Wood floors? (Peoria: house, tile, live in)

[sells500]

Does anyone have experience with wood floors. I have heard good and bad. The bad seems to be mostly poor installations. I have a concrete floor and even though I live in the west valley most of the year I am not here during summers June-August. I have been told that with the house being moist 9 months out of the year, they may/will warp or possible crack from the lack of moisture during the months I am not here. I just don't want to spend good money on a project that should last a long time for problems that may lead to tearing it up and replacing with tile in a few years? Any input would be appreciated. Thanks!

[S. Chris Webb]

I had wood floors in my previous house in Peoria which was 20 years old and it was holding up very well. I would guess that if it is good quality, sealed & finished properly, and properly maintained, it should be fine.

I wouldn't say the house is moist 9 months of the year, quite the opposite! However the heat could possibly be an issue. It is recommended to keep your house cooled to 88-90 even when you are not here, to keep different materials on the inside of your home from being affected.

How old is the home? If it is less than 5-6 years old, (or longer in certain areas with more expansive soil), the concrete can be subject to settling cracks, which can lead to warping or expansion problems. I see this when replacing flooring quite often. Make sure you deal with a professional company that knows how to treat the floor prior to flooring installation, if necessary. It might be wise to ask customer service at the flooring manufacturer if their product could be harmed or warranty voided due to excessive home temperatures.

[khuntrevor]

wood isn't meant to go on concrete. There are ways around this, but the good laminates will last as long.

[maverick974]

khuntrevor is partially correct. Good laminates will last a long, LONG time but natural wood floors can go on concrete but with the weather extremes here, heat and lack of humidity, anything wood has contraction and expansion issues.
I was a flooring installer for 25 years so I'm no novice when it comes to flooring.
If it were me and the house sat vacant for long periods, I'd look into some kind of floating floor. Natural wood could end up warping or splitting over the long run but a laminate won't. A floating floor isn't stuck to the sub-floor in any way so the floor can expand and contract on it's own without any stress from the concrete which expands and contracts at different rates than wood.
My advice would be to find a nice laminate that you like and find your own guy to install it. Laminate floors are exceptionally easy to install. It's the prep work that makes it time consuming so to do it right, remove all the furniture, remove ALL the existing baseboard, clean the floors and in the case of concrete floors, have them hydro tested to make sure they don't have too much moisture coming thru the concrete. Make sure the sub-floor is level and install the wood floors.
BTW, good trim and baseboard work is as important as the quality of the materials and installation. Good trim work will make the wood floors look twice as good.
Just sayin'.......

[ReadyFreddy]

I don't think I've ever seen a laminate floor that didn't look plasticy to me. Wood just has a different sheen to it. And the clickiness from floating is another giveaway. Maybe I've just never seen the great ones.

[maverick974]

Originally Posted by ReadyFreddy

I don't think I've ever seen a laminate floor that didn't look plasticy to me. Wood just has a different sheen to it. And the clickiness from floating is another giveaway. Maybe I've just never seen the great ones.

Yes, I know what you mean. There is always a price to pay I suppose. Some of the newer laminates are embossed and come VERY close to looking like a natural wood and they have come out with some really nice pads that go under the laminates.
Most laminates that you see are the cheapies and while those have come a long way in the last few years, the more expensive ones have made great strides in mimicking the look and feel of an old style glue or nail down wood floor.
There are also laminates that are made with natural wood.
The advantage with a floating installation is that you don't get any separation of the planks like you do with a glue down or nail down installation and therefore tend to look better for longer.

[jimj]

Originally Posted by khuntrevor

wood isn't meant to go on concrete. There are ways around this, but the good laminates will last as long.

But even the best laminates are nothing like the real thing. They all look and feel cheap (my opinion) and after having both I'd never do laminate again. We've had wood floors (glue down) in Atlanta (very humid) and it held up well, Montana (nail down) which gets both humid and dry and it was great.
The question here in AZ that I've got (thinking about wood myself) is if it's properly finished (we don't use prefinished wood, don't like the look of it) and a proper vapor barrier is put down on the concrete is there still a "dry-out" issue?

[JoeC]

Up here, I've seen laminate floors that have a 1/4"-3/8" hardwood layer over a laminated base. I wonder if that might be the best of both worlds - the warp and expansion resistance of a laminate with the appearance and durability of a hardwood surface. The flooring examples I've seen are indistinguishable from a true hardwood floor, and can be sanded/refinished a couple of times - a consideration for high-traffic areas & families with children.

Just throwing this out there...

[Voebe]

Considering that we're one of the top places in the country for termites, I would never get wood floors.

[khuntrevor]

I've never seen them chew the floor, seen them chew drywall, though, and they are murder on the floor joists (pre-ww II).

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