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Flooring help needed, please :)
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amother
OP


 

Post Fri, Feb 21 2020, 10:41 am
Hi I'd love to hear what kind of floor ppl have in their house, how long they have had it for, if they do or don't like it and why they chose it please Smile . I'm considering vinyl, real hardwood and engineered hardwood. We have a busy house, lots of little kids and people coming and going. Cost aside, what is the best option? What will best hold up to a house full of people?
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mha3484




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, Feb 21 2020, 10:52 am
I have carpet in the bedrooms. When I have the money I want to replace it with a darker colored carpet now its like a beige shade and always looks dirty. I think it makes the room more cozy.

I have hardwood in the hallway and living/dining room. Its a mixed bag because it gets dirty and cleaning is a patcke but I love the stain that we chose.

I have ceramic tiles in my kitchen. I really love the pattern I choose and mopping is pretty easy. But its hard like dishes break when they drop, I fell the other day and really banged myself up.
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EPL




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, Feb 21 2020, 11:03 am
I have engineered wood floors throughout my house. They were very costly, but we were told we needed it bc we have radiant heating. We're having alot of issues with it, and bc engineered wood is thinner than regular wood planks, you can only refinish them once or twice.
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amother
Mistyrose


 

Post Fri, Feb 21 2020, 11:06 am
I have engineered wood everywhere except bathroom.

Choosing flooring is complicated because a lot depends on budget and use.

For me, there is nothing as beautiful as hardwood floors. I have lived with them all my life and love the look especially when there are beautiful area rugs to complement them.

I have engineered wood because solid hardwood can not be installed on the type of subfloors I have. Engineered wood is REAL wood - it is just constructed so that there is a wear layer (top layer) and then another type of wood. It works better on slabs or in humid conditions. Depending on the quality of engineered hardwood, it can be refinished two or even three times and that is typically longer than most people care about.

Solid hardwood is typically finished on site and can be refinished many many times.

There might be slight differences between the way engineered and solid look based on how they are installed since site finished floors will be sanded on site and engineered floors are almost always factory finished.

Factory finishes tend to be more durable than site finished and you can get factory finished solid hardware but most people get site finished solid and factory finished hardwood.

Luxury vinyl tile looks like fake wood to me. It obviously has advantages because it is a vinyl surface and so there is less upkeep but it's just not as beautiful to me.

Since you are living in the house for the foreseeable future, pick what you like and what is in your budget. If you have any thoughts of resale (which you don't) then you would have to consider what other homes have since typically wood flooring is considered to be more upscale than luxury vinyl.
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amother
OP


 

Post Fri, Feb 21 2020, 11:06 am
EPL wrote:
I have engineered wood floors throughout my house. They were very costly, but we were told we needed it bc we have radiant heating. We're having alot of issues with it, and bc engineered wood is thinner than regular wood planks, you can only refinish them once or twice.


This is very helpful thank you. what type of issues are you having with the engineered wood?
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amother
OP


 

Post Fri, Feb 21 2020, 11:07 am
amother [ Mistyrose ] wrote:
I have engineered wood everywhere except bathroom.

Choosing flooring is complicated because a lot depends on budget and use.

For me, there is nothing as beautiful as hardwood floors. I have lived with them all my life and love the look especially when there are beautiful area rugs to complement them.

I have engineered wood because solid hardwood can not be installed on the type of subfloors I have. Engineered wood is REAL wood - it is just constructed so that there is a wear layer (top layer) and then another type of wood. It works better on slabs or in humid conditions. Depending on the quality of engineered hardwood, it can be refinished two or even three times and that is typically longer than most people care about.

Solid hardwood is typically finished on site and can be refinished many many times.

There might be slight differences between the way engineered and solid look based on how they are installed since site finished floors will be sanded on site and engineered floors are almost always factory finished.

Factory finishes tend to be more durable than site finished and you can get factory finished solid hardware but most people get site finished solid and factory finished hardwood.

Luxury vinyl tile looks like fake wood to me. It obviously has advantages because it is a vinyl surface and so there is less upkeep but it's just not as beautiful to me.

