Preferably "engineered" (i.e. real wood top, bonded to something
dimensionally stable) rather than laminate or solid.



--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

John Rumm wrote:

Preferably "engineered" (i.e. real wood top, bonded to something
dimensionally stable) rather than laminate or solid.




I saw an episode of Grand designs or something where the owner had used
bamboo as it was far,far superior for resisting stiletto heels when
compared to oak,walnut etc. Don't think I've seen engineered bamboo though.

On Friday, 7 April 2017 23:47:05 UTC+1, John Rumm wrote:
Preferably "engineered" (i.e. real wood top, bonded to something
dimensionally stable) rather than laminate or solid.



--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

I used Factory Direct Flooring. My selection was Loire Pure Oak Natural Brushed Matt Lacquer Engineered Flooring. It was delivered on time, the quality was excellent (after two years use it is showing no signs of wear) and the strips fitted together with ease

Brian

Capitol writes:

John Rumm wrote:

Preferably "engineered" (i.e. real wood top, bonded to something
dimensionally stable) rather than laminate or solid.




I saw an episode of Grand designs or something where
the owner had used bamboo as it was far,far superior for
resisting stiletto heels when compared to oak,walnut etc.
Don't think I've seen engineered bamboo though.

I think the €œstrand woven€� bamboo probably counts as engineered
and is pretty dimensionally stable on its own.

--
Jón Fairbairn
http://www.chaos.org.uk/~jf/Stuff-I-dont-want.html (updated 2014-04-05)

In article ,
John Rumm wrote:

Preferably "engineered" (i.e. real wood top, bonded to something
dimensionally stable) rather than laminate or solid.

I found it an absolute minefield. With retail pricing simply no guide to
quality. Depending so much on special offers. With some of the specialist
shops the worst value. Despite their claims.

Eventually bought from Ebay based on spec. Got plywood with a thick top
veneer. But you also need to check the spec of the veneer - how many
knots, etc.

Bought direct from a small importer who delivered personally.

It's a large room - approx 34 x 16 ft. Bought the proper nailer too new -
and sold it at a profit after use. ;-)

Been down now for a few years and still looks perfect.

--
*He who laughs last has just realised the joke.

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Dave Plowman wrote:

John Rumm wrote:

Preferably "engineered" (i.e. real wood top, bonded to something
dimensionally stable) rather than laminate or solid.

I found it an absolute minefield. With retail pricing simply no guide to
quality. Depending so much on special offers. With some of the specialist
shops the worst value. Despite their claims.

I bought solid finger-jointed, T&G all round, oak boards, then left them
to acclimatise in the room (for 8 years!) before fitting.

I used the tongue-tite screws recommended here, instead of nailing, but
I found their claim of not splitting the wood didn't bear up (when I
tried a few test pieces they all split along the tongue) so I cut a
wedge to hold them at a suitable angle on the drill-press table and no
problems that way.

Actually, I would avoid the random finger jointed stuff if doing it
again, no matter how carefully you plan the stagger pattern of the
boards, you also have to watch out for "bad" staggering of the staves
within the boards.

In article ,
Andy Burns wrote:
Dave Plowman wrote:

John Rumm wrote:

Preferably "engineered" (i.e. real wood top, bonded to something
dimensionally stable) rather than laminate or solid.

I found it an absolute minefield. With retail pricing simply no guide
to quality. Depending so much on special offers. With some of the
specialist shops the worst value. Despite their claims.

I bought solid finger-jointed, T&G all round, oak boards, then left them
to acclimatise in the room (for 8 years!) before fitting.

I used the tongue-tite screws recommended here, instead of nailing, but
I found their claim of not splitting the wood didn't bear up (when I
tried a few test pieces they all split along the tongue) so I cut a
wedge to hold them at a suitable angle on the drill-press table and no
problems that way.

Actually, I would avoid the random finger jointed stuff if doing it
again, no matter how carefully you plan the stagger pattern of the
boards, you also have to watch out for "bad" staggering of the staves
within the boards.

I'd not want any finger joints showing in this old house. The ideal was to
get a 'perfect' looking oak floor that could be original.

I do have solid oak in the bathroom, though. Made up of planks where
strips are glued together at random and with some finger joints. but that
would be too fussy for a large room IMHO.

--
*I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On 08/04/2017 13:17, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
In article ,
Andy Burns wrote:
Dave Plowman wrote:

John Rumm wrote:

Preferably "engineered" (i.e. real wood top, bonded to something
dimensionally stable) rather than laminate or solid.

I found it an absolute minefield. With retail pricing simply no guide
to quality. Depending so much on special offers. With some of the
specialist shops the worst value. Despite their claims.

I bought solid finger-jointed, T&G all round, oak boards, then left them
to acclimatise in the room (for 8 years!) before fitting.

I used the tongue-tite screws recommended here, instead of nailing, but
I found their claim of not splitting the wood didn't bear up (when I
tried a few test pieces they all split along the tongue) so I cut a
wedge to hold them at a suitable angle on the drill-press table and no
problems that way.

Actually, I would avoid the random finger jointed stuff if doing it
again, no matter how carefully you plan the stagger pattern of the
boards, you also have to watch out for "bad" staggering of the staves
within the boards.

