Let's talk hardwood flooring. Who's got them or has had them? Pros? Cons?

[Firehaus]

The floors in the last pick are Douglas fir which is pretty soft. 105 years later, they took their last refinish. 105 years of use isn't bad. Are you getting engineered or true 3/4" tongue and groove? I don't think I'd do engineered if I was planning on living there forever. Just me.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Jer]

The floors in the last pick are Douglas fir which is pretty soft. 105 years later, they took their last refinish. 105 years of use isn't bad. Are you getting engineered or true 3/4" tongue and groove? I don't think I'd do engineered if I was planning on living there forever. Just me.

From the limited research I've done I don't want to use engineered. That's why I was asking about that since it seems it doesn't last as long.

[Marlin]

I've done 2, in my little humble home, went with low end pergo type. it has been down for about 14-15 years now. It shows, I will say however. the first 4 it was down, it look good. Then, I got the lab. In those 10, it has started to look worn. Other than just inside the backdoor, for the most part it has held up decently.

The other I did for a friend, about 5 years ago. A "higher end" snap and click. That one was a breeze, the hardest part was the wear and tear on my beat up knees. She has three dogs, and looking at the floor, you would never know. Kind of wish it had been around when I did mine.

[Jer]

Any more details on the snap & click one that's holding up so well?

[ChadAmberg]

William, a member here, sells really nice hardwood flooring.

http://www.westerncoswick.com/

[William]

You have to think of a hardwood floor as a living entity. It will react to changes in climate, especially humidity. This is especially true with a solid hardwood floor. In Colorado I strongly recommend having a whole house humidifier for any hardwood floor, but it is especailly important for solid.

A solid hardwood floor should be 3/4" thick. If so it can be resanded 3-4 times over a life time. A solid floor should only be installed above grade over a wood subfloor.

I do sell prefinished hardwood floors and if you want you can call me for advice at seven one nine 2 2 nine forty five thirty five.

[Jer]

You have to think of a hardwood floor as a living entity. It will react to changes in climate, especially humidity. This is especially true with a solid hardwood floor. In Colorado I strongly recommend having a whole house humidifier for any hardwood floor, but it is especailly important for solid.

A solid hardwood floor should be 3/4" thick. If so it can be resanded 3-4 times over a life time. A solid floor should only be installed above grade over a wood subfloor.

I do sell prefinished hardwood floors and if you want you can call me for advice at seven one nine 2 2 nine forty five thirty five.

Thanks for chiming in. This floor would be installed above grade and on a wood subfloor. The basement will be mostly carpet with a few areas going to be finished concrete or tile.

Due to our house being green-built the builder won't honor warranties if a humidifier is added as they even have fans on humidistats to remove humidity before mold becomes an issue. From this aspect our home has better humidity control than most and, correct me if I'm wrong, but it's the changes in humidity that can cause issues with hardwood flooring, right?

[William]

Thanks for chiming in. This floor would be installed above grade and on a wood subfloor. The basement will be mostly carpet with a few areas going to be finished concrete or tile.

Due to our house being green-built the builder won't honor warranties if a humidifier is added as they even have fans on humidistats to remove humidity before mold becomes an issue. From this aspect our home has better humidity control than most and, correct me if I'm wrong, but it's the changes in humidity that can cause issues with hardwood flooring, right?

Yes, that is the major concern. If the water content of the wood drops below 7% you can have major issues with the wood cracking and splitting. I have heard of this happening in Colorado, but have never seen it myself. Relative humidity would have to get extremely low for that to happen.

[William]

Couple pictures of solid floors I have done in C/S.

[Jer]

Looks good. Thoughts on engineered versus solid? Sounds like the engineered may be cheaper but doesn't last well at all. What about some of the newer versions that are supposedly better? I think I'm still leaning towards solid real stuff but at this point open to new innovations that may be better if they exist.