Flooring for a bedroom?
Discussion
Main bedroom is due a major refurbishment. 1960's dormer bungalow, main bedroom on the ground floor, concrete slab.
It's not been touched for around 20 years, needs a new ceiling, coving, extra sockets, skirting, and floor covering.
We have a mixture of flooring currently - oak finger parquet in the lounge and entrance hallway, sticky vinyl tiles in the porch, porcelain tiles in the kitchen/diner, inner hallway and bathroom, sheet vinyl in the upstairs shower room, and carpet on the stairs, top landing and 3 bedrooms.
The main bedroom currently has some badly-fitted and worn imitation wood, guessing it's laminate.
In the past, I've always preferred carpet for bedrooms, but it doesn't age well and is a pain to keep clean. Pet hair and discolouration (from airflow under the door) at the threshold are big problems. The "hard" floors in other areas are so much easier to maintain, just let the robovac loose.
So, do I go for porcelain tile, laminate, or some other solution?
Probably have a big rug under and around the bed to minimise cold feet before putting on slippers.
Room is about 4 metres square, and whatever I get will be fitted by a professional (knees and back not up to DIY).
It's not been touched for around 20 years, needs a new ceiling, coving, extra sockets, skirting, and floor covering.
We have a mixture of flooring currently - oak finger parquet in the lounge and entrance hallway, sticky vinyl tiles in the porch, porcelain tiles in the kitchen/diner, inner hallway and bathroom, sheet vinyl in the upstairs shower room, and carpet on the stairs, top landing and 3 bedrooms.
The main bedroom currently has some badly-fitted and worn imitation wood, guessing it's laminate.
In the past, I've always preferred carpet for bedrooms, but it doesn't age well and is a pain to keep clean. Pet hair and discolouration (from airflow under the door) at the threshold are big problems. The "hard" floors in other areas are so much easier to maintain, just let the robovac loose.
So, do I go for porcelain tile, laminate, or some other solution?
Probably have a big rug under and around the bed to minimise cold feet before putting on slippers.
Room is about 4 metres square, and whatever I get will be fitted by a professional (knees and back not up to DIY).
In our Swiss and French places we have porcelain/quarry tiling downstairs and all bathrooms/WCs, and oak parquet on the upper floor landings/bedrooms, plus plenty of (changeable and replaceable) rugs. Much easier to keep properly clean/maintain, and more pleasant in general to live with, especially if you have cats/dogs.
Last year we had the two upper levels in Swiss house resanded and resealed (60m2 per floor) after 22 years of use. The solid wood parquet came up like new and ready for another couple of decades.
Carpet is an English disease that should be eradicated wherever possible!
Last year we had the two upper levels in Swiss house resanded and resealed (60m2 per floor) after 22 years of use. The solid wood parquet came up like new and ready for another couple of decades.
Carpet is an English disease that should be eradicated wherever possible!
Assuming I don't want carpet, what's the best "hard" flooring option, balancing longevity, practicality, and cost?
Given unlimited funds, I'd go for real parquet. The 60 year old oak in the lounge came up beautifully when I sanded it 2 years ago.
The laminate currently in the bedroom looks tatty, with a few loose joints, some warped planks, and surface scratching.
The 40 year old tiles in the inner hallway are fine, but the (beige) grout is badly discolored.
The 10 year old black porcelain tiles in the kitchen/diner still look like new, as does the dark grey grout.
Given unlimited funds, I'd go for real parquet. The 60 year old oak in the lounge came up beautifully when I sanded it 2 years ago.
The laminate currently in the bedroom looks tatty, with a few loose joints, some warped planks, and surface scratching.
The 40 year old tiles in the inner hallway are fine, but the (beige) grout is badly discolored.
The 10 year old black porcelain tiles in the kitchen/diner still look like new, as does the dark grey grout.
We went for engineered hardwood planks (which are basically plywood with a thick layer of whatever hardwood surface you want on top) treated with a hardwax oil. The first areas I did in our house have been down for about 20 years now and still look immaculate. I can't see why they wouldn't last many more decades.
The good thing about something natural like wood is that if it does pick up slight imperfections it just looks, well, natural.
The good thing about something natural like wood is that if it does pick up slight imperfections it just looks, well, natural.
If you don't want carpet then Quick-Step "clicky" flooring is great.
I too have a 1960s dormer and laid this over old adhesive tiles.
As long as the floor is perfectly leveled and spotlessly clean it goes down with ease. No adhesive, no underlay, just plan your layout and off you go..
Take it slow, make sure every join is perfectly engaged, tap down with rubber mallet.
Looks great, very hard wearing, piece of cake to keep clean.
I too have a 1960s dormer and laid this over old adhesive tiles.
As long as the floor is perfectly leveled and spotlessly clean it goes down with ease. No adhesive, no underlay, just plan your layout and off you go..
Take it slow, make sure every join is perfectly engaged, tap down with rubber mallet.
Looks great, very hard wearing, piece of cake to keep clean.
Reading up on the various types of easy to fit flooring, it seems to come down to:
Glue/nail or click fitting
Backing material - wood/wood product or man-made
Facing material - real wood or vinyl
It also looks like "quality" is directly related to cost:
Solid wood
Engineered wood
LVT
Laminate
Basically, it's down to how much I want to spend, and picking a "named brand" rather than DIY shed or eBay stuff?
