I have real oak hardwood in my kitchen, and three years ago I installed engineered, handscraped hardwood by Appalachian Hardwoods in my bedroom. The engineered hardwood is superb. It didn't even scratch when we had heavy, sold bedroom furniture installed. These pieces require four people to move, and at one point it was dropped on the floor: no scratches, no dents. We now have felt pads on all the furniture for more protection, but the engineered wood has held up well. It's also easy to clean. It was more expensive than some hardwoods: $8.00 per square foot! Since our home was built to look like an old Louisiana antebellum home, I wanted floors that looked old and had character. The handscraped engineered floors fit the bill, especially when compared to the price of real, reclaimed wood from old homes or barns! Now I'm replacing all the flooring in my house with the same engineered wood. I'm even removing the oak plank in the kitchen. It has not held up over the years. The finish is gone in some spots, probably from wear and the use of things like vinegar, grease, etc. Some things really seem to eat away at the finished oak regardless of how quickly you remove a spill. It also has some dings from me dropping heavy cast-iron cookware. So, I can only speak from my experience, but so far the engineered hardwood seems to be the better choice for my home. Plus, it was faster to install. If I had done raw hardwood, the contractor said he would lay the wood in the house for a week to let it "cure" before finishing it. I live in a high-humidity area (NC). I'm impatient and didn't want to wait.

Of course my next question is "what kind of linoleum?" My assumption is that the sheet material is a vinyl on a mineral fiber felt backing. If the sheet material is securely bonded to the concrete in all areas, then you can think of the sheet as providing a vapor retarder for your installation. Your sheet flooring will either by an homogenous vinyl or a cushioned rotogravure product. Either can provide an adequate substrate, but check with the flooring manufacturer as to suitability and for adhesive recommendation. If you choose to install over the sheet material, then be aware that you must physically and chemically remove any surface contaminants, and that includes any acrylic dressings or waxes that may have been applied to the flooring surface. Once you are sure they have been removed and you have a clean and dry substrate, then I see little reason why going over the existing sheet material cannot be done. It is how I did such installations over the years and they were all successful.

A 3-foot or 4-foot prybay may give you added leverage for lifting the subfloor/underlayment panels. A 6-pound mini-sledge can be used to force the prybar end/blade under the pannels. Making relief cuts every 6-inches to a foot with a circular saw can also help by relieving some of the pressure and separate panels into smaller sections easier.

Thank you for your help! I clicked on your name and the floors you have done look absolutely amazing and I wish I could’ve hired you! Yes, some of the flooring does not meet standards but apparently they are allowed a 5% margin... The flooring probably has more than 5% that is problematic but when we contacted the company they said they would happily send of more flooring for free but at this point the floor is down and the damage is done. The national hardwood flooring association inspector also said that the flooring looked acceptable, but was not appropriately selected for installation and that the installer should have culled more boards or stopped all together when he realized it wasn’t going down properly. Do you Epoxy the new boards down? Some of the gaps are larger than any flooring that we have so we’re gonna have to have special red Oak milled to fill the holes if we go this route. Have you had trouble with boards coming loose? Just worried about losing the tongue and groove...