In article , Andy Hall
writes
On Mon, 24 May 2004 22:37:19 +0100, Peter Twydell
wrote:

We're about to move house, and one of the "new" bedrooms will be used as
an office.

Our present office has a carpeted floor, and moving an office chair on
it has f^hrucked the carpet and underlay. SWMBO tells me not to move the
chair around on the floor, but to get up each time I want something from
the bookcase or whatever. I ignore her.

The new office has a laminate floor, which doesn't look all that bad,
but real wood would look so much better. Which would be harder wearing,
bearing in mind that I'm 18+ stone (about 115kg), so there's going to be
quite a load on said surface? If wood parquet is the better, any
recommendations as to type of wood and type of varnish?

I'd suggest addressing the problem in a different way.

No, I'm not going to suggest addressing kilogrammatic challenge - it
is as it is...

The weight is not really a "challenge", as I'm 6'6" (2m). Think Martin
Johnson-sized. Older, less talented, less fit, less almost everything,
especially scary. I was 14st/97kg once (I'd not been well), and could
hide behind fence posts. A stone less wouldn't hurt.

Personally I abhor laminate floors and if it were me I'd rip it out
and burn it.

I do agree, but it might come down to cost and time. I hope not, though.

So to real wood. First of all go for a pretty hard material. Oak
is pretty good.

Secondly, take a look at the chairs and obtain them with or fit wide
wheels tyred with rubber to spread the load. Herman Miller Aeron
chairs have these as an option, specifically for hardwood floors, but
will set you back £650 new, around £300 "pre-owned". I have seen
Chinese copies.....

So far I've managed to get 2 new chairs under guarantee. Didn't know you
could get rubber tyred ones, though.

Finally, if you treat the floor with an oil/polish rather then a
varnish it is very easy to remove any minor indentations whould they
occur. A steam iron and a cloth will do the job very effectively.
The fibres swell with the heat and the indentations disappear like
magic.




.andy

Thanks, Andy.
--
Peter

Ying tong iddle-i po!