I should've said that I'm planning for when I can't get upstairs into my study and workshop. The bedroom will then become my office space and hobby room too, so it'll have a long desk for a computer and model making/tinkering. Floor needs to cope with a wheeled office chair and a bit of mess - another reason for avoiding carpet.
Glue/nail or click fitting
Backing material - wood/wood product or man-made
Facing material - real wood or vinyl
It also looks like "quality" is directly related to cost:
Solid wood
Engineered wood
LVT
Laminate
Basically, it's down to how much I want to spend, and picking a "named brand" rather than DIY shed or eBay stuff?
I should've said that I'm planning for when I can't get upstairs into my study and workshop. The bedroom will then become my office space and hobby room too, so it'll have a long desk for a computer and model making/tinkering. Floor needs to cope with a wheeled office chair and a bit of mess - another reason for avoiding carpet.
kambites said:
Not sure if they were meant to be in order, but decent engineered wood is usually more expensive than (and better than) solid wood.
I was getting the figures from a website that reckoned (average fitted prices, per sq mt):Solid hardwood £130
Engineered hardwood £90
LVT £80
Laminate £60
clockworks said:
I was getting the figures from a website that reckoned (average fitted prices, per sq mt):
Solid hardwood £130
Engineered hardwood £90
LVT £80
Laminate £60
Interesting, when I was last doing flooring about two years ago, engineered oak was about £110 per square meter and solid oak about £100 for what I wanted. Solid hardwood £130
Engineered hardwood £90
LVT £80
Laminate £60
There's no way I'd pay more for solid wood, engineered is just better.
clockworks said:
kambites said:
Not sure if they were meant to be in order, but decent engineered wood is usually more expensive than (and better than) solid wood.
I was getting the figures from a website that reckoned (average fitted prices, per sq mt):Solid hardwood £130
Engineered hardwood £90
LVT £80
Laminate £60
https://www.bambooflooringcompany.com/all-flooring...
Shnozz said:
Very English thing.
Mrs Shnozz is Scandi and thinks carpets are unhygienic and vile. I have never thought about it but since I have done can see her point.
I’m with you on this, parents took all of theirs out first and I’ve since done the same. Personally, feels a bit odd going to a house with carpet now. (I’ve gone for oak parquet, flag stones and original 1920’s floorboards sanded and coated upstairs)Mrs Shnozz is Scandi and thinks carpets are unhygienic and vile. I have never thought about it but since I have done can see her point.
House being vacant for a while and having a bad moth infestation helped with the decision!
I've laid All types of flooring in our house removed all carpet as son suffers from Asthma
Without exception all flooring was laid with good quality underlay .
Hall & Study Solid Bamboo hard wood flooring it was the glue on type. Removed all skirting and cut under door jams , It was very very time consuming had to leave 10mm gap between walls and surface. Even then they do not recommend using too much water when cleaning .
Tell that to the wife who used a mop and bucket . which inevitably caused a bow to appear .. So I had to remove all skirting again cut back into the wall 10mm then reinstall skirting . This fixed the warping . To clean I use a robovac to clean then apply a floor polish out of all the choices it looks the best but was the most expensive .
Lounge / Dining room Engineered Oak Much easier to lay down very good quality click type its been down 12 years and still looks good
Bedrooms Boys . White Laminate . click type Mid range not impressed Its been down 5 years and has chipped . Will have to replace.
Daughters bedroom Light oak laminate .click type, premium range. Easy to put down looks far better than the white laminate , so far very durable no cracks
spare room oak laminate click type mid range Easy to put down so far looks good after 5 years
Main bedroom LVT . used because of the en- suite . For a bedroom this has proved the better option . We went for a Dark oak . It was a premium brand click . it still looks fantastic . We did put protective pads on all furniture to protect the floor . The thing that's nice is it has a springy feel . Waterproof . With rugs over the top , gives the comfort for a bedroom with easier to clean just run the Robovac.
It would go LVT all day long for a bedroom
Without exception all flooring was laid with good quality underlay .
Hall & Study Solid Bamboo hard wood flooring it was the glue on type. Removed all skirting and cut under door jams , It was very very time consuming had to leave 10mm gap between walls and surface. Even then they do not recommend using too much water when cleaning .
Tell that to the wife who used a mop and bucket . which inevitably caused a bow to appear .. So I had to remove all skirting again cut back into the wall 10mm then reinstall skirting . This fixed the warping . To clean I use a robovac to clean then apply a floor polish out of all the choices it looks the best but was the most expensive .
Lounge / Dining room Engineered Oak Much easier to lay down very good quality click type its been down 12 years and still looks good
Bedrooms Boys . White Laminate . click type Mid range not impressed Its been down 5 years and has chipped . Will have to replace.
Daughters bedroom Light oak laminate .click type, premium range. Easy to put down looks far better than the white laminate , so far very durable no cracks
spare room oak laminate click type mid range Easy to put down so far looks good after 5 years
Main bedroom LVT . used because of the en- suite . For a bedroom this has proved the better option . We went for a Dark oak . It was a premium brand click . it still looks fantastic . We did put protective pads on all furniture to protect the floor . The thing that's nice is it has a springy feel . Waterproof . With rugs over the top , gives the comfort for a bedroom with easier to clean just run the Robovac.
It would go LVT all day long for a bedroom
We have laminate in the bedrooms and the downside is the dust bunnies that accumulate under the bed and then get blown out when we have the windows open. How my wife has any hair left on her head given how much of it lurks around the house collecting dust or clogging up the vacuum cleaner I have no idea.
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