What do you think about this flooring?

[123]

Just wanting to get some feedback on what people think of this type of flooring?

Some of you may have seen it before (palace of Versailles)

Believe it or not its actually a laminate floor!

Thanks for your input!

[123]

no feedback at all? like it? dislike it? average? love it? hate it? anything?

[dai sensei]

Perhaps just my personal taste, but yuk comes to mind, too busy for my liking.

[Baz]

Yep, I'm with Neil, YUK.
Cheers
Barry

[Tonyz]

I pulled up vynil like that 4 years ago

Maybe its in the palace of versailes proove it and thank god thats not my place.

sorry but you did ask.

[123]

thanks for feedback, thats what these forums are for!... more appreciated,

i probably wouldn't use it either, would probably suit some places

[pawnhead]

thanks for feedback, thats what these forums are for!... more appreciated,

Being filled with craftsmen and woodworkers, these forums are a bit biased. They are generally against floating floors and 'fake' stuff as opposed to the real McCoy, but a lot of people like floaters.
If you'd told them it was painstakingly laid from solid recycled timber, they'd probably like it, but when you get up close you can generally tell the difference. In other words,

I hate it.

[Fuzzie]

I've never been a fan of parquetry, I remember horrid 6in sq blocks of sticks laid on concrete slabs back in the 60's that thankfully never became very popular. The European blocks you describe in places like the palace of Versailles are something on a completely different scale to what anyone is going to be using in a domestic house most anywhere in Australia.

Somehow these finishes don't often translate to the Australian vernacular, maybe it is the light, things really are so much brighter here and a different colour. Perhaps it is (a lack of) craftsmanship, perhaps it is the whole package. How many houses have you seen lately in Australia that have skirtings and door frames like the ones in your second picture? On the other hand, how many Australian houses have second stories built with floors made out of uneven mortar beds over terracotta block work that they then tried to lay tongue and groove brush box over?

I like the stuff insitu in France. I also like the Tuscan style in Italy and Mexican in Mexico, etc etc. It is the attempt at corny reproduction in Oz that usually fails. How often have I watched Grand Designs and loved the finish but thought 'That's never going to happen in OZ'?

I'm not a fan of the laminate floors either, but it is a decorator issue rather than a construction issue and can be replace easily in a few years just like carpets to get a new look, its not a craftsmanship issue. If you want that look I guess you can also still go with the vinyl photographic reproduction version, which I personally would find preferable over that annoying clip clop you get walking over laminate floors!!!

[pawnhead]

I've never been a fan of parquetry, I remember horrid 6in sq blocks of sticks laid on concrete slabs back in the 60's that thankfully never became very popular.

Cross hatched, or basket weave parquetry was quite popular, and i agree that it's ugly and dated now, but done properly, and in an appropriate setting, parquetry can look very impressive.

How many houses have you seen lately in Australia that have skirtings and door frames like the ones in your second picture?

I've worked on quite a few in Architecturally designed homes in exclusive suburbs. Skirting blocks, mitre blocks, raised wall panels and dado rails, 12" skirtings and huge ornate plaster cornices. One job I worked on had an incredibly ornately plastered indoor pool, with a domed ceiling featuring a huge hand painted sky mural and alcoves in the walls, also featuring murals. It was at Point Piper, and had expansive views of Sydney Harbour Bridge, the Opera house and city skyline.
I prefer a more welcoming rustic look, or a sleek simplistic modern look, but these ornate projects were certainly very impressive if you wish to show off your wealth. The morst ornate look only works properly in a large house with big floor areas and high ceilings, although skirting blocks and some degree of detail looks good even in a smaller federation style home.

[123]

thanks everyone, its actually come out of Belgium and in Europe it is huge, maybe not the right style for down under though,

wonder what the comments may have been if i hadn't said it was laminate!

On that note then, what about something like this? it fully waterproof, i was thinking maybe a restaurant or retail shop?

[pawnhead]

wonder what the comments may have been if i hadn't said it was laminate!

On that note then, what about something like this? it fully waterproof, i was thinking maybe a restaurant or retail shop?

I worked on a job with a floor that looked almost identical to that. It was solid stringybark with black plastic strips between each board to look like the caulking in a ships deck. It looked great, but I suppose that now you're going to tell us that it's printed lino or something.
You really can't tell from a photo, but when you get up close and walk on the stuff it becomes more apparent what it is.

Put it this way. Will it last 200 years if it's waxed regularly? There's a lot of solid floors out there that are older than that, and they don't need to pretend that they look good.

[glock40sw]

We did a job in Sydney a few years ago.
It was 190x25 Grey Ironbark T&G with a 6mm wide gap on top of the tongue edge. When the boards were fitted together, the 6mm gap was filled with black Sikaflex.
Gave that "Boat deck" look to the whole floor.
The owners were happy as pigs in the proverbial.

We have since done a few more but in narrower profile flooring 130mm and 145mm cover widths.

Block parquetry (260x65x14) is really coming back into vogue. We have been sending heaps to Brisbane lately. Perth has also been taking heaps.

Spotted Gum & Blackbutt have been walking themselves out the door so fast, we can't keep up with demand.

[123]

Cant get enough of blackbutt here either!

and yes it is a laminate floor

[Dusty]

I like them.

Personally I feel that the flooring game is coming along in leaps and bounds.

The laminates have improved out of site, to the point that they are now creating some pretty fancy flooring designs and patterns, as you have shown.

Funny thing is, I have never laid a floating floor as I'm always flat knacker doing the real stuff. But, just recently I've been giving it some serious consideration, so it might be something I'll include next year.

I live on a laminate floating floor, which was down when I moved in and being a tightwad I'm not one to change things just because I can. This floor is nearly six years old and still looks great, so while it looks the goods it shall remain.

Plus, it spins customers out who drop by to pay me, or have a beer and are expecting to see some fancy polished floor, they all look fairly shocked.

My floating floor.