I will be moving shortly to another flat which has ancient stained wall to wall carpets. Judging by the age of the block I'm guessing that underneath the carpets are parquet tiles. I was thinking of having the parquet sanded and gleamed, but then I also started thinking in terms of laminated flooring, with which I'm not very familiar. How hard-wearing is laminated flooring, how easy is it to clean, if pets have 'accidents' are the floors likely to stain, etc. How do the laminated floors compare vs parquet?
Laminated flooring is the easiest surface to clean. Also with all the colours to choose from, it's very tempting. From a money point of view, also art deco-ish, people absolutely love reviding the old parquet flooring. They would not think of taking it out. The quality of the wood is much more hardy than laminate. Once you have taken all the gunk, there probably is, off the parquet flooring, you can have a poly-urethane sealer put on. It does not shine, and can be cleaned with soap and water.
