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Help: Flooring choices


Eurocopter

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Folks, I need some help with choosing flooring for a room that I recently painted.

 

I don't whether to go with carpet or laminate but what is more important is its colour.

 

The ceiling is white, walls are light grey, the bedding, blind and lampshade is medium-ish blue. So the colour scheme is grey and blue. Now, for a carpet I was thinking of a dark grey or blue but interior design isn't my strong point so I need some help. I have no idea about laminate colours.

 

Any help is much appreciated.

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  • ParochialYokal

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If it's a bedroom then I'd go for carpet. A good deep pile carpet for noise damping and deadening.

Also, laminate will creak and crack (noise wise) every time your heating goes on and off and it echos quite badly too. Unless you underfloor heat it then it feels cold on your bare feet too which I personally hate and it would be every morning, every night and any time you get up to go pee.

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I'm not a fan of laminate on any flooring other than a kitchen so I too would suggest a carpet. Doesn't have to be a deep-pile carpet. It would also help retain heat, or if nothing else give that illusion. As Burnie says, laminate will be hell on bare feet and present as 'cold' anyway.

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If you have hay fever/allergies I would go for laminate, with as light as your walls are a nice cherry or other rich wood tone would look good.

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Light grey walls - great choice. Doing ours that colour soon. I wouldn't have laminate in a bedroom - very noisy and cold. Karndean tiles are better if you don't want carpet. If I was choosing carpet I'd go for either a blue grey carpet or pale grey.

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  • 1 month later...

I put some laminate in a flat that I rent out 3 years ago and I checked it out at the weekend and it looks brand new still. I purchased 'light commercial' grade, rather than domestic (10mm). It's worth buying a better quality.

And getting it installed professionally is a must! People have spoken about creaking and cracking; I have never experienced that when it has been installed by a professional. However, I have when it was not.

I purchased mine from these guys:

http://www.ukflooringdirect.co.uk

I prefer bevel edged style flooring, as it looks more like a real wooden floor. I also prefer oak / antique oak. It looks aged enough to hide any occasional scratch or bump that you may get.

The underlay used for a laminate is really important. Many people lay it on a thin silver sheet. I'd recommend laying it on fibre board, as it absorbs impact noise, keeps it warm and ensures that the floor is even.

<edit>

This is the underlay that I mean:

http://www.diy.com/departments/diall-6mm-fibreboard-wood-floor-underlay-96m-pack/94798_BQ.prd

I have also used this for soundproofing on walls, whereby it has been glued onto the surface of an existing wall and sandwiched between additional sheets of plasterboard.

Whatever you choose, I'd strongly recommend that you consider the consequences of not using appropriate underlay. My life has been made a misery for years as a result of impact noise from wooden flooring that doesn't have appropriate underlay!

Edited by ParochialYokal
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You can get some really quite good linos that have a wood effect. They'll be warmer than laminate, have good sound proofing qualities, easier to fit, waterproof, easier to clean and cheaper. They might be just as heard wearing too - depending on what use you put the room to.

 

My girlfriend just put down £45 worth of lino in her bathroom. She's already thinking of a different colour. So if she does go for something different it'll only be at a cost of £45, not a few hundred plus.

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I would go for a dark walnut laminate, or a dark grey/charcoal carpet. Laminate won't creak and crack if you put proper underlay underneath but it's not as warm as carpet. However if you've got animals it's easier to clean.

Used to work at B&Q in a past life and you've no idea the amount of folks who have this dilemma...

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Laminate does not creek if you install it correctly. There are plenty of how to vids on youtube. They generally creek if you dont put underlay down!

 

What I would say is carpet if you are a time in your life when you wont have kids under 5 anytime soon or again.

 

If you might have or have got a kid under 5 then laminate all the way. Otherwise you will be constantly scrubbing the carpet!!

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I'm not a fan of laminate on any flooring other than a kitchen so I too would suggest a carpet. Doesn't have to be a deep-pile carpet. It would also help retain heat, or if nothing else give that illusion. As Burnie says, laminate will be hell on bare feet and present as 'cold' anyway.

 

Wait...

 

Do you have a carpeted bathroom?

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If you go for laminate, I definitely second the advice on getting a pro to fit it. We had a laminate floor fitted at work in the summer last year and it's falling apart/wrecked already.

 

We're now looking at a huge bill (and loads of my time to move people in/out of offices) to get the entire floor relaid.

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Wait...

 

Do you have a carpeted bathroom?

Yes, it's a short pile bathroom carpet and quite nice.

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Yes, it's a short pile bathroom carpet and quite nice.

 

I took up a bathroom carpet a few weeks ago. I was literally wreching.

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