Flooring

In Denmark all houses have wood floors, so I don't understand why you think it would be no good in the kitchen or that it marks.

If you varnish it, it lasts for years and can be washed in hot water and soft soap.

Only a red hot iron left face down on it, will make any impression. (My old flat had the marks of an accident with an iron in one room when I moved in.)

Most floors here are pine.

If you want something easy to keep put down vinyl over the wooden floor.

I love our underfloor heating , we have Karmean type stuff on the floor , means it is quiet and warm and it looks like wood

Not a criticism at all but how would you clean cork? I thought it was permeable therefore not easy to clean. I can imagine that would be nice and warm underfoot so lovely in winter.

UFH is great in bathrooms and utility but find it stuffy in friends houses and bedrooms always too hot . Agree it looks better wi5hout rads but prefer controllability.

Look at engineered flooring apparently quality improved hugely in recent years and so much more forgiving on aging bones than hard tiles

Cork is sealed hazeld. Is if you buy unsealed you need to seal it

Sorry 'if you buy unsealed you need to seal it' on phone today as can't get to pc decorators in hallway

Karndean definitely.

We’ve got laminate through lower floor because of husbands poor mobility and needing to use a ‘walker ‘to get around the house. For him it’s the best thing ever but it is cold to the touch and even small under table rugs make life unsteady for him. So for mobility purposes I recommend but not for warmth under foot.

We have Amtico all 9ver ground. Oak look. The cheaper one. Brilliant. Dogsitting and no issues

Karndean had mine down 6 yrs and still looks like new

We have had underfloor heating in our last three houses and love it. It connects to an air source heat pump outside. The pipe runs are in one length so the chances of anything going wrong is negligible. We keep the thermostats at 22 in winter and at 15 in summer. Never too cold or too hot. A bit more expensive than mains gas but we live in the countryside so don't have that luxury. We get the renewable heat incentive payment for seven years so it pays for the set up cost and a bit more. We have karndean wood effect throughout ground floor and carpet and radiators upstairs. Previous two houses had ceramic tiles and were also warm underfoot but as previously mentioned crockery easily broken if you're on the clumsy side.

Karndean/amtico flooring is exceptionally hard wearing and many retailers use it for this reason but I don’t think very environmentally friendly.... have you considered linoleum? Very environmentally friendly, hard wearing, think it’s still made in the UK and naturally resistant to bacteria and comes in lots of colours to make up your own design.

I have Quick Step laminate flooring throughout the downstairs including the kitchen. It looks classy, is easy to cleanespecially with 2 dogs and I wouldn’t t go back to carpet downstairs now

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We have UFH in new build bungalow. It doesn't take so long to heat as some people say. We have Karndean wood effect plank strips in large open plan living area. Chose large, rectangular speckled Karndean tiles for hall. They've been down two and a half years, and look good, though there are some fine scratches if you look very closely.

Karndean is what I would recommend but then also you can consult the professionals like Home Quality Remodeling
homequalityremodeling.com experts for the best option. You can contact them online and they would advice you the best. Because for my daughter's home they were hired and took everything in their own hands which turned out to be the best.

I have a Travertine marble floor which should be cold but isn’t as it was laid over a thick layer of polystyrene underlay under the MDF floorboards. You can literally feel the difference in temperature between underlaid and non underlaid flooring by putting a bare foot on the middle and very edge of the kitchen floor where the polystyrene runs out. So I think that this polystyrene underlay solution might be effective for tiles or other stone too . The radiators heat the ( large ) room up nicely.

To all as you’ve all been so helpful.

I have no idea what Karndean is or Antico but once I’ve written this I am going searching.

Good point about smashing dishes on kitchen floor I’ve dropped more dishes in the last year than whole lifetime, arthritic hands so excellent point about ceramic/porcelain tile.

You’ve reminded me that my sister had cork about 40 years ago in her kitchen but I would have thought that could dent. I shall give her a call. One more to check out as well is Bamboo, I had forgotten about that but heard it was great wearing but expensive. So that’s four additional flooring types I need to investigate as well as those already reading about.

I hadn’t thought of electric UFH in bathroom that’s an option to whole extension having water UFH. Keeping carpets in the original cottage which is 4 rooms, 3 bed and 1 study.

Husband hasn’t been too well so I’m trying to get most of the research done and encapsulated for him to save the constant conversations about the “extension”. Additional stress is not his friend right now so I’m trying to avoid bombarding him with decisions. We have time, planning approval takes forever!

Most helpful thanks so much.

Tiles definitely . Ours were from Wickes. Not cold underfoot. Look great. Everyone loves them. I mop them once a week. Hygienic, modern, fabulous....will never wear out.

It seems, judging by some of the posts re dropping things, someone needs to invent 'trampoline flooring' fast

I said in previous post we've gone for stone this time. They were more expensive than the Karndean we are having elsewhere. Thought it would wear well with the dogs and be cooler for them in the summer and to be fair, everything I've dropped on my Amtico in the past has smashed.

Well I’ve given my husband an overview of what you have all been saying..he suggests rubber floor and plastic dishes!

Update. Have ordered samples from everywhere including Floors for Paws, along with bamboo etc., we will take a good look at all the options, interestingly there is a Karndean supplier fairly local in nearest large town. I will post on what we use, which will hopefully by around October!

It is the driveway now that I’m beginning researching and have started thread on that. Thanks

Am I alone in not recommending Karndean?
It seemed the perfect answer when I wanted something individual and practical for the hall. I ordered from a very reputable local company and paid a substantial sum for a relatively small area.. Carefully measured and designed, it looked perfect for the life of the 10 year guarantee!

Tile edges then began to lift and chip. Despite following maintenance instructions including using the appropriate sealant and cleaner, the surface became dull and unattractive.
After 12 years it has to be replaced.

Don't know if I was looking for miracles and perhaps that was a reasonable lifespan!

We have 2 dogs and have woodgrain vinyl right through downstairs. Easy to mop over with muddy paws and scratches don't show as much as on wood flooring.

I have the same sheet vinyl in the large living room, with no rugs, for nearly twenty years. I got them to seal the edges when it was laid. I has four small marks where a bureau stood for years but apart from that it is as good aswhen it was laid. I chose the sort of sheet vinyl that has the thickest vinyl layer as my priority was wear not softness. The spongy vinyls usually have thinner vinyl layers.

I love the UFH in my new home, it is a wet system and yes takes a while to warm up but it remains warm for a long time when the heating goes off. It is very cosy and not having rads makes a big difference to furniture placement

Quickstep flooring throughout the whole house, matt oak with a bark texture, lovely and I have a stack of rugs to put down before winter