Browse Forums Flooring & Floor Covering 1 Mar 17, 2009 8:37 am Hi all,
I never realised picking timber flooring would be so hard. I am seriously considering the Boral engineered timber floors in either the Blackbutt or Stringybark. I know that some people have had problems with the Natural range (particularly the coating) so we will be going the Australiana range. I am a little concerned about whether these two types of timber are too soft (Blackbutt - 9.1, Stringybark - . We don't have pets or children at this stage but are looking to have children in the long term. Practically, what is the different between a Janka rating of 8 and 9.1? Is the difference great enough that we should pick the higher rated wood automatically (the stringybark and blackbutt have similar tones). I know that a lot of people on this forum have laid the blackbutt in particular. I was just hoping for some feedback about how the timbers have worn, dented etc. and whether you are happy with the selection that you made. Also, I am curious what maintenace people do for their timber floors (one flooring place told me I should sweep the floor daily - I don't know who has the time to do that) and whether they have a policy about shoes/high heels in the house. Photo's would be a bonus. Thanks in advance. Craigburn Re: Floating timber floors 2Mar 17, 2009 6:35 pm The coating is EXACTLY the same on the boards regardless of grade.
Blackbutt and Stringybark are both hard floors - a janka of 9 is a hard floor. "janka w*nking" aside, its more the coating that protects a floor rather than the hardness of the timber. People seem to be so unnecessarily obsessed with 'janka' and 'hardness' Its only really an issue with soft timbers such as cypress pine and the Ash eucalypts as far as floors are concerned I only have tung oil on my blackbutt floors and with three children there are only a few dints here and there but they are in the kitchen where you expect them. (i'm good at dropping things) Re: Floating timber floors 3Mar 18, 2009 8:22 am Thanks Dukekamaya,
It makes me feel better to know that we should just pick the wood that we prefer and not worry about the small difference in the hardness rating. In relation to the coating, Boral actually admit on their website that there is a difference in the standard of coating between the grades and that there will be imperfections with the coating on the Natural range: "Boral Silkwood's natural grade may also include some coating imperfections and mechanical features such as saw burns marks that add even more character to a natural grade floor." I know that Phoenix had problems with the coating and that Boral admitted that there can be issues with the coating on the Natural range. However, the store that Phoenix bought the product from failed to tell her that. I don't know whether the above info on the website has been put up there after complaints from customers. I just thought I would put up the information above so that people who are considering the Boral range are aware that it wasn't just a faulty batch that Phoenix got. The issue is ongoing with the Natural range and Boral admit that. Its just a shame that not all of the retailers make their customers aware. However, I would expect that because they do not disclose anything in relation to their classic or Australiana range that there would not be any imperfections with the coating. Craigburn Thanks Simon, I guess I'm no concerned with the volume of the noise rather that dead and hollow sound and feel that is associated with floating floors. But I'm not sure… 3 6141 Thanks, that's the motivation I needed to give it a try sooner rather than one day! 4 3002 To put anything over slate you will need to put self level compound over the entire area as slate various in thickness and is very un even. To install most types of… 1 389 |