Wooden flooring or Amtico wood look flooring

4 years ago

Hi. I have refurbished the downstairs of my house and added a kitchen diner, but cannot decide on flooring. We have underfloor heating so real wood is not an option. I am considering engineered wood (Kahrs) or Amtico wood effect but simply do not know which to choose. I am very keen to have the one product throughout as I think it gives a more seamless and spacious feel. One concern I have is that how will the finish look against the brick wall as I really dislike the beading that comes with wooden floors, everywhere else it will run under the skirting board.

Any help or advise greatly appreciated.

Featured Answer

Ribena Drinker

4 years ago

last modified: 4 years ago

I have both engineered wood and wood effect Amtico. The Amtico is in the kitchen and stands up very well to the cleaning/cats/water etc and we've never had a moment's trouble with it. But although it looks like wood - quite convincingly so - even with the underfloor heating it isn't quite as warm and tactile as 'wood' flooring.

The engineered floor (which is in the entrance hall and in one of the sitting rooms) whilst it looks slightly more homely and 'warm', it does suffered a little bit from wear. We had an elderly cat (sadly died this week) who secretly wee'd on the rug in a particular place and it seeped through and stained the planks - it didn't penetrate the surface where it has a finish on or in the grooves as such, but just at the joins, where the edges would have been 'raw' and it has gone into the wood grain and oxidised it.

Also, being a top layer of real wood, it does suffer from scratches and bruises. We had a bed delivered by baboons, when the hall was fairly new and they managed to damage a bench, took a chunk of wall out and scratched the engineered wood. There isn't a lot we can do about it tbh, without sanding and refinishing but as it was virtually new, we didn't. But now I mostly don't 'see' it but if I do notice it, it still makes me a bit cross!

Similarly, things have been dropped or fallen and have made a dent or a bruise, but that's kind of unavoidable.

So I think it's horses for course and both have positives and negatives, its probably best to decided based on how you live. For instance, if you have dogs and you are cleaning the floor a great deal, maybe Amtico would be better. But if you have no children or pets and it's just well behaved, grown ups then engineered wood throughout would work.

Comments (13)

rinked
4 years ago
Ceramic wood or pvc is great for UFH. And when laid poperly no skirt is needed.
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Jill Gittins
4 years ago
Ribena Drinker is right about the damage pets can do to an engineered oak floor. If you have a dog, unless he's really lightweight (certainly under 10kg) his claws will leave scratch marks on the surface when he runs around. Ditto grit caught under shoes unless you remember to remove them at the door. Amtico is far more robust, although it doesn't have the 'feel' of wood.
Juliet Docherty
4 years ago
If I were do do mine again and have one type of flooring throughout I think I would have huge format large porcelain tiles in a warm limestone colour, or even real stone such as slate or limestone. I love wood but the whole issue of how it's finished is difficult.
PRO
Squirrel Property Services
2 years ago
If considering wood you could get unfinished wood installed. Companies such as Wood Floor Accessories are a great supplier. Having it finished on site means a finish can be picked that works for your home. Each home has variables such as pets, different traffic and the owners desire to maintain the flooring or aversion to maintenance.

Having wood finished on site has advantages. You can pick the highest quality product that works for your budget. The range of finishes available is quite wide. A professional company will try to understand your home and recommend the appropriate finish. They will also understand how easily the finish was can be renovated in the future.

Amtico is an extremely robust product but being plastic, is just plastic flooring. It has its place, as does wood. In areas that have plenty of light surfaces, scratches show very easily on Amtico, Karndean etc. The manufacturers push a polishing maintenance product on consumers. However, this needs to be stripped and reapplied on a regular basis.
HU-86470442948
2 years ago
Does anyone have experience of luxury vinyl flooring?
Ruth Wright
2 years ago
There is no reason for beading with a wood floor, the skirting board can be u set cut to accommodate the flooring and it gives a nice clean fishing that looks as if the wood floor has always been there.
Carol Cahill
2 years ago
Hi we have amtico flooring for 15+ years in a dining room. It still looks like new.

It is easy to maintain just wash it every so often and brush any crumbs when required.

It has a much warmer feel than tiles.
s berry
last year
Hi Carol, just saw the picture of your antico floor and it looks great. This is the exact shade we are looking for in LVT but cant find it in either Karndean or Amtico. Do you by any chance know what was name of this floor? Closest we can see is Honey Oak but worried if that would look more golden. Our house will have a more modern feel. Thanks.
Carol Cahill
last year
That flooring was 16 years old! Sorry we can't remember the colour. It has just been replaced with new amtico, see picture, as we have opened up the room.
s berry
last year
Thanks a lot Carol for sharing that. New floor Looks great !
smac232
last year
I agree with Colourhappy. I’d go for a large format tile. I don’t think engineered wood is a good idea in a kitchen and I think that a porcelain tile in a lighter colour would complement the brick wall better than a wood effect.
what a lovely spacious hall you have. It, and the lounge area are crying out for lovely characterful rugs on top of non slip backing.
Tina Bennett
last year
What colour is your floor love it

Wooden flooring or Amtico wood look flooring

Ribena Drinker

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rinked

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