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

[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.