@Tracy, sorry for very late reply, I just saw your comment. I did notice creaking at some areas while it was still being installed and I pointed out to my installer. Apparently, although I had the floors leveled right before installation, it wasn’t leveled enough. So I asked him to remove the floors, re-level the concrete and reinstall. That fixed the issue for me. Now my floors don’t creak at all. Not even slightly. It’ll be 3 years in couple of months since installation and thankfully still no issues. 🤞

Ken, that picture looks like an accurate depiction of my sample, but Lauzon says their core material is softwood (they didn't say what it was when I asked) whereas rubberwood is a hardwood. Dumb question ... are floors constructed from a majority of softwood still considered hardwood floors? I guess I am really not willing to base my decision soley on the name recognition and reputation of the manufacturer/supplier ... I want to know exactly what it is I am getting for my money and I am curious by nature so I want to know how and why things are constructed the way they are. Thank you for the insight onto manufacturing vs. importing ... I was confused about that. Jeremy, I will make sure I ask about the required test on the concrete. We are due for an El Nino winter so this is probably a good time for moisture testing ...? I will check out the Preverco.

Thanks for your question. Both brands are top of the line in wood business. Kahrs floors are made to be floated with a click lock system while most of the Mirage floors are made to be nailed or stapled down(engineered can be floated). I wonder what type of installation you or your installer plan to use this time. With that in mind, we will know whether Kahrs is suitable for your floor project.

Thanks so much for sharing about your floors Debbi. "I feel like it's almost bullet proof" - I'm hoping the white oak will be just as durable. My current red oak cabinets have been very tough and have stood up to lots of abuse and neglect which is what made me choose oak again for my new cabinets and floors. :) When I first started the search for HW flooring, I thought all I'd consider was solid. Then I saw some high quality engineered floors and was sold. I think the extra stability from the engineered core of the will make the floors more durable. The floor I'm likely getting also has a 4.5 mm wear layer. It's like a thick slice of wood. It can take up to 3 sandings (or so I'm told) so I hope they'll stand the test of time and last for decades. "Everything is expensive, but when we are buying, we're hoping to only have to do it once." That is how I'm justifying spending the gobs of money going into this reno...! I've been selecting higher quality materials that are (I hope) quite timeless so that this kitchen will only have to be done this one time.