School me on Hard Floors - Timber vs Hybrid vs Laminate

[Mulva]

Bought a house, has old ugly slate in hallway, kitchen, meals and family room. Arranged a guy that can remove slate, diamond grind adhesive, and remove all debris, so now it is time to select replacement hard floor.

Looking to do ash-coloured hardwood look, but not sure of pros and cons of genuine wood versus hybrid products versus laminate products (not lino). Ruled out the tiles that look like wood as don't want grout and I get around barefoot.

Anyone gone through this recently or knowledgeable from working in the trade?

[jaydee]

We got those wood plank looking rubber vinyl type flooring laid.
It's rubber backed and glued down.
It's water tight and pretty hard wearing, just have to mop it once in a while.
Can wear high heels on it (if that's your thing).
Pretty happy with it, been down about 5 years.

[Giant Cranium]

I wouldn’t do the vinyl plank. They will show every mark on the sub floor. You would have to make it perfect before laying. I laid some over tiles that I level with ardit first and I can see the ground lines (is temporary until I renovate this place properly)

I would do an engineered floor. In my apartment I put in poly floor brand spotted him boards. They are 14mm thick with a 4mm veneer on top so can be sanded 3 times in it’s life. I also comes in 3 lengths per pack to stop the horrible patterns that people tend to lay

[290GTP]

I just ripped up the carpet in my 4 bedrooms and replaced it with 8.5mm thick hybrid flooring.. Pretty happy with the results. Because it comes with its own underlay attached you don't feel any imperfections in the slab.

Cost me about $2300 for around 50 Sq mtrs.

[Tonz]

would be interesting to see whats under the slate. Depending where you live base floor boards could be anything from plywood to jarrah.

if solid real timber spend some time and money, get them stripped, sanded and sealed with quality floor sealer.

I am very biased towards real floorboards

[Mulva]

@Tonz it is a mid-90s build, solid cement slab.

[Tonz]

f o o k

[MercuryT]

In my previous house I used a (quality) Laminate that clipped together.

Was MUCH cheaper but in hindsight I probably would go proper hardwood as whilst looked basically the same you could just tell.

Depends how far your wallet goes i guess but it can be done by yourself (I'm useless t
really but did it all with just a saw and bench and dripping sweat - ripping up the previous floor was the biggest pain in the ar'e of the whole job)

[roKWiz]

Fitting out the cabin, I used a light coloured laminate but I had a flat new floor base to start with.

[Mulva]

Been out this arvo doing the rounds - ruled out real wood pretty early (it's not going to be our "forever" home, and already paid more for it than would have liked due to super-hot market), so it came down to those hybrid click-together things and the vinyl planks which are what I think Jaydee spoke of.

To be honest, without having seen them I wasn't keen on vinyl just because I was picturing 70's style lino...but after visiting 4 different places and getting consistent info from all 4, the thicker 5mm version of the vinyl planks are currently the front runners with the wife (myself too, which surprised me as I went in biased against them):

- The vinyl planks are much quieter to walk on in hard-sole shoes (confirmed by walking on various installed samples of hybrid and vinyl at various stores)
- The 5mm vinyls (not the thin ones) are softer underfoot than hybrid (as said previously, I get around barefoot at home which sucks on the hard ceramic tiles where I currently live)
- The vinyls are waterproof and impervious to warping (the hybrids are often billed as being waterproof, and the surface of them is, but if water/liquids get between them they can warp)
- The vinyl planks are harder wearing / more scratch resistant (though hybrids are also fairly tough too apparently, just not as tough)
- The vinyl are easier to replace if you do damage them - unstick/remove the damaged vinyl plank and stick down a new one; whereas with the snap-together hybrids you have to pull-up all the planks between the nearest wall and the damaged plank to remove the damaged one, which may also involve pulling up skirting to get that process started).

And they actually do a good job of looking like wood and not looking like nanna's lino - look identical to the hybrids, and are individual planks.

Downside to the vinyl is I would probably use an installer as they are glued down and I'd want a decent job, and the guy removing the slate will need do a bloody good job of removing all residue and levelling the surface; whereas I probably could have done the snap-together hybrids myself and they are slightly more tolerant to small imperfections/gouges in the slab.

So right now leaning towards the 5mm vinyl planks, which surprises me as I went out today in my mind thinking it was out of real wood or hybrid snap togethers, and had pretty much ruled out the vinyls without having seen them.

