I’d like to know who makes the best engineered wood floor product. It needs to be 5/16″ or less in thickness.
It’ll be placed over subfloor skinned with 1/4″ BC, probably stapled, but could be glued if necessary. The room size is 550 square feet.
I live in Central Texas, and I don’t really want to buy on-line.
Thanks.
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Replies
Define BEST!!!
And the biggest thing you have not even mentioned. What is the money surface that you want.
Flat cut, rotory cut? Speices? Prefinished? Square cut, beveled edges, micro bevel?Why engineered?
And strip, planks, etc.
Edited 10/22/2004 10:25 am ET by Bill Hartmann
Maple or light oak, pre-finished, square cut planks. $4-6.00 square foot. Glue or staple. 5-7/16", ply back or solid. No MDF. +/- 550 sq. ft.
Need manufacturers and availability in Central Texas.
Thanks.
bill is right, there is no "best" lot of well made product out there, but if you're going over a sound subfloor, skip the bc skin, put that money into a 3/4" solid wood floor that can be refinished in the future engineered products aren't cheap, neither is the ply real wood floor, finished or unfinished will be more cost effective, have higher resale value you mention has to be 5/16" or thinner if height is that critical, use a 1/2" solid product will save you 1/16" vs. the 1/4 ply plus 5/16 engineered; still be able to refinish it and will be stronger faster and cheaper to install than original plan
Subfloor is uneven 3/4" MDF. Skinning is necessary as I don't want to put leveling mastic down on MDF. Will skin then use the mastic on the 1/4". then staple or glue the floor to the finished surface.
Thanks.
i follow you the mdf wouldn't be a suitable nail base for the hardwood anyway one of those times engineered is worth it's weight in gold all of the engineered i've seen has been well made, no quality issues like delam etc. might look for one w the thicker 1/8" veneer local flooring place should be the best bet, can see what you're buying
We're looking for this stuff too, and I agree that there are a million different varieties out there. But, if someone has a good experience or a bad experience, I would love to hear about it. We are installing engineered hardwood over gypcrete, so engineered is a must. We installed engineered in our old house and it looked great. There wasn't a single gap that developed EVER over the time we lived there (6 years). I hate bevels. Anyone have a suggestion on a floor? I mean, I could spend the rest of my life looking all over Denver and Boulder, or I could try to narrow down my choices. I always appreciate a good tip! I should mention that our old floor was made by Hartco. It looked pretty good, but the wear layer was paper thin. I should see if they have improved it. Thanks for starting this thread!Paula
Edited 10/22/2004 4:56 pm ET by Paula
i've used the harris tarkett longstrip nice product, good veneer and finish fit nice, but is a little pricey, think about $8.sf
Thanks Ed,Just looked some up on the internet and it looks nice. I'll try to find some in person.It looks like a lot of this stuff is 7.5" wide. Is that because it is a 2-strip product?
Edited 10/22/2004 5:29 pm ET by Paula
all of the engineered i've seen is wider panels, but have heard there are skinnier ones out there they can mimic 2 1/4" strip flooring, so you'll see three "planks" on the face you don't have to spend that much, either lot of decent product out there for less $
My dad installed engineered glue down wood and i'm not very impressed. The finish has worn off and i just don't think it looks that good. The rest of the house has 40 year old oak 3/4 inch oak traditional flooring and it still looks like new.
Just one data point, but i'm not sold on the claim that the finish is so much better.
There are plenty of companies that make 'strip' engineered wood floors. Lauzon, WFI, and Mannington are a few. Kahrs also offers some single strip engineered wood floors, but the species are limited compared to their other offerings. These don't have 3 strips on the face, they have just one strip per piece.
Tom,
On a budget, Bruce "Natural Reflections" pre-finished, solid plank, square edge 5/16" strip isn't all that bad at just over $4.00 sq/ft. It doesn't look like site finished 3/4 t&g however.
It does staple down pretty quick though. If you glue it down at the same time, it does make the floor more ridged and prevents the seems from opening up when the seasons get dry.
WSJ
No right answer without precise criterion; however, Ikea (I assume you have Ikea there) sell an engineered floor product that's surprising good value.
Phill Giles
The Unionville Woodwright
Unionville, Ontario
I checked both the US and Canadain Ikea websites and they don't show any engineered wood flooring.
What is your motive for this ? Just to annoy me ?
Look down this page and you'll see that the Pittsburgh store even runs seminars on installation
http://www.ikea-usa.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/IkeaNearYouView?storeId=12&langId=-1&StoreName=pittsburgh
and a couple of entries in their product database.
http://www.ikea-usa.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?catalogId=10101&storeId=12&langId=-1&categoryId=12401&cattype=sub&parentCats=10112*12401&chapterId=13708
http://www.ikea-usa.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10101&storeId=12&productId=47050&langId=-1&parentCats=10112*12401.
Phill Giles
The Unionville Woodwright
Unionville, Ontario
If you have read the product descriptions then you would see that I was right.
"Main parts: Fiberboard, High pressure laminate"
And you don't think that's an engineered floor ?.
Phill Giles
The Unionville Woodwright
Unionville, Ontario
A) the thread is about engineered WOOD floor.
B) By common trade usage the Ikea floors are not engineered flooring, the are laminated flooring.
alright, I have to ask....why did you use MDF for a subfloor? I mean I can see it's a nice level material, but you said that it didn't end up level and you're going to put 1/4" over the top and then skim coat it? MDF won't hold the nails/staples very well either- Just wondering why MDF for this install?"If God didn't want me to wear this Led Zeppelin shirt everyday he wouldn't have made them rock out so hard"
Didn't put it down. It's an existing floor in a manufactured house. I'll use screws to put the 1/4" BC down so there's no chance of popping.
might consider gluing the ply w pl400 before fastening keep a staple gun available in case the screws tend to spin but don't catch
"And you don't think that's an engineered floor ? "
I don't think so either. When I was shopping for floors those fell into the category of 'laminate', in order to be 'engineered' they need a real wood show surface.
Another alternative to consider:
Bamboo.
give a look at the BR 111 website to see what all they have.
I installed about 1500ft sq of their 5/16th inch stuff ... amendoim.
it was a wider plank ... but it was some of the "nicest" stuff I've ever laid.
seemed to be manufacturered to a pretty high tolerance.
in this case ... it was edge glued over concrete.
just took a quick look at the site to make sure I had the www right ....
they have a new engineered product out too.
http://www.br111.com
Jeff
Advatech......cept you have to paint the type of grain on it you like......or Pergo.....yeeeeee gad!!
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