Engineered Oak Hardwood flooring...

[The Henchman]

I'm considering installing 150 sq feet of engineered hardwood flooring in our soon to be office. I was surprised to learn that Engineered wood is pricier than solid. However the sub floor is concrete and I've no choice but to have a floating floor.

Two questions: Is red oak durable enuf. I'm not an oak fan but I always thot that white oak was stronger than white. The reason I'm considering red oak is cause they are selling at a local place for 3.49 a sq foot and underlayment is .35 a square foot (Southern Ontario). They have about 12 different stains.

By comparison I looked at home depot and all their oak and ash and birch is about 5.00 and up a sq foot with most around 6.99.

Would love to have American or Canadian ash but the price is too high.

Secondly, does "click" eng. hardwood really mean just click or is it recommended to glue?? Anyone have experiences on click together flooring they can help me with?

Thanks again.

[Ed Pawlowski]

The finish of most engineered wood is far superior to the poly finish on a regular hardwood floor done in house. They are very durable and most of the better brands have extensive warranty on them. They are also stable dimensionally. The red oak is only the top layer. Other woods may be used on the plied beneath it. Given the durability of the finish, the wood will probably never see any wear.

I don't have any experience with the click stuff. I do have the wood in a couple of rooms and hallway and it still looks great after five or six years. I'm eventually going to do more of the house as flooring needs to be replaced.

[The Henchman]

I don't have any experience with the click stuff. I do have the wood in a couple of rooms and hallway and it still looks great after five or six years. I'm eventually going to do more of the house as flooring needs to be replaced.

----------

There are two types of engineered wood: plywood type and high density fibre type at least that are available here. The plywood seems to be 40% more in price but offerers a thicker veneer. Anyone with experience on HDF hardwood?

[Iowna Uass]

I did 600 ft of basement in 8 mm HDF "birch" finish from home despot. It was a loss leader @ 90 cents per sq ft. This is in Winnipeg. The flooring was made in Austria, I heard that you should stay away from the asian made stuff. The type is click lock, the only time they said to glue was on funky fittings or repairs, otherwise it's click lock all the way. Dimensions were

7 in wide by 36 in long. I used superseal dimpled underlayment on the concrete, followed by a layer of thin foam, then the floor. Superseal and foam were both taped with tuck tape.

No issues in the 3 years since it was done.