Decision not yet made, but currently leaning that way, though am worried by what Giant Cranium said...ChangeMyMind.jpg

[290GTP]

Just make sure the slab is properly prepped as GC said and they will fine. I had them in my last house. But every lump and bump needs to be removed.

[MrEL]

Currently doing the floors in our place.
Using 8mm hybrid flooring.
Hybrid is waterproof. Laminate isn't.
Hybrid is dense and quiet. Laminate isn't.
They are both very different.
Things to remember is have 3-4 packs out at a time as your laying them and grab them at random from each pack. Stops colour patches emerging.
Also cut your starting boards from the wall at various random lengths. You need to keep the pattern random.
If you make the pattern symmetrical it will look terrible.
Spend the extra and buy quality stuff. Don't touch the stuff from Bunnings. The price difference isn't that great.

[danzvtil]

+1 to vinyl plank. My last house we put down rather expensive wood look laminate,it looked great but when water spilled we would run for the mop before the edges swelled.
My cleaning client, a childcare centre had vinyl plank laid, it gets mopped 12 times per week, with all the food/spew/mucous you can throw at it, after a good mop it looks good as new. It’s also warm and soft underfoot.

[Citroënbender]

“Strategic retreat” should apply here. Leave the floors until you have finished the bulk of work above and beside them. Typically a decent reno will include lots of new (additional) and relocated services so walls may be getting one side torn off. And if you’re going that hard, often nicer to replace the skirtings after the new floor is down - it eliminates the “look at my flipper floor” beading down the edges.

Slate may come up well with thorough (hand) scrubbing and re-sealing, you can use a tinted sealer, too.

danzvtil - had to chuckle at your post, still cleaning sundry fine splatters of my father’s vomit off walls as I go through the place.

[asagaai]

My 2 cents

Real wooden floor cannot be beaten for look, and if well installed and well polished, for feel.

Also if hardwood, will last a lifetime or two.

Can put real timber tongue and groove on slab once sealed under the timber.

But is expensive $$$$ So only if a keeper house or done for resale and is not overcapitalising.

I have just finished re-build of the rear living area/kitchen/lounge- used 21 mm thick tongue and groove, 185 mm width boards, used hardwood called silvertop stringybark. My wife and I both walk barefoot inside and is silken organic underfoot and is warm in winter, much nicer than laminate we had before which felt like cold plastic.

Photos if interested:

[.:4:.]

The house i grew up in every few years would flood the step down to the rumpus room. So my parents got jack of the whole wet dog smelling carpet and went with vynal laminate. That wasnt for financial reasons, even though it was cheaper, it was function over form for whenever that room flooded. It didnt look terrible, was deffinately more 'textured' though. So that place was on a slab. My ex wifes brother got his place done with timber slats on over the concrete slab and yeah it cost a bit but looks good. My house is a brick pier so has a wood floor not concrete and its polished etc. Theres no major difference. The main complaint my ex brother in law has is nothing to do with the flooring, its his dog who is easily excited and scratches it up.

[290GTP]

One of the rooms I did with hybrid. Easy to install but rough on the body when you're not used to it.

[Crazy Dazz]

Depends on what you like the look of, how much you want to spend, and any restrictions on height.

As I understand it, "hybrid" is essentially laminate with the underlay stuck on. If so, apart from a marginal difference in height (and the cost) the main thing is the noise. Laminate CAN be layed directly onto the slab, and the noise will drive you nuts. It should be laid on underlay anyway, so might as well use the hybrid.
You get what you pay for, some of it is downright ugly. Personally I hate the recent trends towards fake woodgrain, but that's a matter of personal taste.

Real timber is much nicer, and not all that much more expensive. But it's a lot harder to lay, and generally a lot thicker. To lay it properly on a slab, they recommend a plywood base, which increases the height and cost again.

Personally I prefer tiles to fake wood, but that's just me.

[Mont5.0]

i did my whole house end to end in vinyl plank. (bar bedrooms and wet areas) used industrial Karndean planks. made sure slab was flat before doing. no probs. wanna change colours in the future- no probs.

got 2 kids and 2 inside dogs, looks as good as it was 7 years ago when laid.

I went for the industrial (commercial V residential) as i seen the local bottle shop running pallet jacks over it with no scratches etc.