Wooden flooring....a big no no?

If you are planning to buy a rental home, or you're thinking about what to do with one you have just acquired, this is the place for any questions about starting out in the rentals business.
G.H
Posts: 35
Joined: Tue Jun 14, 2016 1:20 pm

Wooden flooring....a big no no?

Post by G.H »

We've engineered oak flooring at home which has taken a huge battering from 4 cats and 2 children and still looks lovely( in spite of the scratches). I'd like to put either that or really good laminate down in the hall, kitchen & living room of the seaside holiday let we're currently buying but any liquid has to be fully cleaned up immediately with the engineered as it can go down any joins and leaves a permanent mark. Has anyone used a wood/mock wood flooring successfully in their let? Otherwise we could tile the kitchen and hall and carpet the living room/bedrooms but for a let that's likely to be mostly families I think carpet is likely to get very grubby in the living/eating area. Any wise thoughts from those more experienced?
User avatar
French Cricket
Posts: 3058
Joined: Thu Apr 10, 2008 3:47 pm
Location: French Pyrénées
Contact:

Post by French Cricket »

I live in a non-carpet country but didn't have carpet in the UK either (I loathe, hate and detest fitted carpet :? !)- the best option I think is tiles in the kitchen and bathrooms (and possibly living areas - you can always add big room-sized rugs which are easy to replace if the worst happens) and wooden floors in bedrooms, again with rugs at the side of the bed.

The advantage of rugs is that you can make make them part of the decor of the room - almost like a piece of artwork - and change them when you want a change of style.
Musetta
Posts: 1892
Joined: Mon Feb 27, 2006 6:11 pm
Location: Campania, Italy/NJ, USA
Contact:

Post by Musetta »

French Cricket wrote:I live in a non-carpet country but didn't have carpet in the UK either (I loathe, hate and detest fitted carpet :? !)- the best option I think is tiles in the kitchen and bathrooms (and possibly living areas - you can always add big room-sized rugs which are easy to replace if the worst happens) and wooden floors in bedrooms, again with rugs at the side of the bed.

The advantage of rugs is that you can make make them part of the decor of the room - almost like a piece of artwork - and change them when you want a change of style.
I 100% agree. I, too, live in a no carpet country. Yuck. Yuck. Yuck. I would be hesitant to rent something with carpet. I have allergies and it just dosen't seem clean to me. It's also horrible to deal w stains, etc.

My 4 bed, 2 bath home in the USA (we booked almost exclusively to large family groups of 8) had real hardwood throughout, including the kitchen but tiles in bathrooms. I only ever had one problem when someone spilled hair dye (!) in the bedroom. It would have been worse with carpet though! we were able to get the one spot sanded down and restrained a to match...is have had to replace the whole room of carpet! I, personally, am not a fan of laminate so I know nothing about how it holds up.

My place in Italy is 100% tile. I wouldn't choose if for my own home but it's easy to care for and tile in a beach location seems reasonable...and inexpensive area rugs for warmth.
User avatar
Casscat
Posts: 2692
Joined: Sat Jul 05, 2014 10:43 pm

Post by Casscat »

I'd probably go with tiling to kitchen and wood (solid or engineered) in the living room with a monster rug to cover a large area. I'd avoid laminate as even the good stuff doesn't look good scuffed up. For the hallway, well it rather depends upon the hallway and the age of the property. Encaustic tiles look good in a Victorian or Edwardian building, and in much older property flagstones or quarry tiles.
tavi
Posts: 2578
Joined: Wed Sep 14, 2011 9:07 pm
Location: Algarve

Post by tavi »

My beachside apartment has tiled floor throughout and a big shaggy rug in front of the sofa.
salmoncottage
Posts: 294
Joined: Sun Jan 23, 2011 3:54 pm

Post by salmoncottage »

Whatever type of flooring you do decide to go with you might also want to consider underfloor heating in certain areas as it has come down in price and is easy enough to fit prior to flooring. It doesnt have to be used all the time but its there as a back up and added feature for winter lets. Speak to your sparky first though.
'Oh, I do like to be beside the seaside'
Bunny
Posts: 3387
Joined: Wed Oct 16, 2013 8:48 pm
Location: South of England

Post by Bunny »

I've got laminated wood flooring in the ground floor of our rental cottage. It wasn't a cheap one and was supposed to be the hardest wearing suitable for kitchens etc. It was a big mistake. It has only been down 3 years but already has several areas where the laminate has lifted. Anything spilt has to be mopped up immediately to prevent damage. Trouble is, too many guests will just leave spillages and any sitting liquid will cause damage. I fully intend to eventually replace the whole lot with tiling. Laminate flooring is fine in your own home where you know you will look after it, but not suitable in a holiday let, in my experience.
I also had laminate in our previous holiday cottage and that was ruined by one lady in stilettos and another guest burnt/melted it by emptying hot ash from the fire into a carrier bag! :roll:
User avatar
Cymraes
Posts: 519
Joined: Tue Jul 07, 2015 3:31 pm
Location: North Wales

Post by Cymraes »

