wood flooring suggestions (Dallas: wood floors, coupons, countertops)

[jtltke137]

I had seen on the DIY channel where they said engineered hardwoods should be used over concrete.

I believe the reason is their high-pressure, multi-layered, sandwiched design won't warp like real hardwoods when exposed to moisture.

[ParkRowPioneer]

jtitke137,

I laid down engineered wood floors over my concrete ones in Austin at the suggestion of the flooring company. I would not do that again. It's more troublesome to lay solid wood on top of concrete as there is nothing to nail it to, but there are options. Some new solids can be glued down. Some require only a thin wood subfloor. Short story: go with solid wood if you can afford it.

If you do go with engineered, buy several extra boxes of your planks so that you can do repairs later (which you will have to do). They have to take out a whole section to do a reasonable repair. My engineered floor was down for only a few years before I had warping and separation of some of the veneer surface from the substrate. I never could find an exact match on the boards, even though I bought the flooring from a manufacturer that is still in business and sold everywhere. The three or four boards I had left over from the original installation were not enough to repair the floor. As as result, I lived with the irritating messed up board for awhile. When I decided last year to floor a bedroom that previously had carpet in it, I pulled up a sizable portion of the existing wood hallway (and the one bad board) to extend the boards out into the hallway from the bedroom. The result is a floor that is not exactly the same, but not really noticeably different. It bugs me, though.

[TXNGL]

Park Row Pioneer,
Thanks for the heads up. The people from Empire told the same thing that jtitke said about concrete and warping last summer when they did the kid's room. Of course they may have been trying to sell me a whole house full of engineered wood! I had not heard of glue down solids. Interesting.
Thanks again.

[momof2dfw]

Originally Posted by jtltke137

I had seen on the DIY channel where they said engineered hardwoods should be used over concrete.

I believe the reason is their high-pressure, multi-layered, sandwiched design won't warp like real hardwoods when exposed to moisture.

Don't believe everything you see on DIY shows. Engineered woods CAN warp just as much as real hardwoods.

Then, MOST foundations in the Dallas area ARE concrete. Very, VERY few are not. Overall most are slab on grade. You CAN use real hardwoods over concrete and have much success. Before a real hardwood floor is installed a vapor barrier is put down (this should stand for even engineered wood floors) and then a subfloor. This vapor barrier pretty much makes the issue of moisture a moot point. Unless of course one is leaving water standing on the floor inside the home for long periods of time and even then the vapor barrier won't do much good. Once the subfloor is laid one can nail down the real hardwoods.

[ParkRowPioneer]

And I forgot to say: The vapor barrier that they use now for direct application is a thick mastic, which also serves to level the subfloor. It requires only a very short drying time, which means that the flooring installers go almost directly behind the barrier installer. I used C&C in Austin and got a pretty good deal on the wood. The installers (their subcontractors) were magical.

I noticed that there is a C&C in Dallas and their ads look the same. You might check with them for wood or carpet. I wouldn't choose tile from them, though, as they don't carry much of an inventory. Like any discounter, what you can find at a given time depends on what they have gotten from the big guys. In this economy, they may have a lot of opportunities to buy from distressed manufacturers and retailers.

[TXNGL]

<<Before a real hardwood floor is installed a vapor barrier is put down (this should stand for even engineered wood floors>>

They did that when we did the engineered, so we should be OK, right?
Thanks!

[TXNGL]

>>I noticed that there is a C&C in Dallas and their ads look the same. You might check with them for wood or carpet. I wouldn't choose tile from them, though, as they don't carry much of an inventory<<

Thanks, I'll check them out.

[momof2dfw]

Originally Posted by TXNGL

<<Before a real hardwood floor is installed a vapor barrier is put down (this should stand for even engineered wood floors>>

They did that when we did the engineered, so we should be OK, right?
Thanks!

Yes, you should be fine

[ParkRowPioneer]

TXNGL,

A properly-installed and cared-for engineered wood floor will last longer than most people live in their homes these days. Don't let us scare you about your floors, I'm sure they'll be fine. You do have to be extra careful about moisture and drying (from the subfloor up as well as from humidity levels and spills in your home). Most of us keep our HVAC systems on all year in Dallas, though, so the humidity levels in our homes is fairly constant.

I installed the engineered wood in Austin more than a decade ago. Even though they did not put down a proper moisture barrier (they didn't really know to do it in the early days of EW), the floor is still spectacular looking. I did have to do repairs, and the guys that repaired it say that they see that all time. But ultimately, ten years of a beautiful, allergy-free floor is nothing to (ahem) sneeze at.

I live in an historic home, so I look at floors differently than most. A long-lasting floor for me is one that I can refinish if necessary and that will stand up to generation after generation of wear. Most homeowners don't need to consider multiple generations on their floors.

[Grainraiser]

The problem with installing hardwood planks over concrete is you have nothing to nail into unless you put down a subfloor. A engineered floor can be floated and no nailing is required. Both can warp but solid wood is much more likely to warp than engineered lumber. If really depends on the application.