woodulike could answer this one

[skybluescooby]

As he seems to be the first to respond and after viewing his website im pretty sure i'll get a good reply.
Then again anyone elses advice will be gratefully received.

Right, im getting a consevatory built soon and am debating on the floor.
I'm swayed towards a real wood floor as per woodulike's site but i need to know the following.

1- Will it be benificial to put in under floor heating, cons in use all year
2- Will it scratch easily, i have 2 rough collie dogs
3- Will the movement be vast during the seasons/heat exchange ?
4- Or shall i go for ceramic tiling/underfloor heating ?
Regards

 

[big-all]

hhheeellloooo sky blue

first point
wood you like is a dynamic duo the hubby fits and the dear lady give oodles of fantastic advice so its she

conservitorys by there nature need in your face heating or cooling
so under floor heating would well only warm the floor

 

[WoodYouLike]

wood you like is a dynamic duo the hubby fits and the dear lady give oodles of fantastic advice so its she

(getting all shy now)

conservitorys by there nature need in your face heating or cooling
so under floor heating would well only warm the floor

The (proposed) advantage of a conservatory is that because of the amount of windows even early Spring sunshine will warm it. The extra costs and height of an underfloor heating would not be cost-effective (IMHO).
Because of changes in temperature we recommend Wood-Engineered flooring (3-strip or full-plank), which will minimise the seasonal movement of wood. If you're worried about the dogs, buy a brushed and oiled version. The oil finish is easier to 'repair' and the brushed top means softer bits are removed creating a tougher surface.

Hope this helps

 

[skybluescooby]

Cheers to you both,
When you say "repair", to what extent of damage requires a repair ?

 

[WoodYouLike]

Say someone comes in from the garden and have a little pebble underneath their shoes? That can cause scratches. with a lacquered finish, the lacquer gets scratched and might leave the wood unprotected in the end. On an oiled floor, you'll get the same scratch, but you can apply a bit of wax or waxpolish locally, keeping the wood protected all the time (instead of having to sand locally and apply a new lacquer finish locally, wich 9 out of 10 times will show up differently than the existing lacquer)

Plus an oiled finish just looks warmer and brings out the character of the wood more (well, I'm an 'oil-person' i.e. biassed )

 

[skybluescooby]

ok, thanks for that, think i'll look for a pebble free garden , maybe do 100% decking or just concrete the lot

 

[WoodYouLike]

With flooring it's like with a new car:
first scratch you think: ouch

But to be honest, when the floor looks lived on after a while it will become even more beautiful (if you maintain it properly of course). Don't worry to much about the (tiny) scratches or imperfections, that's proper wood for you.
(Plus nowadays people are willing to pay over the odds for aged and destressedwooden flooring )

 

[2scoops0406]

I can relate to the scratches thing. I put a solid maple floor down in our convervatory and kitchen, around 40 mtres in total. The floor itself is lacquered. For the first few weeks, I remember almost winching everythime I saw a new scratch on the floor. But looking at the realities, I have 3 young kids and 2 cats, so it's going to get some abuse, this being one of the reasons I chose maple. I reckon now that it's worn in a bit, it's starting to get a bit more character. So yes initially it's sort of arrrgh, scratches, then a bit later on it's getting more charater by the day!