Friday 14 March 2014

Our Oak Floor "Investment"

When we fitted our oak floor last year I'm sure to some people thought that it was a little extravagant to people that preach about frugality, but to us it was an investment.
And looking back on it six months later I can safely say that it was a good investment.
If we had fitted a new carpet instead then we would be replacing it again about now. We have a very lovely baby that is sick a lot (for the first four months she'd be sick at least 4 times a day) and a very messy two year old, between them they could wreck a carpet in a little under a day.
There are some disadvantages to having wooden floors. They're harder if you slip, fall or drop something (our two year finds this out quite often (the slipping and falling - not being dropped!)). And although a wooden floor is easier to clean it need to be done more often and it never feels as cosy under your toes as a carpet (we all wear slippers all the time so don't notice this one).
For me, having an oak floor was an easier decision to make. Being a carpenter I can fit it for nothing, this reduced the price to the point where it was only going to be an extra £500 pounds for oak compared to having a good quality carpet and underlay fitted, this also meant that it was within our budget for the room. Another advantage was that as I fitted a solid oak floor, rather than a laminate, if the finish is ever looking a little tired, scratched or worn I can just sand it all back and completely refinish it saving even more costs in the future.
I think in our situation we made the right choice with the floor and although it was expensive at the time it will be here for a lot longer than a carpet or a laminate substitute, meaning that over time it will save us a lot more than it cost us.
Anyone else made an investment that someone else thought was a bit of an extravagance?

16 comments:

  1. Underfloor heating in our bathroom we don't have a radiator in there but during winter it perfect for drying the clothes on the airer and we don't have a table dryer. It doesn't cost very much at all to run.

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    1. I must admit than I'm one of the few people in the world that doesn't like the feel of underfloor heating. I can see why most people do but I've always got this strange feeling than I'm wet myself! Still it probably becasue when I'm in a house with it I'm working there and then it's too hot for me! They are cheap to run though on the right system and it's a great selling point if you ever sell your house.

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  2. We had an oak floor when I was a kid and when a teenager, my mother put down a nearly white carpet for some unknown reason and my life was miserable from then on it seemed. I could not walk in the house with out causing a problem. To this day I really dislike carpet and we have small dark rugs on our hardwood floors.

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    1. I was brought up that inside is always a shoes and boots off area and we live like that as well now (although to grab a glass of water I might be naughty and sneak in!). At my mothers I'm not aloud in the house in dirty trousers. I remmeber many times my brother, my dad and me haing to strip down to our pants before we were aloud in!

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    2. no shoes in our house either. we have a sign! people are off put by it. But in most European countries this is standard. it is seen as rude to wear shoes in the house.

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    3. Believe it or not but thats one of the reasons my other blog is called "Sawdust In My Socks" Because if I'm working in a customers house I normally take my boots off and end up with, well you get the picture!

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  3. I think you made a wise investment. For me, practicality, durability and function trump all else - but in this case, you wound up with beauty AS WELL.

    Yes, we have invested in a few things over the years that seemed extravagant to some, but those items are still going strong and serving us daily without the need for incessant repairs. One example - we bought a Miele washer and dryer that came with a10 year warranty (all parts and labour). With 5 kids in the home, kids in sports and my husband in construction, I did a lot of laundry and needed reliability. Big bonus - if you need service - the service tech shows up in a van stocked with EVERY part for a Miele machine. Worth every penny and they're still going strong!

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    1. The first time I came across Miele was last year. a millionaire I was working for was having them fitted and everyone was saying how good they were. When ours dies I might bite the bullet and buy one. With that long warenty it would probably pay for itself anyway!

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  4. Just invested in another polytunnel. Our last one got wrecked in the gales. I just hope this one lasts a bit longer and we have somewhere to grow and cultivate, even on wet days. Your oak floor will be around when all the fads and fashions have long gone and faded. Just look at 1970's carpets or 1980's stripes and borders decorating paper.

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    1. The polytunnel is a good investment! I'd love one oneday but I'll have to have planning permission I'm sure.
      Hopefully the oak floor won;t go out of fashion or if it ever does hopefully I won't care!

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  5. Always had carpets in the UK, having considered having a hard floor as to uncomfortable. Then we came to France, and carpets are not 'done' here, being considered by most to be unhygienic, but I wouldn't have a carpet anyway now after having had a tiled floor in the half barn for the last couple of years. A few rugs here and there soften the flooring, but it is so easy to keep clean......but I did invest in a steam cleaner to help me! We have wooden ceilings so would not have a wood floor as well, but yours looks lovely, and will stay lovely for years. Lovely, absolutely lovely, and gorgeous, photo of your youngster....I bet there aren't many hours in the day when she is not melting your heart!

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    1. She does melt our hearts but she also keeps us awake quite a bit at the moment!
      Our down stairs is the same now. Eitehr tiled or wooden and I think its the way forward for us! The only trouble with the tiled floor is nothing bounces - My wife has broke a few plates since moving here!

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  6. Years ago we bought a super king bed. Everyone thought we were nuts. it cost what seemed a fortune to us at the time being a young couple. Best thing we ever bought. Yes we live in a small house, yes there isn't a huge amount of floor space in the bedroom, but the space it gives you when you sleep. and we have 2 separate mattresses that zip together, different firmness for bad backs etc.

    Some people don't understand the difference between laminate and wood flooring. Laminate is cold on the feet, wood is naturally warmer. it looks lovely. as does the bambino

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    1. We'd love a bigger bed to fit the kids in for cuddles in the morning but there is no way our rom could fit it in. With the cot in there my wife has to climb into bed from the bottom as there is no room up the side!
      I know what you mean about the wood being warmer. My wife keeps saying how surprised she is by how warm her feet feel on it!

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  7. A wise decision to go for an oak floor, a brilliant long term investment.

    But how you expect us to even notice the floor when it's basically a picture of your gorgeous daughter I really don't know, she simply steals the show with those beautiful eyes :-)

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    1. I don't know what you mean! Thats a picture of the floor really she just got in the way!
      She is lovely when she's not being sick!

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