Browse Forums Flooring & Floor Covering 1 Sep 02, 2007 12:29 pm Hi,
We are looking to put floor boards in the house as we are not fans of tiles. Lately the trend seems to be floating floors but most display homes we have been in seem to seem cheap and nasty. Real floor boards seem to give a nice feel and seem more permanent than the floating type. Anyone gone about putting real floor boards in? What additional cost over floating floors have they found? Comments about the quality of floating floors? Thanks MJ Re: Floating or real floor boards - cost? 2Sep 02, 2007 11:11 pm Hi MJ,
we also wanted to put a structural timber floor in instead of a floating floor board, however our soil type and construction design meant that we would have to have had 6metre foundations to do so. Therefore, in the interest of saving (some) money on the foundations, we chose to compromise a little. We have a drop of only 40mm, 20mm for the joists and 20mm for the floorboards. this means that we can still use the traditional floor boards which can be sanded etc, and hopefully will still get some of the feel of traditional boards. I guess what I am saying is that your design and soil type might dictate this a bit. we had our hearts set on structural flooring and were quite disappointed at the compromise. not sure on price difference, we are using 2nd hand floorboards (oak). Helen Re: Floating or real floor boards - cost? 3Sep 03, 2007 8:13 am We will be building on a concrete slab, so the real floorboards are not really an option.
We've looked at some possibilities, and have decided to go for the laminated boards. We've seen these in use in a display home, and they look every bit as good as the solid timber boards, with the advantage that they will stand up to a lot of abuse. Nice thing about them is that if you need to replace one, you take it up, and put a new one in. I always poo-hooed anything other than the real timber floors - but I've been converted! Re: Floating or real floor boards - cost? 4Sep 03, 2007 8:24 am Perry,
You're flooring sounds interesting. When you say laminated boards are these the plastic wood look alike boards or the layers of wood type boards.? Hope this makes sense. The bit that sounds very interesting is the replacement option. Assuming you've bought some extra pieces that are therefore colour matched, can you tell me a bit more abouot how a board is removed and replace. So far, this sounds like the ideal flooring material. Do you have a brand name and type? Cheers, Casa Demolition August 2009, Construction Started September 2009, Completed December 2010 Re: Floating or real floor boards - cost? 5Sep 03, 2007 9:18 am You can lay solid timber floors over a concrete slab. The area over which the floor is to be laid should be rebated 45mm. 90 x 35 timber battens are laid over the slab at 450 centres, and the flooring laid over the battens. The slab should be also be waterproofed prior to laying the battens. Given that solid timber flooring is 19mm thick, the finished level of the timber floor will be approx 10mm above adjoining areas, which when carpeted or tiled, will match the height perfectly.
Its not that difficult, however, I cannot see any of the volume builders doing this without charging an arm and a leg for it. Laminated boards also require unsightly expansion joints every 5 meters or so, and they all sound like lino. They are also prone to buckling if they get wet. Re: Floating or real floor boards - cost? 6Sep 03, 2007 9:22 am we went thru the same issue and faced the following
Major flooring retailers showed only the floating floors/thin layer of polished timber over ordinary wood. None of them supply the old style floorboards. Most floating floors dent with your fingernails (except kempas). The environmental issue of cutting trees to manufacture floorboards convinced me to go for bamboo(which is a rapidly renewable source).. \Bamboo comes in complete thickness of same material (unlike the floating floor samples) thus one can polish them like the old floorboards if needed. Bamboo(good samples) doesnt dent as much as the wood samples. Bamboo strips can be spot replacedlike other click fit woods/laminates. bamboo has higher moisture tolerance as compared to floorboards I feel bamboo is a good compromise betn the floating floarboards and old style floorboards. we will however go for tiles and carpet downstairs and bamboo upstairs just my 2 cents Re: Floating or real floor boards - cost? 7Sep 03, 2007 9:41 am We have also gone with a timber laminate flooring.
It's in "Flame Jarrah" & from Tarkett Sommer, very nice colour & looks every bit like the real thing as perryr said.... & very durable (2 kids pushing dump trucks up & down our real timber floors ATM has scratched the heck out of them). The reason why they are replacable is because they aren't glued together or to the floor. It's like a big jigsaw puzzle... If one plank is damaged, you just take them out from the wall until you get to the damaged one, replace it & put them all back together again. If it was glued it becomes alot more difficult to replace a damaged plank. Cheers, Mike. My Blog... http://ahouseonthehill.blogspot.com/ Re: Floating or real floor boards - cost? 8Sep 03, 2007 7:04 pm Some of the flooring we have seen in display homes seems to have lots of marks from stilettos or other similar high heels. This leads me to believe it is a problem that the boards are not as durable as a hardwood?
Is this true, or is it based on the brand? Can anyone suggests some good brands? Thanks for the feedback. MJ Re: Floating or real floor boards - cost? 9Sep 03, 2007 9:15 pm MJ and others - this link is very interesting re timber floors.
re toughness etc. http://www.timber.org.au/resources/DS1%20General%20Information%20Oct%202005.pdf Personally I have had pine, radiata pine, baltic pine, jarrah + a commercial cafe with baltic pine - and yes all they mark but - hey that's part of life. If you expect timber floors to look like tiles or concrete every day - then you'd better plant a few concrete posts outside too. Timber floors add a lovely warm touch to a home and part of that warmth is the marks. An old timber dining table with a big gouge in it that has not been polished out to look like some stale new table - has history - + we remember why where and how it happened. Timber floors are the same. As for bamboo - have a read of their "renewable" resource policy - seems to be pretty resource hungry to me. Sure they we plant a tree that grows quickly is true - but as for what they need to do to make it into a floorboard!!! Hmm - I'd like to see some real energy usage comparisons. Good aussie wood is pretty hard to beat. and few marks and dents - well that's called character Steve Re: Floating or real floor boards - cost? 10Sep 03, 2007 9:22 pm Tarkett is an excellent brand of timber tongue and groove flooring!
