Anyone bought any hardwood lately?

[BellyUpFish]

Getting ready to build a house and we are reaching hardwood/engineered hardwood flooring..

Just to jumpstart my research, anyone used anything lately they're really happy with?

 

[bczygan]

Are you talking about trim and finish carpentry materials like base, casing, crown molding etc.?

Or are you talking about engineered lumber for structural use?

Bill

 

[BellyUpFish]

Left off some critical info - flooring.

 

[ddawg16]

I'm so tired of oak....it's a nice hard wood....but so tired of it.

I rarely use Pine...just way too soft.

Birch and Poplar are my usual go too woods. Poplar stains well and 'almost' looks like a good hardwood if you get the right pieces. But if I'm going for a nice stained look...Birch....or soft Maple.

I'm building a bar for my pub right now and all of it is out of Mahogany.....not cheap....but some things you can't skimp on.

 

[ddawg16]

Flooring....yea....important point.

We did the upstairs and stairs in bamboo...solid bamboo....love the feel to the bare foot...soft and warm

This is the floor of the wife's walk in closet.



And this is a stair tread I did using the original oak from our house

 

[bczygan]

Maple and walnut:

https://www.google.com/search?q=maple+and+walnut+floor&newwindow=1&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAWoVChMIz8O5kKS5yAIVwnA-Ch24CQhe&biw=1280&bih=579

 

[bczygan]

I don't like the engineered floors, with a "Wear surface layer". Full depth wood flooring for me. None of those floating floor coverings.

For me, wood is for bedrooms and a comfortable gathering room. Kitchens need porcelain tile.

There are Asian hardwoods too.

Bill

 

[csp]

Australian Cypress in my home. Love how it looks and how it wears.

 

[BellyUpFish]

For me, wood is for bedrooms and a comfortable gathering room. Kitchens need porcelain tile.

Yep.

We are doing some sort of tile, leaning towards travertine, in the kitchen. My office, master bedroom and living room will all get hardwood. Bathroom will get tile of some sort. Upstairs is still being debated. Kids rooms might get carpet.

 

[BellyUpFish]

Australian Cypress in my home. Love how it looks and how it wears.

I'll have to look into that.

 

[MDSPHOTO]

We used Brazillian Teak and ordered from Fast Floors online and saved a ton versus Lumber Liquidators for a similar product. This is one of the hardest woods out there and resists scratches well. The dogs have not made a scratch in it, the wife however has found a few ways mark it up.

 

[DekeT]

I prefer good old fashioned 3/4 inch solid wood for my floors. There are lots of other types of hardwood floor systems out there but none will last as long, look as good, or feel as solid under your feet as the original stuff. Whatever species you choose is simply personal preference of the kind of look you want in your place.

 

[B T C]

I used Shaw Montgomery when I built my house a few years ago. It's 3/4" hand scraped red oak. I'm happy with it.

 

[Beaumont67]

We used Brazillian Teak and ordered from Fast Floors online and saved a ton versus Lumber Liquidators for a similar product. This is one of the hardest woods out there and resists scratches well. The dogs have not made a scratch in it, the wife however has found a few ways mark it up.

^^ Beautiful floor job MDSPOTO, and awesome steel railings to basement.

*********************************************************************

I like unfinished Hickory (purchase from Amish Mennonites), and is 41% denser or harder than oak.
- 3/4" thick, all T&G...6" wide planks ranged from 3-8 ft. long / 4.5 to 5' on average
^^ Installed in dining room, living room, and hall way past the bathroom door, plus 3 bedrooms.
I trained one laborer to refinish wood flooring in-house, on our 1963 brick bungalow renovation.
Hardwood 660 sq ft. - sanding (24 hours)/oil stain (2 coats)/oil urethane top coat (3 coats high gloss).

Porcelain tile - from front door hall way, leading into both bathroom & kitchen.

