Need help/opinion..carpet changed to engineered hardwood??
Comments (60)
jlemail3
5 years ago
nicole___
5 years agoRelated Discussions
Engineered Hardwood versus Hardwood
Comments (23)ok, this is an area where I actually know something! I sold and spec'ed hardwood for a custom shop before my mommy-life. The information you are getting here is correct. Engineered floors will give you 1-2 refinishings ON A PERFECT SUBFLOOR. One of the issues that sometimes arises if there are inconsistanies in the height of your subfloor. Because there is thinner wood wearlayer (before you get to the engineered wood) there is the chance that you can damage the floor irreparably when you sand it. Now I only saw this saw this happen twice, once on a loft job and once in an older home. The loft was more subtle as it was over concrete, the old house more obvious as they were DIYers and picked engineered flooring to try to negate their irregular subfloor (they neglected to tell us that that was why they chose engineered, we would have talked them out of it had we seen the floor first) Neither of their claims to the manufacturer were fully settled because both times they did not follow the guidelines for floor prep. The loft job was also a materials only job for us with their GC laying the floors but he insisted he knew what he was doing. A good engineered floor will not be cheaper than most of your nail down options because the production costs are higher. Now having said that, GOOD engineered floors certainly have their place in places where you can't put traditional hardwood due to height restrictions or concrete subfloors. My boss had a great engineered floor in his basement and it survived a flood remarkably well (it was ash, Kahrs brand out of Scandinavia and one of the beefier engineered floors and one of the pioneers) My Grandmother also had a Kahrs floor in her ground suite condo and she LOVED it and I was impressed by the milling. I'm considering it for our basement because it's warmer and less echo-y than laminate There has been a lot of 2nd rate engineered flooring coming out of China and being labeled for all sorts of different companies. You should be able to tell an engineered sample because the layers are sandwiched together and the tongue will be a different wood than the top (showing) layer. Distressed finishes are usually more expensive because of the extra step in manufacturing to make it distressed. That is different than just getting a lower grade of hardwood like a rustic or tavern grade (in solid hardwood). Those grades have more character but they often don't carry a warranty and generally have a higher waste percentage. Another thing to think about---if you ever have to replace part of the floor, you will always be able to replicate 3/4" thick hardwood but engineered floors are more like tile, they change and get discontinued over the years. You could go pre-finished, save the hassle of site finishing but with the thicker wear-layer a 3/4" nail down floor offers. Only you will know if you can handle beveling or not. The changes in milling the last 10 years are huge. The bevel in your better milled wood is tiny. I like Canadian mills, Model or Mirage for pre-finished. Remember that if you ever re-finish, the bevel will disappear and you will, essentially have a site finished floor. One benefit that many people don't know about? With a prefinished tongue and grooved floor you can have a good installer cut out a single board (or more) from your floor if it gets damaged which is why we did a fair bit of pre-finished in new homes since inevitably we would get call-backs at move in to repair trade damage (@#$%^ plumbers and their big wrenches!). Prefinished hardwood deals the best with shinkage and expansion issues because the finish is on individual boards. Site finished floors are more labor intensive but the materials are cheaper (apples to apples). They are what many people consider the gold standard however there are more steps and you don't always know how it's going to look until it's done. There is more chance of finish contamination and trade damage during the rest of the building process. We refinished 100 year old floors. I loved the idea that there wasn't 4 generations of carpet and crap in the landfill. Definitely a forever floor and it can usually be re-sanded for all but the very worst water damage (think entire house under water for a few days) If you are going with a wide plank, keep in mind your species and humidity level (and your ability to keep humidity stable). The wider the plank (with 3/4" thick flooring), the more obvious shrinking and expanding will be. If you take a 2" wide board and it shrinks 2%, it isn't very noticeable. If you take a 6" wide board and it shrinks 2% the gaping will be more noticeable and in the case of a site finished floor *could* pull your finish apart. You'll need to find a flooring contractor in your area with lots of experience. Most of the best hardwood shops ONLY do hardwood. Beware of carpet shops and many of the big box stores in many instances. Make sure they are accredited with the NWFA (national wood flooring association) http://www.nwfa.org/member/ good luck!...See MoreHardwood floor vs. engineered hardwood?
