Hardwood Floors?

[MsProudSooner]

My daughter is building a house in the DFW area.  They are having some sort of distressed wood floors put in.  I don't know the exact name but that is basically what they are.  They have a bulldog and have been told these are the best type of wood floors to get in their situation.

[Wingnut]

When we bought our house, we looked into laminate floors. The best brand laminate floor I found was Armstrong. The display I saw had a glass of water glued to the floor so the water was on the floor side. They were basically saying that their joint was watertight, apparently when done correctly. After looking at about all that were available at the time, about 9 years ago, that was the brand I would have gone with. We didn't have the money to do it then, but we may do it in the near future.
As for the woodgrain coming off, I don't see how. The grain is just printed paper with a mineral, scratch-resistant, coating over it. You would have to go through that to get to the "grain". They sure look good though!

[Wilbur]

Anyone had dealings with cork floors?  I've been doing some research and reading good things about it.  Installs like wood floors but has acoustics more like carpet (plus the green people like it because cork is green friendly).

Was looking at installing it myself.

[cannon_fodder]

They have some samples at Lowes that I looked at.  It certainly is an INTERESTING look, but I'm not convinced I like it.  Probably just new and different, but it seems clutter because of the different texture patterns but it is the "in" thing right now.  And a quick abuse test with fingernails yielded scratches.  And... it was expensive.  I'm really not trying to dissuade you since I have no real experience, just sharing the little that I know.

It's supposed to be very durable, but I just dont see it.

[jne]

Have you looked at Bamboo?

[Conan71]

The house I live in now has original hardwoods (built around 1930).  I like the character.  They are a little chilly on cold days, but anyone who lives in 70+ year old house doesn't have practicality as a first priority. []

And relating to what another poster said, my mother did not have a wood substrate either, it's sort of a foamish pad they rolled out.  They don't glue it down, it "floats" and is held in place ostensibly by friction and 1/4 round trim.

[Steve]

quote:Originally posted by Wilbur

Anyone had dealings with cork floors?  I've been doing some research and reading good things about it.  Installs like wood floors but has acoustics more like carpet (plus the green people like it because cork is green friendly).

Was looking at installing it myself.

I was in a house in my neighborhood recently that had cork tile installed.  I have heard installation can be tricky.  Inperfections in the subfloor surface can transfer over time to the cork surface (rough spots, slab cracks, etc.) and mar the finished floor surface.  True, cork is a renewable resource, harvested from trees that regenerate the cork bark in about 7 years.

My impression was that it was a very nice looking floor, and very soft underfoot.  (The cork tiles were installed on a concrete slab.)  Very cushiony and luxurious feel.  So much so, that I would think the cork would be prone to denting or damage from stilleto heel shoes!  Ladies, leave your shoes at the door!

One caveat - Cork is very prone to sun fade.  If you put cork in a room that is exposed to direct sunlight, rearrange your furniture frequently so the floors fade evenly!  Within just a few months, the cork can fade noticeably if exposed to directly sunlight.  Sunlight doesn't damage the durability of cork, but changes the cosmetic appearance drastically.  Perhaps there are sealers or wax finishes available that can mitigate sun fade.

[Steve]

quote:Originally posted by waterboy

quote:Originally posted by inteller

quote:Originally posted by Steve

Just my opinions:

I live in a Tulsa subdivision built in the early 1950s with the then innovative concrete slab foundations, and most homes were built with 9" square natural oak wood block tile flooring, glued directly to the concrete slab.

I am one of the lucky ones; I still have most of my original 9" oak wood block floors and after 2 refinishes over the past 50 years, they still look fabulous.

I hate carpeting; I think it is just a dust and dirt magnet.  Hard surface flooring is much more durable and sanitary.  The few homes I have seen in my neighborhood that have resurfaced/stained concrete slab for the finished floor just look unfinished and unatractive to me.

I don't much care for laminates either.  If cost is your major consideration, then wood-look laminates may be your best choice, if you don't plan to live in the house for the long haul.  In my opinion, nothing can replace the beauty and long-term livability of true wood plank or wood tile floors.  I had my 9" oak wood tile flooring refinished when I bought my house in 1987, with 3 coats of satin urethane.  I have never had to do a thing to them but a weekly vacuum and occasional damp mop since then, and they still look as good as they did when I first moved in 20 years ago.  They have held up splendidly.

