Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Apr 24, 2009 6:36 pm We have been debating the pros and cons between having Tiled floors or Timber floors in our new home. This is the first time we have designed and built a house, and as we are doing it Owner/Builder, budget is driving the majority of the project. At the end of the discussion, we always come back to cost... We can physically lay the timber floor oursleves and save costs initially, but will end up spending roughly the same in a few years time, once our toddlers grow up and out of riding their toys etc inside and we need to sand and restain the floor. However, with tiles, we may pay more initially because we cannot lay themselves, but there is no further costs to upkeep their look. If you have used or lived with Timber and/or Tiles, can you help us define the real pros and cons, other than the cost factors? Any info will help. Re: Tiles vs Timber flooring...? 2Apr 24, 2009 6:41 pm I've always had tiles, except in this current rental I have boards. And they are damaged (were when we got here) and we have added damage just from living. Tiles every time for me even though I love the look of the boards. I like to live in my house, not worry every five minutes about damaging my floors. I leave you to fend for yourself, figure things out yourself. Terrence Malick Re: Tiles vs Timber flooring...? 3Apr 24, 2009 6:51 pm Howdy, For me, I absolutely love floorboards. I've got them in my current house and and I'm installing them in the house I'm about to start building. But because I don't have kids, I don't really have to worry too much about damage. My brother has floorboards with a 2-year old, and they're starting to look a bit worse-for-wear! If you decide to lay boards, my advice would be to have a rumpus room or activity room with carpet, so the kids can play around with their toys and cars without fear of ruining the boards. Tiles can get quite cold in winter. Surprisingly, floorboards actually stay quite warm in winter and cool in summer. I'm not sure why, but I can comfortably walk around barefoot in winter on floorboards without feeling cold. Good luck - it's not an easy decision, as tiles and floorboards look equally stylish in my opinion. Cheers, Paul Re: Tiles vs Timber flooring...? 4Apr 24, 2009 6:52 pm We are looking into timber laminate flooring. Much cheaper, looks ok, has good insulation properties. Apperently it's fairly hard wearing and for the price I figure if I get sick of it 5-10 years down the track it shouldn't be too much trouble to replace. Tiles on the other hand.......too much trouble. Carpet....we have small children too - it would get destroyed fairly quickly! I'd love to have floorboards, but they would put us over budget. We have decided to go for "the look" of what we want now (cheaply), and then gradually replace stuff later on with the "real stuff". And only spend on the stuff that will be too hard to do later. Re: Tiles vs Timber flooring...? 5Apr 24, 2009 7:01 pm or use these... Porcelain tiles that resemble timber. I have some samples here at home and I tell you they look fantastic. Not cheap however but all the fantastic low maintenance qualities of tiles with the look of timber. made by Panaria in Italy. Built 36sq Plantation "Retreat" on 4460m2 at Spring Mountain, Qld In Living and landscaping.. >>> ... http://retreatspring.blogspot.com Re: Tiles vs Timber flooring...? 6Apr 24, 2009 8:24 pm hunts01 However, with tiles, we may pay more initially because we cannot lay themselves, but there is no further costs to upkeep their look. I think you'd be surprised how easy it can be. Once I was shown how it all came together easy. ’’Quondo Omni Flunkus Mortati ’’ If the women don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy. Stila BK1 Build Thread The best place to talk about sport Re: Tiles vs Timber flooring...? 7Apr 24, 2009 8:29 pm My partner and I where facing the exact same choices slash thought paterns our selves. We ended going up with bamboo floor boards has one of the hardest Janka ratings (hardness) out of most common flooring woods and we are doing direct stick method so we dont get excessive hieght or drumming when walking on them. Shop around we got ours for about $60sqm. These where about 88mm wide and 15mm solid thickness. Re: Tiles vs Timber flooring...? 