engineer wood vs solid wood (countertops, house, construction)

[verybadgnome]

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.

Yes my tongue and groove cork panels were impossible at first. Eventually I learned the technique required and it wasn't so bad. Also putting in the 2nd row cause the 1st row to move not allowing them to come together; it wasn't until I secured the floor from moving that they would go in.

[cls88]

Originally Posted by Hunny15602

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...

Most people associate bamboo with its durability (who'd think about the coating!). I watched a documentary about people filling rice in bamboo and cook it on fire. I even thought we could get lower insurance premium if the bamboo floor could survive fire .

[Hunny15602]

Originally Posted by cls88

Most people associate bamboo with its durability (who'd think about the coating!). I watched a documentary about people filling rice in bamboo and cook it on fire. I even thought we could get lower insurance premium if the bamboo floor could survive fire .

That's hysterical! Although a plausible argument to make, on some level! I knew the stuff was hard and solid b/c the installer would trip the smoke alarms every time he had to cut a piece of bamboo - the material itself is excellent, and I loved the look but also appreciated that it was a green material. IF I do put wood in whatever new home I buy, I'm thinking that it will be the handscraped stuff, as I don't want to have the heartbreak again over my new floor going south soo fast!

[10scoachrick]

Originally Posted by cls88

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.

When we removed the carpet, the concrete slab was in pretty good shape...I needed to knock down/grind off a couple of high spots and the only 'underlayment' was 6 mil poly sheeting. If I were to put down the cork over an unconditioned space as in our game room over garage, I would opt for the raw cork underlayment or some additional thermal barrier to cut down on heat transfer...no such problem on the master floor. The only other reason I can imagine for additional underlayment would be to match the height of the adjoining floors. The cork was perfect to replace/match the frise' carpet and padding. That's another consideration when choosing the flooring material...thickness of the total system and how it lines up with the flooring in adjoining spaces.

I really don't work for LL...but, their 'showroom' floor is made up of different woods/cork/bamboo/lams so you can get a better look at the various colors, etc. I would imagine other flooring folks do the same but I have only been in LL here in Austin.

[cls88]

Originally Posted by 10scoachrick

When we removed the carpet, the concrete slab was in pretty good shape...I needed to knock down/grind off a couple of high spots and the only 'underlayment' was 6 mil poly sheeting. If I were to put down the cork over an unconditioned space as in our game room over garage, I would opt for the raw cork underlayment or some additional thermal barrier to cut down on heat transfer...no such problem on the master floor. The only other reason I can imagine for additional underlayment would be to match the height of the adjoining floors. The cork was perfect to replace/match the frise' carpet and padding. That's another consideration when choosing the flooring material...thickness of the total system and how it lines up with the flooring in adjoining spaces.

I really don't work for LL...but, their 'showroom' floor is made up of different woods/cork/bamboo/lams so you can get a better look at the various colors, etc. I would imagine other flooring folks do the same but I have only been in LL here in Austin.

Thanks for the great info! I get to go back to LL's sample floors. The last time we went, I didn't see the darker colored cork, if I remembered correctly. But my perceptions/focus has changed over the past few months of searching. Maybe I'll see something that I didn't see the last time.

[BentBow]

Lumber Liquidators = Buyer Beware

[blahula]

Thank you so much for your reply. You answered all my questions. Thanks a lot!

Originally Posted by Zzyzx

I had the same concerns. My solution was to do both. Downstairs I put engineered because I did not want to incur the cost of putting down a sub floor. The stairs and upstairs is all solid nailed.



This is a decision you need to make. Personally to me carpet is filthy no matter how much you vacuum it. I purchased a house with in mind I was going to put about 50K more into it after closing which included wood floors and counter tops, etc. After living in a home with wood flooring it's hard to go back



My engineered floor acts no different then my solid wood floor. My installer said it makes not difference to him what he installs, he charged the same. I too had the same concern about engineered being a resell turnoff. You might be thinking laminate, which yes would be a turnoff. There are different quality's of engineered flooring. There is a peeled one like an apple (less quality) , and there is a sliced one (better quality) where you can actually finish a couple of times before it hits the plywood.



Not in my house




That's what I did and you can't tell



Wood floors are furniture you walk on, if you treat it right there is no reason to refinish it. My floor is 3 years old and still looks new. If you have renters in a wood floor property anything goes. In my last house the floor was 10 years old and still in great shape.




Not that I have read anywhere

Here is an additional resource: HardwoodflooringTALK.com Message Board

[blahula]

Originally Posted by BentBow

Lumber Liquidators = Buyer Beware

I do read some not-so-good reviews or horrible reviews online for LL, are they really that bad? Their price is so attractive though. One of my friends bought their floor from LL and it still looks nice after 2 or 3 years.

[10scoachrick]

Originally Posted by blahula

I do read some not-so-good reviews or horrible reviews online for LL, are they really that bad? Their price is so attractive though. One of my friends bought their floor from LL and it still looks nice after 2 or 3 years.

In many cases, you're simply buying the brand from LL instead of any other supplier...same quality as you would get from store X. I would be comfortable buying more of the cork brand(Lisbon) we got from LL...LL didn't make it, just selling it! They carry Ty Pennington and Morningstar bamboo, for example...currently available through 'conventional' flooring suppliers.

I will say it's best to put your hands on the boxes you need for your project. I had to order extra boxes from another store/stores and it took quite a while to arrive...a bit of a concern since we were buying a 'close-out' color. Finally worked out but they really are better at selling whatever is in the 'back room'. No problems with delivery in that case.

Didn't deal with installers since this was a DIM(do it myself) project...can't speak to their install service.

[jobert]

Originally Posted by Austin97

Several wood installers I talked to prefer engineered on the first floor because it doesnt expand and contract as much as solid wood. We put down 1/4" solid brazilian cherry on the first floor which was the thickest our installer was willing to put directly onto a slab (thicker has a lot of risk for expansion problems).

I am not sure I follow the logic. The slab in the interior of the house will be temperate year-round as you are running HVAC, and the other side of the slab is earth, which is temperate by nature. This is why you do need expansion joints on a slab . Even if the wood expands and contracts, it will expand and contract lockstep with the adjacent materials and substrate. Any movement difference would be concealed at the perimeter by the overlap of your base or quarter-round moulding. You may see buckling of the caulk if anything was to happen, but that is still unlikely.