Since you are living in the house for the foreseeable future, pick what you like and what is in your budget. If you have any thoughts of resale (which you don't) then you would have to consider what other homes have since typically wood flooring is considered to be more upscale than luxury vinyl.


Thanks for this info! How long have you had the engineered for? How has it held up? Does it scratch easily and if it does how do you repair it?
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amother
Mistyrose


 

Post Fri, Feb 21 2020, 11:49 am
amother [ OP ] wrote:
Thanks for this info! How long have you had the engineered for? How has it held up? Does it scratch easily and if it does how do you repair it?


This is my second time with engineered flooring as I recently remodeled and had new wood floors installed. My previous floors lasted about 20 years. They lasted quite well but I was doing a gut remodel and there had been some damage from a flood anyway so I replaced. I wanted to add that my old floors were in fine condition except where there had been a flood but there would have been no point in refinishing them because I wanted to extend the wood to the kitchen as well as the bedrooms.

The factory finishes are EXTREMELY strong in a quality floor. Much stronger than a site finished floor. Your choice ef wood and color is going to determine to some degree how long it lasts and how you perceive it. I opted for a natural finish oak so it is very light. Light colored (whether solid or engineered) is easier upkeep because minor scratches won't show up as much and also the dark floors show every speck of dust. With the lighter floors, normal dust doesn't show up as much although obviously I clean regularly. Upkeep is very easy as they are "swept" with a microfiber type of broom and every week I use the specific wood cleaner to clean them. I think that a Roomba or other type of robotic vacuum would be a great idea because you can set it and it would just sweep for you.

I didn't want my floors to be the star of my house as I have some beautiful Chinese Art Deco rugs which are the stars and a lovely Karastan Kirman in the master bedroom. However, there are people who want to have wood floors that are more "trendy". For example, wide plank floors are considered to be very fashionable - and when I researched my flooring choices, engineered floors are actually better if you want the wide plank look because they are less likely to warp or cup.

Engineered wood comes in very different quality levels. The top layer is called the wear layer. This is the wood that you see. Depending on the thickness of the wear layer, you can have them refinished - I.e. sanded and stained X number of times. I went with a floor with moderate wear layer and theoretically it can be refinished two or three times. I would never have them refinished though because logistically I wouldn't be able to move all my furniture out and move out of my condo Smile I was much more interested in making sure that the finish was durable - however as in most things, a better wear layer also means the finish is better and more durable.

Good quality wood flooring is not inexpensive but neither is good quality vinyl and - at least in my opinion - there is no comparison. Maybe for a basement that is used for kids play room but not for living areas.

My floor is a Mirage floor. It is a Canadian company and the wear layer is reasonably thick and their finish is very durable. It has a 35 year guarantee on the finish and a lifetime structural warranty. I would imagine there are some disclaimers but I had researched a lot and this company got very good reviews for quality. Also, it is NOT a Chinese company. I am not totally prejudiced against Chinese brands but they are notorious for using poor quality and potentially dangerous chemicals in their flooring.

I would say my flooring choice was a Honda - not the cheapest but not the most expensive and good quality for the price point. Avoid at all costs places like Lumber Liquidator and even the big box stores as they carry inferior products at deceptively low prices with very thin wear layers and inferior not so durable finishes.

Also cheaper wood floors don't have long plank lengths as they are using cheaper wood from the sawmills. A nicely done wood floor will have longer planks interspersed with medium planks. Also the same wood species will look better in a better quality floor which uses better wood. For example, better wood will have fewer knots and blemishes. My floor is red oak and I opted for the slightly more expensive one because it had fewer knots and was less grainy. I was considering white oak but I had a lot of white oak already in my kitchen and built ins so I liked the contrast of the red oak better. But white oak is considered a "trendier" choice than red oak. And there are also other lovely choices - maple is an extremely "quiet" wood for example.

