engineer wood vs solid wood (Austin: insurance, new home, transfer)

[10scoachrick]

Originally Posted by verybadgnome

Only a few months so like I said I do not know about the durability aspect of it.

I wouldn't say cork is cheap. It is more of a mid-priced flooring option that is more expensive than tile except in the case where you install the cork yourself which would put it on par with tile flooring (since most home owners would not attempt putting in any type of tile themselves). That is tile can be had for $1-2 sq. ft. but installed price would be $4-5 so putting a little sweat equity into cork gets pays dividends as far as aesthetics, comfort, and acoustical properties over the more mundane tile.

Here's another vote for DIY cork. We bought a close-out color from Lumber Liquidators for about $2.60/ft...already had the poly sheeting for the 'underlayment'(optional say most) and then finished with shoe base trim. No glue, no nails/staples, no extra top layer of 'finish'. We plan on doing the same in the office and master closet. Been down almost a year and no signs of wear from humans or Katie-girl, the Scottie.

From what I've read, bamboo comes in various degrees of 'green-ness', considering most is put together in China, many brands have off-gassing 'problems' and some is finished with an aluminum oxide layer(not the friendliest stuff, according to some). I also wonder if it will continue to be one of the 'darlings' of the flooring industry or if it might fade away to leave another in the trail of 'dated' construction materials. Odd that you can buy man-made laminates designed to look like bamboo...now, that's a funny shade of 'green'.

[cls88]

I was looking into engineer planks and found out lots of them were made in China. I wasn’t sure about the quality and stopped looking. I liked the idea of cork and didn't like the pattern/look (at least the very few we have seen in stores). If you don't use glue or nails, would the cork planks come loose or making noise? I'll go back to the stores and see if they added more options of cork.

[BentBow]

Besides fully bonded cork, where contact cement is used, many manufacturers of cork, make glueless floating flooring. The T&G joints are designed like Pergo type laminate. Rotating lock.
Expanko
Natural Cork
Wicanders
Check out their offerings.

[Zzyzx]

Another critical thing to watch for upstairs is to make sure the OSB is glued and screwed in, NOT nailed in. My builder was nailing it down and I made them go back and reinforce it with screws. The reason for screws is it will prevent squeaks in the future.

[BentBow]

Yes, OSB or plywood decking subfloor and nails, is a recipe for squeaks.

[Hunny15602]

I'll put a vote in for NOT using Bamboo flooring! I love the look of it, very pretty without a doubt, but that topcoat finish is known to be too soft. I've had mine in for maybe a few years, in just the master bedroom, and my kitties have scratched the hell out of the floor, just by scampering around, and we trim claws at least every other week! I actually have to spend $$ to get the floor buffed and recoated, so the scratches won't be a deterrnet to the sale of my house. I'll never do bamboo again, every time I've spoken to a flooring professional and started off with "I have a carbonized bamboo prefinished floor", they all roll their eyes and immediately know what the problem is...

[10scoachrick]

Originally Posted by cls88

I was looking into engineer planks and found out lots of them were made in China. I wasn’t sure about the quality and stopped looking. I liked the idea of cork and didn't like the pattern/look (at least the very few we have seen in stores). If you don't use glue or nails, would the cork planks come loose or making noise? I'll go back to the stores and see if they added more options of cork.

The interlocking planks hold very well...in fact, so well that they are a bit difficult to fit together during install...not as easy as they make it look on TV and not as easy as harder materials like laminates or engineered wood. As long as your sub-surface is smooth, there is no noise. Some folks install a 'raw' cork underlayment to add cushion and absorb movement.

If you want to see a variety of patterns/colors, go to the main Lumber Liquidators site and click on bamboo and cork...plenty of colors there. Our dark floor looks virtually solid from just a few feet away...almost looks like leather.

[cls88]

Originally Posted by Hunny15602

I'll put a vote in for NOT using Bamboo flooring! I love the look of it, very pretty without a doubt, but that topcoat finish is known to be too soft. I've had mine in for maybe a few years, in just the master bedroom, and my kitties have scratched the hell out of the floor, just by scampering around, and we trim claws at least every other week! I actually have to spend $$ to get the floor buffed and recoated, so the scratches won't be a deterrnet to the sale of my house. I'll never do bamboo again, every time I've spoken to a flooring professional and started off with "I have a carbonized bamboo prefinished floor", they all roll their eyes and immediately know what the problem is...

It's amazing that the sales people never tell you this kind of stuff. Thanks. I was considering bamboos too.

[cls88]

Originally Posted by 10scoachrick

The interlocking planks hold very well...in fact, so well that they are a bit difficult to fit together during install...not as easy as they make it look on TV and not as easy as harder materials like laminates or engineered wood. As long as your sub-surface is smooth, there is no noise. Some folks install a 'raw' cork underlayment to add cushion and absorb movement.

If you want to see a variety of patterns/colors, go to the main Lumber Liquidators site and click on bamboo and cork...plenty of colors there. Our dark floor looks virtually solid from just a few feet away...almost looks like leather.

Thanks!! Did you put it directly on concrete, or there has to be some kind of sub-flooring? After we remove our carpet, there is not much space for subflooring. We can put a thin layer of underlayment as you mentioned.

I just checked the lumber liquidators site and didn't see a dark solid color. I don't want light colors, and don't want anything that looks like marble either. If I wait a bit longer, maybe I'll find what I want. Thanks again.

[Hunny15602]

Originally Posted by cls88

It's amazing that the sales people never tell you this kind of stuff. Thanks. I was considering bamboos too.

Yup, and I spent extra for the 25 year warranty stuff from Lumber Liquidators. After the first few scratches showed up, I went back to see about my warranty, and that's when I was informed that the warranty is on the bamboo, not the finish. They have a very good point - nowhere has the bamboo actually scratched - it really is a super hard floor! But the finish? I'm thinking I could have coated the floor w/some clear nail polish and gotten a harder, more durable finish...