On Saturday I was watching a repeat episode of This Old House. This was there project up in MA that would be a rather expensive resale for the show. This episode happen to highlight on a very dark wood flooring for a room and that flooring was engineered, not conventional.
I am not sure which I was more amazed with in that this was This Old House, or the fact that an expensive house is using non-conventional wood products as a showpiece dark wood flooring.
Up until now I always associated solid hardwood flooring as being a sign of ‘expense’ and ‘luxury’. I always took ‘engineered’ flooring to mean ‘nice, but at a cost savings’ for us not-so-rich folks.
What has been everyone’s impression of using engineered flooring instead of conventional solid hardwood flooring? I loved the final appearance, but I had reservations about future wear & repair conditions and limitations.
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I think they get most of what they use as "donations", or rather the product is supplied free and the show acts an infomercial. I've seen their shows from time to time and for the most part they build sound houses but certainly nothing special. I'm in the MA area, in the obscenely expensive metro west area and the luxury/high end builders around here are far beyond any of the stuff on that show.
All engineered wood floors ain't cheap.
http://www.hoskinghardwood.com/showseries.asp?SEL=464&mgLID=83&pg=Kahrs+2+Strip
And they have 1/8" wear layer.
Bill, I didn't mean to put down the product, but rather illustrated my ignorance and preconceived [ignorant] notion. :) I actually like the end result they got (I love dark an reddish colored woods). Everything around me seems to get advertised as solid hardwood is premiere and everything is second.
And this is even more expensive and had 1/4" wear layer.
http://www.hoskinghardwood.com/showseries.asp?SEL=472&mgLID=84&pg=Bruce+%2D+Brazilian+Cherry
Its all relative. I suppose decades ago ceramic tile was considered "budget" by the generations that had always considered natural stone as the norm.
Take a look around.....how many "custom" homes today are being sided with vinyl?
Its all what the consumer expects/demands/can afford.
I still haven`t seen an engineered floor that comes close to a true hardwood.
I`ll never forget the first time I walked into my wifes cousins million dollar home. Hollow core doors throughout, 2 1/4" colonial casings and a white formica kitchen....cabs, doors, countertops....ugh. I couldn`t muster the "wow" the rest of the family expressed, but I smiled none-the-less.
Give em what they want.
J. D. Reynolds
Home Improvements
"I always took 'engineered' flooring to mean 'nice, but at a cost savings' for us not-so-rich folks."
Perhaps some brands of engineered flooring are that way, but the engineered that we looked at for our home cost far more than solid hardwood. Why did we do it? Because it was a below grade installation and engineered is more dimensionally stable. Would we use engineered above grade? No. It's too expensive and generally has fewer refinishes available. There are brands of engineered flooring that have a full quarter inch surface layer (which I believe is all you get in 3/4" hardwood since you run into the tongue eventually), but there were none available in our area.