why would one buy unfinished engineered hardwood?
mahatmacat1
16 years ago
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sweeby
16 years agomahatmacat1
16 years agoRelated Discussions
engineered hardwood floor over old hardwood floor
Comments (14)You need to do a little more archeological digging still. You need to know the whole construction of the floor before you can decide how best to install something new. I'd take up that plywood piece in the kitchen and see what's under it. It's higher than the surrounding floor, so needs to go. You should also be able to see from there what subfloor is under the original kitchen hardwood. It's too bad the space under your entryway is finished, but I'd still do some exploring from below to see what's under there, and to figure out the fix to stop it from squeaking. Is it drywall below or a drop ceiling? I know it probably seems like a pain to tear out drywall, but if you cut out a clean patch, like 2' x the width of the joists, it'll be relatively simple to repair. Just make sure to cut it down the center of the joists so that there's room to screw the patch piece to it later. Cut the hole under the area that squeaks the most, if you can. Have someone walk on and watch the floor from below to see what's moving. It might be as simple as pounding in a couple shims from below, or face-nailing a loose board from above. You want to find out what's underneath the hardwood. It might be laid directly on the floor joists, or there might be 10" wide boards that the hardwood is nailed to. Another thought is to take out a board in the hallway, since that's not original and you want to replace it. See what the subfloor is there. I am a bit puzzled at why, when you've stripped the kitchen down to the original hardwood, it's still higher than the hallway floor. Is your current surface perhaps not the original kitchen hardwood? Peeling back the plywood area will help determine that. BTW, I haven't heard of that stop squeaking product you linked to, so can't offer any personal opinion. And don't pour self-leveling compound over top of hardwood. It needs to go over plywood....See Moreunfinished engineered hardwood
Comments (9)I need to restain the banisters and posts of the stairs not just the stairs. But anyway, the unfinished engineered that is as good as solid seems to be a little out of my price range, especially since it's an update for resale reasons. Until now I found a company in Chicago, Pureza Wood that does a 2 ply, 3mm wear layer unfinished at $4/sqft. This is the description : https://purezawood.com/engineered-european-white-oak-floor/ is it worth it at that price? Or I can take my chances with my contractor and get prefinished and hope he can match the stain. I found some deals on Shaw, are they really bad in terms of quality?...See More$5.00 Unfinished Hardwood Pine or $5.00 Pre-finished Engineered Oak
Comments (11)Find out the wear layer for the engineered hardwood. That will help determine which is the better deal and product for the $$. Annied75 is right in that pine is a soft wood. It is not as hard as oak flooring. However, with that being said, all hardwood is susceptible to wear and tear and will show it over the years. The reason I ask for the wear layer is because it will help us determine how many sandings this engineered floors can withstand. The engineered floors we provide for our customers have a wear layer the same size as solid hardwood and therefore can withstand the same amount of sandings before reaching the tongue of the hardwood. If your engineered floor has a thin wear layer, the solid pine flooring just may be the better product for the money you are going to be spending since the pine floor will be able to withstand several sanding and refinishings. However, I read that you are going to be installing this over a slab floor in Florida. Since that is the case, engineered flooring is the way to go unless the pine flooring is going to be milled in an engineered version. Ask Hardwoods for Less if they can send you some samples before making the large purchase....See Moresolid hardwood vs. engineered hardwood
Comments (21)I'm a fan of Hickory. Love it! I love it's STRONG variation! Yep. Variation is the word that can be used for Hickory. If you are going for "mid-tone" then it means the Hickory is stained. No problem. That's fine. Hickory takes a stain very nicely. But it will still have plenty of variation. The stain will even that out a little bit, but not entirely. The finish is UV cured urethane. I'm not very excited about that finish. If you are going for factory finish, you will want to work with the TOUGHEST finishes on the market (that's why you go with factory finished...for the TOUGH finish). The UV cured urethane is a ho-hum type of finish. Average would be the best way to describe it. The thickness of the plank is 3/4" = normal for sold. The plank width is 5" with random lengths UPTO 60" (5ft). That tells me there will be many planks in the 3' - 4' range. Again, this is ho-hum average. And with a wide plank product, it will need "glue assist". And Hickory certainly needs it because it has a bit more movement (less stable) than white oak. And then there is the "low gloss" format. The low-gloss finish on this depth of colour = nightmare to live with. It will show dust, etc as well as oily foot prints, sock prints, paw prints and will look hazy at certain times during the day. The "haze" is part of the chemical make up of the finish itself = that's how they take away the gloss...they haze it with a chemical additive. The haze goes away when you sand and refinish the floor. That's the only way to fix it. If you must have a mid-tone floor, I would recommend a TOUGHER finish (aluminum oxide or ceramic infused polyurethane) in a satin. Satin is FAR MORE livable. It offers a lovely glow without being shiny. It hides skin oils (like paw prints from dogs) because it is the same gloss level as skin oils....it isn't hazy....you get the idea....See Moremahatmacat1
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