Hardwood flooring, just switched to :~)

[LoneRanger]

Why did I wait so long, this stuff looks awesome. House was built 2005, the usual builder grade carpet along with pretty decent tile in the usual areas. Left the tile alone but replaced carpet with hardwood in all areas except bedrooms and closets which were upgraded to better carpet. Chose a light whitewashed hickory engineered, http://www.harriswoodfloors.com/details.php?id=111&prod=Hickory-Roaring-Fork Also had the stairway converted from carpet to hardwood treads and risers-- carpenter did this part using solid hickory finished to match the engineered product. The engineered product depth matched up well enough w/ tile height that no underlayment or transitions needed.

Bigger bill than just replacing with all carpet but I was looking to future curb appeal as I'm not certain how much longer I'll stay here, can see selling in five maybe six years.

Should have done this several yrs ago, looks super.

 

[Kruse]

I've got 3/4" oak tongue-and-groove in my house. I installed it all myself and everybody mentions how great it looks.
Despite what the installers might say, it really isn't all that hard to do.

 

[Turk]

Nice!!

I put in real Hardwood Floors a year ago & took out the junk, thin, plywood. HUGE difference!

 

[Mr Nice]

Pictures would be nice.

My house is all tile except the closets.

 

[beanoil]

Hardwood is timeless, looks good, and can be refinished. What's not to like? We just made the switch back in the spring. The only carpet is in the bedrooms so it's a little more comfy on bare tootsies for getting up in the middle of the night.

 

[Clevy]

Originally Posted By: beanoil
Hardwood is timeless, looks good, and can be refinished. What's not to like? We just made the switch back in the spring. The only carpet is in the bedrooms so it's a little more comfy on bare tootsies for getting up in the middle of the night.



The product he used is the engineered stuff.

So no it can't be refinished,looks so so and if it gets even slightly wet its a nightmare.
I've installed everything from 1 1/4 wide reclaimed hardwood to junk laminate and nothing beats real wood.
Engineered looks decent however it's not real wood. It's a wood/composite product.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

of you have a dog make sure you have plenty of throw rugs. Dogs can develop hip problems from sliding around.

 

[LoneRanger]

Clevy, 3/4" wood would've needed transition strips everywhere the wood met tile and the living room has a lot of tile butting up to it. I hate the look of those transition pieces or whatever they're called, looks tacky to me. The product used matched to 1/8" to the height of the tile so no transitions were needed. Looks great. Lifetime warranty for as long as I own the place so I'm happy with that. I was told that it can be sanded and re-done one time, so if I was lied to then oh well I guess. As far as looking worse than solid wood.... why would it, it has a veneer of real hickory topside. I love the way it looks, exactly what I wanted -- matte finish, white washed natural look... doesn't show dust and debris at all. Just dry swiffed it other day and was astounded how much dust and stuff came up even though it looked clean. Lazy man's upkeep, works for me and Harris's FinishLoc is one of the better aluminum oxide processes based on what I found when looking around.

 

[IndyIan]

I would look into waxing it for water proofing between boards. We used 3/4" solid maple prefinished and should have waxed it before kids... An unnoticed spill does seep into it and discolors it, fortunately we picked quite a "low grade" of wood so it has all sorts of color variations which makes stains hard to pick out.

 

[Pop_Rivit]

Originally Posted By: Clevy
Originally Posted By: beanoil
Hardwood is timeless, looks good, and can be refinished. What's not to like? We just made the switch back in the spring. The only carpet is in the bedrooms so it's a little more comfy on bare tootsies for getting up in the middle of the night.



The product he used is the engineered stuff.

So no it can't be refinished,looks so so and if it gets even slightly wet its a nightmare.
I've installed everything from 1 1/4 wide reclaimed hardwood to junk laminate and nothing beats real wood.
Engineered looks decent however it's not real wood. It's a wood/composite product.


Nonsense.

Engineered hardwood flooring most certainly can be refinished if the original top veneer is more than 2mm. Better engineered hardwoods can be refinished up to 3 times-the wear layer is specifically designed to be refinished.

Engineered hardwood was specifically designed for below grade applications where there may be higher moisture levels-getting it slightly wet (as in a spilled glass of water) causes no problems whatsoever.

And while the subsurface layers of engineered hardwood is a wood/composite combination, the top veneer is most certainly wood-quality engineered hardwoods have a top veneer that is more than 3mm thick, along with up to 9 finish coats.

 

[sleddriver]

Originally Posted By: Pop_Rivit
Originally Posted By: Clevy
Originally Posted By: beanoil
Hardwood is timeless, looks good, and can be refinished. What's not to like? We just made the switch back in the spring. The only carpet is in the bedrooms so it's a little more comfy on bare tootsies for getting up in the middle of the night.

The product he used is the engineered stuff.

So no it can't be refinished,looks so so and if it gets even slightly wet its a nightmare.
I've installed everything from 1 1/4 wide reclaimed hardwood to junk laminate and nothing beats real wood.
Engineered looks decent however it's not real wood. It's a wood/composite product.

Nonsense.
Engineered hardwood flooring most certainly can be refinished if the original top veneer is more than 2mm. Better engineered hardwoods can be refinished up to 3 times-the wear layer is specifically designed to be refinished.

Engineered hardwood was specifically designed for below grade applications where there may be higher moisture levels-getting it slightly wet (as in a spilled glass of water) causes no problems whatsoever.

And while the subsurface layers of engineered hardwood is a wood/composite combination, the top veneer is most certainly wood-quality engineered hardwoods have a top veneer that is more than 3mm thick, along with up to 9 finish coats.

Not quite Pop pop. He's speaking of apples, you of oranges. Some of this engineered flooring is made of real wood that can be refinished. However, not all. Others are nothing but a print of wood grain...a photograph if you will. It is hard to scratch, but it will scratch. It can't be refinished, nor sanded down.....it's a print.

 

[LoneRanger]

Mine ain't no print, it has a 1/8" layer of hickory veneer on the structural component. I think it's 1/8.... sounds familiar. Anyhow, hickory is one of the hardest of the hardwoods or so I was told.

 

[SteveSRT8]

12 years ago we re-did the entire first floor in a maple floor. This last year was its first sanding and refinish. I paid a pro to sand it and recoated it myself. Stunning results. I'm sure I'll get another 10-15 years out of this finishing.

It's a 3 ply product with a nice thick piece of maple on top but I'm pretty sure it cannot be sanded again without a miracle!

Like the others I have a lower grade of wood which gave me much more of a natural look, hides the day to day stress of life...