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sunflowerbk

Engineered vs. solid 5" white oak floors/select vs. character

sunflowerbk
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago

We are currently completing gutting and doing all the floors in our Brooklyn house. We are doing site-finished 5" white oak installed over a 3/4" plywood floor that we plan to keep light, and are stuck in 2 areas:


First, whether to get engineered wood; none of the wood would go below grade, and we are probably doing rift and quartersawn, which is stronger than plain sawn. The people at the wood flooring store didn't think that engineered was necessary, and I've read that it can feel fake. We'd do 5/8" thick, so we'd be able to refinish a few times. Our architect recommended 5" to avoid movement.


Second, we're leaning towards rift and quartersawn, but are afraid it'll look too fake. We are also concerned that character grade, with knots (which I love in moderation) will have too much variation.


Would appreciate any opinions or pics of your own jobs!

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