Hardwood flooring dilemma

[PVK]

We are closing on a house and want to change the flooring. Also, we have a baby coming. We love hard wood flooring and just got a flooring contractor to take a look. Here is what we understood:

Laminate: we don't even want to consider. So, won't spend time on that.

Engineered Hardwood Floors: Cannot refinish more than 2-3 times. Moisture can get between the various layers loosenning the fllor top layers. We have 2 options with the shoe moulding, either we remove shoe moldng and reinstall it after the flooring is done (expensive option) or put a 3/4 moulding(I forget the name) between the floor and the existing shoe moulding. With the second option it might not look too good and also the hieght of the moulding will be considerably reduced.

Solid Hardwood Prefinished: He told us about the bevel and how that could catch dirt and and deteriorate. We would have teh sam shoe moulding dilemma.

Solid Hardwood Unfinshed: Said we do not have to remove show moulding. edges will not be bevelled, so probem with dirst might not exist. 8-9 refinishings are possible.

Now we are even more confused what to do. Also, his rates aren't a whole lot cheaper than HOme Depot or Lowes. Please let me know if you have been through this and what decision you took and why.

Thanks.

[m Ransley]

Lowes and HD pay as little as they can and use maybe the guy you talked to. ck refrences, unfinished wood or finished

[Art]

The finish on the prefinished hardwood last longer than what a finishing guys does. If you are above grade go with the solid prefinished. As far as bevels you can pay extra to avoid bevels... they sell different grades.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Agree. It has a place in certain homes. It is not wood though.

Check

for some informationon finishes. It will last many years, longer than traditional hardwood floor finishes. As for moisture, that depends on the installation and type of flooring. Overall, it is not a big deal. Maybe a consideration in a bathroom. Some are flush fit, no bevel or a micro bevel.

It is not expensive. You take it out and mark each pice as to location. While th florr is being installoed, you clean it and refinish if needed. Replace after the job is done. Cost: Less than $20 for a Cat's Paw and some nails.

Not needed. Yes, it would not look right

I'd not consider it.

More re-finishes will be needed compared to engineered wood and the factory finish. The molding should be removed anyway. If not, it will look rather out of place, IMO. Cheap cop out

This method offers a very good selection of woods and finishes though. Investigate more and look for a top notch installer with good references.

Look for another person. Cheap rates are often a cheap job. Forget HD and Lowes, they hire out to cheap subs, not always the best quality. Visit a couple of flooring or home decor stores for better selection and better advice. You have to live with your decision for many years, so don't try to save $100 and get a second rate job. Ed [e-mail]

[jtees4]

I just went through a similar dillemma. I was 100% against the bevelled edge floor. Anyway, we ended up with the bevel and it is no problem in terms of looks or dirt. I am so glad we ended up making this choice. My problem with the ngineered floor was that one section ended where there was no molding and no wall (along a staircase) and therefore there was no way to end the engineered floor. Even if I put something against it, it would need the space for movement, hard to explain, but it couldn't work there. I am sooo happy with the decision so far, and don't forget, when you eventually sand the first time, you will lose the beval anyway. Good luck.

NEVER FORGET!!!

[Edwin Pawlowski]

With a little ingenuity, I'll bet there is a trim strip. It can cap the top and leave room for movement. Mine ends at a doorway and I put a strip. None made exactly how you want? A tablesaw can fix that. Ed

[Steve B.]

I like the engineered hardwoods myself. Have it in two rooms and the finish seems much more durable than previous real wood floors were.

Whatever you do remove the moldings, install the floor, and reinstall the moldings. I didn't do it in one room and it just makes the whole room look "cheap" to me. In the second room we removed all the moldings, cut the sheetrock out at the bottom for plenty of expnasion room then after we were done put the moldings back in again. Looks

100X better than the other room.

Steve B.

[Alan]

You can get it with bevel that is almost unnoticeable and I have never had any problem whatsoever with dirt. With proper care, it should last 25 years or more. Shoe moulding should always be removed to do a proper job for any type of flooring..

Can't get as hard a finish as prefinished, but does look very good. Some of the floors in this house are 5/16 inch oak and have been refinished once after 33 years mainly because the original owner did not protect them from feet of furniture.

This is an excellent do-it-yourself job. With the proper tools, even unfinished is easy. With prefinished, it is even easier.

[me6]

Im curious.....why not?

[jtees4]

You're right. I actually got to a point where I figured out a piece for my problem, BUT ultimately I made the decision because I had some structural damage under a portion of the existing floor and had to rip up a fairly good size area AND then I decided to put all new plywood down first AND I have a lowish ceiling and decided not to lose the height by putting it over the old floor. It's amazing how one thing leads to another!

NEVER FORGET!!!

[jtees4]

I had a laminate floor in my dining room (which was just replace with real wood). Really nothing wrong with laminate except it just bothered me that it was fake wood. To me it's similar to the kitchen countertop...I got real granite. I know solid surface has some advantages BUT to me they just look fake..and that's not surprising because they are. It's just me.

NEVER FORGET!!!

[me6]

OK.... thanks for the reply!

I was just curious as to why. And now I understand the reason. Thanks.

[wendi]

I think end caps might be what you're looking for. They can be used around staircase, fireplace, transition from interior to exterior space, etc... Of course, there're other creative options like Edwin has mentioned.

-w