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I have and have had pre-finished, engineered hardwood glued to concrete and have been very pleased with it. It does not nick/dent anymore than hardwood. While I have never had it done, I am told if you use a top grade the top layer is thick enough to be refinished at least once.
You should be fine with engineered hardwood in the master.
I have it throughout the house - probably around two years and just a couple of scratches, which I will be covering with some kind of marker or whatever.
I chose a dark, rustic pattern - I think it's mahogany.
Make sure you put furniture protectors on all furniture, and you should be good.
We have engineered wood in our kitchen and we both hate it. We were told that we couldn't have real hardwood because of the thickness. It doesn't feel right when I walk on it. It kind of pops up in places-like the glue has come undone. It is very slippery and if water spills (it is a kitchen after all), it is REALLY slick. I'm afraid one of us is going to take a big fall. There is one place where it looks like it is not real. That was our contractor's fault. He should have seen that and not use that piece. If we have the floor redone, we may go with tile since we can't have REAL wood.
We have engineered wood in our kitchen and we both hate it. We were told that we couldn't have real hardwood because of the thickness. It doesn't feel right when I walk on it. It kind of pops up in places-like the glue has come undone. It is very slippery and if water spills (it is a kitchen after all), it is REALLY slick. I'm afraid one of us is going to take a big fall. There is one place where it looks like it is not real. That was our contractor's fault. He should have seen that and not use that piece. If we have the floor redone, we may go with tile since we can't have REAL wood.
Cat
Engineered is "real".
Your experience, while unfortunate, isn't indicative of others' experiences with engineered flooring. Also that sounds like an installation issue, not a flooring issue, because our glued down engineered doesn't pop up. That glue is a pretty strong bond. While I have not had that happen, don't all floors (including a solid wood one) get slippery when wet?
Also your floor should look uniformly "real" because it is "real". There's a wear layer of whatever species of wood you selected, on top of plywood. That top layer is 100% "real". Are you sure you're not talking about a laminate floor?
The only difference in terms of feel are the bevels.
We have engineered wood in our kitchen and we both hate it. We were told that we couldn't have real hardwood because of the thickness. It doesn't feel right when I walk on it. It kind of pops up in places-like the glue has come undone. It is very slippery and if water spills (it is a kitchen after all), it is REALLY slick. I'm afraid one of us is going to take a big fall. There is one place where it looks like it is not real. That was our contractor's fault. He should have seen that and not use that piece. If we have the floor redone, we may go with tile since we can't have REAL wood.
Cat
Engineered wood IS real wood. I suspect you wound up with a substandard brand.
I have and have had pre-finished, engineered hardwood glued to concrete and have been very pleased with it. It does not nick/dent anymore than hardwood. While I have never had it done, I am told if you use a top grade the top layer is thick enough to be refinished at least once.
There are engineered wood floors that can be refinished 3 or 4 times. They do cost more, but who the heck really needs that?
Your experience, while unfortunate, isn't indicative of others' experiences with engineered flooring. Also that sounds like an installation issue, not a flooring issue, because our glued down engineered doesn't pop up. That glue is a pretty strong bond. While I have not had that happen, don't all floors (including a solid wood one) get slippery when wet?
Also your floor should look uniformly "real" because it is "real". There's a wear layer of whatever species of wood you selected, on top of plywood. That top layer is 100% "real". Are you sure you're not talking about a laminate floor?
The only difference in terms of feel are the bevels.
Yes, it is engineered and not laminate. We have the receipt to prove it. And it is slippery even when it is NOT wet. Most of the rest of the house has hardwood floors and they are not as slippery as the engineered floor-even when it is wet.
If others like it, that is fine. I'm just saying that both Hubby & I do not like it at all. Unfortunately we are stuck with it for now. I'm hoping that I can convince him to replace it in about 5 years or so-but we shall see.
Yes, it is engineered and not laminate. We have the receipt to prove it. And it is slippery even when it is NOT wet. Most of the rest of the house has hardwood floors and they are not as slippery as the engineered floor-even when it is wet.
If others like it, that is fine. I'm just saying that both Hubby & I do not like it at all. Unfortunately we are stuck with it for now. I'm hoping that I can convince him to replace it in about 5 years or so-but we shall see.
Cat
You can have engineered wood that has EXACTLY the same finish as solid hardwood. Again... The problem isn’t that you got an engineered wood floor. It’s the specific product/brand that you purchased.
You can have engineered wood that has EXACTLY the same finish as solid hardwood. Again... The problem isn’t that you got an engineered wood floor. It’s the specific product/brand that you purchased.
Well, site finished hardwood has a finish that engineered wouldn't have, but in general I agree with you, it's the finish that varies, not the plank.
And as I mentioned in this thread, I have pre-finished solid hardwood. That has a similar factory finish to engineered wood but is still a piece of solid wood all the way through each plank, just like the site finished hardwood I put in at a prior house.
I'm also confused by how a plank of engineered wood looks like it's not real? It's literally a piece of wood that you are looking at. It's not solid all the way through the plank, but the piece on top that you see is a slice of actual wood. How does that not look real? Now it's true to sometimes even a plank of solid hardwood doesn't look good for various reasons, and a good installer knows to discard it. But I still don't understand the "real" aspect.
Well, site finished hardwood has a finish that engineered wouldn't have, but in general I agree with you, it's the finish that varies, not the plank.
And as I mentioned in this thread, I have pre-finished solid hardwood. That has a similar factory finish to engineered wood but is still a piece of solid wood all the way through each plank, just like the site finished hardwood I put in at a prior house.
I'm also confused by how a plank of engineered wood looks like it's not real? It's literally a piece of wood that you are looking at. It's not solid all the way through the plank, but the piece on top that you see is a slice of actual wood. How does that not look real? Now it's true to sometimes even a plank of solid hardwood doesn't look good for various reasons, and a good installer knows to discard it. But I still don't understand the "real" aspect.
You can site-finish engineered as well. That’s my point. It can look EXACTLY the same.
I suspect many people don’t really have much experience with good engineered wood floors.
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