Composite flooring recommendations

[Bernmc]

I'm after recommendations for composite waterproof indoor flooring. It'll be used through most of the house, with rugs or similar where we need something more comfortable.

We've had our new decks made out of modwood and are extremely happy with the result. Unfortunately they don't do an indoor floor or I would have gone with that.

We've got some cheap old wood veneer thing at the moment, and it's bobbled up wherever it got wet.

I've heard all the arguments for and against composites, so let's just bypass all that

[Nutz]

When you say composite, are your talking about engineered wood flooring? I don't think any of those products are truly waterproof and I think they use an underlay as well. What is the sub floor made off?
I think a real timber overlay would be a better choice than engineered timber otherwise the vinyl products are quite good these days.

[Rudyvm]

If you are talking about engineered flooring there are vinyl options designed for use in wet areas which come up ok once laid, otherwise can't really think of anything other than marine ply.

[Bernmc]

I did get some engineered wood samples, but as pointed out, they don't appear to be waterproof.

I'd go for proper wooden floors if we were intending to stay here for (almost) ever, but we're not.

I'm thinking of composite in terms of recycled materials - along the lines of things like modwood or evalast deckings. So SPC or WPC (stone plastic or wood plastic composites) I guess...

Bamboo may be another option?

Subfloor is yellow-tongue particle board

[Nutz]

So why do you want waterproof? Is it flood prone?

Even yellow tongue is not waterproof, it only has a wax coating on one side for protection during construction. Any of the engineered products would be as water resistant as the yellow tongue.

[Bernmc]

The current flooring has warped and bubbled where it got wet from splashes. I'm not sure of the quality, but I don;t want it happening again.

I havent had problems with my yellow tongue floor getting wet in the garage, so I guess that's the level of water resistance I'd need as a minimum.

The SPC and WPC products generally seem unafraid of water, so that's likely what I'll end up using. However the range of choice is huge - which is why it'd be nice to hear from anyone who's used the stuff.

[lovetoride]

My daughter and I went through this at length last year (over many months) for each of our homes. We both settled on Decoline Hybrid due to length of planks, thickness and colour (of course). They are 7mm thick (most are thinner), 180 wide and 1830 long. 20 pattern repeats which is the best ratio I have come across (I can't stand it when you look at a floor and see all the repeated boards!!).

I am on a concrete slab and the previous brush box parquetry floor was so uneven and with wide gaps between many boards. We seriously thought there were concrete cracking or subsidence issues and so many builders looked at it and said they were worried about what was happening underneath. There is a spring that runs out at the front of our block that neighbours say has been like that for 50+ years. Anyhow, after taking up all the brush box and carpet it was just that the concrete floor was terribly uneven with dips in it. It was ground back in some places and leveller used in others - nothing too perfect. I then arranged for 12mm mdf to be screwed down across the whole floor and the Decoline laid over the top. This has kept the depth at 19mm, the same as the brush box, and really assists with dampening the sound that you get from engineered floors.

I settled on the Coastal Blackbutt as our house is small after downsizing and the lighter colour makes it feel more spacious.

My daughter went with the same and half of her floor is laid right over the existing tiles. mdf was used for the previously carpeted areas for the same reasons as I had plus to bring it up to the level over the tiles.

We couldn't be happier. I never thought I would ever use something other than real timber but this is so hardy (frequently looking after 2 large dogs for the adult kiddies hasn't marked it in any way nor have work shoes), and looks great.

Jane

floor.jpg

[Bernmc]

Thanks LTR - just the kind of feedback I'm after