I sold flooring for 2 & ½ years and Tarkett was my favourite timber flooring. It has a thin layer of REAL timber glued to a pine backing. Making it able to be sanded once (ONLY) in its life. This is the closest to timber flooring you will buy, and looks as good as the real thing! This flooring can also be laid onto a membrane….. Underlay. It does not have to be glued. Anyone who buys Tarkett will very pleased with the look and performance of this flooring. It’s a bit dearer, but well worth the expense. I forgot to mention, this flooring also comes pre-sealed. But if you seal it again once its laid you will seal up all joins and help prevention of water damage, if that happens. Internal and External Building and Colour Consultant Online - Worldwide http://www.denovoconcepts.com Re: Floating or real floor boards - cost? 11Sep 03, 2007 9:41 pm Casa - the floor I saw was a Trueloc. Looked great after 2 years in a display home, unsure of the price however.
Link below: http://www.trueloc.com/ Re: Floating or real floor boards - cost? 12Sep 03, 2007 9:48 pm Perry….nice flooring. Also from what I can see a real timber.
Looks very impressive! Internal and External Building and Colour Consultant Online - Worldwide http://www.denovoconcepts.com Re: Floating or real floor boards - cost? 13Sep 03, 2007 10:01 pm I'm also looking into putting floorboards into my extension.
From my research so far this is what I've gathered. Basically, engineered floorboards (thin slice of hardwood on pine) is cheaper to lay compared with traditional. If I remember correctly $30-50 / m2, depending on what it's laid on (concrete slab cost more). Engineered floorboards approx $50 ~ 90 depending on species. Traditional 19mm solid hardwood boards also start at $50, but can go >$100. Thing is, it requires sanding and polishing, therefore costs $$$ to install ($50~100 / m2). Also looked into bamboo. I like it because it's rapidly renewable, its hardness and moisture tolerance. It also comes pre-finished, meaning cheaper to install. However, I don't like the little grooves between each board. Cost is approx $50-60 / m2, installation cost similar to engineered floorboards. One last thing to mention is that Ebay seems to be a good place to look for cheap floorboards. Prices are approx 30~ 50% cheaper than what retail stores want to charge /m2. Hope this is of some help. Oh, and if someone here finds a good deal, please do let me know as well. ^_^ (I'm after blackbutt 80 x19 select grade for ~$40 /m2) Re: Floating or real floor boards - cost? 14Sep 03, 2007 10:06 pm I think the Trueloc might be the "Rolls Royce" option - I just found this:
http://www.carpetworld.com.au/index.php?pid=4&catID=8 Which puts it at $109 per square metre laid, or $79 per square metre if you want to DIY. I like the idea that you can replace damaged boards. You get what you pay for I guess! Re: Floating or real floor boards - cost? 15Sep 04, 2007 1:43 pm We have Trueloc in our home. It looks great & can be sanded twice before you have to replace...but it still marks & scratches very easily (as we have discovered). We have a few dents & scratches already.
One suggestion if you decide to go for wooden flooring...get beading put round the edge. It might seem slightly odd but you don't really notice it once it's on & it stops that abrupt join with the skirting board, making it easier to sweep your floors (&, IMHO, looks better because it makes it less obvious that your floor comes halfway up your skirting board!). Re: Floating or real floor boards - cost? 16Sep 04, 2007 3:05 pm perryr We will be building on a concrete slab, so the real floorboards are not really an option. I don't understand why. I am getting real floor boards installed upon completetion of my house, and I am also building on concrete slab. I have several quotes already, and expect no problems at all. They are more expensive than floating though, but that'a choice you're going to have to make. Currently Building in Bayside (Brighton East) Re: Floating or real floor boards - cost? 17Sep 04, 2007 3:26 pm I am quite confussed with this. I am now wondering if I should use Reak Timber or Laminate as I love the look of real floorboards.
I was going to install NYOTAH from the Timber top range from Unique Timber Floors in Old Geelong Road Hoppers Crossing. Does anyone have any experience with this product. IE How will it wear. Link is below. Any info would be greatly appreicated http://www.utf.com.au/timber_ttr.asp Re: Floating or real floor boards - cost? 18Sep 04, 2007 9:53 pm We had Trulock in our last house ( I think it was called trugrid then) and it wore really well. Only a few scratches round the table. It was the most expensive but was the only company that Jennings dealt with at the time.
This time around we went with 3 strip merbau from UTF in Hoppers Crossing. We paid a deposit when it was on sale and the 3 strip is cheaper than the one strip so it was significantly cheaper than last time. I have noticed that it seems to scratch more easily than my last floor although it can't be too bad because I am the only one who seems to notice. It is a more satin finish than last time, maybe this makes a difference. Apparently UTF have a repair kit for small scratches matched to each of their flooring types. Like Epiphany we have beading (quad??) around the edges because PD won't tack on skirting boards. Some people hate it but I think it looks ok. 4 6010 Thanks, that's the motivation I needed to give it a try sooner rather than one day! 4 2993 I'm about to put down some Merbau. Is it necessary to oil underneath the boards before laying? 0 1921 |