Hi All,

We have about 25m^2 of recently built dining room/family
room to floor - it's currently just a screeded surface.  I'm
having real difficulty deciding what to lay - too many
options!

Main concern is that whatever we lay copes with two children
(3yrs and 1yr) - not particularly destructive, but as messy
as any toddlers.

Options:

(1) Real wood blocks.  Aesthetically preferable, but how
    would they cope with wear/knocks/spills etc?  Usually
    can be resanded, but this is a big hassle.  Colleague
    says he took up his wood floor and replaced with
    laminate because his children destroyed it!

(2) Wood-veneer engineered floor.  Cheaper than (1), but
    limited resanding options.  Would it be more robust, or
    just suffer the same problems?

(3) Laminate.  Happy to shell-out for quality laminate.
    Easy to lay.  Durable.  But is it possible to get
    laminate that really looks woodish?  Recommended brands?

Anything else I should consider?

Many thanks for any advice or experience!

Ben

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Ben Edgington wrote:

> Main concern is that whatever we lay copes with two children
> (3yrs and 1yr) - not particularly destructive, but as messy
> as any toddlers.
> Options:
> (1) Real wood blocks.  Aesthetically preferable, but how
>     would they cope with wear/knocks/spills etc?  Usually
>     can be resanded, but this is a big hassle.  Colleague
>     says he took up his wood floor and replaced with
>     laminate because his children destroyed it!


Must have been crap wood or badly laid then. The hall and gym at school 
had wood block floors between 60 and 100 years old and they'd survived.

You could also look at terrazzo, which can be hard, noisy and slippy, 
but is almost everlasting. Tiles or laid in situ.

However, toddlers won't be toddlers for ever. You could use something 
cheapish like *sealed* plywood or chipboard for now, and reconsider your 
options later.

Owain

> Must have been crap wood or badly laid then. The hall and gym at school had
> wood block floors between 60 and 100 years old and they'd survived.


True.  But if I cast my mind back all those years I seem
to recall that our school hall floor had a really thick
protective layer of wax mixed with dirt, added to weekly.
Good for protection; not aesthetically pleasing 8^)

Ben

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Ben Edgington
  Mail to the address above is discarded.
  Mail to ben at that address might be read.
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============

Hi All,

We have about 25m^2 of recently built dining room/family
room to floor - it's currently just a screeded surface.  I'm
having real difficulty deciding what to lay - too many
options!

Main concern is that whatever we lay copes with two children
(3yrs and 1yr) - not particularly destructive, but as messy
as any toddlers.

=============

One other option: porcelain tiles (with or without underfloor heating
mats) - practically indestructible, easy to clean, relatively cheap and
wide variety of looks - though hard on heads & knees (if your kids are
as coordinated as mine, they'll notice the difference from carpet
pretty quickly).

On the wood front, having had polyurethane resin finished oak boards
AND oiled oak boards (20mm) with kids & dogs (relatively big and very
active), I can say that after 5 years the wear is not particularly
noticeable on either finish, though on pine it's a lot more visible. On
the other hand, we went for a matt finish and relatively "rough" surface
right from the start, rather than a high gloss polish.

Good luck

Davide


-- 
Davide