The natural oak wood block floors in my house are 53 years old, last refinished 20 years ago and still look brand new.  If durability is your goal, stick to the natural products.

nothing beats real wood floors....NOTHING.

Agreed. I love my wood floors. Some admonitions though. Your dogs will scratch both wood or pergo floors. Consider it character. People pay extra for it.

Beware of advice that wood floors must have a substrate of wood. Not true. Like Steve, I have seen them laid over concrete with a thin foam type pad in between. If you had carpet, the doors and mopboard trim are already set high.

Lastly, and maybe important for young kids as they are on the floor more. Check out the level of formaldehyde or other toxic chemicals used in the pergo that slowly release into the air. Many people are allergic and it is related to cancer.

Animals will scratch wood or laminate, but wood can be refinished easily.  If laminates are damaged, they must be replaced, right?

The 9" oak tile floors in my home were newly  installed in late 1954, glued directly to the concrete slab.  There is no underlayment of foam or such; not floating, but directly glued to the slab.  They were glued to the concrete with a black mastik; a neighbor of mine had the mastik substance check for asbestos and hazardous materials, and no asbestos was present.

In the 1950s-1960s, the 9" wood block floors such as I have were quite popular.  (These are not parquet-type tiles, but solid 9" squares of oak veneer.)  Over the years, they have disappeared from the retailers.  The last time I saw these tiles was in the early 1980s, at C&C Tile on Harvard and they were a product of Bruce Flooring.  I haven't seen them in any Tulsa flooring store since then.  I would like to replace the 1960s red quarry tile in my entry foyer with the original look wood block.  Are there any retailers in the U.S. that still sell this type of 9" wood block tile?

[cannon_fodder]

Everything I have read says that a hardwood floor has to be installed over either plywood or sleepers if installing on a slab.  I'm not sure that will work in my house without adjusting door frames.  A step I am loath to take.  We could do "engineered" hardwood floors - which are plywood with only the top layer being the good board.

I wish I could easily do the "real" hardwood, but then I would be worried about dents and scratches just the same.  I hope to be in this house ~5 years, so I guess I'll just hope these hold up that long.  Damn well better.

Thanks for your advice, its not too late to change my mind but the clock is certainly ticking.  Unless something REALLY changed my mind...  the baseboards are already off and paint is drying on the walls as we speak (ongoing painting for the rest of this week).  I'll do some more reading and keep y'all posted.

[ARGUS]

SAY no TO pERGO AND OTHER LAMINATE FLOORS UNLESS YOU REALLY REALLY WANT THEM...THEY ARE LOUD AND HAVE POOR RESALE VALUE...ACTUALLY A DTREMENT IN TODAYS MARKETPLACE. TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP IS ALL YOU WILL HEAR. PRE-FINISHED T&G FLOORS IS WAHT YOUR LOOKING FOR. OOOPS THAT WAS ALL CAPS. I was not yelling.
hello ex-wife...I know you now read my posts![]

[cannon_fodder]

Well, I got a couple sections of pre-finished engineered wood flooring and laid them out - my dogs owned them in a matter of minutes.  To test them I did the same as with the laminate the threw a ball into the corner where I set it up.  Not only did it scratch, but they were dented/impressed where the dog nails were at.  I understand it can be refinished, but not weekly.

Without the ability to do REAL hardwoods (3/4 plywood + 3/4 board = redo all door frames in my house) we are going with the Pergo.  I enter into this with some trepidation now.  Nonetheless, I march on.

If anyone cares... most our walls will now be Desert Sand (think light tan), the accent wall in our bedroom is light blue-grey, in the main area the large uninterrupted wall is Kurt Vonnegut red (picked the color from the cover of Slaughter House 5, not because of the book... just color searching http://thebookblogger.com/sfbc/images/Slaughterhouse.jpg, color of the red V), and in the entry way the accent wall is TU Gold (kind of a Southwest Yellow color really).

I spent hours painting it this week, you spent 30 seconds reading about.  Think about how bad you feel, now imagine me.