8Apr 24, 2009 8:37 pm I'm definitely a carpet girl. Grew up with polished boards until I was a teenager and cork shoes came into fashion and my parents had enough of listening to me clomping around the house. They put down carpet and it was great. I discovered my last house had polished hardwood floors underneath the tiling (I removed the tiles before I had the house restumped. Everyone who visited was very impressed but I very quickly had hall runners and large mats in all the rooms as I hated the noise of them. If I had of kept that house I would of had it carpeted. My new house is tiles and carpet!! In reference to laminate flooring, the only comment I can say is that all of the display homes that I have seen it in have been pitted drastically by stilettos. Don't know anybody who has been game enough to have it so can't comment on normal use. Good luck with your decision! Re: Tiles vs Timber flooring...? 9Apr 25, 2009 10:01 am we sell them timber look tiles at our shop we have a brand called grespania made in spain the only thing wrong with them is that if they are not installed right, and they are a hard tile to install they will have lips on the tiles and you will always kick your toe on them they are a rectified edge and if there not in stalled properly they will look sh7$ Re: Tiles vs Timber flooring...? 10Apr 25, 2009 11:06 am I'm a floorboards girl through and through! I've lived with stumps and a wooden floor for 12 years (carpet only in 2 kids bedrooms and a runner up the hallway!), and brought up two messy kids with them, and loved them. We only had them sanded and polished once and that was before we moved in. They were worn only slightly, but just looked more matt than full gloss, but they were not damaged in any other way. The kids were pretty hard on them too. I have a 'thing' about grit...cannot stand it. I hate the sound of grit/sand/dirt under foot on tiles. I was in an apartment in QLD for a holiday, and must have swept the floor at least 4 times a day. I never had to do this in our home, dispite having the kids bring in sand from the sandpit often. I find wooden floors warmer and softer than tiles. Drop something on a tile floor and it often breaks. On wooden floors it tends to bounce! Now in saying that, it might be a completely different kettle of fish on a floating floor laid directly on a concrete slab...which I will find out about soon! The noise of the wooden floors never bothered me, even with kids running around! Cleaning the floors wasn't a problem either. I usually ran the vac over them rather than sweeping, then just wash with warm water and a dash of methylated spirits with a damp mop. No grout to worry about scrubbing, staining, sealing, or cracking and lifting. Tiles in wet areas for me because of their non rotting poperties , but for general living areas, floorboards all the way! I prefer the look of them. A lot of it will come down to the whole look of your home. Tiles look fantastic in more contemporary style homes. However, we are creating a more traditional feel to our home, where floorboards will suit it much better. Good luck with your decision! I can't wait to have floorboards again! Here I have off white carpet and tiles with 2 kids and a black cat...and I can't stand it! Henley - Wilshire Mk 3 ... I love my house!! Site start: 4th Feb 09 Handover: 10th Sep 09 Blog: http://stormygirlscastle.blogspot.com/ Build Thread: viewtopic.php?t=7166 Re: Tiles vs Timber flooring...? 11Apr 25, 2009 12:05 pm Stormy I'm a floorboards girl through and through! I've lived with stumps and a wooden floor for 12 years (carpet only in 2 kids bedrooms and a runner up the hallway!), and brought up two messy kids with them, and loved them. We only had them sanded and polished once and that was before we moved in. They were worn only slightly, but just looked more matt than full gloss, but they were not damaged in any other way. The kids were pretty hard on them too. I have a 'thing' about grit...cannot stand it. I hate the sound of grit/sand/dirt under foot on tiles. I was in an apartment in QLD for a holiday, and must have swept the floor at least 4 times a day. I never had to do this in our home, dispite having the kids bring in sand from the sandpit often. I find wooden floors warmer and softer than tiles. Drop something on a tile floor and it often breaks. On wooden floors it tends to bounce! Now in saying that, it might be a completely different kettle of fish on a floating floor laid directly on a concrete slab...which I will find out about soon! The noise of the wooden floors never bothered me, even with kids running around! Cleaning the floors wasn't a problem either. I usually ran the vac over them rather than sweeping, then just wash with warm water and a dash of methylated spirits with a damp mop. No grout to worry about scrubbing, staining, sealing, or cracking and lifting. Tiles in wet areas for me because of their non rotting poperties , but for general living areas, floorboards all the way! I prefer the look of them. A lot of it will come down to the whole look of your home. Tiles look fantastic in more contemporary style homes. However, we are creating a more traditional feel to our home, where floorboards