Hi there,
I am brand new to all this with no skills in home renovation at all and have been perusing the forum trying to get some ideas. We would *love* to replace the grotty carpet in our unit living/dining with some kind of wood or faux wood flooring. We have a 2 year old and another kid on the way so it needs to be pretty durable- something that can withstand drinks and food being spilled on it, toileting accidents and the like! We plan to be in this place another 5 years or so before selling so it would be great if we could get something now that will still look ok when it comes time to sell. We have very poor DIY skills so probably need something fully installed. I would like something that doesn't show up the dirt very much and doesn't require much maintenance.
I grew up with cork floors which I think are great for not showing up dirt, soft for dropped cups/kids falling down etc but they don't seem to be very trendy anymore so I thought we might need to go for bamboo or timber/timber look floors which seem to be the "look" around here.
Looking around it seems there are a few options such as bamboo, laminate or vinyl which would suit- which would you recommend? I have heard that vinyl may tear which I don't like the sound of however can you tell me about the "vinyl plank Allure" system?
It sounds like laminate will be the cheapest option is there any downside to this? Do you think it would last ok for 5 years with messy kids?
We live in a unit so are there any noise issues with these options that make them unsuitable? However we are on the ground floor so don't have any people directly under us.
Thank for your wisdom