Tag: wood

 How do you choose a wood floor?The style choice is bewildering; take your pick from ash, bamboo, beech, cherry, iroko, maple, merbau, oak, walnut and many others. The next choice is between laminate, engineered and solid wood. Beware cheap laminates; they are to this decade what swirly carpets were to the 1970s - a design disaster that will reduce the value of your home and will be instantly ripped out by new owners. Laminate vs engineered vs solid: A laminate is a piece of plastic with a photographic image of wood grain, mounted on MDF. They cost as little as £5 a square metre and although scratch-resistant, once damaged are non-repairable. Engineered flooring has a veneer of real wood, usually 3-7mm thick, that can be sanded up to five times. It is particularly suitable for use over concrete floors and in kitchens. Solid wood is one piece of wood from top to bottom. As it needs to be nailed to a permanent floor,...