will suit it much better. Good luck with your decision! I can't wait to have floorboards again! Here I have off white carpet and tiles with 2 kids and a black cat...and I can't stand it! + 1 for everything Stormy said!!! I lived with floorboards for 11 years and they looked as good the day we moved out as they did when we moved in. Never had them sanded back or re-polished. And that is with 5 kids, and I was never precious about the floor. We have currently been in our rental for 10 months and have added about 7 cracks ( ) to the Kitchen floor, to go with the plenty that were already there. Lounge/Dining/Halls here are boards and I don't notice any more "noise" in these rooms than I do in the tiled areas. Plus the floorboards are warmer under foot. I don't believe in excess - success is to give. Paul David Hewson Re: Tiles vs Timber flooring...? 12Apr 25, 2009 12:15 pm *chants* Floorboards Floorboards Floorboards +2 to Stormy Custom European Cabinets - Melbourne Kitchen Specialist PM for business details as website currently being updated! Our Crazy Owner Builder Journey! Re: Tiles vs Timber flooring...? 14Apr 30, 2009 11:14 pm I vote for floorboards, can't wait to see them in our house that we are about to build, it's put our budget over but we believe it will be worth it, they are timeless to. Building a Wisdom Prosperity 23 - http://erwisdomprosperity.blogspot.com/ Re: Tiles vs Timber flooring...? 15Apr 30, 2009 11:24 pm Another vote for floorboards. I love the look and feel of them. I think tiles makes the house look abit clinical, while floorboards gives a house that homely vibe!! I'm living with mum and she's got timber floorboards, and it's been timber for many many years and she's never sand it back. It still looks amazing, and we never tread carefully on them . I think floorboards can withstand more than most people think. Idiots are fun, that's why there is one in every village! - Dr. House - Re: Tiles vs Timber flooring...? 16Apr 30, 2009 11:38 pm I love floorboards Unfortunately they're just too pricey for me *sigh* so i'll be going with tiles. viewtopic.php?f=31&t=22766 - my build thread! Time waits for no man. Unless that man is Chuck Norris. Re: Tiles vs Timber flooring...? 17Apr 30, 2009 11:53 pm hey hunts we were having the same problem i want a floor and floorboards were my choice but the price put me off. that was until i found at auction i can get 185 x 19 T&G end matched blackbutt or vic ash boards for $1.95-$2.20 per lineal mtr which equates too $10.54-$11.89 per sqmtr so i know exactly what we will be doing even if you allow 20% wastage they still come in under $20.00 per sqmtr we looked at laying yellow tongue at $11.41 sq mtr then later putting carpet and tiles but if we can get the vic ash or kempas at the auctions then yeeehaaaaa if you decide to go with tiles dont be scared floor tiles are a little harder to lay then wall tiles but you can definately DIY it good luck on what you decide stay safe happy building Re: Tiles vs Timber flooring...? 18May 01, 2009 6:03 am ozzroo or use these... Porcelain tiles that resemble timber. I have some samples here at home and I tell you they look fantastic. Not cheap however but all the fantastic low maintenance qualities of tiles with the look of timber. made by Panaria in Italy. Ozzroo it's never nice to torment other forum members I LOVE those!!!! hmmmm I wonder if hubby will let me change my mind - again And just for the record my vote goes to tiles Re: Tiles vs Timber flooring...? 19May 01, 2009 8:12 am bingoshelley hey hunts we were having the same problem i want a floor and floorboards were my choice but the price put me off. that was until i found at auction i can get 185 x 19 T&G end matched blackbutt or vic ash boards for $1.95-$2.20 per lineal mtr which equates too $10.54-$11.89 per sqmtr so i know exactly what we will be doing even if you allow 20% wastage they still come in under $20.00 per sqmtr we looked at laying yellow tongue at $11.41 sq mtr then later putting carpet and tiles but if we can get the vic ash or kempas at the auctions then yeeehaaaaa if you decide to go with tiles dont be scared floor tiles are a little harder to lay then wall tiles but you can definately DIY it good luck on what you decide Hi Shelley, Is that just from ***, or something of the sort? Any more information on how we can get Vic Ash for under $20.00 per square meter Our house thread: https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=18335 Engineering timber is certainly a less fuss option, times cheaper to supply and install and better withstands humidity. 1 15921 1 15756 1000000% definitely add insulation. I have in my home and it makes a big difference minimising sound transfer. Insulation is pretty cheap and definitely worth it 2 6205 |