Comments (27)Choosing the right flooring type isn't enough for your living condition. You will have to consider the types of cut: flat sawn, rift and quarter sawn, quarter sawn or live sawn. Quarter sawn and rift & quarter sawn will be best choices, because expansion and contraction is along the thickness of the wood. You will need climate control all year round. 70 degrees at 40 % relative humidity is where you want to be throughout the year. The use of a humidifier/dehumidifier will be needed year round. Although, engineered flooring is more stable than solid. Using the wrong wood specie in your living condition can run the risk of de-laminating with engineered wood. If, the top veneer is more or less stable than it's core and backing. You will experience de-laminating in extreme humidity swings. Take in account of what the engineered flooring is constructed of: mdf or plywood. The width of the flooring will account for how much expansion and contracting also. 2 1/4" strips are the most stable. As you go wider, expect to see more wider seasonal gaps. Proper acclimating is critical, should be performed with a moisture meter. For 2 1/4" strip flooring , sub-floor and flooring moisture should be within 4%. For all other widths 2% moisture differentiation is allowed or should not be exceeded. Don't forget proper expansion gaps, which is the thickness of your flooring, example: 3/4" thick = 3/4" gap. Sub-floor type and condition will affect the performance of wood floors. All this needs to be considered for the proper and successful performance of your wood floors....See MoreLVT, Pre engineered hardwood or hardwood
Comments (20)I don't think the hardwood from today is nearly as good as the hardwood from even a few decades ago. I have small dogs - both less than 20 pounds. But they're young, like to play, and they've left some pretty amazing scratches and skitter marks in the hardwood - in 2 different homes. Yes I keep their nails trimmed, they get a quick dremel every week. The old floors were site finished oak hardwoods. And there were spots where the scratches were getting pretty bad. The one house in question is in a beach town, so between the dogs and the sand, the floors were very scratched up. I deliberately chose a wood look LVP and it's held up incredibly well, but no one will mistake it for site finished hardwood either. I have engineered wood in my primary home - and while they've scratched that up too, it's somewhat less noticeable because it's a matte finish, and it's pre-finished engineered, which I've heard may be somewhat harder....See MoreNeed help with selecting hardwood/engineered hardwood/LVP flooring
Comments (1)You are going in the right direction with LVP to hold up against scratching. I don't have experience with the Home Depot products, but they have great reviews. I noticed one reviewer comment about the repetition in Shoreline -- I know when I've helped clients with flooring selections, I often find several choices based on the individual plank photo, but then easily eliminate many after viewing an in-room pic due to this reason. Have you gotten samples from the store?...See More
Michelle
5 years agoHi there, you're right on your assessment of wide plank wood. No, it's not pink at all or too brown or knotted either. there's a light gray wash and very natural. Will be easier to decorate in a transitional style due to it being not as rustic.
jlemail3
5 years agoMichelle
5 years agojlemail3
5 years agoeverdebz
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoI'm not expert of course, but will the limestone and its styling look a blend with a washed floor? instead of somewhat sleek like limestone, I think is...?
This from houzz might a bit apply:
Contemporary family house in Ealing · More InfoStudio Wolter Navaro: "The engineered wood floor is Barlinek Sense Oak Tender. We selected a lighter tone for the first floor as the rooms are not too tall and we wanted to make them feel more spacious. The light tone also helps strengthen the desired Scandi effect and despite being a light wood it is a nicely warm surface. I think the warmth depends more on the grain and dominant tone than on the darkness, there are dark wooden floors that feel quite cold."
Michelle
5 years agoeverdebz
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoWell you could veer away from grey... this called traditional.
Sea Fog / Finish: UV-Oiled, White-Washed, Sand Blasted White Oak, beveled on 4 Sides. Install: Floating, Nail down, or Glue down / Janka Rating: 1360 psi.
