I just took out two giant lady banks roses that were totally distroying the fence. They only bloomed for 3 weeks out of the year and the monster had big canes growing through the wooden fence. I'm replacing them with something that will bloom longer and not be so hard to control.

I appreciate the reply, thanks. Is it possible that particular engineered floor was a softer variety than the hardwood floor? I'll be going with Brazilian Jatoba, which is one of the hardest. Today I verified, I have 1/2" particle board on 3/4" plywood on joists sitting 24" apart. Sorry about the long-winded post! I've been thinking about it over and over again, and I'm now thinking engineered hardwood might be my best bet, then solid hardwood, then laminate. Honestly though, I think I'm going to opt for one of the two real woods. As I mentioned, water damage is my biggest concern, since this will be installed in the kitchen. From what I've read, it seems that engineered hardwood is much more water resistant than solid hardwood. Is this correct? If so, I guess that's my best option... For the flooring prep and installation, I'm a believer in the old adage "Your final result is only as good as your prep work". I want to make sure my subfloor is ready to quietly support a long relationship with my finish flooring. I'll be doing all the subfloor work myself. I'm not sure if I'll install the hardwood floor or if I'll have it installed, but I'm leaning toward the latter for warranty purposes. As I mentioned above, I have 1/2" particle board, on 3/4" plywood, on joists sitting 24" apart. I've read that, with the wide joist spacing, for solid hardwood floors, it's recommended I lay another sheet of plywood or OSB to bring the total subfloor thickness to 1"+, correct? When it comes to the installation, what are the big differences in nail down, glue down, and floating, when it comes to potential issues longevity, and performance of the flooring? Only the engineered hardwood can/should be floated, right? How can I quantify whether it'd be worth the substantial expense of pulling the particle board and laying down another sheet of subflooring for a nail down installation? I don't hear of glue down installations much, is that something I should be considering for my installation, or should I choose between nail down and floating? It appears the cost for engineered or solid is about the same. If floating an engineered floor is anything like installing laminate, I'm pretty sure I could do it myself. Cost for a nail down installation is around $2.25/sq ft, or $1575, plus the cost of laying 700 sq ft of additional subfloor. Another question! My bottom cabinets are sitting on the current hardwood in the kitchen, so I assume I have to remove them for the install? Any chance of not cracking my tile countertops?

HI ya Les! I was thinking this is a Lady poster and I might have come on stupid and not understanding the Kids and the money thing. I agree the carpet should act as a water traper, the decking sounds like older cca pt stuff so really the water/rot is not going to hurt it a whole lot more than the Sun has already has. Side Note>> I looked over a lagre Redwood 2x4 project that needed some help the upper area about 10x20' had been covered in OD Carpet for 5 years or so granted part of it was covered with a big overhang but still...I said the same thing so I removed the stuff Suprise Suprise not only was there no rot/mold the color was still red! Its A Funny World. J.

Thank you for the input! It's all kind of un-level from the floor to the wall and ceiling. The cabinet company measured and the rendering even showed the sloped ceiling. Structurally, it's a historic barn that has been converted to a house. Then there was a porch which was converted to a kitchen, hence the slope in the ceiling. The roof is sloped as well.