[-GT-]

Many of the members have already given very good inputs. Since I am in the construction field, and with some experience in wooden flooring in some of our projects, my 2 cents are:

1) Solid wood flooring is obviously the best and therefore the most expensive.
2) Parquet flooring comes with the exposed surface in varieties of timber with their own distinctive characteristics in veins and patterns.
3) The colors can be anything since they are normally stained over the surface. Re-staining and polishing can be done, in say, after 5 years or so (of course depending on how you maintain the flooring). Waxing of flooring once in a year will help keep the floor new.
4) The parquet flooring usually comes in overall thickness of 10mm to 14mm; with varying thickness of the surface timber ply. Please look for about 4mm thick surface ply and don't settle for anything less than 3mm (overall thickness of at least 12mm is preferable). The surface ply thickness of at least 3mm will help when you want to re-sand the surface in say 10 years or so (of course depending on the wear & tear)
5) Walking with stiletto's on parquet flooring will definitely leave marks - hence a strict no no to stilettos.
6) Laying of parquet flooring should be done by professionals who know their job. For eg., the base concrete floor should be levelled properly and allowance for expansion should be taken into consideration (very important), since they do absorb moisture in humid weather conditions in spite of whatever treatment these materials are subjected to.
7) Parquet flooring is best used in bedrooms and not in living rooms given the usual hot and humid weather conditions of Chennai.
8) Solid wooden flooring can be used anywhere - I have seen them being used in bathrooms that are kept dry (not the wet and soggy floored ones)
9) You might have noticed that I have not used the word "laminate" so far. Stictly speaking, even though the surface timber ply is a 'laminate'; the word "laminate" has been hijacked by manufacturers of artificial laminates. Of late, laminated flooring has apparently become popular, but these are plastic laminates in most cases that have wood like appearance. (I personally hate this)

[madbullram]

Hi all: Thanks for the super information you guys have been pouring, can you also post the price paid and for what sq.ft. It will help us arrive at a budget

[Thad E Ginathom]

Some people say that it is very easy to install.

A proper parquet floor is probably at the opposite extreme: it is made from individual pieces of solid wood, about an inch side and a few inches long, laid in a geometric pattern --- but even a plywood with a parquet pattern needs some skill.

Outside of India, in countries where labour rates are prohibitive and DIY is popular, systems are available that simply snap together. Of course, they must still be cut to shape/fit, and that expansion gap around the edge of the room is vital, and is the main reason (rather than just neatness) for the beading around the edge --- to cover that gap. It can be relatively easy, but there is still plenty of scope for screwing up!

I don't know of any tilers here that actually know that ceramic tiles are supposed to be laid with a 1mm-or-so gap, unless they are especially manufactures to be edge-to-edge; I bet there are a lot of ordinary carpenters who wouldn't know about the expansion gap for wood.

By the way... laying on top of existing tiles would seem the obvious solution, but just how flat is your tiled surface? Take a hard critical look at your tile edges. Use a steel rule and see if you can slide it from tile to tile without it catching on raised edges. Old mosaic surfaces (or stone) that have been ground and polished in place are probably much better than just-about-ok-to-the-eye ceramics.

[GTO]

Some people say that it is very easy to install.

Should be. The Pergo chap didn't take more than a morning to complete.

[madbullram]

Hi all,
Got a quote from a Wooden Flooring person who has his factory in Ambattur. He has been doing a lot for showrooms and residence. The contact is a direct contact as in he does not have dealers or anything.

The quote I got is:

" We have derived with aggressive pricing of laminated floor AC3 (All Residential use & Commercial moderate use) quality Rs. 69 / sq feet (Incl. of Installation charges ) and AC4 (Commercial general use) quality Rs. 79 / sq feet (Incl. of Installation charges ). These prices are end customer price with minimum order of 500 sq. feet, For less than 500 sq ft there is Rs.6 more. "


Details of the Flooring:
15 yrs guarantee for residence use
The flooring has first layer of high anti-abrasive overlay, 2nd layer - decorative laminate, 3rd layer- HDF, ( click-lock glueless technology for joining), last layer balancing layer
Grade: AC3
Thickness = 8.3 mm'
Surface = Medium Embossed
Size = 1212X193 mm = 2.52 sq.ft


Views plssss

[Thad E Ginathom]

I'm suspicious of what the 'decorative laminate' is. Could be a wood-grain pattern printed on paper!

You can start out wanting wood, and end up getting something that bears about as much resemblance to an actual plank as a newspaper does.

[madbullram]

Well, i called up and enquired. The Decorative Laminate is a paper stuck on the HDF on top which is the Ant-abrassive layer. The decorative laminate is the one that has the grain paper. He says they give 15 years warranty if it peels or anything happens in normal use.

[Thad E Ginathom]

OK, but that's not wood, which is what you wanted in the first place.

What they are selling you is a layer of resin, or varnish, or something, with some paper underneath it, with some finely-pulped wood mixed with glue. If you just want the decorative appearance, then that's ok, but if you want the feel of wood it's not.

I don't like this sort of stuff at all, and whatever the claims, I have never felt convinced of its durability.

Sorry to be negative. Maybe someone will be along to put the balancing point of view!

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

What they are selling you is a layer of resin, or varnish, or something, with some paper underneath it, with some finely-pulped wood mixed with glue. If you just want the decorative appearance, then that's ok, but if you want the feel of wood it's not.

I don't like this sort of stuff at all, and whatever the claims, I have never felt convinced of its durability.

I agree. Hardwood is best, parquet next - else its best to go for Vitrified Tiles / Slabs or other conventional flooring.

[madbullram]

@Thad: Nothing to be sorry about. The whole purpose of posting here is to understand the practical point. What you said makes sense and I am thankfull. These guys state that it is certified and in an immersion test after 24 hrs of immersing in water, there is no bulging etc. But this is sales talk. What i get is a HDF with wood grain on a paper and laminate on top

Steeriod: I know but Hardwood is too pricey for me

[madbullram]

Just spoke to Pergo guys, even they have the same stuff. Their flooring also has aluminum laminate with a thin paper and HDF below it and they also give same 15 yrs warranty but it is 180rs / sq.ft...

[shajufx]

I have just 1 point to write: If you dont have kids in the house, or have grown ups above 5 years, go for wood flooring whatever variety you choose, it looks way above any other ceramic, vertified stuff on the floor. No doubt. I wanted to do it myself for home, but not until my kid is 4 years. He enjoys dropping milk, water, juice etc on the floor (even after lot of thrashing), also pees whenever he feels like. So If I did a wooden flooring, it would have become miserable by now.

OT: Do you have a full size image of your profile picture ? Curious to know what it looks like. Please.

[madbullram]

Ya Shaj, they look good and also its cheap, no breaking of tiles etc. Also, since I bought a old flat it has maroon colour tiles which cramp my interiors...so seriously thinking about it.

I am worried about the humidity in chennai though :(

Profile pics: Picasa Web Albums - Madbull-Ram - Wanderlust - ...

[shajufx]

That was a quick response buddy. Appreciate it ! I am a jeep freak although have not got the right one to own myself. Hunt is going on since 1 year !

Humidity may not be an issue in my opinion. Most brands are chemically treated for withstanding all kinds of weather conditions. Only thing to be careful is the fall of water and collection unnoticed. It will kill the allignment and shape over a period of time.

[madbullram]

hi all,
Uploading the presentation the vendor sent me, thought would be useful