Traditional Hardwood Flooring · More Info
[https://www.houzz.com/products/traditional-hardwood-flooring-prvw-vr~18097561[(https://www.houzz.com/products/traditional-hardwood-flooring-prvw-vr~18097561)everdebz
5 years agojlemail3
5 years agoredsilver
5 years agojlemail3
5 years agoEverdebz and Michelle...I’ll post a pic of the room..but ignore the rug, most furniture & ugly yellow oak wood banisters as it will be redone too. The stone floors will stay. Many in our area get those light plank kind of rustic floors but stain the banisters dark flat/rustic brown (putting wood on the stairs and painting the other oak trim white.) most didn’t have the limestone tho.
jlemail3
5 years agoMichelle
5 years agosuezbell
5 years agoMichelle
5 years agojlemail3
5 years agoredsilver
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoredsilver
5 years agoDeb Zilch
5 years agojlemail3
5 years agojlemail3
5 years agoMichelle
5 years ago
PROBeth H. :
5 years agojlemail3
5 years ago- PRO
Beth H. :
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoi'm also in LA suburb. this is the one we did for the flip (which we kept and now rent out). he came in and put in all the iron and new bannister. I chose to stain it myself since it's not that difficult to do. also got new newel posts to match the new wood bannisters. I believe the cost was less than $1500.
before: 1980 in all it's glory
because of buyers in the area adhering to certain feng shui beliefs, we redid the staircase and put in 45 degree turn on the lower portion.
I know the pics are small so it's hard to zoom in on them, but those are standard wrought iron spindles. the guy cam in and measured and installed those and the new wood posts/bannister. I can't remember the wood, maybe alder or birch? anyway, I sanded them all and put on a coat of medium wood stain, then sealed them. all I remember is it was during the summer and being on those stairs was the best place in the house because the AC vent was right over it!
6K seems a bit much, but I don't know exactly what he's doing for that price or how much work your staircase entails. as you can see, we had already demoed this one and had it ready for him to start working. we chose the cheaper iron ones that he had. if you look closely you'll see they alternate. we only did the fancy design/scroll every 2 spaces. it saved somewhat on the cost since those are more expensive than the plain iron ones.
call a few more stair guys out and see what price they come in at or see if choosing different designs lower the cost. they even sell these iron ones at HD or Lowes (you can see what the markup is and find out how much they charge for each one)
jlemail3
5 years agojlemail3
5 years agoBeth...I went and got a couple more samples. I’ll include a pic. The Provenza one is the center one called ‘Grey Rocks’ I think. It might be too dull, hard to tell...not really grey but brown with bit of a grey cast. The one on the right is more $ but too dark. The one on the left is the medium color I originally liked instead of the very natural barn light. The colors in the photo aren’t really true.
- PRO
Beth H. :
5 years ago jlemail3
5 years agoOh thanks... I’ll look for the other color. It does look more grey in the photo. I’ll include a pic in the sunlight. My husband doesn’t want dark so it’s hard to find in between! I really appreciate your good advice!
- PRO
Beth H. :
5 years ago jlemail3
5 years agoDon’t know if Beth is around for an opinion, but I ordered the medium wood and the new batch came in a totally different color...an yellow/orange cast...ugg! So I had to start over. I brought a sample of California Classic Mediterranean (Calabria color). I wonder if it’s too rustic or dark next to my limestone. It has black in the knots. I’ll post a pic of the sample, my limestone & the ad for the Calabria floor which looks a bit lighter.
- PRO
Beth H. :
5 years agoI actually like that tone w/your flooring. as for rustic, that's just inherent in that type of French Oak flooring. remember mine I showed you on my ceiling? Same thing. (this flooring went for over $8 sq ft about 4 yrs)
That flooring sample you got has more of the grayer tones that work well w/your travertine.
do you like the coloring?
jlemail3
5 years ago
PROUnique Wood Floors
5 years ago@jlemail3 This floor has been a good seller for us for long time. Hope you like it.
Vintage Alaska · More Infojlemail3
5 years ago
PROOak & Broad
5 years ago- PRO
Beth H. :
5 years ago jlemail3
5 years agoUpdated result. I thought I’d post the final result of what we ended up doing. We got a medium white oak that is fairly rustic, painted the sides of the yellow oak stairs white and the banisters a very dark brown that appears black. I think the floor color looks fine with the limestone.
lisa_vw321
5 years ago
Bri A
5 years agoeverdebz
5 years ago'Sorry' if this is so not needed, but I saw a peach/spice rug I liked, and with your toasty floor and your furniture, just to see. :)
Spice, Marine Printed Polyester Layla LAY-02 Area Rug by Loloi II, 9'-0"x12'-0" · More Infohttps://www.houzz.com/products/layla-spice-marine-rug-90x120-prvw-vr~133101579
jlemail3
5 years agoeverdebz
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agojlemail3
5 years agoluscious111
5 years ago
Beth H. :