yeah yeah i know... but couldn't resist. (Yellow) 1)Aureum for graceful leaf shape and color (runner up Jordan/Katsura/Summer Gold) (dissectum) 2) Seiryu for its soft light green elegant leaves and vase growth habit (Laceleaf) 3) koto no ito for beautiful weeping habit (followed closely by villa taranto and Aekans Le's with its great purple bark) (variegated) 4) Peve Multicolor variegation on this one is inconsistent. BUT the bark is spectacular at least mine is - a light blueish silvery color. Underrated. (ukigomo) (pink) 5) Geisha - Terrific pink color. (also GGW. Taylor I like but killed 2 already - too fickle) (bark) 6) Acer Griseum ( runner up snakebark phoenix/joe witt/Murasaki Shikibu PINK STRIPED BARK!!!) HONORABLE MENTION - Amagi Shigure/Olsens Frosted. Must stop....

Here's a close-up. The nails are 6" apart, in between the little metal dots. The instructions say to nail on the little dots, but when I tried it by hand, the dot collapsed and looked bad, and it was too hard to line the brad nailer up with the dot. Our tin is a metallic finish (Antique Satin Nickel), so the nails blend better. If i were doing a color, especially white, I would plan on touching up the nails with matching paint. Other advice: You have to plan carefully, measure carefully, and snap chalklines to work to. Our ceiling turned out to be exactly the right size for the tin panels plus the crown molding. That's both good and bad; I didn't have more than 1/4" to play with. If you notice, the center tile is different, and had to be exactly centered for everything to come out right. You can cheat a bit with the overlap to make corrections, but it's easy to accidentally mess it up, too. It's very hard to remove a panel without damaging it! I bought one extra panel, but didn't use it. I should have bought more crown molding, as it is tricky to get the miters right- lots of trial-and-error there. We are beyond thrilled with the finished product, and it never fails to get a big reaction from guests when they see it. The galvanized ceiling fan really works well with the overall look.

Traditionally a nail-down "wide plank" hardwood receives "glue assist". That is to say glue is applied to the back of the planks and then nailed into place. Your problems will be SHRINKAGE due to VERY DRY conditions. A wide plank is VERY tricky to install in DRY climates such as yours. And to be clear, "wide" is anything 5" or wider. Your 7" wide planks are VERY wide. The wider the plank, the MORE it will shrink. The more it shrinks the bigger the gaps (where water and urine can fall into). The more it shrinks the unhappier you will be. A solid, narrow strip hardwood (such as 3" wide planks) would be the best option if you want wood. Some of the worst shrinkage/splitting/checking occurs in DRY climates. Humidity is SUCKED OUT of the wood so quickly it starts looking like 20 year old cedar shakes. Please check to see if you can ADD humidity to your entire home at the touch of a button (whole home humidifier). If you do not have this device, I highly recommend you purchase one. I would suspect $6K should get you what you need - but that number is highly dependent on size of your home and the type/size of your furnace/duct work.

If you are on slab, I'm not sure what you would be nailing TO. Adding in a sleeper subfloor would be very expensive and will still require a vapour barrier underneath. *Technically a glue down SOLID hardwood can be done on slab - but it isn't recommended unless your HIGH END flooring installer has done it successfully in the past. A glue down engineered floor is technically "more stable" in the widths they are suggesting, but I would question a comparison to a 2.25" solid hardwood. Especially if the solid NARROW strip hardwoods are rift or quarter sawn. The same adhesive would be used regardless of plank structure (solid vs. engineered). The RIGHT adhesive (aka. EXPENSIVE glue) MUST be used over slab in TX. And then the proper SPREAD RATE must be used (lots and lots of the expensive glue will be required) as well as the PROPER TROWEL profile/depth will be required. These expensive adhesives ($100/gallon is common) will achieve 30-50sf per gallon. These adhesives will be the vapour barrier. The most expensive ones will have "limitless" moisture content as one of their key features. Even with the TOP adhesives, the installation will still be cheaper than a sleeper subfloor + nail down installation. The sleeper subfloor would mean a lower priced flooring professional can be hired to achieve the nail-down installation. The glue down method will require the higher skilled professional with all the knowledge required to install a glue down wood floor PROPERLY. And the next issue is the HVAC system. Regardless of the installation method, your HVAC will have to have the ability to maintain a CONSISTANT level of humidity. Sometimes A/C isn't enough in high-humidity environments. Sometimes a whole-home dehumidifier is required in extreme humid areas. Please review your HVAC system's abilities to TIGHTLY control humidity (somewhere around 40% is PERFECT...and it must be maintained 24/7 for the next 25-60 years). Start there. Spend more money for the upgrade on the HVAC system so you can have the wood floors - regardless of width/composition.