Engineered pre-finished flooring should meet your needs. Any of the national brands should be fine. I would guess that your budget is tight for LA.

I would suggest calling or reviewing websites of a few local flooring stores (not just Home Depot or Lowes or outlets) to get suggestions. Then go in to see them in one trip.

What are good national brands? Bruce, Anderson, Armstrong? Are there any other brands that I should consider?

The three you mention are a good start.

The local flooring store may also be aware of a regional brand that is appropriate for your needs. I'm not in LA, so I can't venture a guess.

Your budget is good enough for 4" wide Home Depot grade engineered wood floors. And even then it will only be 1/2" or 5/8" thick. A 4mm wear surface may not be achievable in your budget range.

You have plenty of square footage (2000sf) to 'mess up' if you get the wrong quality of product. L.A. is hot and dry. The HVAC system needs to be able to MAINTAIN humidity around 45%. That's high considering the exterior humidity in LA sits around 10% in summer and 45% in winter. That puts PLENTY of strain on your HVAC system. Make sure you include an HVAC service/upgrade before you get into low-end engineered hardwood.

Personally I would down grade my width to 3" to ensure your $5/sf budget is met with a mid-grade hardwood.

I prefer to see a budget that is DOUBLE your $5/sf range to get into a wider (5") plank that is of higher quality than Armstrong or Bruce.

Hello!

Check out our line of Engineered Wood Flooring.

• Features a 4mm wear layer
• 13-coat scratch resistant Aluminum Oxide finish
• FloorScore® Certified
• A layered construction
• More dimensionally stable planks (moisture tolerant)
• Enables a faster, easier installation
• Frequently more eco-friendly than solid traditional hardwood
• 50-Year residential warranty

You can also order free samples off of our site using the code "FREESAMPLE" Samples usually arrives within 5-7 business days.

Here's an example of one our styles:

SJ McCarthy, are you perhaps familiar with Garrison Collection? Their wholesale price for this floor: Maple Wheat - Smooth - Garrison Collection Products is in my budget. Could this be an acceptable floor? Our HVAC is being replaced, but we use it only on the hottest days.

Well this is interesting: On the website specifications it states: Length: Random 1.5ft - 4.5ft. That means these planks are considered 'shorts'. You will have a TONNE of short or medium length planks. There are NO LONG PLANKS! Do you like the look of hardwood shorts?

Total thickness: 9/16" (just a snick more than 1/2").

Yes it looks possible that you can achieve a 5" wide plank...but it will be a houseful of 'shorts'. Shorts are a PITA to install. In fact many installers will not work with shorts because it takes 30-50% longer to install (which means their bid loses them money...because homeowner did not tell them they were installing 'shorts').

That's how you managed to find a $5" wide plank. The manufacturer offers a low-cost version = shorts. Long planks are EXPENSIVE. Short planks are unwanted = cheap.

As for the HVAC, you have to ask yourself how much you want to maintain a warranty. The instant the floors are installed you lose warranty. For anything. Even installer error. It's your call....but realize you CHOOSE to give up all rights to compensation should anything happen.

It wasn't long ago there were practically no manufacturers of engineered over 48" lengths. 12-48" was almost the norm. Buce had some up to 60". Still is with many of the older USA brands. Back in my installing days (pre 2004) it was one job after another. Sure most were 3" wide and not 7" and it did take longer, but I gave no thought to it.

It still sells. They're manufactured for the masses that have a lower budget. Go for what you like and can afford.

SJ McCarthy, may I ask you what you think of this flooring?

European Oak Palazzo - Garrison Collection Products

It appears to be OK. It is very wide so it requires full glue spread. And check your indoor humidity. Without being in the happy range you will never be happy with your wood. Humidity that is too low can be worse than too high.

Check it.

I will, thank you very much

I wanted to let you know about an engineered wood floor that I had installed recently. It’s from Floor & Decor - not sure if experts will have negative comments about this store - but they might). I had a unique situation where I HAD to to remove ALL of the carpet in my house ASAP due to serious health issues (systemic mastocytosis - one issue is that I have allergic reactions - some milder but some severe requiring many trips to ER due to anaphylactic shock). I had to install an air purification system throughout my home also (pretty big expense) so my budget for floors was very tight. The exact color of flooring I purchased had been discontinued (regionally) by me - but were about $6-7/sq ft on both the East and West coasts (I had to pay for shipping - expensive - but if you knew the price I paid, even with the expensive shipping for about 35 boxes at 70lbs each - it appears to have been an EXTREMELY good deal based upon what I’ve read on this site). The floors are Woodland Reserve (I believe it’s an in-house brand) and range between about $5-$9 sq ft. They no longer have mine, but still have other colors of the same type - and they also have others with varying widths/colors/finishes. My floors are European Oak with reactive stain - 5/8th inch/4 mm wear/9” planks. They have a matte waterborne uv cured finish. I had to be particular re: materials and finish also due to my health issues. The lengths vary from about 25” to just under 87”.

Obviously, because of the width (probably a bit wider than I would have picked out - I would have preferred about 6-7” - but everyone LOVES them) they were glued and nailed during installation. They can be refinished two times (maybe 3 - but my flooring installer said 2 for sure) which is good also - I am getting ready to have the rest of my hardwood floors refinished in order to compliment the new engineered ones.

My floors were installed over the weekend before Christmas - so, I haven’t had them for very long - but I had MANY people here for the holidays - including my daughter and son-in-law with their two English bulldogs (one an 8 week old puppy). I also have two dogs - a yorkie poo and a morkie (mutts!). The weather here has included snow that has melted completely twice. The floors have held up well to muddy paws - plus, if you‘ve ever been around an English Bulldog for very long, you know how much they drool!

Anyway - I am rambling now (I’ve been up all night - it’s currently about 5 a.m.). I just read your question and wanted to give you my thoughts because I had to make my purchase without even a sample (and incurred about $450 in non refundable shipping charges). If you have any questions, let me know.

I tried to post some examples of the flooring but it didn’t post for some reason. I hope that it doesn’t post this LONG comment twice.

Same specifications as my floors (width/veneer layer/length/thickness)

dmac1108 thank you! I will check these out.