Best DIY wood flooring? - Engineered hardwood click together

4 years ago

last modified: 4 years ago

I'm looking to replace the flooring in weekend cottage myself. Doesn't get a whole lot of use so key priorities are easy install and low maintenance. I doubt we'll ever refinish it. I've been looking at click together engineered hardwood products (Bruce Hydropel, Blue Ridge @ Home Depot, etc.) but can't find much in the way of reviews about this kind of stuff. Anyone have experience with these products they could share? Any other suggestions of types of products to look at? I started out thinking I definitely wanted a plywood type product not something with a pressed core, but I've had trouble finding many products that are plywood type and also click together so I'm very interested in manufacturer suggestions. I'm hoping to stay under $7 per sq.ft.

Comments (4)

SJ McCarthy
4 years ago
I'm not a fan of click together engineered hardwood. This is not something I would recommend - especially in an uncontrolled environment like a cabin.

The click edge is the part that holds everything together. It turns out a plied wood click edge doesn't have a lot of holding power. In fact it down right fails 99% of the time. This is why you are having a hard time finding a plied wood centre.

The fibre board is much stronger for a click edge. That's why it has been used for decades with laminate...and some who wish to use hardwood on top. I don't recommend that one...but it's your choice.

Hardwood has a very specific way it expands/contracts. It does this across the grain. This is VERY different from the fibre board. Fibre board moves in all 6 directions (yep...6). The more swings you have in humidity and temperature the greater the movement the wood is going to do. And the fibre board will also be moving but in several OTHER directions as well. Oh dear.

Now imagine a home that is NOT climate controlled. A cabin for instance. Imagine the wood and fibre board are happy with each other at 20 C and 40% humidity. Now winter comes and we have -10 C and 15% humidity. And then summer comes again and now we are at 35 C and 65% humidity.

It is highly possible your wood surface will have peeled off of your fibre board centre. The wood moved in a different way than the fibre board and they tore themselves apart.

With your price point, you are better off getting a very narrow plank hardwood (2" or so) and have it laid and then site finished. You will still pay around $4/sf for the wood and $3.50/sf for the sanding/refinish but it will be a floor that lasts.

It will still move and twist and shrink and expand. But it will do it in such a way that keeps the floor functional.

Or go with an SPC/WPC vinyl core and enjoy your cabin.
mvcanada
4 years ago
Hi,

We discussed this issue with our contractor prior to installing click engineered hardwood in our cottage. The temperature range throughout the year would be -30 to 30 Celcius (-25 to 90 F - approximate conversion just to give you an idea).

Our contractor installed the first two times and then we put it down ourselves in 3 bedrooms and we have not had ANY issues at all. No splitting apart, no gaps and in my opinion it looks fabulous. We are very happy with it. The bulk of it has been down for 4 full years and the last of it went down this past summer. We don't use the cottage during the winter months so we've never been there to see if shrinks in winter but it is fine every year when we open up the cottage in Spring.

The product we used is:

Antikkwood Hickory Yorktowne

Antikkwood Collection presents a timeless experience that combines the old-world look with modern technology right at your feet. Traditional handscraped with distressed features offers a weathered and rustic look then integrated with high-end technology for precise engineering and prefinishing. Reminiscent of the old times, this collection brings warmth and liveliness to your setting.

Specifications: specie – Hickory (Carya spp.), thickness – 1/2″, width – 5″, grade – ABC, finish – Handscraped & Distressed, 25-year limited residential warranty, installation – click/floating or glue-down.

Antikkwood Hickory Yorktowne | AA Floors & More Ltd. · More Info

They have other colours/finishes as well. We paid $4 CAD per sq foot to purchase. My husband and I had never laid flooring before but we did just fine with it. Our contractor gave us some good advice and we watched some youtube videos etc but it really wasn't hard at all to install.

