I'm facing a small dilemma with the upcoming house build: should I install a good "expensive" laminate floor in the house or go for a parquet floor?!?!? In my previous house, we chose to install a good laminate floor when renovating (an oak rustic antique) which I think looked nice and was very durable. We chose this partly because we have a dog + small children = wear & scratches in parquet + the price!
Parquet is more comfortable to walk on, but I installed one at my mother-in-law's about 1½ years ago and now I can see how bad it looks in some places after the kids and dog. Sure, parquet can be sanded down, but is it worth it with double or maybe triple the installation cost??
What do all of you out there think??
Parquet is more comfortable to walk on, but I installed one at my mother-in-law's about 1½ years ago and now I can see how bad it looks in some places after the kids and dog. Sure, parquet can be sanded down, but is it worth it with double or maybe triple the installation cost??
What do all of you out there think??
I chose a Pergo laminate ship deck floor for our living room (60sqm) and am very pleased with it. The price, 320Kr/sqm, isn't exactly cheap, but with a 30-year warranty, one has to believe in the quality of this laminate floor. My sister! likes to point out that it's not a real ship deck floor. No, God forbid, I say then, I don't want tar smell and caulking ending up in the vacuum cleaner... but she's probably thinking of Junkers floors for a thousand/sqm. In the bedrooms, we have "real" parquet (260Kr/sqm) but it's not hard to be a floor in a bedroom with minimal wear and tear. I don't relate to the issues others have with laminate floors; instead, I can walk around on the laminate floor without any problems. By the way, we have 60 sqm of granite floor in the kitchen area and hallway; there's no noticeable difference when walking from one floor to the other.
Varnished wooden floors are plastic floors. Hard to beat the feel of a scrubbed or oiled floor though. A laminate floor can feel a bit "clattery" to walk on, but with foam underneath it gives slightly and doesn't feel as hard as stone. Personally, I don't like the combination of kids' heads and stone. We're using laminate and rugs as long as we have a dog and kids. Then it will be kiln-sawn for 1000+ kr /sqm! 
The idea that laminate is less yielding to walk on than a floor with wood veneer or sandable parquet is a myth. Whether it is a floating floor with foam or glued to the flooring material is decisive; felt paper only evens out and muffles sound. What could possibly make a material 8-15mm thick feel softer, other than what I mentioned earlier? I have personally mistaken a wooden floor with an extra layer of lacquer for laminate flooring, where the owner got a bit annoyed since the floor cost around 600:-/m2. I have both old parquet floors and laminate floors in the house. Our first Pergo is from -87 if I remember correctly and very durable, but that floor has a plastic surface that today's floors do not have. Additionally, there are quality differences depending on the brand. I plan to lay a high-quality laminate floor in the summer house next spring to ensure it is durable and withstands both people and dogs. I would prefer wooden floors, but the wear and tear are minimal since they scratch so easily, at least for a dog owner.
For example, saturnus does not notice any difference between laminate flooring and granite flooring, even though granite floors are very hard.saturnus said:
Wooden floors, however, can feel different depending on the surface treatment. Matt lacquered and oiled parquet floors have a softer surface than glossy lacquered parquet floors. The latter therefore feel harder and colder, sometimes almost like laminate.
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It would be interesting to conduct a blind test by having x number of people walk barefoot on laminate and parquet flooring and then determine what kind of floor it is. This would include both glossy and matte floors, as well as with and without underfloor heating. I tried it myself a little yesterday without socks and don't feel any difference in temperature, however, the old Pergo floor from '87 is a bit more slippery than the old parquet floor in the living room. I don't notice any difference between the newer lacquered veneer floors in the bedrooms and the laminate floor. With socks, I don't notice any difference other than a slight variation in texture.
I'm choosing not to use laminate because it's colder (I assume it's not a problem if you have underfloor heating). My parents had laminate flooring upstairs and it was freezing to walk barefoot even though it was warm from the downstairs.
Another problem is that if it gets scratched, those scratches look much worse. Now, maybe laminate flooring doesn't get scratched that easily, but I visited a friend's newly renovated house with walnut laminate that had some scratches that really stood out.
Another problem is that if it gets scratched, those scratches look much worse. Now, maybe laminate flooring doesn't get scratched that easily, but I visited a friend's newly renovated house with walnut laminate that had some scratches that really stood out.
we have underfloor heating, but I can imagine that it becomes a problem if you have cold floors to begin with....but then you also have to consider that it's often not possible to lay a parquet floor with its 14--16--18 mm thickness, on existing floors, as they build up quite a bit, then it's easier with laminate flooring of 7--8 mm.Henri said:
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I believe one "locks" their reasoning based on what type of flooring one has and is used to. Anders S suggested a test to determine what type of flooring one is walking on; by putting on large slippers, I think it would be impossible to figure out what type of flooring one is on. But if you stomp around on different floors with hard-soled patent leather shoes, you might be able to guess when you are on laminate flooring; I find the sound a bit higher and sharper compared to parquet floors. However, there is usually a bit of a difference between what one perceives and experiences and what is measured with a decibel meter, for example. The floors should then be in the same space and under the same conditions, etc. This is what it might look like:
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