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

Hutchinson123 schrieb:

I’m still considering whether to additionally seal the floor (for durability).

I would actually be willing to pay more, provided that the quality is also better, of course. Friends installed Modular One and are satisfied. However, there are some joints that do not close completely permanently.

jaenno1 schrieb:

I think everyone should decide that for themselves...;).

Well, everyone has that freedom. But since you want a durable floor because of the children, the same floor will unfortunately be so durable that it will still exist in the ocean, the environment, and in those children’s bodies for another 200 years. Unfortunately, you can’t just make decisions about the environment alone.

I recommend linoleum. It is long-lasting, reasonably environmentally friendly, pleasant to bare feet, and attractive. It’s a pity it has gone somewhat out of fashion. But that often happens with “simple” materials. People tend to prefer newly developed products over proven ones.
I myself have engineered wood flooring over underfloor heating and would have liked linoleum as well. Sometimes I do regret it a little.

Second- or third-grade parquet is not very expensive. Even engineered wood flooring can be repaired with hot wax. It’s actually an advantage if you don’t choose the top-grade, flawless wood without knots, but rather something more ordinary.

I would really advise you to think it over carefully and carefully consider what kind of floor you choose. Of course, it is always quite expensive initially, but the floor will really last for generations (and with a lot of plastic, unfortunately, it lasts for generations in the environment as well) and will definitely influence the atmosphere of the rooms.

I have never once looked at a “designer floor” (the term itself is a euphemism) and thought, “oh, how beautiful! The floor really dresses the room nicely.” The highest feeling I get from such a designer floor is: it doesn’t bother me. That would be too little for my own home.

jaenno1 schrieb:

That's right, the parquet manufacturers are cutting corners everywhere. Please understand that I am not willing to pay over 100 €/m2 (around $100 per square yard) for a plank that might even remotely compare in size to what you can get as a laminate floor.

I don’t accept that price argument; I am currently installing a basement room with engineered wood flooring laid as a floating floor. The small parquet manufacturer Berg&Berg caught my attention—they mostly offer wide plank floorboards measuring 239x20 cm (94 x 8 inches), so really large! The street price for brushed, filled, smoked, and oiled oak is around 100 euros/m2 (about $9.30 per square foot).

I bought these as second choice for just 35 euros/m2 (around $3.30 per square foot). The defects I’ve found so far are really minor. To be safe, I bought 5% more than I actually needed, so I can simply cut or discard the boards with any little issues and fix all “problems.” The retailer also offers simpler Berg&Berg floorboards (just oiled) as second choice starting at 20 euros/m2 (about $1.90 per square foot). That can easily compete with any vinyl flooring—better real wood than plastic imitations...

Bertram100 schrieb:

Well, everyone has that freedom. But since you want a durable floor because of the children, the same floor unfortunately is so durable that it will remain in the ocean and thus in the environment and in the bodies of those children for another 200 years. Unfortunately, you can't resolve environmental issues just within your own household.

Have you looked into Ecuran as the base material for Pureline?
To me, it doesn’t sound very different from linoleum—plant oils and solids processed into a kind of plastic.
Both last a very long time, and both are disposed of with residual waste, meaning they go to waste-to-energy plants.
Ah, I just noticed that linoleum is even compostable (though it takes a very long time, so there are hardly any facilities that accept it).
Still sounds quite environmentally friendly!

The environment is very important to me. I spent a lot of time researching this topic before making a decision.
Of course, pure wood is even better for the environment, but it costs twice as much, stains easily in the kitchen, and significantly reduces the efficiency of underfloor heating.

I’m happy to be corrected, but the Wimeo Purline is not available in long plank format, only as sheet material or short planks, right?

Scout schrieb:

The Blue Angel label does not guarantee that a product is completely harmless.

Nothing can guarantee complete harmlessness. The direction is right, and that already matters.