Flooring system questions

[teddysnips]

Our new extension is now complete except for flooring. We've had underfloor heating fitted (wet system) and the screed laid. There's about 75 sq. metres to do.

We had originally thought to get a Karndean floor (having visited their showroom in Evesham - if you're ever in the area, it's worth a visit to see what can be done with good vinyl flooring) but they're turning out to be mega-expensive (=A355 sq. metre excl fitting). We're now looking at engineered wood (veneer laid onto a wooden substrate to prevent warping) and have found some nice-looking examples on offer.

In our last house I laid a T & G laminate floor and found most of it reasonbly straightforward. The main problems were a) it didn't look much like wood, and b) it was very noisy. I have three questions:

1=2E Is a "click lock" flooring system reliable (do they break or come apart or whatever?) Could you/Should you glue as well as click for extra security?

2=2E As someone with a reasonably amount of DIY experience (I was a professional decorator years ago) could I attempt this myself?

3=2E Will an engineered wood solution, whether glued T & G or KlickLok, work properly with underfloor heating, and will it be as noisy?

Ok, that's five questions. Thanks if you can help

Edward

[Andy Hall]

The manufacturer's instructions cover this.

Yes.

Yes it will work with underfloor heating.

No it won't have the horrible clicky sound of laminate. Think of the difference between closing the door on a BMW vs. a Skoda.

[teddysnips]

thanks for the advice. We bought 53 packs of maple engineered clicklok stuff from Topps Tiles - very cheap at =A310 a sq. metre. Amazingly John Lewis were quoting =A350 a sq. metre to LAY an engineered wood floor. I can get a top site chippy for =A3150 a day and I bet he could lay more than 3 sq. metres.

Edward

[Galet]

I installed a "click lock" Kahrs floor 4 years ago, no problem whatsoever to date.

If I managed to install it myself, anyone can do it ;-). If the room is squared, no problem at all, even a kid can do it. It becomes a slow process for corners and bay windows. I used paper models to cut the planks, see:

if it is not clear from the picture, there is a 1cm gap between the floor and the skirting board).

This I don't know.

F

[The Natural Philosopher]

It will work, yes. Mine does anyway. However versus e.g. tiles here is significant thermal gradient through it, making underfloor insulation more critical.

Not sire what you men by 'as noisy'

All laminate over foam type installations sound 'tacky' to an extent.