Flooring questions

I am just doing heaps of research before I plunge into knocking our own place down to rebuild, just to see if its all feasible.

In regards to flooring, I know most builders won't include this as standard option. I have been doing some looking around Henley homes as they seem to have some more favoured feedback. Has anyone had any issues with the timber laminate flooring (if you've had it for a few years now)?

Also I hate hate hate carpet, my house will only have tiled areas plus the timber/laminate stuff. I know timber (the real stuff) will be mighty expensive - can anyone give approximate costs for both?

Im pretty new to this forum as well.
Hi
Im in Perth and have done a lot of research into timber flooring.
Weve purchased 153m2 of Grey Ironbark. Not all timber is the same.
Feature grade= Black stuff,knot holes and imperfections.( Cheapest)
Standard and better grade=this means less of the above
Select Grade= "The good stuff"(u pay for this)
A lot of people love their feature grade timber, its a matter of choice and sometimes budget. Personally I'd rather lay carpet over much of it.
Rule 1: The wider the timber the more expensive it is.(90 is common) 120mm more expensive (86 often a brushed up feature grade board cut back). 14mm is a typical thickness.
Rule 2: Direct Stick to concrete or Plank on Ply(more expen$ive) are both fine as long as its done properly
Rule 3: Floors made up of short lengths of timber will be cheaper for the installer (because its the good end of a lesser quality plank)
Rule 4: There is a Laminate product from Boral called Silkwood and its actually more expensive than solid timber???? (Its quick to install for developers and builders see)
Rule 5: there is something called Janka Grade which is how hard the timber is......pick your wood and pick your wear.

My advice is to get away from the sales people.........and talk to someone who buys and dries the timber. They often have hooked up with installers and will kill the flooring shops on a finished price(Often better product as well).
Always compare apples with apples on flooring. Thickness,Grade,Width and installation method.

My timber flooring is very close to $150 a sq metre ( select grade/ direct stick) all done installed with beading, sanded and finished.
I had quotes 25% above that for thinner/narrower, feature grade................go figure (+$200 sq meter)
There is no comparrison on price between laminate flooring and Solid timber flooring, but the solid timber flooring is pretty special.


Tiles: The tile price plus roughly $37-$40 bucks a metre to lay. Tilers get edgey about big tiles because unevenness slows up big time on the surfaces (current trend 600X 300MM tiles everywhere)

Hi Wandin Valley,

Great post. Questions, we've looked at different timber specialist companies and there's a huge overload of information.

1. Where did you end up purchasing your timber from?
2. Have you had the timber floor installed and are you happy?

We've narrowed our choices to Tassie Oak (one of the softer woods available but should be acceptable since we work full time and do not have children), Marri (tougher but a little pricier) and Jarrah (absolutely gorgeous color but a little too dark esp since there's no natural lighting in our hallways where we intend to lay timber flooring).

Help please!

Be aware pprejudice that Tassie Oak yellows over time particularly around doors and windows that get a lot of sun.
You should ask this question in the flooring section.
viewforum.php?f=7
There are a lot of discussions there about the merits and prices per sq m for different timber and laminate flooring.

Stewie

Beg to differ,its not the timber that yellows,its the coating.
I for one would never use one of those traditional coatings,
either spirit or water based-wears out,scratches,can flake and peel.
12 years ago I burnished my timber floor with hard floor burnishing oil.
Easy job,flood coated the floor,let it soak in,then hit it with a polyvac
floorpolisher with a white pad.Today it still looks like new,i have had some
deep scratches and all I do is rub a bit of the oil in them and polish it up.
No surface to wear or tear,the oil is burnt in and penetratated,not sitting on
the surface like other coatings.

Wandin Valley, Thanks for the "timber flooring" lesson. Very helpful to me right now as I'm gathering quotes. Any pictures of your floor, or is it still work in progress? Please let me know also where you purchased from.

We opted to have Grey Ironbark solid timber. I love the look and durability.

We sourced the timber separately and then hired a company to install. For us it was more cost effective this way. I sourced many quotes - supply only, install only, supply and install and worked it from there.

You may be right oldchippy but over the years I have seen an lot of Tassie Oak floors ( they were pretty popular in the late '80's - early 90's ) and nearly everyone of them has yellowed dramatically around windows and doors that get a lot of sun.
A lot more than most other species of timber.
The other common species like spotted gum, brushbox etc had faded in those areas but not yellowed.
Most of them have had a polyurethane coating but a few of them have had Tung Oil applied.
The others I don't know.
Some of the Tassie Oak floors had been sanded and recoated but still had a yellowish look in those areas.

Stewie

How do you think Jarrah will wear over time with a water based finish. Being a darker timber will it be less prone to changing colour?

One flooring guys told me that the Aussie species are more prone to changing colour than some of the others eg oak

For what it is worth we put down a laminate floor eleven years ago and it still looks almost as good today as it did when we first had it laid. You have to look hard to find more than a few surface scuff marks.

My Timber Floor is coming from Wholesale Timber Flooring in Rockingham.
It hasnt been laid yet.