Wooden floors

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kasko

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Hi all,

I am to move into my new apartment in the next 3-4 months and intend to put wooden floor in the sitting room as well as the hall.
However, I am in doubt whether to do put solid or semi-solid. Apart from thickness of wood and the cost, is there any other difference between the two?

Has anyone recently bought wooden floors, where, and if anyone could give me a rough idea about the total cost (for about 30-35 sq.metres)?

Thanks
 
Hi there,

Well, solid you can sand down up to 8 times or so, thereby maintaining it for much longer than semi-solid, which you can probably only sand down twice or so. Semi-solid would be easier to put down and it's cheaper. Personally I prefer solid wood, I think you still can see the difference although many people would dispute that.
Re cost, I can only tell you what Des kelly quoted me for a solid oak floor for 30 sm2 including fitting the floor - ~2K. There's loads of threads on floors here already, and very often Mulveys of Ranelagh is mentioned. Also www.woodworkers.ie and then there's Bearfoot in Dublin 12. I think in general for solid you have to estimate around 50 Euros per sm2 depending on thickness and type of wood, semi-solid would be a good bit cheaper.
Hope that helps!
 
The solid board can be sanded more times than the semi-solid. So if I knew that I was going to be staying there for good, I'd put solid so that I can spruce it up by sanding it whenever necessary down through the years.
How ever, the solid floor and the semi-solid floor will look exactly the same once laid, so if I thought that I would be selling up eventually then I would put semi-solid and save some money.
In my first house I laid solid wood floors and sold within 3 years so I really regret paying a whole lot of money for a floor that I had to leave behind when a semi solid floor would have looked just as good.
 
We got our solid walnut floor from a co. in Castleblayney, Co. Monaghan (Irwins), we searched everywhere and they were the cheapest with the largest stock, tel 042 9740278. I would have to admit their customer service level is very bad, they pass on 3% to the customer on credit card transactions and aren't overly helpful, they also never have any sales saying they're stock is always the lowest available price. But anytime we thought we found cheaper wood, when we checked the spec., they offered a better price. eg. we found a Kumaru for €46 which was "premium grade", but when comparing it with Irwin's commercial grade for €36, they offered a better product. They do tons of oak options, when going for semi solid, watch out for the depth of the semi-solid. I can't remember what the options were but I think it was 2mm, 4mm and 6mm. The 2mm wouldn't last one sanding, you'd really need the 6 mm for more than 1 sanding
 
I paid 16.99 for really nice semi-solid in Budget Decor in Stillorgan Ind. Est.
On top of that it's 3 euro per square yrd. for green underlay and the labour cost 395 euro for 21 sq. yrds.
All in all it came to 1150 euro which is really good.
 
Had a similar decision to make a couple of years ago: laminate, semi-solid or solid. I went for the soild (maple) floor, for a few reasons:

  1. as previously mentioned you can sand it down a number of times, but not only for general maintenance, but also in the cases were repairs are needed;
  2. it looks, feels and sounds better. While a lot of poeople will say there is no difference, you can always tell when the floor is solid wood;
  3. it's easier to work with; and
  4. it can add to the value of the house.
I got a Junkers floor in Noyeks. Even though I have moved out of the house I'm still glad I put it down.
 
I completely agree with Scorer about differences between semi solid and solid wooden floor. I am looking forward to buy Junkers wooden floor and Scorer I would appreciated if you tell me your experiences with Noyeks. Did they fit the floor? If so do you remember the price? Thank you.
 
I'd be interested to hear about Noyek's too. But more than that, could anyone enlighten me on what a "Junkers" floor is?
 
Junkers is a tradename. They have a 'click' system whereby metal clips click into place underneath the timber plank ( no fixings) They have a dubious enough record enviromentally, they have been found to buy a lot of stock from illegal indonesian rainforests, that may matter to some people.
As regards the semi-solid , solid debate i dont buy into the whole solid is right every time. It doesnt matter what type of solid floor you put doen you will only get around 5/6mm of sanding (to near the top od the tounge) A decent semi-solid will give you the same depth of useable timber. Semi solid is easier to lay, maintain ( wont warp near as much). But i think it makes people feel good about themselves if they lay solid floors.
 
Recent information I have been given is that semi solid is less likely to warp than solid - I know a carpenter who will always choose semi solid over solid for this reason.

