New build flooring options - Engineered hardwood vs Luxury Vinyl (insurance, home)

[albert648]

I'd expect engineered hardwood in any house over $400k and solid hardwood in anything over $600k. I'm replacing the godawful carpet in one level of my 5 year old townhouse with a solid bamboo. It was about the same cost as an engineered wood. When it comes time to replace the engineered floors in the other two stories, I'll be putting in the same flooring throughout. If I moved away from wood for any alternative, the only thing I might consider is a wood grain ceramic tile.

I'm doing it more for my own enjoyment than anything though, so YMMV. Any value-add is a side benefit.

[stargirl007]

FWIW, I did a bit of perusing in my neighborhood's social groups. There were a few inquiries related to flooring.

I would say in order of preference:

1. real solid hardwoods
2. engineered wood
3. vinyl plank (mostly met with laughs)

Houses price from $750-just south of 1M here in Frisco.

Not gospel, but figured it would be an interesting data point.

[HP48G]

Originally Posted by CaliLonghorn

Sure. And one option which I know the trends are going away from is to keep tile in the kitchen area, and leave the wood everywhere else with the assumption that you are avoiding the water on the wood situation which is inevitable in the kitchen. But nowadays you aren't supposed to "break up" the area's like that and style is winning over practicality.

And one of the realtors I know says she's had her engineered wood in the kitchen with no issue. And actually the kitchen hasn't been the worst spot for our wood, but it's in part because we have little mats near the kitchen sink and such so the inevitable water dripping down when we wash dishes isn't as much of an issue. But at some point what's the point of pretty wood floors, if you feel you have to cover them up to protect them?

I like having the same flooring everywhere, so I have real hardwood everywhere, including kitchen. I don't baby the floors or have any mats or anything. I just wipe them dry if water drips.

However I understand why some people would want tile in the kitchen. This I wouldn't object.

[R1070]

Luxury Vinyl

[TheOverdog]

I would put the lifetime on vinyl tile at 10-15 years. I have it in my home (nowhere near $700k) and it looks fine but it wears more quickly than the labels suggest and it certainly does show scratches and at 5 years in some of it is starting to show its age.

[Capitalprophets]

There is another option many people are not told about and its called "wood tile" by far the best option as for aesthetics and reliability as its made of porcelain tile and it looks phenomenal. That is what we have and it looks amazing. We always get compliments on it.

Vinyl looks cheap and depreciates the home value because flooring matters. Wood is too hard to maintain but having kids at home we went with wood tile that are porcelain. The best option out there.

[WorldKlas]

We just bought a house near your price range. It was an existing home but we had all the flooring ripped out. After lots and lots of evaluation we narrowed it down to either bamboo or porcelain tiles. Either would have been fine but we just wanted a more modern look so we did the whole house in 24” x 48” tiles that kind of look like concrete because we are minimalists and like a sterile look. But bamboo would have been fine,

I have had “Luxury wood-look vinyl” installed in a couple of rental houses and they look great and are very durable....so also a good choice. And, we have friends ($700K+ house) with that luxury vinyl flooring, too. Just not my choice... If I didn’t want bamboo or real hardwoods, and really wanted a wood look, I would go with wood look porcelain tiles.

[globe9]

At that price point, I'd go real wood. Heck, my home is worth less than $400k and we have 3/4 inch solid oak hardwood throughout the entire house minus bathrooms.

I do have friends who built a 6000sq ft custom home and went with wood look porcelain tile. I couldn't tell the difference at all until they told me and I felt it. Looks great, but I wouldn't know about resale.

[dallasdoughnuts]

Look up health risks connected to vinyl chloride (LVT/vinyl). I would not let my small kids play on it if I had options.

[stephwin]

We have a 4 and 7 year old and we have handscraped hardwood that has held up really well. The house is 15 years old and we bought it before they were born. We have wood in the entry, office, hallways, living room, and a half bath. Our kitchen is tile. I wouldn't want to pay that much for a house and have vinyl, even if it is "luxury." If you don't want real wood, I'd go with a wood-look porcelain tile.