laying a laminate floor. Have you ever sanded down a floor before? Used an industrial sander? There is a proper way and a right way to sand down a floor. All nails have to be hammered home before sanding, sand in between coats of lacquer etc. if you are any way handy, you can put down a laminate floor in a few hours.. Also depends on the original floor that's already down if it's worth the time to bring it back, it can work out nicely. If it's just standard white deal tongue and groove boards I personally wouldn't bother. Laminate all the way.

You can put down sound absorbing sheets before laminate goes down over it.

Marchef

laminate won't scratch as easily but when it does you can't repair it
laminate is cheeper to buy and cheeper to lay
although the real wood does look better, its hard to tell if some of the better quality laminates are real wood or not

ps. im a carpenter and will be putting laminate in the upstairs of my house when my build gets to that stage

Lex Luthor

mad m wrote: »

. If it's just standard white deal tongue and groove boards I personally wouldn't bother. Laminate all the way.

i disagree totally, after having laminate boards down in our bedroom for ten yrs over the wooden boards, i recently chucked all the laminate and sanded the boards, stained and varnished.

ok, it was hard work, 3 coats of stain and 3 coats of varnish, but the results are well worth it and it looks 100 times better than the laminate

Carpenter

+1 for above Laminate is tacky IMO then again 2 each there own

tenbob1

Lex Luthor wrote: »

i disagree totally, after having laminate boards down in our bedroom for ten yrs over the wooden boards, i recently chucked all the laminate and sanded the boards, stained and varnished.

ok, it was hard work, 3 coats of stain and 3 coats of varnish, but the results are well worth it and it looks 100 times better than the laminate

Laminate has moved on a lot in the last 3 years , let alone 10.

Op , get yourself to a ðecent flooring store, someone that specialises in flooring and have a look and get a price. THEN make your decision .

dodzy

tenbob1 wrote: »

Laminate has moved on a lot in the last 3 years , let alone 10.

Op , get yourself to a ðecent flooring store, someone that specialises in flooring and have a look and get a price. THEN make your decision .

Spot on. There's a massive range in laminates these days from proper stockists. Endless choice / range with prices to suit all. Some seriously well finished stuff available. The days of being restricted to this crap are long gone.......

mloc123

Lex Luthor wrote: »

i disagree totally, after having laminate boards down in our bedroom for ten yrs over the wooden boards, i recently chucked all the laminate and sanded the boards, stained and varnished.

ok, it was hard work, 3 coats of stain and 3 coats of varnish, but the results are well worth it and it looks 100 times better than the laminate

This was the first job I did when we bought our house. I couldn't believe the previous owner had laminate down on top of actual wooden floors.

Lex Luthor

maybe try the wood floor and if after a few yrs its not to your liking you can cover it

root69

i recently had the same question.
in my case i found more pros in favour of laminates. decision came down to cost/durability/usability.

laminates are cheaper to fit and replace.
very durable. and resistance to alot of hazards(shoes, kids and their toys, tools, etc)
you change them after 10yrs dor whatever reason and the investment should be paid off by than.

now... noise reduction is al down to underlaying. you might want to invest in these.

laminate quality is very important and follow manufactor instructions.

i would not buy very cheap... but also no need to go very expensive. There are few brands that you can put for selection so that should make it a bit easy..

the laminate height... i have heard theory about all.. i would say the ticker they are the more solid they look..
this does not necessarely means they are better...

one thing to keep in mind.. we are talking about flutuant flooring so it is normal to see some fluctuation when walking but nothing like bending or stay that way after you walked on.

Btw, I am not flooring expert. just regular user that did a bit of reading and alot of chatting to try understand a bit more about it.

jennyjoy

Laminate is cheaper (cost and look wise) and doesn't add any value to the home (when purchasing a new home, most people see that and immediately want to change it). Wood is more expensive and you can hire a company to do all the labor, but it is better looking and you get a better 'bang for you buck' so to speak. Wooden floors do have a bit more involvement though...once they are installed, they usually cannot be walked on for a few days to let the glaze or sealant set. If you are ocd about clean, unscratched floors, I would avoid wearing shoes in the house. (years down the line you'll most likely get a little more relaxed in that area) I'm all for wooden floors so I would never be able to vote against that.

buck65

Laminates are a far better proposition now than even 5 years ago. 10-12mm thickness now rather than the old 6 or 7mm. Greater range of colours and woods, almost bulletproof.

Solid floors while beautiful need maintenance and can move. i have both down and sell both. solid hardwoods are becoming rarer and more expensive in ireland, engineered or laminate is the future.