soild wood floor...

Ken,

We fitted a Kahrs engineered wooden floor in our London home. Cost about GBP50 per sq metre. It looks absolutely fantastic.

www.flooringsupplies.co.uk

Good luck

David

quote:

Originally posted by David Sutton:
Ken,

We fitted a Kahrs engineered wooden floor in our London home. Cost about GBP50 per sq metre. It looks absolutely fantastic.

www.flooringsupplies.co.uk

Good luck

David

david, many thanks. do i take it that you did the fitting yourself? if not, who did you use for fitting? i dont really trust myself to do the fitting.

interestingly, i am considering a Kahrs as well and the quote i got from John Lewis was for one of their finishes.

enjoy
ken

As a slightly cheaper alternative, after looking into on-line retailers, B&Q etc and John Lewis, we ended up going for the solid wood flooring from our local Costco!

Just over £20 per square metre, solid Oak 18mm depth, tongue and groove finish - it was the Elka brand they sold, and I believe they have changed manufacturer slightly but the finish still looks good.
We had a choice of the lighter Oak finish or darker Kempas, we went for the oak.....










Having never laid solid wood flooring before I was a bit apprehensive, but I'm not shy of a bit of DIY so I took my time and did some research (books and the net) before making a start!!

I was lucky the whole room was being redecorated - as there was no skirting boards at the time of laying and I could easily leave the recommended (10mm) gap around the edges - most of the flooring fitted under the plaster boards.

It was a knee breaking job though and if you do tackle it yourself I'd recommend a pair of pads for sure!!

Each of the pieces of wood, once in place, had to be drilled, nailed, punched to sink the nail head, and then prised up so I could fit the next piece in under the tongue!! So it was not quick work......

Working off-shore helped though, as my time is my own when I am home!
But the satisfaction of doing it myself and the finished result was well worth it!

We’ve had almost two summers and a winter and not a lift or warp yet!!

Hope this helps.
Good luck with whatever you choose.

Cheers,
Ali

Would not a bitumen style glue as used on parquet not have done the job?

In our case, possibly, but it wasn't recommended on any of the research that I did....
And I'm not sure how that would have worked with the underlay that was required to stop bounce/vibrations between the new wood floor and existing floor panels.

Would have saved some time though and it might be possible to glue in certain situations, but I would make sure first!!

Cheers,
Ali

If installing under floor heating, ensure the solid wood flooring you purchase is a good quality engineered board!

Beano

Nice job, Ali.

Looks great!

Jim

Thanks Jim - the sore knee's was worth it!!

Ali, that is a wonderful floor! -- i a also considering oak, but i am not sure i will do this myself - its impressive you researched the topic thoroughly first. i think i am going to take the cowardly way -- the excuse being lack of time.

what are the pros and cons of solid vs engineered?

i would imagine a wooden floor in a listening room would change the acoustics somewhat --i hope i can neutralise that my scatteringa rug or two here and there. anyone with experience of the sort of impact to expect?

enjoy
ken

Hi Ken,

It was the "royal" we. The builder did it. He had never done one before (we discovered afterwards). However, it works. Ours is the Colarado version. You need to be careful selecting different types to suit your decor. Colorado is bevelled and gives a more "planked" look.

David

We had engineered oak flooring laid last year. It is wonderful. Thick, wide solid planks which have been varnished.

This is what we have: http://www.chauncey.co.uk/floors/tectonic.htm

An explanation is included but the text is as follows:

THE ADVANTAGES OF TECTONIC FLOORING:

Minimal shrinkage/warping. Suitable for use over underfloor heating **
Very stable construction
Extended usage due to the 6mm hardwood wear layer
All boards are wide and long
Can be nailed, glued or laid as a ‘floating floor’
Structural thickness (20.5mm) so can be laid across joists
Boards can be supplied with or without 1.4mm bevelled long edges
Installation costs are reduced due to the large size of the boards
Boards are superbly machined for trouble-free fitting
Every board is accurately moisture checked during production.

quote:

I would imagine a wooden floor in a listening room would change the acoustics somewhat --i hope i can neutralise that my scattering a rug or two here and there. anyone with experience of the sort of impact to expect?

Yes, a rug or two will do it. A carpet provides the area of the whole room ...but only absortion that starts where the pile depth is 1/8th wavelength (best absorption is at /4 wavelength). Given that most carpet is 9mm pile or less...that means with a hard floor you make the room more 'live' above the midrange (>> 4khz). Fortunately this kind of absorption is easily made-up in soft furnishings generally - curtains, upholstery etc. - so don't worry too much about it.

quote:

If installing under floor heating, ensure the solid wood flooring you purchase is a good quality engineered board!

Beano's quite right here, but the key is the moisture content %age at laying. Timber 'heaves' due to changes in moisture content far more than temperature alone.

Most kiln-dried timber is about 12% moisture by weight. However if you are laying a timber finish over a heated floor, the wood should be specced to have a water content not exceeding 7-8% at laying - preferably laid at 15deg C or above. Ideally the timber is left in the room (which is temporarily heated to at least 15 degC) for a minimum 3 day to acclimatise first, also. And don't, whatever you do, let the M&E installer whack the heating loop right up just to test it... (underfloor heating runs at a surface-finsh temp of 27-29degC, and should be brought up at a stipulated rate on the first run)

Solid vs engineered there's not a lot in it, except you'll pay more for solid timber guaranteed to meet a given spec like the one above. Top -quality engineered stuff, like some Junckers products, has a 4-6mm 'veneer' that can be re-finished (ie sanded-down) for many years to come.