Any hardwearing engineered wood brands that don't fade in sunlight?
Looking for responses from people who have installed and experienced it over a few years (homeowners, interior designers), not from flooring companies.
Are there any engineering wood brands that are hardwearing (so can be put in a kitchen, can tolerate some scratches) and haven't faded in the sun? I have come across Element7 for example but it is way out of my price range.
I am assuming I am looking for a UV oiled plank.
Equally, anything that you've put down and which hasn't stood normal family use very well would be good to know, so I can cross it off my list :-).
It's for a planned rear extension. I am not looking for LVT or wood effect tiles or laminate recommendations at this stage.
Many thanks in advance.
Comments (7)
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Original Authorlast monthHi thanks so much for this response, it's so detailed! Could I ask a followup question - would you be confident of putting engineered wood from these brands into a kitchen or would you guide clients towards LVT or tiles? (By the way, I wouldn't consider Amtico or Karndean - rather Westex, Floorify, Invictus or Coretec)
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last monthLacquered Engineered or possibly UV Engineered will be ok 'with care' but any oiled or waxed Engineered woods will be a thankless task to expect to stay looking new in such an area. LVT is far easier to live with if retaining the look and finish of the floor is a major priority.
0B N thanked Alex Burnett
last monthlast modified: last monthI too looked at element 7 when we did one of our previous properties but as you say the price is a sticking point. How many hours of sun do you expect on the floor? What shade of oak do you like? The Scandanavians use woca white soap and you can get a white oil for protection too which does not make the oak yellow in the same way as some of the local products. We inherited an engineered oak floor at our current conversion and the floors which have no sun exposure are a much nicer shade than the parts that are bathed in sunshine for many hours a day. I prefer the scandi colour and treatment of the wood whether white soap or oil to the standard osmo type clear protection coat which almost always turns yellow with time. Broadleaf Timber were very ahead of their time many years ago when I lived in Winchester and suggested the white oil finish which didn't yellow at all.
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Original Authorlast month@Alex Burnett thanks for the advice, the reason I was considered oiled rather than lacquered is because I heard that lacquered finishes need to be resanded after several years and at that point you lose the texture of the plank, whereas you don't with oiled ... but maybe that's not as much of an issue as I've been led to believe?
- last monthlast modified: last month
This is a really interesting dilemma. A lot of people don't consider sunlight exposure or fading when they rush to order a wooden floor. Fumed oak is a great choice. I would ask Broadleaf (I would imagine pricey by now) how to stop the finish fading in constant sunlight. I buy a lot of scandanavian design magazines and they never have that sort of yellow oak floor that you see here. I have an oak topped table which needs white soaping once a month and believe me you don't want to be doing that to your floors monthly. We have never resanded apart from a pine victorian floor which was dark brown. When it was finished it was unrecognisable. The palest wood finish ever, absolutely beautiful. I did not reseal it but obviously it depends on who is using the floor and how careful they are. We have been a shoes off inside house for many years. This guide may help you decide.
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Lacquered floors are designed to NOT need sanding, the whole point of having the protective Lacquered surface is to make the floor a easy maintenance product, so long as you don't scratch it you'll never need to wax or polish or treat the floor, just clean regularly with a Lacqured floor mist spray and micro fibre cloth - NEVER wash a wood floor or steam clean it.
A UV Oiled, Oiled or Waxed floor is open grain - you walk on the wood surface - this means that you can repair scratches, apply oils, sand etc to keep it looking beautiful but as the grain is exposed, it's much more susceptible to marks, scratches and tide marks from spills etc.
If you need a floor that is low maintenance, you'll really want LVT or if you must have wood, a Engineered Satin/Matte Lacquered floor.0
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