Hi guys , looking at the pros and cons of laminate floating floors in a rental. Will it improve rental yield over other flooring for eg carpet, tiles etc. Is it more inexpensive and durable in the long run. Finally does anyone know any good suppliers in Sydney both purchase cost and installation costs included. Basically my dad is quite handy and i heard laminate floors are easy DIY -will we save more money initially but should we hire a professional so things go smoothly. I'm really stuck im looking at renovating a 2bed 1bath unit in Sydney and thought maybe the DIY laminate where the way to go instead of paying a pro heaps more for something we could do ourselves. Thanks for all the feedback please tell me on how your DIY experience went with laminate floors and if there still in good nick.
Cheers
young investor01 wrote:. Is it more inexpensive and durable in the long run. Finally does anyone know any good suppliers in Sydney both purchase cost and installation costs included. Basically my dad is quite handy and i heard laminate floors are easy DIY -will we save more money initially but should we hire a professional so things go smoothly. I'm really stuck im looking at renovating a 2bed 1bath unit in Sydney and thought maybe the DIY laminate where the way to go instead of paying a pro heaps more for something we could do ourselves. Thanks for all the feedback please tell me on how your DIY experience went with laminate floors and if there still in good nick.Cheers
The inexpensive ones are inexpensive for a good reason, they are less durable. And yes if your dad is handy its easy to install and save a few bucks BUT if its for a unit I'd check to see if they allow you to do it , specially if its not on the ground floor.
cheers,
thanks harb for the feedback, is there any particular brands that you can recommend- i was in bunnings this afternoon checking out a laminate floor 7mm thick german egineered 20 years warranty and described as heavy duty residential for $14.95 per sqm- is that reasonable? And the only flooring allowed in the unit apart from carpet is floating floor boards. So basically my dad and I will do it to save abit of money, but I still want a laminate floor that is durable with a warranty and wont blow the wallet to much.
young investor01 wrote:i was in bunnings this afternoon checking out a laminate floor 7mm thick german egineered 20 years warranty and described as heavy duty residential for $14.95 per sqm- is that reasonable? And the only flooring allowed in the unit apart from carpet is floating floor boards. So basically my dad and I will do it to save abit of money, but I still want a laminate floor that is durable with a warranty and wont blow the wallet to much.Sorry young investor01, can't recommend any .I had a look at a few different types about 1.5-2 years ago and decided to stick to solid timber, but it was for myself not the IPs. Price is reasonable and so is the warranty, if you are not sure maybe you can get 1 pack and give it a good test. Maybe someone else here can reccomend a brand.
The worst one I saw looked like MDF covered with some vinyl (ish) looking coating not unlike contact paper. I did a quick "car keys test" on the sample on display and was easy to scratch and the top coating came apart quite easily . Probably alright if you walked on it bare footed and cover the traffic area with rugs.That's the problem I'm just scared i might buy some dud so i guess i must research and look it to it more thoroughly
haha great advice, i must visit bunning again soon and accidentally trip with my hands outstretched key in hand.I found Ikea floors to be a lot harder wearing than bunnings. It is what they use on their own floor which gets a LOT of traffic. so you can see just how well it lasts.
If you are not on the ground floor you may have to consider sound absorbing underlay. But check with body corporate first.
young investor01 wrote:i must visit bunning again soon and accidentally trip with my hands outstretched key in hand.A bit tricky to do that in our Bunnings, they have the display on the shelves at eye level. If you go down there on a Saturday afternoon or Sunday the kids working there will either ignore you or give you a hand to do your "test". If your keys are worn out then something like my keyring ornament will also come in handy.
http://olfablades.stores.yahoo.net/9537.htmlcrashy wrote:I found Ikea floors to be a lot harder wearing than bunnings. It is what they use on their own floor which gets a LOT of traffic. so you can see just how well it lasts.Are they using the $14sqm or the $47sqm ?
cheers
$14
'Laminate floors' and 'durability' should never be used in the same sentence ! unless you add 'lack of' in between. In saying that $14 sqm is extremely cheap you will pay around $100 sqm for solid timber flooring once laid polished etc. Even more if you want to use a fancy timber. the laminate floor should be fine as long as there are no kids or large dogs in the property. If kids/dogs are an issue and you still want to use the laminate i would suggest paying a little bit extra for a better quality laminate.
kids and dogs not a problem- property will be rented to young single professionals i'm still in the process of looking for a durable laminate floorboard so if anyone can provide me a great brand or supplier(in sydney) that would be great!
