Flooring Options... Real wood?

[mayalld]

Heres mine

Cost around £700 but its solid ash. Glued down with an industrial adhesive in tight areas, and secret nailed with a nailgun on the rest. It looks stunning and very hard wearing, even on heavy traffic areas.

 

Looks very nice indeed, but also looks EXACTLY the same as my solid PINE floor, which was half the price!

[Lesd]

Hi Les,

 

Do you need to be trade to buy at Howden's? There's one near me & £21 per square metre is very cheap (you're looking at £40-£50 per metre in B&Q)...

 

Hi there,

I have always been lead to believe that Howdens only deal with trade customers but I've never 'tested' that. Having found the price Im actually buying via our builder. I made an error in my first post though, it should read £21+vat = £24.68 (sorry for any confusion), still a competitive price though.

Les

[blackrose]

Looks very nice indeed, but also looks EXACTLY the same as my solid PINE floor, which was half the price!

Pine might look similar to ash but one's a hardwood and the other isn't, so in terms of scuff & sratch resistance and general durability there's no comparison. Edited August 14, 2007 by blackrose

[David Schweizer]

Hi Les,

 

Do you need to be trade to buy at Howden's? There's one near me & £21 per square metre is very cheap (you're looking at £40-£50 per metre in B&Q)...

I don't buy much from Howdens as they always seem expensive to me. They always seem to insist that they will only supply trade customers, so I make sure I wear my working clothes and go in with my requirements written on a scruffy scrap of paper in pencil. If they ask, I say I am fitting out a boat, they usually accept that explanation. Silly really because all the other Merchants in the area automaticly give me Trade discount, based on the length of time I have been buying from them.

[John Orentas]

I don't buy much from Howdens as they always seem expensive to me. They always seem to insist that they will only supply trade customers, so I make sure I wear my working clothes and go in with my requirements written on a scruffy scrap of paper in pencil.

 

 

David,

 

Have you tried buying some 'ose' from them.

[NBMike]

Hi Sam,

We've opted for solid oak for the floor on our boat that is currently under construction. I looked at various options including the 'Khars' flooring system which is a type of engineered wood floor. Khars came in around the same price when you included fitting as did most of the Karndean range. Amtico was by far the most expensive. Our wood is coming from Howdens, the kitchen supplier who sell mainly to trade house builders, £21 + vat per square meter for 20mm thick oak T+G boards ready finished. Although not cheap, its about the best price I could find for a ready to lay solid oak product.

Hope this helps.

Les

I am working in a house where the chippie is laying oak floor from Howdens. It looks okay when you stand back and see the whole picture but he's having a nightmare matching pieces. It seems like they have used several different machines all set to a 1MM different size. I think he'll be using a lot of glue and sawdust to fill gaps. I would use an unfinished wood and sand it afterwards, at least it will all be the same thickness and you'll have plenty of sawdust!

[mayalld]

Pine might look similar to ash but one's a hardwood and the other isn't, so in terms of scuff & sratch resistance and general durability there's no comparison.

 

That bit I know :-)

 

It just struck me that the flooring in the pictures had a very wide grain, and Ash is usually tighter grained than that.

[Lesd]

I am working in a house where the chippie is laying oak floor from Howdens. It looks okay when you stand back and see the whole picture but he's having a nightmare matching pieces. It seems like they have used several different machines all set to a 1MM different size. I think he'll be using a lot of glue and sawdust to fill gaps. I would use an unfinished wood and sand it afterwards, at least it will all be the same thickness and you'll have plenty of sawdust!

 

Thats interesting and I guess may highlight batch issues where something is turned over in bulk like this product is. I first saw this howdens oak at two new developments where I was working on electric gates, the floors in both houses went in really quickly and looked great, its the reason I started talking to the guys laying it and they were impressed with it. So I guess I'll have to waitand see what arrives and be pushy with them if there is too much variation. If boards are out by 1mm then surely they could be rejected ? Thanks for highlighting this though, better to be forewarned.

[casper ghost]

Spam post removed from above.

 

 

 

Nice thick carpet, especially in this weather, cold feet.... When it gets too mucky for you just rip it up and replace. Probably not very 'green' but hey ho..

[GSer]

On the Howdens site they don't recomend fitting their solid wood flooring to areas which may get damp or cold or even warm (via under floor heating) I'd guess this is a case of arse covering but it may indicate the quality of finish applied to the boards.

 

I'd like to find some old Oak floor boards from a reclamation yard, although I like solid wood floors, i wouldn't want a floor that looks like its laminate IYKWIM too perfect and crisp. A nice bit of wear and tear well sealed with a quality varnish, that's what i'd like!

 

What wood are scaffold boards made from?

 

Paul

[Grace and Favour]

On the Howdens site they don't recomend fitting their solid wood flooring to areas which may get damp or cold or even warm (via under floor heating) I'd guess this is a case of arse covering but it may indicate the quality of finish applied to the boards.

 

I'd like to find some old Oak floor boards from a reclamation yard, although I like solid wood floors, i wouldn't want a floor that looks like its laminate IYKWIM too perfect and crisp. A nice bit of wear and tear well sealed with a quality varnish, that's what i'd like!

 

What wood are scaffold boards made from?

 

Paul

 

 

I understand they can be made from various types of Pine, or the dearer ones can be Spruce