Our floors are dead nuts level and no tapered transition strips needed.
- 3/4" plywood was PL glued & screwed, under 3/8" thick tile portion of flooring
- 3/8" plywood was PL glued & screwed, under 3/4" thick hardwood portion of flooring

PS - Travertine is a lime stone with porous veins, to give it it's random nice color changes.
Give it the dime scratch test - score across the face of a tile / does it scratch easy ?
- we have a Doberman and could not live with the permanent toenail scratches
- instead of natural floor stone, we went with porcelain tile, that doesn't mark

 

[WarDamnEagle]

I prefer hardwood in the kitchen; it's much easier on the feet and holds up just as well there as the other areas. Give me solid hardwood everywhere except the baths.

I agree on the Oak; I get tired of it. I've had it in two houses and pine in two houses. If you can find genuine reclaimed heart pine it is very hard and makes a great floor. "New" pine is too soft. When I build my retirement home I want to use hickory. I love the grain and it is one tough wood.

Our current home has the prefinished oak and as most have said it isn't nearly as nice as solid oak that is finished in the home. Moved recently to a new area and it was the best we could do without building. I didn't see a single home in this area with real hardwood flooring.

 

[BellyUpFish]

We used Brazillian Teak and ordered from Fast Floors online and saved a ton versus Lumber Liquidators for a similar product.

You're not kidding. Their prices are super competitive.

How bad was shipping?

 

[Lassen Forge]

Prettiest floor I ever saw was in a Custom build in the Oakland Hills - they used Cherry, and it was absolutely beautiful. Looked kinda like this...

And I'll second about the "engineered wood floring products" - I've never found one that seems to look consistantly good and/or last.

 

[Gator Fett]

What a timely topic. My wife and I have been all over town trying to find the right flooring for our kitchen remodel. We currently have the typical 2-1/4 wide red oak flooring that was installed as an option in every home in the neighborhood. While it is a nice solid 3/4" board that we could have refinished (as other neighbors have done), we really like the wide plank look and are thinking of tearing it all up and starting over.

Our current top choices are the Millstead Maple Spice from Home Depot:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Millstea...dwood-Flooring-23-sq-ft-case-PF6331/202103116

and the Stone Island Place Maple Handscraped from Lumber Liquidators

http://www.lumberliquidators.com/ll...andscraped-Virginia-Mill-Works-VMSI7/10027688

I can trust HD as a company more than LL from what I've read on-line. But the price from LL is hard to pass up.

 

[WarDamnEagle]

The only issue I would have with those products is that they are prefinished. In order to make them look fit together with no problem they bevel the top edges. That results in grooves between the boards that trap dirt. Some people like that look but it is a different look than laying 3/4" boards and then sanding and finishing them in place. Of course that's a much more difficult task while living in the house with furniture, etc.

You certainly won't get the finish look of that Cherry floor in the post above yours using prefinished materials.

 

[MDSPHOTO]

You're not kidding. Their prices are super competitive.

How bad was shipping?

I just looked at the invoice and we actually used hardwoods4less for the first floor, we used fast floors for the upstairs. It was about $500 to ship 1750 Sqft of of the wood, toe molding and corner round.

 

[theoldwizard1]

Opinions of the "click together", floating bamboo flooring ? Very thin so it can not be sanded and refinished. Goes down fast and looks pretty good.

 

[C2 Turbo]

The only issue I would have with those products is that they are prefinished. In order to make them look fit together with no problem they bevel the top edges. That results in grooves between the boards that trap dirt. Some people like that look but it is a different look than laying 3/4" boards and then sanding and finishing them in place. .

We went with 4" pre-finished Brazilian cherry for our Kitchen/breakfast nook and the adjacent family room.

We didn't like the look of on sight finish not to mention the finish technician dependent is definitely not as durable and as consistent as the factory.

The floors should be done in 2 weeks so will post pictures as soon as they are done.

 

[yaidunno]

I guess I'll be the one to buck the trend here. Went with an engineered floating floor in a high traffic area of the house. It's been in for a year now, and there has yet to be a scratch put in it. The pieces use an actual veneer sheet of oak with some sort of extremely hard coating on top of it. Having lived in 2 houses with "real" finish in place hardwood, I'd be willing to bet that this holds up better. I don't have to worry about the dog running on it, or dropping anything on it. Is it of the same quality of a professionally installed floor? No, lets not kid ourselves. This product was 1/4 of the price and i was able to install it myself. Its worry free, and maintenance free, plus it looks pretty darn good to boot.

