timber floors

[buildertobe]

Hi folks
Just new to the forum thing, have had a sticky beak over the past few months and decided it was time to give it a go!! Great Forum!!!

We are about to build a new home, concrete slab and would love to have a timber floor. There seems to be heaps of info on timber floors everywhere from the web to local flooring experts.

One thing we hav'nt been able to figure is which in fact is the best product, be it natural or pre finished floating or stick on stuff? Some friends that built a house about 6 years ago put a floating floor in and it is full of scratches - looks terrible.

Our floor area is going to get a high amount of traffic, kids and possibly pets (dog or cat), what we would like to have would be a timber floor that does not scratch (unlikely I know) or get damaged too easily, Someone told me that laminated floor boards?? are the best cause they don't scratch etc.

Can someone shed some light???

thanks Folks!!

[munruben]

I love natural timber but thats just my preference. Welcome to the forum.

[Sparhawk]

A solid timber floor gives you opportunities to sand back and recoat, but is limited to ensure good strength to the tongue and groove. Asking around they only recommend that a lamiated timber floor gets re sanded 2-3 times.

Floor boards will scratch, especially with pets and kids. Transition areas are bad for pets, as they suddenly loose traction and dig the nails in. It is also the place most likely for people to walk in materials. A good scrub mat outside, and a rug or carpet mat on the inside will help (although then you end up with the wood colouring differently with age).

If you keep the floor clean and polished/coated, then most light scratches end up on the surface, and can be cleaned out, the rest add "character" (we have one near the entry when I dropped the maglight getting my wife out to the car to get to the hospital for our first baby).

[buildertobe]

Thanks Folks
Will have a more in depth look over weekend, its all new - so exciting but dont want to stuff it up bu selecting the wrong product - at this stage we love the timber but are concerned about wearability.
Thanks again for the posts

[Toymaker Len]

Yair, go with solid timber floorboards. They make the laminated stuff look like plastic crap. We sanded the bluegum floors throughout a 1950 cottage twenty years ago and had them re-done ten years ago and we figure that they have at least another four or five refinishes in them. Finished with hard wearing gloss poly. The best tip is to get the family to take their shoes off at the door. It makes for a cleaner house and the floor finish is lasting three or four times better than it did the first time.

[buildertobe]

Len

Agreed about the shoe removal - thanks for that.

After a weekend of investigation, we are looking at putting in a timber floor.

I understand there are a number of options from speaking with floor experts but would like to get facts from end users / experts who are not trying to sell me a product.

Should we get the concrete slab recessed in areas where we want timber floors to put in battens and then nail on boards to keep finished boards level with carpet/tiles (extra cost with 18mm board and concrete labour cost??) or, should we direct stick the boards to concrete (12mm?) - but will this cause problems with moisture and "curling" at edges from expansion etc??, or, is there an option where we can put a membrane down on slab and then lay on top to allow movement?

One thing we dont want is to have that creaky squeaky effect you get with the floating floors - what is the best option for a good timber floor finish with no hassle from movement etc?

Any help would be great, thanks atain for the advice one and all.

[glock40sw]

G'day.
Do yourself a favour and download the flooring data sheets from
www.timber.org.au (http://www.timber.org.au)
or
www.timber.net.au (http://www.timber.net.au)
or
www.atfa.com.au (http://www.atfa.com.au)

If it were me, I'd direct stick to the slab with Selleys VBS slab sealer and glue with Selleys Direct stick adhesive.

If you have slab with tiles. the 12mm direct stick will be almost level with the tiles once the flooring is sanded and sealed.

[dtsericr]

I have recently purchased a expensive carpet. My dog messed up by urniating three times. Now i can smell bad odour emanating from it. What should i do?
Is carpet carpet cleaning tulsa (http://www.carpetrenovations.com) the last option?

[boban]

I have recently purchased a expensive carpet. My dog messed up by urniating three times. Now i can smell bad odour emanating from it. What should i do?
Is carpet carpet cleaning tulsa (http://www.carpetrenovations.com) the last option?

Keep your dog outside.