Personally, no. I wouldn't pay anything extra for wider boards. Wider boards are trendy right now, but in another couple years the opposite may be true. Neither is more classic than the other.

We just went through the same thing last week. Since we are over on everything we decided to go with what the builder offered (3 1/4). We are going to mix some b and c grade together to give it a little character.

I wouldn't do it--agree it is the "trend" right now but I don't see it as long term. Not worth it if you are already over!

I wouldn't. The original craftsman's had narrow planks.

In one spec home I did, I had 5" wide clear planks in the family room. In the other rooms, 3" or 3.25" select red oak. Buyers "oohed!" and "ahhed!" over the latter and barely paid a nod to the much more expensive material. In some cases, they openly wondered why I had gone "cheap" in the family room.

Mixing in some of the 4" planks may give a standout appearance to your floors.

This post was edited by worthy on Mon, Jan 14, 13 at 10:54

I wouldn't.

1) Narrower is more appropriate for the craftsman style
2) it should cost less not more-- about half the labor to install, but only a small increase in material price.

Well, I will dissent! Lol! I have had both (well, actually now I have 5" boards) and the wider boards are just so much more beautiful. You can see the wood so much better, and I can't imagine they will ever be in or out of style...it's just wood. I don't think that is much of an upcharge, and around here ALL of the custom homes have wider floorboards.

I think it is a personal preference. I could care less and would have been happy with the 2 1/4 boards. My husband likes the wider ones. Don't think they are trendy - many old homes have them - but neither are the thinner ones. I think both are classic and so unless you have a preference towards the wider ones, I wouldn't even consider them.

I wouldn't do it, because I'm sure I can think of a half-dozen other things I'd spend the $1200 on first :)

I like the look of wider boards, but just wouldn't want to pay the upcharge for them when I could put the funds toward other things that I'd notice more often. That said, I did spend a ton of extra money on Emtek door hardware (as opposed to the less expensive options at Home Depot). But every time I see the door knobs & backplates I am SO happy I did. How much of a thrill do you think you'll get from wider boards?

If you can afford it, I would do it, especially if you have an open floor plan. I think it really helps to create a overall feeling of openness. I also think the price is reasonable as 50 cents a sq ft (what your costs would work out to) is a bit less than the pice difference I have seen in materials

I also don't think it is trendy, my old Edwardian apt had 4' boards! :)