I recommend Karndean. Looks great and extremely hard wearing. I've had it down for over 10 years now in my hallway at home and it looks like new. It's also much warmer underfoot than tiles.
Ecosse
Posts: 812
Joined: Thu May 29, 2014 10:40 pm
Location: Saint Gervais les Bains, France
Contact:

Post by Ecosse »

We have the original 1930s wooden floorboards throughout our chalet. We're in the (very long) process of sanding them down and revarnishing them (a whole mish mash of stains, varnishes or just plain dirt applied in the past) and the ones we've done, which have been varnished with a heavy duty varnish look fabulous and more importantly, are very hard wearing and mopable. So I'd say wood is possible, but I wouldn't have it without the protection of a heavy duty varnish.
User avatar
kevsboredagain
Posts: 3207
Joined: Sat Jan 20, 2007 9:32 am
Location: France
Contact:

Post by kevsboredagain »

Here in Switzerland nearly all rental properties use wooden flooring. They do seem very hard wearing but then again people are used to them so always remove shoes indoors. Tiles are used in the kitchen and bathroom of course.

I hate the tiled floor in my apartment in France because they are so cold in winter. If I was laying new tiles I'd definitely use underfloor heating but I think I'd still prefer wood as they are much more comfortable to live with. Whichever is used, rugs really help with comfort.

For a beach place, tiles may be better. It depends if how close you are to the beach and if people will be walking it wet and salty all the time.
G.H
Posts: 35
Joined: Tue Jun 14, 2016 1:20 pm

Post by G.H »

salmoncottage wrote:Whatever type of flooring you do decide to go with you might also want to consider underfloor heating in certain areas as it has come down in price and is easy enough to fit prior to flooring. It doesnt have to be used all the time but its there as a back up and added feature for winter lets. Speak to your sparky first though.
We've underfloor heating at home but sadly I know its totally out of our budget for this place.
G.H
Posts: 35
Joined: Tue Jun 14, 2016 1:20 pm

Post by G.H »

Bunny wrote:I've got laminated wood flooring in the ground floor of our rental cottage. It wasn't a cheap one and was supposed to be the hardest wearing suitable for kitchens etc. It was a big mistake. It has only been down 3 years but already has several areas where the laminate has lifted. Anything spilt has to be mopped up immediately to prevent damage. Trouble is, too many guests will just leave spillages and any sitting liquid will cause damage. I fully intend to eventually replace the whole lot with tiling. Laminate flooring is fine in your own home where you know you will look after it, but not suitable in a holiday let, in my experience.
I also had laminate in our previous holiday cottage and that was ruined by one lady in stilettos and another guest burnt/melted it by emptying hot ash from the fire into a carrier bag! :roll:
Thanks that's really helpful! (though sorry you're going through the hassle). That was my worry so I've ruled laminate out now.
G.H
Posts: 35
Joined: Tue Jun 14, 2016 1:20 pm

Post by G.H »

Cymraes wrote:I recommend Karndean. Looks great and extremely hard wearing. I've had it down for over 10 years now in my hallway at home and it looks like new. It's also much warmer underfoot than tiles.
Thanks this make is new to me and whilst it's not cheap I'm hoping its cheaper to get it fitted than wood. I'm going to find a local stockists and go have a look. There's also a stockists near the flat so bodes well for cheap delivery. I'm never hugely keen in mock anything (wood, tile etc) but it looks a very practical solution.
User avatar
Ben McNevis
Posts: 846
Joined: Mon May 15, 2006 10:07 am
Location: Scotland (for) The Brave
Contact:

Post by Ben McNevis »

I put in engineered hardwood flooring into a kitchen and bathroom almost 10 years ago and fitted it onto the floorboards using a Gripfill type adhesive plus hidden screws.

I had ordered several samples and submerged them in water for a week to see how they survive. All were unaffected as far as I could see.

In that time, we've had a long-term leak from the plumbing in the kitchen and a long-term leak from behind the shower (and no, I won't be using that plumber again). There's no sign of damage in the bathroom - still 100% perfect except for a few gouges done by the plumber when it was brand new. In the kitchen, there is very slight unevenness in the area that got very wet but really nothing a guest would notice. If it's tongue and groove rather than click-fit it's important to get the joints really tight (something I failed to do in the corner of the kitchen where the leak was).
Cheers, Ben
www . scotland-cottage.com www . scottish-cottage.com


Visiting Glenrothes? It's one of your Fife-a-day
User avatar
Cymraes
Posts: 519
Joined: Tue Jul 07, 2015 3:31 pm
Location: North Wales

Post by Cymraes »

G.H wrote:
Cymraes wrote:
Thanks this make is new to me and whilst it's not cheap I'm hoping its cheaper to get it fitted than wood. I'm going to find a local stockists and go have a look. There's also a stockists near the flat so bodes well for cheap delivery. I'm never hugely keen in mock anything (wood, tile etc) but it looks a very practical solution.
It's cheaper than Amtico! And you can get quite creative with pattern design if you want to. Mine is plain slate effect. I would have loved real slate but it takes too much maintenance for me and it's cold. The rental property has the original Victorian tiles in one room and I've had to pretty much cover them with a rug for comfort.
Post Reply