Here is a link to Mirage Floors - even if you don't buy a Mirage floor, there is useful information and you can also see pictures of different types of wood flooring - styles and plank widths etc.

https://www.miragefloors.com/en-us/
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Sebastian




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, Feb 21 2020, 2:39 pm
Luxury vinyl tile is scratch resistant and inexpensive. It also looks nice
I would go with that
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amother
Taupe


 

Post Fri, Feb 21 2020, 2:56 pm
We installed luxury vinyl tile in kitchen and playroom - love love love
We had hardwood floors in the rest of the house so we left it but I don't enjoy cleaning it at all.
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meme6




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, Feb 21 2020, 4:52 pm
I have wood and I hate them!! They are like furniture everything scratches them and then they look horrid if I ever build or have a options of flooring I would do the vinyl that looks like wood or tiles
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amother
Blue


 

Post Fri, Feb 21 2020, 5:10 pm
I have a treated wood floor in my dining room also because of radiant heat. My husband hates the floor and wants to rip it out. You can get tile floors perfectly level which you can't get with the treated wood, and the wood does scratch. We have tile in the rest of the house, and I love it with radiant heat.

My husband is a professional and a perfectionist and notices the slightest imperfections which most people wouldn't.
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amother
Chartreuse


 

Post Sat, Feb 22 2020, 6:41 pm
amother [ Mistyrose ] wrote:


My floor is a Mirage floor. It is a Canadian company and the wear layer is reasonably thick and their finish is very durable.
Maple is an extremely "quiet" wood for example.

I got a Mirage maple engineered wood floor a year and a half ago. It's gorgeous, but I'm very disappointed in the quality. It's full of dings, and doesn't get very heavy use. The Mirage customer service people say that it's to be expected.
Is yours holding up quite well?
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amother
Floralwhite


 

Post Sat, Feb 22 2020, 7:31 pm
I put ceramic tile in my living room , dining room, kitchen and family room. The bedrooms have wood.
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amother
Mistyrose


 

Post Sat, Feb 22 2020, 9:39 pm
amother [ Chartreuse ] wrote:
I got a Mirage maple engineered wood floor a year and a half ago. It's gorgeous, but I'm very disappointed in the quality. It's full of dings, and doesn't get very heavy use. The Mirage customer service people say that it's to be expected.
Is yours holding up quite well?


Mine hasn't had any problems and it's been in for about the same time.

Do you know what is causing the dings? Are people dropping stuff on the floors? Are they being scratched from chairs or furniture scraping them. In my experience woman's heels are extremely hard on floors because of the amount of pressure - my previous floor had a few dents I know were from heels.
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amother
Chartreuse


 

Post Sat, Feb 22 2020, 10:12 pm
amother [ Mistyrose ] wrote:
Are people dropping stuff on the floors? Are they being scratched from chairs or furniture scraping them. In my experience woman's heels are extremely hard on floors


Probably people dropping things - no heels here. I just decided to ignore the dings and enjoy the wood. Glad yours are OK!
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amother
Mistyrose


 

Post Sat, Feb 22 2020, 10:15 pm
amother [ Chartreuse ] wrote:
Probably people dropping things - no heels here. I just decided to ignore the dings and enjoy the wood. Glad yours are OK!


The first dings are the hardest Very Happy

Of course my eye sight isn't the greatest so I could have dings and just not be seeing them. LOL
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amother
Chartreuse


 

Post Sat, Feb 22 2020, 10:19 pm
amother [ Mistyrose ] wrote:
The first dings are the hardest Very Happy


So true! I tell myself that if I lived in a stately home there would be plenty of dings! LOL
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amother
Mistyrose


 

Post Sat, Feb 22 2020, 10:38 pm
amother [ Chartreuse ] wrote:
So true! I tell myself that if I lived in a stately home there would be plenty of dings! LOL


Then it’s shabby chic LOL
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amother
Chartreuse


 

Post Sat, Feb 22 2020, 10:58 pm
amother [ Mistyrose ] wrote:
Then it’s shabby chic LOL

That's it! Now I feel so much better. Laugh LOL
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amother
OP


 

Post Sat, Feb 22 2020, 11:41 pm
Thanks so much for all of the responses! Wondering if anyone has luxury vinyl and isn't happy with it? Are some brands better than others?
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