I am building a new house, and I have two large dogs. The house is a $200k smaller home with very nice appliances, granite counter tops, etc. Anyways, I have two large dogs who have scratched up the hardwood(not terribly) in my condo, so I am thinking about putting in the engineered flooring. I have been to lumber wholesalers, and it isn't really much cheaper than hardwood, but it is my understanding that it is much more durable. It seems to look and feel like hardwood, and I have heard that the engineered floors have come a long way, but I'm paranoid that it's going to look cheap. Would putting in the engineered flooring be a mistake?
Engineered flooring ERK. Sorry, but it makes me so uneasy that I feel nauseous. At least, with Hardwood, if it needs sanding or refinishing you can do it multiple times which you just can't with a laminated product. I've just seen an engineered floor that was put in last year that has lifted in places during some humid weather ...kind looks like it's billowing. It's just a personal opinion but if you have real wooden floors you should cherish them and all their faults ....mmmmm Wood
Both engineered hardwood and bamboo are about the same for maintenance and damage resistance. Get the one you like the best. Bamboo is a product of China so look out for formaldehyde ( adding formaldehyde to the glue that binds the bamboo together makes it cheaper to make) and other chemicals. So for bamboo do not buy the cheapest, do not buy less than 1/2 thick. The thin bamboos are a problem from the start. If using engineered hardwood look for a wood grown in North America and produced in the USA. Mannington makes a lot of USA made hardwood. A good engineered wood can last for 75 to 100 years and may out last most of today's homes. The issue of your dog is only important if it wets a lot in the home. Can be an issue for bamboo or hardwood. If the pet does wet in the house, post the Information and I will give you more ideas.
I would go with conventional hardwood floors since they can be refinished many times where as the engineered flooring can only be refinished once or twice. Laminate can't be refinished at all and once it is scratched you are stuck with the scratches. My son has engineered flooring in his house and is considering having it refinished. The big concern is the skill of the re-finisher. A little too much sanding and you are through the top lay and into the not so attractive lower plies. As a matter of interest we went through this same set of questions several years ago when we built our current house. We finally chose ceramic tile for the whole first floor. We put down area rugs to make it more attractive and easier to walk in certain areas. We have not found all of the tales about ceramic tile to be true. It is not extra cold, things don't break more easily on the tile and with the area rugs you get plenty of color and they are much easier to either replace or have cleaned.
There is a difference between engineered flooring and laminate. Stay away from laminate. For engineered flooring look for ones that at least 5/8 inch. This will provide you with the ability to refinish in the event of a small flaw or scratch. Overall, hardwood flooring is still the best option if you suspect the floor will have a hard life. For instance, houses with dogs and children should consider hardwood flooring over engineered floors. As a single person I chose engineered flooring and tile. Laminate is just a paper sticker over plywood. It is just plain icky.
Engineered woods have their place but in comparison to real hard wood they don t come as close. If fact if either flooring was and aluminum oxide finish , both are very hard to refinish so a real hard wood you can resand a bit more to be able to refinish them. Aluminum Oxide is one of the toughest finishes in a pre finished hard wood.Not available in finished on site applications. You have to nice of home to put in a good quality laminate which will hold up to the dogs. Where the cheap laminates won t.. Get the hardwood and think maybe of getting a harder species with multiple coats or urethane if your doing finished on site. Any questions you can e mail me through my avatar..GL
