Flooring Question - Hardwoord, Bamboo, Laminate, Carpet???

[michika]

I would say go for hardwood. I have oak hardwood from the 50s, the small 1" slats through all of the first two floors of my house, and from what I've put it through it holds up really well.

They hold up quite well if you clean up a saltwater related spill immediately they do warp if the water isn't cleaned up/dried quickly. The warping I see is only the edges of the boards where the sealant has worn off. If you do go for hardwood invest in a fan you can direct at your floor in case of spills.

I have two dogs, and they haven't managed to damage our floor yet. I just make sure that their nails get cliped regularly and that I file them down a bit after to prevent sharp edges.

As for kids I can't comment, but I'm pretty rough with my floors; moving furniture around, dropping stuff, etc. If your worried about child-related damage consider putting down a nice rug with underlay in their primary play area to prevent damage/stains.

If you opt for underfloor heating, you won't regret it. My parents have it in their bathroom, and its a nice refreshing change from cold hardwood in the winter. They went with the above mentioned heating mats under 1ftx1ft tiles. I haven't heard any complaints, and according to my mother it hasn't caused any damaged to their heating costs.

[andresont]

All asmodeus said was that he loves hardwood, and I do too. He never said anything about water on the floor did he?
All i am saing that you need to test thats all.

[Skimmerking]

Originally Posted by andresont

All asmodeus said was that he loves hardwood, and I do too. He never said anything about water on the floor did he?
All i am saing that you need to test thats all.

how about giving a guy a chance to type out.

[hawk]

Any flooring except maybe tile that is submerged under water for 12 hours will more than likely need to be replaced. So I'm not sure what a 12 hr. water test will tell you. There are exceptions to everything but take a look at hardwood that has been in place for 10-15 years you'll see dings and scuffs but in comparison to carpet, tile and laminate it holds up very well. No doubt kids are tough on floors but at least with hw you can have it refinished when the kids are less destructive. I would go one way or the other, install very cheap laminate and replace when the kids are older. Or go hw and refinish "if" needed later. Maybe a combination of laminate in bedrooms and hw in living areas. As far as water damage to hw, I have had my share of floods, but I was always around to clean it up with no noticeable affects.

[andresont]

yea, i agree 12 hrs might be too much...
3hrs good enough.

Originally Posted by hawk

Any flooring except maybe tile that is submerged under water for 12 hours will more than likely need to be replaced. So I'm not sure what a 12 hr. water test will tell you. There are exceptions to everything but take a look at hardwood that has been in place for 10-15 years you'll see dings and scuffs but in comparison to carpet, tile and laminate it holds up very well. No doubt kids are tough on floors but at least with hw you can have it refinished when the kids are less destructive. I would go one way or the other, install very cheap laminate and replace when the kids are older. Or go hw and refinish "if" needed later. Maybe a combination of laminate in bedrooms and hw in living areas. As far as water damage to hw, I have had my share of floods, but I was always around to clean it up with no noticeable affects.

[andsoitgoes]

so after a few weeks at it, I'm surprisingly enough in the same position I was when I started this thread I've checked out laminate, I've checked out hardwood and engineered hardwood.

I think the issue we're running into is our budget. We have to stay w/in 8000 for flooring upstairs and downstairs, we are only doing Hardwood or Laminate upstairs, downstairs will be carpet and tile/vinyl flooring.

our hesitation from doing Hardwood (real stuff) is due to the fact that it's going to increase our costs exponentially. Installation is at least 2.2/sqft on top of the cost of hardwood at 3 - 4 for the "medium" grade stuff.

i'm really not sur ewhere to go - do I look engineered or do I just say to hell with it and go laminate.

I do not, and won't, do glue-together - I've heard horror stories and with my lack of DIY skills, I'd be one of those.

Anyone else have any experiences they'd like to share?

Nick

[PoonTang]

I just a DIY installation of solid Oak. Wasnt hard to do, and I matches the stand of my 90 g really nice.

[hawk]

Is installing the hardwood yourself an option?. As was stated the pre-finished(Mirage) is not very difficult. When I did mine the place I bought the product also loaned out the nailer at no cost.