Look into dark STRAND bamboo. Ecotimber is available everywhere and was ranked highest in CR tests. It is unbelievably durable and hard, plus has the "medium amber" color that runs all the way through - good in case of a gouge (if that were possible). The look is of upscale hardwood, but with a slightly bamboo "grain" to it. Will post pics when they finish and get the dust off.

Hi everyone, I recently returned from a local flooring store with a few samples and wanted to get the forum's thoughts on quality. One floor that we especially like is the Casabella Asian Walnut in Champagne finish. We love the look of this floor, but aren't able to find much online about them. I did, however, find two posts where people seemed disappointed. One consumer had quickly gotten bad scratches on the floors and another was dissatisfied with the gaps between the planks. Does anyone have any experience with this brand? Another sample we have is the Chelsea Plank Flooring Black River Hickory. This is a great looking floor, but it has some pretty distinct character imperfections/holes that I'm not sure I'm crazy about. We have heard good things about their quality, but the price is also higher than the others. Does anyone have any thoughts about this brand? The last sample that we have is Somerset Flooring's Specialty Hickory. This floor looks like it could be nice, but is a drastically different color than what we typically gravitate toward. I'm interested in the group's thoughts on this brand as well. The prices that we have for these are as follows: Casabella Asian Walnut - $6.67/sqft (4 3/4" planks) Chelsea Black River Hickory - $7.69/sqft (4" planks) Somerset Specialty Hickory - $7.04/sqft (4" planks) Any thoughts on this pricing is also appreciated. Thank you for the help! This post was edited by jimfear on Sat, Jul 12, 14 at 13:38

I too cannot see the savings of remove+replace. A sand/refinish averages $5/sf. It is minimally disruptive (ie. it does NOT involve demolition) and it will cure in 10 days (assuming you are using a high-end water based finish). Now an engineered hardwood is SUPPOSED to be more expensive than solid. Yah. I said it. Engineered (same cut, width, thickness, installation method) should be more expensive than solid. Hmmmmmm. My spidy senses are tingling. Now on to the cost of hardwood upstairs. Carpet removal/disposal = $1.50 - $2/sf (depends on where you live). Repair and prepare the wooden subfloors (usually 'bad' underneath carpet...carpet hides the WORST subfloors) $2-$4/sf. Yep. Just ASSUME you will be spending $3/sf for the subfloor prep upstairs. Now for the cost of solid hardwood (regular 3" width) = $5/sf. Installation + finishing = $3-$4/sf. Right. A regular solid hardwood (nothing special) with install = $8 - $10/sf. Now compare that to a 'sand and refinish' of $5/sf. Wow. It is CHEAPER to do the sand and refinish. Hmmmm. Now imagine the COST of demolition for the HARDWOOD....yep. You can add MORE to that cost. And again the subfloors have to be looked at. More costs. Now imagine the cost of a MORE EXPENSIVE engineered hardwood....$8 - $12/sf for material only. Installation is extra ($3-$4/sf for factory finished hardwood). I tell ya. The $5/sf sand/refinish is looking REALLY GOOD right now. Ignore the width of the planks. They are classic and are probably appropriate for the age of the home. It is your money and your home. If you believe an engineered hardwood is CHEAPER than $5/sf sand and refinish (including install and subfloor preparation) then you are welcome to find out the reality of the situation. We are going to tell you the 'cheap' wide plank engineered hardwood is not going to give you the 'life expectancy' that a 'regular' 3" wide solid hardwood ($5/sf material). It just won't.

My home has had floating laminate plank flooring for nearly a decade. The finish is still flawless, and I love it. It is very easy for the care routine, just vacuum and spot clean with water.