Flooring

[HawkEye244]

Tarting my mum's flat up to maximise value but not sure what flooring to go for. Most people wouldn't know the difference between solid, engineered and laminate and obviously I want to get away with spending the least I can to get the best result.

I've 2 bedrooms a lounge and hallway to do, something in the region of about 60m2. My preference is laminate, a nice light oak. Obviously we are talking a difference in price of about £15 /m2 for laminate to £45/m2 for a quality solid wood/engineered. My question is does it matter?

 

[Himaginn]

You're talking about a £3000 difference in cost of flooring.
I would have thought most buyers wouldn't appreciate that kind of difference unless the whole house showed that sort of quality difference. But you'd need to be somewhere upmarket to obtain a qualitative price difference.

 

[HawkEye244]

Yup, so as I thought. Go for a nice looking laminate. Of course got the price of underlay and scotia on top as well. I was thinking about Wickes as it's local and I can pick up and go as I please. Had laminate from wickes before and it was alright.

 

[misterhelpful]

You're talking about a £3000 difference in cost of flooring.

Eh? £1,800, surely?

I can't say I ever really thought about preferring to buy a house with wood or laminate until I came here to live. We have just bought a new house and I have to admit that it was partially the flooring that sold it to us. Solid wood throughout, and it looks and feels so much better that the houses we viewed that had laminate.

 

[HawkEye244]

You're talking about a £3000 difference in cost of flooring.

Eh? £1,800, surely?

I can't say I ever really thought about preferring to buy a house with wood or laminate until I came here to live. We have just bought a new house and I have to admit that it was partially the flooring that sold it to us. Solid wood throughout, and it looks and feels so much better that the houses we viewed that had laminate.

Feels better in what way ?

 

[blightymam]

I disagree with most people not telling the difference between real wood and laminate - worlds apart! I love real wood, it's warmer under foot, hard wearing, looks better...

....... and we have laminate because at the time we were skint. Sob!

If only doing the flat to sell, then I'd probably stick to to laminate. Chances are it will sell fast and well in London anyway!

 

[HawkEye244]

Well the existing floor is american white oak so it makes sense to keep this. The trouble is over the years it's become terribly noisy underfoot, and I'm not sure how to eliminate the noise besides banging nails in at every joint intersection. I suppose I could do this to eliminate the squeeking as best I can and fill the holes up and then sand and stain. I've no idea about treatment for a floor like this though. Would it be as simple as hiring a floor sander and sanding down and then staining ? This would save A LOT of money versus putting another floor on top which may be inadequate anyway.

 

[misterhelpful]

The solid wood feels much more stable underfoot and you can also tell the difference in quality just by looking at it. It also seems to feel warmer, but that may just be that the house is better heated. The houses we saw with laminate had that feeling that there was movement underfoot, but that could just have been down to poor quality underlay because l can't say I'd ever noticed it before. That said, I think blightymam has a very valid point; laying a floor to sell a property, especially in London, is probably just a case of getting it to look nice to sell it quick.

Having just seen the floor you already have, I would be more than tempted to sand and re-finish. It looks in pretty good nick and would only need a light sanding (don't go too abrasive) and then either a good quality floor varnish/stain/wax...whichever you choose.

This is our flooring which runs through the whole house except for the kitchen-diner and bathrooms. Probably not to everyone's taste, but we love it.

 

[misterhelpful]

By the way, a top tip to eliminate squeaking is to use talc and brush it between the joints. This might be tricky if you do sand and re-finish, though.

 

[conny]

Damn! Beat me to it. Lol. I was going to suggest the talc method. It really does work.

 

[misterhelpful]

Damn! Beat me to it. Lol. I was going to suggest the talc method. It really does work.

Sorry.

 

[HawkEye244]

This will be a job I might take on the next couple of weeks. Got agents coming on the mondy to value the place.

Checked out some how to videos on youtube and I like the sand and wax method as a chap did a great video explaining the different finishes and their pros and cons. He said he would not go for staining as if you want a particular floor colour you should get that in the first place, and I agree. This will no doubt be a beautiful colour underneath, I'm just not knowledgeable enough to know exactly what way to go about this.

The powder is an interesting option. Can but try. I think nailing the worse offenders, countersinking the heads and filling may be an option to though.

 

[HawkEye244]

The solid wood feels much more stable underfoot and you can also tell the difference in quality just by looking at it. It also seems to feel warmer, but that may just be that the house is better heated. The houses we saw with laminate had that feeling that there was movement underfoot, but that could just have been down to poor quality underlay because l can't say I'd ever noticed it before. That said, I think blightymam has a very valid point; laying a floor to sell a property, especially in London, is probably just a case of getting it to look nice to sell it quick.

Having just seen the floor you already have, I would be more than tempted to sand and re-finish. It looks in pretty good nick and would only need a light sanding (don't go too abrasive) and then either a good quality floor varnish/stain/wax...whichever you choose.

This is our flooring which runs through the whole house except for the kitchen-diner and bathrooms. Probably not to everyone's taste, but we love it.

View attachment 92827

That is beautiful by the way ! Clearly a high gloss finish as well

 

[misterhelpful]

Nailing and filling is an option but, if using a floor sander, ensure the nails are well below the surface otherwise they will tear up the sander belts.

 

[gasbanni]

Factory direct flooring are a good supplier and if you're doing it up to sell then laminate definately ........quicker and cheaper.

Definately would look good to sell.