ᐅ Which type of flooring is best for the upper floor and attic in a new build?

Hello,

we have purchased a semi-detached house and are currently looking into the flooring.

On the ground floor, basement, bathroom, and guest toilet, tiles will be installed by the builder.

On the first floor and attic are the bedrooms, dressing room, children’s rooms, and studio. The floor should have the following properties:

- Durable and scratch-resistant
- Very long-lasting
- Easy to maintain
- Suitable for underfloor heating (throughout the house except in the basement)
- Easy to install without advanced DIY skills

What type of flooring would you recommend?

We were considering click vinyl, but would you suggest something else?

What should we pay attention to with vinyl and other types of flooring?

For those who can accept the look of vinyl, I would always recommend laminate. It’s quite similar but much cheaper.
Vinyl prices are unreasonable for what it is and can do.
Often, it is not moisture-resistant, especially when it is installed over a substrate panel.
The only areas where vinyl really has an advantage over laminate are in thermal conductivity.
Some prefer the “soft” feel underfoot. For me, it feels more like walking on plastic.
So, if you don’t want hardwood or tiles (for whatever reason) and don’t like the look of linoleum, I would rather suggest laminate. Vinyl would only be an option for me if installed without a substrate panel and glued down in rooms with potential moisture, where tiles are not feasible due to buildup height.

Taitv789 schrieb:

Which type of flooring would you recommend for us?

Hardwood flooring – I would also choose that for the ground floor (but just as an aside). However, it is a personal decision and entirely subjective.

We have no issues with the feel and look of vinyl.

Aren’t laminate and parquet more prone to scratches or dents?

We don’t need moisture resistance since water rarely spills in the rooms (at most, a bottle of water tipping over).

In the living area, we have tile flooring.

Taitv789 schrieb:

We have tiles in the living area

Why not use them in the rest of the house as well?

Taitv789 schrieb:

Are laminate and parquet more prone to scratches or dents?

You can’t generalize like that.
There are commercial-grade laminates that are very durable. There is also poor-quality vinyl where, after a year of a child sliding around, you’ll see a haze from numerous small scratches.
Parquet can get scratches and dents easily, but for many, that is part of the natural look of a wooden floor. It depends on the thickness of the wear layer; below 3mm (1/8 inch), you quickly start to see the unattractive layers underneath. In theory, you can sand parquet to remove scratches and surface dents. In practice, I don’t know anyone who has done this except when moving into a previously lived-in property.
So no, the supposed fragility wouldn’t be an argument in favor of vinyl for me. On the contrary, I consider an average vinyl floor more vulnerable than an average laminate floor.

Taitv789 schrieb:

We bought a semi-detached house and are currently dealing with the flooring. [...]
Suitable for underfloor heating (throughout the house except in the basement)

Although it does happen that developers include underfloor heating in all above-ground floors, it cannot be assumed as a given (especially for larger regional developers, this is quite rare). Are you sure your property is designed to accommodate this feature?

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