I bought a heap of the Bunnings Lanimae at $14.95 m2 to do 2 kitchens in an IP and I cannot recommend it.
I am very handy and have renovated several houses but this stuff is crap. They don't easily lock together and once a piece is right it sometimes knocks out other previously done sections. This cheap stuff is a pain. I say spend a few more bucks and go for a better product. Hopefully not made in China like the cheap crap….. avoid it!
If you see my listing for about 10m2 on eBay next week, don't buy it.I'm going out to buy the better laminate today.I've used the Ikea glue-together laminate, which has now been down 9 years and looks pretty much the same as the day it was laid.
There is one ding where I dropped a claw hammer on it. It runs into a kitchen and hasn't had any problems with water. It also gets a lot of direct sunlight and hasn't faded at all. An excellent product, but it is slow to install because of all the gluing. Took 4 days to lay 45sqm.
I've also used the Harvey Normal laminate at around $25-30/m. It's the click together one and installs quickly with very good joints (better than my glued Ikea ones
). I installed about 42sqm in about a day.It's only been down for a couple of years, but it's great so far. I'd use it again.
Daedalus
Another option is bamboo floating floor. Very hard wearing and install very much like any laminated floor. Very easy DIY
just did the ikea stuff on my little flat in perth , cheap and easy
looks nice
make sure you find the little kit with the wedges and the block and hook tool for tapping them together ( you need the hook tool )
the bunnings stuff looked a bit cheap and nasty compared to ikea
i would suggest with a small flat dont get hung up on the per meter price as you have so few meters it only makes a small difference in actual costtappa tappa tappa ,not "whack !"
When installing such a floor, the glue in excess cannot be removed immediately. Usually it is left in place, so it hardens very well, then it is removed after 24 hours or so. During all this time, the glue vapors are annoying, especially for people who are sensitive to this allergen…
Stay away from the cheap imports. Most of the gearwhich comes out of china is almost impossile to put together.
I can normally lay 200 sqm with a labourer if it is Fomica or Quick Step. These are fantastic brands, great quality and a dream to install. The chinese stuff takes me about 2 days to lay 100sqm, and that is going flat stick, so i won't touch it.Bamboo is a great alternative, and actuall wears better than most solid hardwood floors. Big bonus is that it is eco friendly as bamboo is a sustainable product.
Costs
Cheap Laminate up to $25 sqm
Formica or quickstep to $40sqm
Solid bamboo or timber $40 to $140 sqm
All prices are supply only, Laying at around $22 sqm and up from there depending on type of floor.
Hope this helps
Thanks for tips. About to start doing up a 2br upstairs unit. Concrete floors (currently covered in old vinyl and ripped carpet). Bunnings has solid oak for about $45/m – 19mm. But I'm thinking laminate wood will be cheaper and easier to lay. Solid wood would need to go on battens, wouldn't it? Whereas laminated floorboards go on insulation layer which is straight on to the concrete – is this right?
I thought that a floating timber floor was solid wood on battens – wrong?
Sound insulation is an issue with my unit. Any tips re-brands? Types?
thanks,
Carlin
I just recently laid laminate flooring 12mm, style in Black Butt purchased from Carpet Choice and looks great. I did pay top price $50 per meter but found it to look as close to wooden floor boards as you will get. Wasn't to bad to lay, underlay goes on the concrete slab and boards on top. Just make sure your slab is level or it will creak when you walk over it, there is a leveling compound you can get from any hardware store and this will fill uneven areas.
Good luck,
Daniel
Carlin,
Solid timber does need to be installed on battens. In concrete slab situations, we rip strips of 17mm ply at about 70mm wide and lay these down onto the slab (Remember it needs a moisture barrier like black plastic) The battens are then fixed to the concrete at 300mm centres. You then lay the solid or bamboo floor ontop as per normal if you secret nail. If you are going to face fix, your battens will need to be thicker.A floating floor essentiall clicks together, although engineered floors may be layed as a floating floor. Sold timber flooring CANNOT be layed as a floating floor.
A floating floor is a floor which is not fixed to an substrate, hence it floats.
You can get sound insulation from most flooring shops.
good luck with your project
Remember with all fitted floors to allow room for expansion, this is a requirement for all solid and engineered, floating and fixed floors.
I'm going out to buy the better laminate today.
). I installed about 42sqm in about a day.
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