Hello, I am about to begin a wood floor installation project around my house. Ours is a concrete slab foundation (in Bay Area California). Our contractor has been recommending to us to use a Click-And-Lock type floating wood product. We are interested in getting recommendations for a reasonably priced, engineered wood flooring product with click and lock installation. I was wondering if any of you have used it and have recommendation of a brand/selection that offers this type of product. Our previous choice was Garrison Collection and they do not offer click-and-lock installation therefore we are back to our material selection process. Thanks in advance, and suggestions welcome.

A high quality engineered floor will have the same or longer wear life as a solid wood floor. This isn't usually a big deal in residential as you are talking at least 45 years of life... Engineered wood flooring can cope with changes in moisture better than a solid wood floor, but if you have a good HVAC system and monitor the humidity in your home, both will be fine. Solid wood floors are not recommended below grade, for example in the basement. Our standard 5/8" thick engineered floor will give you 3-4 sand and refinishes. This floor can be glued to the slab and will line up with carpet and most tiles. This means you don't have to drop the slab (money saver!) or use transition pieces. Some areas where it is very dry have had issues with the thicker engineered floors (3/4" with 6mm wear layer) as the plywood base dries out at a different rate to the wear layer. One of our clients (Flooring installer) in Arizona is replacing engineered with solid as it handles that climate better. Since it sounds like you are doing a remodel, you are probably best to go with an engineered floor. A 5/8" thick engineered wood floor from our company has a 4mm wear layer and will give you 3-4 sand and refinishes. This you can glue to the slab and will take up around the same amount of thickness as the travertine did. This means you will not have to replace the trim, cut off the bottoms of doors etc. Typically a solid wood floor is installed on a plywood sub-floor. On a new build the slab would be dropped on those areas to allow for the extra thickness. A quality engineered wood floor is not inferior to a solid wood floor in anyway. Once it is installed you will not be able to tell the difference. If you have further questions, feel free to reach out! We are only a email or a phone call away -- debbie@woodco.com // (210) 298-9663 Keep safe! -- Debbie George | WoodCo www.woodco.com

The Torlys link will be spectacular...and they will NOT be as low as $3/sf. Torlys is a premium cork brand that has branched out into vinyl, etc. They don't make anything 'budget friendly'. But then again everything they do is FANTASTIC...so no wonder the vinyl floor doesn't feel like vinyl It's from Torlys. A LOW END engineered hardwood is $5/sf. And the amount of head ache that goes with it will be horrible. I would stick with laminate or vinyl in that price range. And for a good laminate you will want to look at the higher priced products = $7/sf. A low-range vinyl can be found for $3-$4/sf. I personally prefer a HIGH END laminate for $4.50/sf instead of a low-midrange vinyl for $4.50/sf.

OK....here we go. You are looking for a SPECIAL product. European Oak is an expensive imported wood. A wood floor that has been 'aged' to look like it has been reclaimed is an expensive process. And you want an oil finish. All of these items are carry a special price. You will be able to find product in your $10-$12/sf range not a problem. You will need to work with flooring companies in your area that carry similar products. The one way to get the wood into your price range is to go NARROW PLANK. The wider the plank the MORE EXPENSIVE it is. The other way to get it into your price range is to work with a regular 'oil finish' and not the TOUGH UV Cured oil finish. Now on to the TROUBLES of this type of floor. Houzzers have been COMPLAINING about 'oil stains' or 'water stains' or 'dog drool' stains on these types of floors for 4-5 years now. Please be VERY AWARE of what you are about to purchase. The 'light' gray wood floors are very tricky to live with. Even with a POLYURETHANE finish the floors are PRONE to staining (cooking oil splatter = dark gray spots on a light gray floor = VERY upset homeowner). We have dozens of ACTIVE threads on this VERY subject. https://www.houzz.com/discussions/5912382/food-oil-stain-on-engineered-hardwood#n=18 The OIL finished floors are much more difficult to live with. The EXPENSIVE finishes like UV Cured Oil are *better than a regular (cheaper) "oiled finish". But not by much. Oil finished floors (the cheap ones) require MAINTENANCE! Oi Vey do they need MAINTENANCE! Man oh man do they need maintenance. They need YOU (ahem...homeowner) to MAINTAIN the floor. You need 4 different types of 'maintenance products' to be kept at ALL TIMES in your home. You need the cleaning oil. You need the Refreshing oil. You need the Spot cleaning oil and then you need the MASTER FINISH oil (the colour that is sitting on your floor). You will use one/all of these at any given time in your life with your floor. Maintenance oil every 6 months. Cleaning oil every month. The spot cleaning oil every time an olive hits the floor (or olive oil...which ever) and the MASTER FINISH oil every few years (so that you can KEEP your floors the colour you paid for). Whew. Be VERY CAREFUL what you wish for (mid-range priced European Oak faux-gray oil finish). You might just get the nightmare you've been dreaming of.