Anyone know anything about floors?

[glocke]

I recently had a flood in my house, and insurance is paying for a new floor...Hardwood cost about the same as the PErgo that was in there before, and I am trying to decide which I want..
 
Anyone have any suggestions?  Pros and cons of laminate vs hardwood?

[olieoliver]

I have Pergo in my house now and had real hard wood in my old house. I was talked into the Pergo by the installer. He said the Pergo keeps a new finish look forever where real wood will fade after time. This may be true(and looks to be so with my floor)but if I were to do it all over again I'd go with real wood. Pergo dents and scratches too easy. Real wood will scratch but they can be removed, not so on Pergo. Real wood is a lot harder to dent to.  
Just my 2 cents worth.

[glocke]

I was told the same thing about pergo also..another thing to consider is that this will be going in over a concrete slab.

[keith_h]

I've only seen Pergo so can't comment on durabilty   but I prefer hardwood. Have you considered bamboo or cork? I'm looking at these for a future all purpose and exercise rooms. The bamboo is quite durable and a fast growing renewable resource.  
 
Keith

[olieoliver]

Parkay is another option, pretty durable but I still think real Hard-Wood floors just can't be beat.

[jorge_s]

This is also my own two cents worth.  After flooding from Katrina I found weeds growing from underneath my laminate flooring.  I decided to install ceramic tile so if I ever flood again hopefully I will just need to mop.

[bob]

My kitchen was remodeled this summer, and I chose bamboo. This is the first time I've ever had a wood floor, and it's been in place for just about two months, so I can't really make any comparisons or comment on long term behavior, but so far I'm delighted.
 
My choices were limited, since I needed a floating installation (over concrete slab). Aside from some of the incidental considerations - things like appearance, cost, maybe environmental concerns - I did spend some time looking into durability and maintenance.
 
As for how hard it is to scratch or dent, much of that depends on the hardness of the wood itself, though the finish matters a little as well. This bamboo stuff turns out to be harder (by Rockwell tests) than the vast majority of true hardwoods.
 
It also seems pretty clear that pre-finished flooring (whatever the wood) is going to be much more durable, and close to maintenance free, compared to applying a finish on-site. Being able to apply and cure the finish in carefully controlled factory conditions is a big plus (not to mention that you get to skip the sanding and volatile chemicals in your house...).
 
Regarding bamboo specifically, there are a lot of manufacturers out there today, and quality varies quite a bit, probably even more than price, so I spent some time looking at actual samples before choosing one.
 
Anyway, I like the stuff for a lot of reasons, not least of which is that I happen to think it looks great. I do have a real fondness for natural wood, and if I had an older traditional house it might have been a more difficult decision, but I'm pretty impressed with some of this engineered stuff.

[811952]

I've got carmelized (brown-ish) bamboo in my log home and like it.  The Pergo will undergo only a small number of sanding/refinishing cycles, whereas solid hardwood or bamboo can have gouges and such sanded out without exposing plys below.  As it was presented to me, if you plan on selling/moving soon, then go with Pergo, but if you plan on staying a long time go with hardwood or bamboo.  If you anticipate more flooding, then ceramic tile might be the answer.  Bamboo is more dimensionally stable than hardwood, and will survive some moisture if it isn't allowed to stay wet for too terribly long (it has a high glue content and doesn't have anywhere to absorb much moisture).  Hardwood will swell a lot once moisture penetrates the finish, and Pergo will simply fall apart.
 
John

[dela217]

I am with Jorge on this one too.
 
I am putting down a laminate floor (Pergo) in my home office right now.  I am putting it down because this particular type has a lifetime warranty.  There will be rolling office chairs in there and I need something seamless and tough.  Otherwise I would have went with ceramic.  
 
But....
 
I had real wood maple floors installed throughout my entire home before Katrina.  After the flood, I ended up changing it out and am going to  put in the exact same floor.  I could have just cleaned it as it did not show any damage.  But I just wanted to remove all the possibilities of recurring mold.  
 
Definately go with the real wood.  It is very attractive and can be refinished.  Even what they call engineered  wood is nice and also can be refinished 20 years down the line if it is showing wear.  It is a real wood veneer over pressed wood or MDF.  The engineered wood is quite sturdy and since it is multiple laminates, resists warpage do to weather conditions.  Just like an Alembic neck.  There is probably less dead spots with this type of floor too. Just kidding.
 
Just for more Alembic content, I think I should mention this: I found a Padauk hardwood floor that is just drop dead gorgeous. There are as may choices in floors as there are in the custom quote generator on this site. But I am still going back with the maple I had.  There was lots of flame and birds eye in the maple and reminded me of one of my basses that Alembic made for me.  If you want the most figuring and flame go with the Anderson brand.  That is what I have found anyway.
 
Being that it is going over a concrete slab makes it that much easier for you to do.  It is a simple matter of getting the type that interlocks and just glue it down to the slab.  The only problem is that you have to make sure the slab is completely level for it to come out nice.  I can give full instructions on how to do this if you want to contact me off line.  Piece of cake, and saves big bucks from having someone do it for you.  LOTS of hard work though.  Having done it, I will have someone else do it for me.
 
Michael

[glocke]

well, at the most I plan on being in this house for another 5 years max....I like the idea of hardwood for the resale value (since I am on a slab i will have to be engineered hardwood)...I guess I'll just have to look at more samples...

[811952]

One tip if you install yourself:  use duct tape to hold it in place while you work.  After you lay a dozen or so rows, it can be difficult to keep it from swimming in all different directions.  A couple of strips of duct tape across all the rows will hold it all in place nicely until the glue sets.  Bostich's Best is great glue...
 
John

[lbpesq]

Greg:
 
My drummer and his partner own a well established flooring company.  I'll ask him tonight at rehearsal re: pergo v. hardwood and report back.  My own opinion is to get the cocobolo with vermilion lams and LEDs at all the thresholds!  LOL
 
Bill, tgo

[cozmik_cowboy]

One thing to keep in mind with the laminate is that while the finish is, as noted, applied in a factory setting, it is applied to each piece - any liquid that hits it has the possiblity of seeping into the laminate.  This is not a good thing.  On natural hardwood, the finish is continuous on top of the seams, protecting the integrity of the seal.  Plus, cheap laminate looks like cheap laminate, while expensive laminate looks like expensive laminate.  Wood looks like wood.  The last house we owned, Senior Management wanted the Nixon-era vinyl out of the kitchen, and over my protestations bought laminate for me to put down.  When I pulled up the vinyl, I found 2 wide tongue-in-groove maple that had been put down in 1874.  The laminate went back and was replaced by a floor sander.  It had nail holes and water damage that wouldn't sand out, the end result of which was that it looked like a really old Tele neck, only without the twist.  Took a ton of sweat and profanity, but it was definitely worth it.  Man, I hated to sell that house!  Go with the wood.

[glocke]

Thanks for all of the advice guys!  im getting some more esitmates for the engineered hardwood...it sure does look better than the laminate (which actually did not look that bad).

[alembic76407]

I went with ceramic tile in my whole house (except the bedrooms) I LOVE IT !!!!
 
David T