I'd not want any finger joints showing in this old house. The ideal was to
get a 'perfect' looking oak floor that could be original.

I do have solid oak in the bathroom, though. Made up of planks where
strips are glued together at random and with some finger joints. but that
would be too fussy for a large room IMHO.

Even though this is not for a particularly large area (~10m^2) I am not
so keen on the mini plank in larger plank styles - you never really seem
to get the actual joint matching the pre made joints. (IMHO one of the
things that can make many laminate floors look naff)


--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

In article ,
John Rumm wrote:
Even though this is not for a particularly large area (~10m^2) I am not
so keen on the mini plank in larger plank styles - you never really seem
to get the actual joint matching the pre made joints. (IMHO one of the
things that can make many laminate floors look naff)

I did manage - but you have to glue and clamp pretty hard. And reject any
too bent to do this. Since it came from Wicks, about a third. ;-)

I wanted a floor which looked like a newly laid T&G one. The stuff I got
pretty well succeeded in that. I also removed all the skirtings so it goes
underneath which helps the illusion.

Think I'd rather have lino than cheap laminate simply plonked down.

--
*You! Off my planet!

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

John Rumm wrote:

I am not so keen on the mini plank in larger plank styles - you never
really seem to get the actual joint matching the pre made joints.

Agreed and as I said, I wouldn't choose the finger-jointed planks again.

I was able to sort them into planks with 2, 3 or 4 staves in them, and
use the best ones in the open area and the not so good ones under the
desk where they're less visible, then chose those with tiddly staves
near one end as the planks I would trim at the start or end of rows, and
then shuffle the planks where the finger joints accidentally lined up ...

All in all they were more faff to get a pleasing layout than having
continuous planks, especially when my +10% for waste only left 2 spare
planks after cutting them for an L shaped room.

On 08/04/2017 16:38, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
In article ,
John Rumm wrote:
Even though this is not for a particularly large area (~10m^2) I am not
so keen on the mini plank in larger plank styles - you never really seem
to get the actual joint matching the pre made joints. (IMHO one of the
things that can make many laminate floors look naff)

I did manage - but you have to glue and clamp pretty hard. And reject any
too bent to do this. Since it came from Wicks, about a third. ;-)

I wanted a floor which looked like a newly laid T&G one. The stuff I got
pretty well succeeded in that. I also removed all the skirtings so it goes
underneath which helps the illusion.

Think I'd rather have lino than cheap laminate simply plonked down.


I was going to say avoid anything sold by Wickes.

Back in 2010 I did my lounge with their 18mm solid 'hardwood' flooring.
The packs were 1.2 metres long but out of 24 packs I only found 2
lengths of 1.2 metres, and many 300mm long bits of firewood. At the
time Travis Perkins were selling apparently identical stuff but on
closer inspection, it was better quality wood. Much more consistent
colouration.

The clips that should be used were impossible to fit so I glued up 3
lines in parallel to create complete wide planks. The problem is that
different species of wood were used which expand and contract at various
degrees so the inner line out of the three has shown some evdence that
some individual sections are being pulled apart, splitting the grain.

Also, very soft with poor resistance to impact (dropping bunch of keys)
or scratching.

These wide planks I screwed down with ordinary spax 45 mm screws.
I tried tongue-tite but they just pull through the tongue and split it.
Also tend to snap if you try and undo them.

If I had to do it again I would go down the engineered route without
a shadow of doubt. (provided you have a dead level surface).

On 07/04/17 23:47, John Rumm wrote:

Preferably "engineered" (i.e. real wood top, bonded to something
dimensionally stable) rather than laminate or solid.


Kährs from
http://www.1926woodflooring.co.uk/




--
djc

(–€Ì¿Ä¹Ì¯–€Ì¿ Ì¿)
No low-hanging fruit, just a lot of small berries up a tall tree.

In article ,
Andrew wrote:
If I had to do it again I would go down the engineered route without
a shadow of doubt. (provided you have a dead level surface).

Yes. I should point out I spent some time making sure the original
suspended wood floor was as near perfect as I could get it. Stripping that
wasn't really an option being ground floor with cellar beneath and not
being T&G. The plywood base of the engineered stuff I used made nailing
easy.

--
*Ah, I see the f**k-up fairy has visited us again

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On 07/04/17 23:47, John Rumm wrote:

Preferably "engineered" (i.e. real wood top, bonded to something
dimensionally stable) rather than laminate or solid.




My recommendation:

Kahrs - nice thick top layer that can (it is claimed) be sanded twice.

Excellent manufacturer instructions (you can download from their
website) that specifies maximum permitted unevenness in flatness and
expansion gaps.

It lays like a dream (but worth vacuuming the joints as you lay as they
are so tightly engineered that a bit of sawdust can affect the joint).

I've had 3 rooms down for 6-7 years and been very pleased.

On 08/04/17 21:32, DJC wrote:
On 07/04/17 23:47, John Rumm wrote:

Preferably "engineered" (i.e. real wood top, bonded to something
dimensionally stable) rather than laminate or solid.


Kährs from
http://www.1926woodflooring.co.uk/


I got mine from them too - very helpful too if you ring them.