I got the Owens Corning system installed in the middle of August 2012. It looks like compacted insulation with a cloth backing glued to it. The exterior walls that were exposted to the outside (not underground) got 2 inch insultation and the other panels were 1 inch. the whole thing was done quickly by a local contractor. He did pretty good work but there are a few gaps in some of the plastic parts. He used regular drywall to do a closet. The price per square foot was about $78 which I have realized is way out of line. My wife was dieing from cancer upstairs while this was being done and the workers were very sensitive to my situation. The floor is plastic and is not easily accessed if one needs replaced. The salesman was really slick and I didn't realize I paid way too much until I started reading this blog. The admin side of this is very sleazy and they are not very upfront in helping you get a good deal. That is an understatement! If I had to do it again, I would hire a local contractor to put in a basement using similar product and about a 1/4 of the price. I like the product but I do not like the price, the sales method or the shoddy planning. These guys are going to be found out sooner or later and this has got to stop. Let the buyer beware!!

This floor if properly installed can last as long as a solid unfinished. It is not an inexpensive option, but will last as long as the solid. It has a 'wear surface' as thick as the 'wear surface' of a solid. This 1/4" top layer is a sawn veneer, so the appearance is exactly like a solid. It is the caddilac of this type of flooring. There is a similar brand, but the name escapes me. Install it with the recommended adhesive for going on a slab. Don't cheap out on the adhesive! Test the slab for moisture content and migration. Mitigate any moisture issues with the slab and, if a moisture retarder is recommended, install one. These can be a liquid applied membrane or a physical membrane that is adhered to the slab. Lots of options here, but the product manufacturer will have installation instructions you can download for the latest guidelines. Don't assume that your slab is flat enough for a new floor such as this. Test for flatness and grind down any high spots and fill any 'birdbaths' with a professional grade flooring underlayment compound that the manufacturer recommends. Don't cheap out on that either. Most true professionals will test for moisture and flatness and correct any deficiencies. Finally, choose someone who is good at finishing wood floors and will do a top notch job with high quality professional finishes. The stuff you can buy at HD or Lowes is not in that category, although I have been informed that Lowes may begin to distribute BonaKemi professional use floor finishing materials soon, if they have not already started. Ask to see work that a finisher has done to know the level of work that finisher can perform. You sound like someone who will get her ducks all in a row, so best of luck with this floor.

Around here S central pa,people put ads in paper advertising an old home to be dismantled for whats useful.This is where the restoration people get their supplies.We had an old farm house,barn,on land hubby bought we had 3 people wanted the barn,house for beams,flooring,etc.Theres money in that type of thing,also Id run an ad in paper forthe windows Im sure theres someone who could use them at only a year old.

Following up on my reply, above, getting away from the two-story entry (porch or portico) is a HUGE step away from (the idea of) a McMansion. McMansions were never designed to enhance family life. They were created to enhance builders' bottom lines by taking advantage of human nature, the desire to keep up with and then surpass those damn Joneses -- dangling the American Dream, dressed up with some bling, at what seems to be an affordable price, never mind that it's actually OVERpriced for what it is, which is a mass-produced house constructed cheaply with no thought to proper design, with low-quality materials and low-quality craftsmanship. Part of the appeal is the outsize scale, like two-story entries, great rooms rather than more aptly named family or living rooms, and acres of granite and stainless steel in the kitchen. If you hang out in the Remodeling or Home Decorating forums for any length of time, you'll find a steady stream of posters who are trying to deal with wonky McMansion layouts requiring great creativity and often a great deal of cash (window coverings for those giant windows don't come cheap) to turn their McMansions into vaguely liveable homes. Some will call the forum members here purists or professionals, and say that various terms are for experts, and so on. But I continue to be amazed by the number of regular homeowners who come to this forum because they have some sort of nagging, persistent uneasy feeling — backed up by no special education or training whatsoever — that there is something very wrong with their house plans and they have problems pulling the trigger to start construction. That’s because a lot of architecture is actually common sense and involves basic math like the golden mean or golden ratio, which few of us remember from school but which we’re surrounded by, in nature and art as just two examples. Most of us might not be able to define “golden mean” or other architectural terms, but we can understand on a basic, unconscious level the concepts of balance, proportion, rhythm (the repetition of certain elements) and feel much more at ease in a house built with good balance, proportion, and rhythm than in one with little or none. Similarly, while we might marvel and ooh-and-ahh over a majestic-looking entry or an enormous great room, most people will instinctively feel more comfortable in a house built to a more human scale. Just as organizing philosophies from Flylady and Kon Mari to feng shui, “Hoarders”, and the Container Store, tell us that organizing and decluttering our homes will make us happier, calmer, more contented — and most of us can vouch for how much better we feel when our house is in order — humans are also more satisfied (even if we can’t put our finger on it) in a house built with balance and cohesion. (As an aside, it’s also much easier to keep a house orderly and decluttered in a house with thoughtful design, where the house responds to your needs, rather than, as in the case with most tract houses and McMansions, making you respond to your house’s needs).