In terms of look - I know that I wouldnt be able to tell the difference
 
Hi Kasko,

I'm not great at linking and stuff, but there's a previous post on this site about bamboo flooring that might interest you (search for "bamboo flooring"). We got ours from this site in the UK - once we decided to go for it, they delivered it within a week, and we had the builders lay it.
Since then, it's the first thing everybody comments on when they come into the house: it's bright, hardwearing, and really warm-looking. Even the builder - who thought we were crazy with our crazy non-standard wood ideas - loves it.

If you do go with solid wood, try to check whether the wood you're buying is certified by the Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC). All wood in B&Q is, and Ikea. Unless the wood is certified, there's a good chance (particularly if it's tropical) that it has been traded illegally - with no environmental standards and often funding war and conflict.

Happy hunting!
 
As one of the previous postings has stated, the Junkers floor is just a trade name. Never heard anything about the dubious nature of their manufacture, in fact heard the opposite, that they took great care in the manufacturing process by reducing through-put in an effort to ensure high quality.

I had no problems with Noyeks, and in fact I recommended them to a number of people who have also sung their praises. With regard to the cost, at the time (4-5 years ago) it was €36 per m2 for solid maple. I fitted the floor myself, with the help of a carpenter friend; Noyeks quoted me approx. €1,500 to fit the floor over a 35m2 area.

Also, a quick query for ludermor: what would qualify as a "decent semi-solid" and how much would a "decent semi-solid" cost in relation to a solid of the same wood?

With regard to feeling good about oneself by virtue of having a solid wood underfoot: read Alain De Botton's, 'The Architecture of Happiness' for a physiological interpretation of how architecture, including interior design, can affect people.
 
Kaehrs is a decent semi solid - it comes with a 30 year guarantee. Often used in commercial settings - so it can stand up to a real hammering.
Costs (if I remember correctly) from €40.00.
Available from Richardsons.
 
Scorer,
I would say a decent semi solid would be at least 6/7mm thick top layer and a decent quality ( as in glue, rest of the planks etc) I suppose prices would start off at around 25/m2. You can get solid timber floor from 25-30/m2 starting off but solids can cost hundreds of euros per metre square for top quality stuff.

Just a quick google brought up this report on illegal logging being supplied to junckers
http://www.illegal-logging.info/news.php?newsId=1337

Im afraid i havent read 'The Architecture of Happiness' but for me if a floor serves its purpose and looks and feels good then it would be good enough for me. But every man ( and woman) to their own.
 
How does one determine the quality of wood? Been trying to get quotes from here and there, but it's difficult to compare prices when you don't understand the various quality criteria... I read somewhere that quartersawn is the best but "really" expensive and then there's all sorts of other gradings. What should one look for? The more I get into this wood floor topic, the more difficult it gets...
 
Just saw a typo which would make rubbish of my point: I ment to say p-h-y-c-h-o-l-o-g-i-c-a-l, not p-h-y-s-i-o-l-o-g-i-c-a-l. I suppose that maybe a solid woodden floor may have a physiological impact also!

Didn't know about the illegal logging.

While we may debate the mertits of soild vs semi solid until the cows come home, I think we may agree that one should shop around, as prices vary quite a lot, and if you have kids, think twice about an expensive floor (they'll get pee'd on, spilled on, written on, scraped, hammered etc - put down laminate).
 


of course, shopping around is very important. And it can be a difficult decision to make. We put a very expensive floor in an hotel (costs for supply was around 200/m2) and even then the boards cupped. We got experts in from Limerick University, an independant specialist and even then they could not pinpoint why the board had cupped. So i suppose just because something is dearer does not mean it will work out better
 
Why the emphasis on the number of times that a floor can be sanded?

Surely if the floor is laid properly and sealed properly it shouldn't need sanding for years. I have mentioned elsewhere on this board that our floors are either steamed beech or oak blocks and have been down for over 50 years. All I do to them is give them a coat of danish oil once a year.
 
kasko said:
I am to move into my new apartment in the next 3-4 months and intend to put wooden floor in the sitting room as well as the hall.
Click to expand...

Before you go ahead with wooden flooring have you confirmed that it is allowed possibly by the Management Company. We have had some discussion on this subject here in the past where some people mentioned that it is restricted because it causes too much noise for surrounding apartments.
 
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