ᐅ Engineered flooring as an alternative to hardwood - buying guide and manufacturers

Good morning everyone,

There has already been a lot of discussion about different types of design flooring. We saw the Modular One from Parador at friends’ houses and were very impressed. However, there are very mixed opinions about this flooring, so I wanted to check if there are also more “premium” floors from other manufacturers? What are your experiences, and which brands would you recommend?

Since many criticize the use of “plastic,” here are our reasons for choosing this type of flooring: We currently live in an apartment with prefinished parquet. The apartment is 5 years old and we are very careful to avoid dents and scratches. Still, the floor is quite delicate and soft, so we want to find an alternative because of our very young children. Tiles are not an option due to the lack of “warmth underfoot.” Maybe when the kids are older, we can switch back to parquet, at least in the living room. I actually found that idea quite appealing.

We imagine a slightly lightened oak tone, but not a whitewashed color.

I would appreciate your opinions, tips, criticism, and suggestions.

Best regards
jaenno1

jaenno1 schrieb:

Good morning everyone,

There has already been a lot of discussion about different types of design flooring. We saw the Modular One from Parador at friends' place and were very impressed. However, there are very mixed opinions about this flooring, so I wanted to ask if there are also more "premium" floors from other manufacturers? What has your experience been, and which brands would you recommend?

Since many criticize the use of "plastic," here are our reasons for choosing this floor: We currently live in an apartment with prefinished hardwood flooring. The apartment is 5 years old and we take great care to avoid as many dents and scratches as possible. Still, the floor is so sensitive and soft that, because of our very young children, we want an alternative. Tiles are not an option due to their lack of "foot warmth." Maybe, once the little ones are past the roughest phase, we could go back to hardwood, at least in the living room. I actually liked that idea.

We are imagining a slightly lightened oak tone, but not a whitewashed color.

I would appreciate your opinions, tips, critiques, and suggestions.

Best regards,
jaenno

With very young toddlers who spend most of their time close to the floor, I would never, ever voluntarily bring (off-gassing) plastic into the home. We have currently solved this by installing relatively inexpensive hardwood flooring on the upper floor, while accepting that dents and scratches are part of daily life on the ground floor.
Sorry, this isn't an answer to your question, but I had to say it.

saralina87 schrieb:

Especially with very young toddlers who spend most of their time close to the floor, I would never, ever, ever willingly bring (off-gassing) plastic into the house.

If you avoid direct contact already, what about clothing or even putting things in the mouth? No plastic toys, water bottles, cups, toothbrushes, lunch boxes, and so on?

But yes, we also don’t want anything that off-gasses, so we chose a design flooring certified with the Blue Angel environmental label.

RotorMotor schrieb:

If you already reject physical contact, what about clothing or even putting things in your mouth?
No plastic toys, water bottles, cups, toothbrushes, lunch boxes, ...?

But yes, we don’t want anything that emits odors either, so we chose a design floor with the Blue Angel certification.

I don’t reject physical contact, I’m not sure where you got that from.
But yes, there are actually people who at least try to limit contact with plastic and reduce the use of plastic in their daily lives – especially when it comes to toothbrushes (or finger toothbrushes), lunch boxes, etc. There are plenty of options nowadays. And all this without being an extreme environmentalist.

It requires less effort to sand a parquet floor than to remove a vinyl floor and install a new one. Therefore, I would choose a parquet with a slightly thicker wear layer for the living room.

Myrna_Loy schrieb:

Sanding a parquet floor requires less effort than removing a plastic floor and installing a new one. I would therefore choose a parquet floor with a slightly thicker wear layer for the living room.

It's a good thing that you don't need to sand a vinyl floor! :-)