 

[BellyUpFish]

We had engineered hardwood in the house we just sold, stuff would dent and scratch if you looked at it funny. Can't remember the brand though.

 

[yaidunno]

We had engineered hardwood in the house we just sold, stuff would dent and scratch if you looked at it funny. Can't remember the brand though.

I put in a product from Bruce. It's coated with an aluminum oxide urethane. I think you'd be pleasantly surprised at its durability. Engineered hardwoods have come a long ways in a short amount of time. It would occasionally emit a cloudy white spark when cutting it with the miter saw. Nothing like cutting metal, but you could tell that you were cutting more than just wood.

I spent many nights researching what would be best for my application. As always, results will vary, but I have no hesitation recommending it, if it meets your needs.

 

[UnionMan]

I just recently built a home for my family and went with a 3/4"x5" White Oak Unfinished Hardwood. My wife likes the idea of reclaimed barn wood floors but my wallet didn't want to pay the $14sqft cost of them. After looking around I found some lumber mills in PA that had what I wanted. A #1 Common grade white oak in a 5" wide plank. I then found a local business chain, Floor and Décor carried products from this supplier since I couldn't ordered direct from them. I placed a order for over 2,000sqft and waited a month or so for it to come in. I installed the unfinished white oak myself and also rented a sander to finish the floor. my father who is a avid wood worker had some buddies that recommend using Waterlox Tung oil to finish my floor since I have dogs and children. They mentions that if I had problems down the road I could sand and spot finish areas if needed. My wife liking the older reclaimed look anyhow made the floor finishing easy. We put down 2 coats of the Waterlox sealer which is a semigloss finish and then put down their Waterlox Satin final coat to give the floor a dull reclaimed look. I am very happy with the turn out. Its help up so far and I personally like the look of the White oak. They're some truly beautiful pieces of wood that make up my floor, with burls and curly boards throughout.

UnionMan

 

[dogan]

In my former life I was a real estate appraiser. I have seen so many types of floors that I cant name them all. The one that stands out to this day was Cork.
It was in the office of a college music professor/composer. He had all 4 walls, ceiling, and floor covered with it. Stuff looked "cool" was almost as soft as carpet, and according to the home owner was very strong.
When he had his Baby grand moved in, it did not leave a mark on the floor.

 

[duneslider]

Here is the deal with wood. There are a lot of variations you can get. You can get engineered with a full wear layer so it can be sanded and refinished multiple times. You can get engineered that is prefinished, or that is unfinished and will be site sanded and finished. You can get solid hard wood in finished or unfinished. Durability gets complicated and is opinion based. If you are concerned about scratches and dents then wood may not be the best choice for you. They will ALL scratch and dent! Prefinished does tend to resist scratches better than site finished wood but it is also glossier and looks beat up quicker than a site finish with a lower luster finish. Red Oak is the standard to compare too it seems. Anything softer is going to show wear quicker, anything harder is going to show wear slower. I just helped a friend refinish his 100 year old pine and it is gorgeous but it is certainly a more "rustic" floor. Cherry, pine, birch, walnut, etc are not kid and pet friendly unless you like the "rustic, worn" look. If you are a shoes off kind of person they will probably be okay.

I have installed it all and I have refinished it all.

Here are some basic questions. How long do you plan to stay in the house, and how fickle are your tastes? In 10 years are you going to want a change in flooring, or will you be moving in that time frame?

I have refinished wood floors that were installed over a 100 years ago and they look good as new when done but how many people really leave a floor in for 100+ years, and how many stay in a house that long?

Solid is the most durable longest lasting choice. Engineered with a full wear layer would be second. Those are the most expensive though and you can consider them "lifetime" floors.

