Wooden Flooring Help

[davegriff]

I need some advice about wooden flooring.
I would like to lay approx 40 sq m of wooden flooring in my maisonette.
It will cover the entire downstairs - living area, kitchen and hallway.
The sub structure is concrete.
I have had lots of quotes, and I seem to have 2 different options.
One option is to go for a 20mm thick, 100mm wide solid oak strip. I've been told I can glue this down, but the knots have to be filled in, then it has to be sanded and sealed. The total cost for the wood is about a £1000, and the glue and sealant and sanding would obviously be extra.
Option two is to go for a pre finished 3 strip oak flooring - this I understand has to be put on an underlay, or nailed to ply ? This flooring wold cost slighly less, about 840 quid, plus about 100 for the underlay. Obviously this won;t need sanding or sealing, and will be ready as soon as it is laid.
What I guess I'm looking for is advice on which would look better - I'm guessing option 1 would look better in the long run, but is all the work sanding and sealing andfilling in knots worth it ? Also, is gluing it down the right method ?

 

[Ant]

Obviously a lot depends on the quality of the floor you choose. Unfinished wood gives you a choice of finishes ie oil, varnish etc, wheras the pre-finished is whatever the manufacturer puts on.
Gluing direct to floor is OK if floor is sound and flat - underlay can even out a few minor bumps but you may need to screed it to make sure it is totally flat.

The prices you quote seem quite cheap for this amount of oak flooring - I would check out the quality to make sure it is OK. A builder mate has been buying some oak direct from manufacturer and this has been around £35/metre.

 

[davegriff]

Thanks.
I have checked out the flooring - it's from a very reputable firm called the natural wood flooring company in wandsworth, south london.
I'm not sure I understand what you mean by screed ?
The concrete is pretty flat, but it's covered in this black stuff, which may need to be removed, or could we glue directly on top of this ?