Zero maintenance. I use a damp mop when needed and dust mop or vacuum otherwise.
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I'm reviving this. I have been having discussions with contractors and still haven't started the project yet. My likely contractor sent me to a flooring showroom. (Patriot Hardwood Floors & Supply.) He said they were the wholesale suppliers for the metro Boston area. I don't know if I actually believe that, but they seemed to have a decent selection to view. The guy I was talking to there didn't know all that much, but he pulled in a rep from Mercier who happened to be in the office then. I discussed my sagging floors with him. He insisted that I needed to: - level out the sags, with a leveling compound - then put another layer of plywood down, bringing the total up to 1 1/4", or at least 1". As I noted earlier, my ceilings are very low, so every little bit counts. I'll already lose 1/4"+ just going from laminate to engineered - more for solid wood. I certainly understand the leveling. Do I really need to add on top of that? At the showroom I was looking at my options. I want a very light look. Maple seems the best. And I want it to not have much yellow cast. Of the prefinished, unstained, there was noticable difference between grades and brands. The stuff they had that looked the best to me was Mercier - either the engineered or prefinished solid. They both have the micro-bevels. I would really prefer not to have those, but the only option for that seems to be site finished. I do think the toughness of the prefinished will be an advantage for me. I've gotted mixed impressions of the issues with the micro-bevels - my concern is "stuff" collecting in them and being harder to clean up. (I also don't like to look so much, but I think I can get used to that.) I did a search here and discovered boxers raising some concern about problems with their quality. The samples looked fine - better than the other stuff there. Expecially in the case of the engineered - they had a 7-ply product with the top layer being 4mm. Seemed far better than anything else. Also, they claim an anti-yellowing UV blocker. At the least their clear finish seemed less yellow than the alternatives. What other brands of prefinished (engineered or not) would be viable alternatives to Mercier? Finally, are the warranties that come with this stuff actually worth anything? I was looking at the Mercier warranty for the engineered stuff. It is for 35 years, which sounds impressive. But then I see it doesn't apply unless the finish has failed on at least 10% of the floor. I imagine that less that 10% of the average floor is in major traffic areas, or exposed to any special condition, such as sunlight. Also, I notice that they expect you to account for a 5% cutting loss and another 5% "normal defects" in what you order, and won't replace unless you exceed that. Are these terms normal? Is it a scam? Thanks in advance. I'm counting on you guys - I haven't found any other good source of advice on this subject.
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If it's the stuff I'm thinking of, it had a pretty thin wear layer on top of a high-density fiberboard (HDF) core. It looked pretty, but the 'wooden' core isn't very stable to water penetration. Also, if I recall correctly, the board lengths were all identical - generally a giveaway that it's not 'solid' hardwood. When I examined it in the store, some of their display pieces wouldn't click together, so I'd expect some installation frustration as well.
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You need to do a little more archeological digging still. You need to know the whole construction of the floor before you can decide how best to install something new. I'd take up that plywood piece in the kitchen and see what's under it. It's higher than the surrounding floor, so needs to go. You should also be able to see from there what subfloor is under the original kitchen hardwood. It's too bad the space under your entryway is finished, but I'd still do some exploring from below to see what's under there, and to figure out the fix to stop it from squeaking. Is it drywall below or a drop ceiling? I know it probably seems like a pain to tear out drywall, but if you cut out a clean patch, like 2' x the width of the joists, it'll be relatively simple to repair. Just make sure to cut it down the center of the joists so that there's room to screw the patch piece to it later. Cut the hole under the area that squeaks the most, if you can. Have someone walk on and watch the floor from below to see what's moving. It might be as simple as pounding in a couple shims from below, or face-nailing a loose board from above. You want to find out what's underneath the hardwood. It might be laid directly on the floor joists, or there might be 10" wide boards that the hardwood is nailed to. Another thought is to take out a board in the hallway, since that's not original and you want to replace it. See what the subfloor is there. I am a bit puzzled at why, when you've stripped the kitchen down to the original hardwood, it's still higher than the hallway floor. Is your current surface perhaps not the original kitchen hardwood? Peeling back the plywood area will help determine that. BTW, I haven't heard of that stop squeaking product you linked to, so can't offer any personal opinion. And don't pour self-leveling compound over top of hardwood. It needs to go over plywood.
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Jennifer Svensson
4 years ago
Kährs invented the system- check them out.
Reuben Avery
3 years ago
If anyone else is looking for a click lock system that actually uses real solid hardwood (3/4" white oak), I'd suggest checking out Easiklip Floors. It's an ingenious clips system that is easy for DIYers to install and allows the floor to 'float' which permits for expansion and contraction. Obviously, being that it's solid wood, you should still make sure your indoor climate stays within generally recommended hardwood humidity levels (35-60% RH), but if you can manage that, it's a solid fit!

It's pretty affordable too and considering you won't really need a pro to install it, you can save a pretty penny on that aspect.

Best DIY wood flooring? - Engineered hardwood click together

Comments (4)

SJ McCarthy

mvcanada

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Jennifer Svensson

Reuben Avery

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