A less expensive laminate (with a real wood top) is not a lifetime floor. You might get 10+ years out of it before the finish is hammered though (depending on your care and use), and with the right equipment you can strip the surface and refinish but I am not a fan of it.

When I built my house about 9 years ago I put in solid oak, sand in place. I have 4 kids and they are pretty hard on the floor (bikes, roller blades, cars, etc.). It is about to where I should probably do a buff and recoat on the floor to bring it back to original luster. However, we got sick of the wood in the kitchen and wanted a change so I just tore the kitchen out and put tile down. We plan a bigger remodel in about 5 years so the rest of the hardwood will come out then and be replaced with a different flavor.

My opinion.
1. Determine how long you plan to keep the floor.
2. Determine the budget.
3. Determine durability needed.
4. Determine the look.

You can find something that will meet all of those needs (most likely).

Just don't buy cheap stuff thinking it will last 25 years cause that's what the box says.

 

[softailgarage]

I agree with tile or something else besides wood in the kitchen and bathrooms and I prefer carpet in the bedrooms. I did a room in pergo a couple of years ago and couldn't stand the way it felt & sounded when walking on it. Have you thought about reclaimed wood? Barnwood, heart pine, oak & chestwood all make for beautiful flooring. Gives the room a rustic, classy feel.

http://vintagetimber.com/reclaimed-wood-flooring.php
http://www.wideplankflooring.com/all-collection-products
http://www.elmwoodreclaimedtimber.com/products/wide-plank-wood-flooring

 

[Brian_WK]

We used Brazillian Teak and ordered from Fast Floors online and saved a ton versus Lumber Liquidators for a similar product. This is one of the hardest woods out there and resists scratches well. The dogs have not made a scratch in it, the wife however has found a few ways mark it up.

What floor? All I see is that railing...

O there it is. Ya it looks good too!

Brian

 

[Fredro Starr]

Anyone have any experience with cabin grade hardwood?

Plan on installing hardwood in the apartment above the garage and it appears there is a lot of value to be had. Understand good techniques are to buy 20% more than needed and/or mix with first quality hardwood.

Thoughts?

 

[Showkey]

I used these guys on fours large home projects:

http://www.launstein.com/launstein_prochoice.html

The last one was a quarter sawn oak with a custom finish that used oilwax finish. Not cheap but superb quality.

In the past I used oil based poly finishes that made touch up or spot renewal almost impossible. The wax oil finish allows any section or part to be renewed. No smell, non toxic, dries quick, wears well, looks great with a slight satin finish. I am done with oil poly and not a fan of water based poly.

 

[C2 Turbo]

Just had pre-finished 4" (very hard to get) Brazilian cherry installed. They are currently installing the cabinets. Pretty happy with the results.

We actually wanted the beveled edges

 

[blacksporty]

I have concrete floors in my house so I had to go with glue down or floating. I have had an engineered hardwood floor made by Mannington in my house for 14 years and it still looks great, 5" planks. Supposed to be able to be refinished, sanding once, screening (don't know what that is) twice.

 

[kwoody51]

We went with all wood look tile on the main floor of our house and bathroom. We wanted wood look but with kids and a potential dog we wanted NO maintenance. Thus far it's been great.

Out last house we had engineered floor - lasted a year before it delaminates and needed to be replace. Replaced it with 3/4" walnut with a reclaimed texture. Nice floor but still got some scratches and dents. The reclaimed finished made them tougher to see.

Thus far after a year in our house and living with the tile it was the right decision. It's been great, looks great and looks the same as the day it was installed.

 

[duneslider]

NO maintenance. NO SUCH THING

Out last house we had engineered floor - lasted a year before it delaminates and needed to be replace. That is a failure and is NOT normal.

Replaced it with 3/4" walnut with a reclaimed texture. Nice floor but still got some scratches and dents. That is because WALNUT is extremely SOFT. Beautiful though.

Thus far after a year in our house and living with the tile it was the right decision. It's been great, looks great and looks the same as the day it was installed. Tile is a good durable choice and a lot of the wood look tiles look fantastic!

Lots of great options out there.