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My understanding is that "hardwood" is a plank of sawn wood. "Engineered wood" is pressed wood covered by a veneer of wood w/the grain. It's put together...."engineered." It's less costly but still looks nice and can be refinished once or twice. No more than that, since the "wood" with the grain is veneer. Hardwood can be refinished many times.
But that's the thing - the plank itself is 100% wood. It is plywood with a wear layer - veneer - of the preferred wood species on top. It is absolutely not "fake wood" (which would be the opposite of "real"). It's not fiberboard/MDF either. We had the choice of solid and engineered, and we chose engineered because it would take some serious damage to wear away the top layer, and it was the top layer that really matters not what's beneath it. But you're right, it can only be refinished once or twice, tops whereas solid can be refinished many times. However, given the cost of refinishing it, I've been told that refinishing is not something you'd do willy-nilly and once or twice is plenty. Well at least plenty for however many years we live in this house.
I just feel that people aren't using the correct term for engineered wood flooring. It's real wood, but not solid throughout and like you said, it also is made in a factory.
Our last house had oak planks that were distressed, stained and then varnished. I intentionally chose a medium color that hid dirt. The floor was great. You could do a lot to it and any damage looked like it was meant to be there. It made my feet hurt a bit, but slippers helped. Tile really makes my feet hurt.
My family is really hard on carpet. For that reason, I prefer not to have it. It is never clean enough. We had carpet removed and engineered hardwoods added in a previous house. We had vacuumed and cleaned that carpet many times, but there was still a layer of dirt underneath. I prefer hardwoods with area rugs. It's a cleaner look. It's an easy way to change decor without reoing the entire house.
Conventional carpet, even high-end, is too full of chemicals for my liking, and it outgasses for a long while--which is quite dangerous for small children and pets, who are low to the ground. But even if I bought safe carpet, it would be too much of a hassle to keep clean.
First house had wood floors--never again. I hate wood floors. They have to be dusted every five minutes. They are cold and hard and stain easily. Give me carpet any day of the week.
Yeah, OK, a rather extreme example I'll admit. Just remember the next time you complain about your kid, hubby, SO, or a guest spilling something ordinary on your carpet....it could actually be much worse! I "found" the moose leg before dawn while picking my way through the room in the dark. Suddenly stepped on this cold clammy slimy thing on the way to the bathroom. Didn't even need a coffee jolt to get the day started.
Originally Posted by OHNot4Me I hate it when that happens.
Quote:
Originally Posted by AllisonHB
Yeah, OK, a rather extreme example I'll admit. Just remember the next time you complain about your kid, hubby, SO, or a guest spilling something ordinary on your carpet....it could actually be much worse! I "found" the moose leg before dawn while picking my way through the room in the dark. Suddenly stepped on this cold clammy slimy thing on the way to the bathroom. Didn't even need a coffee jolt to get the day started.
I thought yours was a hilarious story, had to laugh. I think Allison meant her response as a joke too since how often do body parts end up on the floor . And stepping on it in the dark, ewww . Yeah, that would get your attention.
Hard wood floors with rugs where desired. Carpet is nasty - if you've ever removed carpet, you'll see just how gross it is, even carpet that is vacuumed and cleaned regularly. There's a reason that people with allergies can't live with carpet, and just because someone is fortunate enough to not have an allergic reaction to it doesn't mean that all that bacteria, pollen, dead skin, dust and other gross gunk isn't in your carpet.
My house has hardwood in the kitchen/dining area and the foyer (which is about 12 square feet.) The bathrooms and laundry room are all luxury vinyl tile, and the rest of the house (bedrooms, living room, stairs, hallways) are carpeted. With the exception of the bathrooms, this is what was in the house when I moved in. (The bathrooms had a cheap vinyl tile that somebody laid down in such a poor manner that my then three-year-old nieces and nephews could have done a better job, so I replaced those with the LVT as soon as I could.)
I don't find any of them hard to maintain, though they all do have their pluses and minuses. I am one of those people who likes to walk barefoot through the house (as is my sister, who lives with me.) Carpet is softer and easier on the joints, and definitely warmer in the winter. Perhaps not as easy to clean, however.
Hardwood floors are beautiful and easy to clean, but require some maintenance as well (mine have some scratches--they were there when I moved in, and I just need the time/money to find somebody to sand them out.) But they are harder on the joints, and in the winter, the hardwood floor is cold.
I have noticed that the LVT is *really* nice to walk on. It's obviously not as soft as carpet, but it doesn't feel as hard as the wood. Plus, it's easy to clean without special maintenance on it. But I have to admit, I don't know that I'd want it *all* through the house. I've seen houses with tile all the way through them, and the overall look just doesn't appeal to me for whatever reason. I could see where it'd be practical in certain areas, like houses on the beach (easier to get all the sand up without wrecking the floors), however.
I have allergies and asthma, but even if I didn't we'd avoid carpet. When we got rid of the fairly new carpet (3 years installed) in the house we bought, the underside of the carpet and the carpet pad were really disgusting. The dirt from cleaning just seeps in there and a lot of it doesn't come out. So you have dirt, stains, dried cleaning fluid, dust, pet mishap stains, etc. all where you can't see them just below the carpet surface. It was really revolting. Also, people step in nasty things outdoors and then transmit them to the carpet because most people don't change shoes before they enter the house. I don't understand people who love to lie down on carpet or let their babies crawl around on it, too gross.
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Yeah, OK, a rather extreme example I'll admit. Just remember the next time you complain about your kid, hubby, SO, or a guest spilling something ordinary on your carpet....it could actually be much worse! I "found" the moose leg before dawn while picking my way through the room in the dark. Suddenly stepped on this cold clammy slimy thing on the way to the bathroom. Didn't even need a coffee jolt to get the day started.
. And stepping on it in the dark, ewww 
