We also have a dog, but ours was a new construction home that we were not moved into yet. As a result of the construction and sanding process we had a great deal of dust however. We vacuumed first with a shop vac, then followed up with our household vacuum prior to the first coat. Like Verti, we also vacuumed before the 2nd and 3rd coats. We wouldn't have had to do this, but we left our windows open (in August) to increase air changes and speed the drying time and as a result had little bits of dust and small insects that made it inside and landed on the floors. I would also recommend trying to find someplace to stay while finishing the floors. You also need a place to put all of your funiture while the floor dries and cures. If you are finishing one room at a time, it might be doable to just move/stack furniture and have the room closed off so that pets do not accidently wander in. The smell is not good and would bother anyone who is sensitive to paint odors and such. I am currently using Waterlox to varnish all of our door, window and baseboard trim for the house. I am applying it in our basement, but with the furnace running, you do notice it in other parts of the house as well. 5 year old DD has not "complained" about it, but does remark that mommy has been "Waterloxing" when she comes in the door.

Also checking into engineered hardwood for a below grade concrete floor. I don't know about the Prolex. Their website has very little information and looks like it is from the '90's. Doesn't scream innovation at any rate. I also couldn't find their site straight away. I had to go via a Yelp listing of all things. Any eco friendly brands of engineers hardwood out there? No formaldehyde, no toxic glues? Use of post consumer content in the manufacture? Moisture resistant? Pergo, it seems is famous, but garbage. A shame because I saw a really nice looking "Pergo Outlast+ 10mm Laminate Flooring" with "spill protect." The color was Applewood. I don't know what "spill protect" is, but hey, I spill stuff all the time. It's supposedly waterproof, which probably means it's vynl or something. Looking at the picture I took of the label it seems the "core" is 10mm in the fine print.

Hi there- I am currently building a custom home and I’m wrecking my brain on what flooring to choose. After speaking to many specialists, the most important factors in engineered flooring the wear layer (top thickness: 1-2-3-4mm) and what the top coat is: aluminum oxide (being the best) or UV cured urethane (most companies have this). I am looking at their high end series: Grand Chateau. Over all, I have called many places and also visited lots of stores and everyone says that Johnson has great flooring. Only downfall in my market (TX) is the combo I want just doesn’t exist. Ideally 4mm & aluminum oxide is the best combo but they don’t have this. Since it’s your second rental, you wouldn’t want top of the line I would assume? Another reliable brand amongst my Search is California Classics/Bella Cera. Depending on where you live the name changes. Where are you located?

Leather is the most 'recognizable' pattern for cork (other than the ground up cork board look). When it is laid it looks like hardwood flooring using 'shorts'. It has a bit of a brick look to it. Ignore the 'pink' in the samples. The pink is the very first colour to fade away. It takes a few months for the pink to disappear but once it is gone the cork (Leather and Logan) will look more like oak in tone (yellowish with some hints of green and some gray). It is a 'directional pattern' which means it has a 'linear' sense to it. The Logan is the most expensive cork pattern you can get. The slices of pattern are random. They are hand cut and hand laid. It takes *roughly an hour for 1 person to arrange 10sf of the pattern. It is STUNNING. It looks more like stone. It is random...did I mention the pattern is random? Leather and Logan can have the extra 2 coats of the Loba 2K Supra AT = super tough. The Latte is a FANTASTICLY tough finish. It has the polypropylene finish on it. This is the 'non-vinyl' product Cancork sells. It is tough....right after that it is SUPER TOUGH. And then for good measure, it is TOUGH!!! For a Rental property, the Latte is a product I would recommend. It does NOT need the Loba product. That means you save $1.50/sf RIGHT AWAY. It can handle 3mm or 6mm cork underlay. If you are looking for temperature control, then I like the 6mm underneath...but CHECK your door heights, etc. All you need to do is take your floor sample and the underlay sample they sent you (their supposed to do that...sigh) and see if it 'slips' underneath the doors in your home. It is that simple. I hope that helps... As for the Tacoma...I'm guessing you are looking at KILOGRAMS (700 kg) as your weight limit = 1540 lbs. The weight of a standard skid of cork flooring = 1000sf (ish...depends on the product) = *roughly 2000 lbs. And the skid sizes are PERFECT to fit between the wheel wells of a truck bed. I've watched this stuff get loaded into pick-up trucks for 6+ years. A forklift operator can drop that baby into your truck (so long as you do NOT have a 'cap-it') and off you go. If you only have a short way to go, the 2000 lbs won't be much of a problem...I just wouldn't do a trip to Bella Coola with it. ;-)