Floating floors in wet areas plus timber floor questions

Hi everyone
Did a quick search on this but couldn't find anything.
I am getting So many mixed opinions from retailers.

We are building with a project builder, want timber floors through our open plan kitchen/dining/living plus through the hallway which leads onto bedroom (carpet) and bathroom(tiles obviously).

If I get floating, proejct builder says they'e fine for around the kitchen and island bench (I can also do my floors through them and install etc - so they would say this). Say they do it all the time. Harvey Norman floors say the same.

Another retailer who sells both, says no floating around kitchen due to wet area issues, but solid will also be an problem because of the 38mm height and height differences between hallway and bedrooms. Says I need to get builder to increase floor heights in beds/bath to match living area (which obviously costs more).

Solid timber retailer says the height difference is ok. He showed me the transition they use between boards and carpet or tiles - it's a sloped timber piece.

So confused !!!! And I haven't even got to price comparisons yet.

They (and another retailer) says solid timber won't work without building up the adjoining areas to the 38mm required for solid with batten

I've been advised that your not supposed to let the timber get wet and stay wet. So that should be a consideration for where you have it...I have not ever double-checked it

Laminates can swell if they get wet, and stay swelled.

Solid timber floors are generally 20mm or less, not 38mm. We have timber through most of our house (solid not laminate) and carpet in some bedrooms and have no problem with height differences.

tjilpi, do you have batten as well ? I'm assuming this is what takes it up to the 38mm, both solid timber retailers said sticking the solid timber direct on concrete was a no-no.

Thanks for responses guys

I’ll sell floating floors for kitchens no problems, but make the customer aware that IF the dishwasher leeks there will be major issues, either with Laminates or Timbers.

If you really want it go for it, just make sure your dishwasher (if you have one) is looked at occasionally by a plumber or whoever services them to make sure it is in good working condition all the time.

BIG no no for bathrooms!

thanks Michelle. I just got a few more quotes back & the solid timber one is actually comparable with the floating. Leaning towards timber I think ....

NICE....

Can't beat the real thing.

No battens, we have timber laid on timber. But we have a couple of rooms where we lifted carpet and polished the floorboards butting up against floors of timber on timber or slate on timber. Height difference is not a problem
We recently laid more timber floor in a new area. We saved heaps by buying timber at a timber auction (less than 1/3rd of retail price) and laying it. We laid it ourselves, so saved on labour too, but you could get a tradie just to lay it.

There was a few laminates that are fine for wet area's like Quickstep Lagune (looks like shipdeck) & we sold a few over the years with zero failures, but they were around $100m2 supply only.

Personally I think ceramic tiles with a correctly installed waterproof membrane & a skirting tile is the best way to go in a bathroom or wet area.

Timber products will suffer in wet area's & that includes Timber skirtings...

AS3740 & the B.C.A. kinda back up that tiles with a correctly installed waterproofing membrane is the only way to go in a wet area if you want to follow the letter of the law.....

We had a similar dilemma, did a little bit of research and found this place in Richmond called http://www.tectonicfloors.com.au/. They are a little pricey,($125/psm supply) but they can be laid directly on a concrete slab and are suitable to be installed even in the bathroom if need be!

I'm just re-opening this post with another question. We ended up paying our building to raise door jambs, architraves etc but now that we're at flooring stage (by an external contractor) it seems the carpeted areas eg bedrooms won't have the actual floor raised. Carpet is going in after handover & we haven't sourced it yet.

The carpet man at Harvey Norman told me in an initial inquiry they'd just create a 'ramp' under the carpet up to the doorway/transition. Is this the 'perfect' solution in terms of aesthetics ? Or is there an option to build the floor up in the bedrooms. TBH, I thought this is what we're getting with the builder but now I'm not sure as it doesn't seem to be specified in the paperwork with them

So what we think you are saying is you had your builder set the skirting height at a predetermined height allowing for the fact that you were getting a flooring contractor in to fit timber perhaps in the living and halls ? But the height of the skirts is also set higher in the rooms to be carpeted ? And you are concerned with the height relationship between the carpet and the adjoining floor ?

If that's right, you also need to back fill the raised skirting with timber, putty and the repaint. The carpet has to finish to a solid flat wall, not a gap with a skirting board sitting in mid air, as the carpet will have a tendency to come away from the smooth edge.

Back to the height issue. A quality carpet and underlay combination could nett you as much as 30mm in height. What's the height variation from the subfloor in the "to be" carpeted area versus the finished height of the adjoining floor ?

No the height of the skirts in the bedrooms has not been adjusted (they haven't been installed yet anyway).
My concern is the 'drop' from the living area with timber to the carpet. I don't know the exact height difference at this point but presuming it's close enough to 30mm as the timber is just about laid and the bedrooms are still just slab.

Great. No worries then ! Your local Harvey Notman was correct. If required, small ramps can be fitted under the carpet to assist, but you won't know if they are truly required until you choose your carpet and underlay.