Thread: Can anyone here give advice on Hardwood Floors

As the title says, I am going to have floors put down in my house. I have a ground level condo on a concrete slab, which will require engineered hardwood probably being floated over a plastic vapor barrier. Would anyone recommend or advise against a particular brand, or company? Let me add, I will not be laying the floor down myself. I will be hiring professionals. I would like to avoid a poor made decision.
Thanks-John

The new engineered floors are pretty fail proof. The real thing you need to worry about are the edges, but if you don't have the tool then that is another story.

It really depends on your budget, but the best ones over concrete are glued down with urathane glue and have almost a quarter of an inch of real hardwood on the surface. Look at Carolina Classic by Garrison to see what a real nice product looks like and go from there. These products will last for life and feel very solid and there are many American and exotic hardwoods to choose from.
If you are looking for a floating floor that is functional, these days they look pretty good and hold up well for much cheaper price and are much better than they were a few years ago.
Best of luck to you.

I grew up on hardwood floors.
Let me give you some tips.

1) if you are serious about wanting to live on hardwood, do not skimp on the price. Get good quality wood. It will outlast you by several lifetimes. You'll be looking at it every day. If you skimp on quality, it will get ugly and you'll have to replace it in 20 or 30 years time.

2) get it glued down. these days there are also solutions that use some sort of system that lets one plank click into the next one, and only the edge planks are glued. This stinks. If your floor is glued over the entire surface, it will never budge even a hair's width. You'll get no false echo, and it will be much more resistant against thermal creep. It is a bit more expensive than going with the click solution, but on the flip side you won't get as much problems over time.

3) this is more a preference, but don't use varnish. it will wear, and there will be a visual difference between places that are often walked on. The best floors I've been on were all waxed. You just wax it every year or so (also depending on the amount of activity) and it will always been even and smooth.

Originally Posted by Bruno

2) get it glued down. these days there are also solutions that use some sort of system that lets one plank click into the next one, and only the edge planks are glued. This stinks. If your floor is glued over the entire surface, it will never budge even a hair's width. You'll get no false echo, and it will be much more resistant against thermal creep. It is a bit more expensive than going with the click solution, but on the flip side you won't get as much problems over time.

This is so stinking true! I have this type of flooring (Pergo brand) throughout my entire house's common areas. It looks good, but the downs of the echo and the noise it makes when you walk on it are quite aggravating. I contacted the mfg on the noise and was told that it has to "move" as part of it's design. It's laid over a spongy type of vapor barrier and it gives the slightest...but does and makes a cracking sound. The joints are extremely tight and you don't have to worry about dirt entering the cracks and widening them.

What I am saying is go with something glued down. We are entertaining getting some bamboo installed and this stuff finding it's way to the landfill...

For me hardwood didn't work very well. It takes too much care and cleaning to prevent the wear areas from scuffing through whatever finish you put on it. At the time, I had three small children and two dogs running in and out constantly. Seemed like it needed re-finishing constantly. I've since laid slate-looking LAMINATE flooring over it and am completely pleased with it. Comes with a 25 year warranty and a surface so tough, the dogs nails don't scratch it when the squirrel runs by the window.

To add to the rest of these great tips:

-Buy all the wood and let it sit in the same room it's going to be installed in for 3-4 weeks if possible. It takes time for wood to climatize and adjust. If you do this, you are much less likely to see any type of expansion, contraction or creep of the wood. Depending on your climate, hardwood does this naturally over the seasons due to increases and decreases in temperature and humidity, but by letting the wood climatize before installing, you minimize that.
-If you have any intention of getting a darker hardwood, such as Brazilian Cherry, be aware that the sun will darken it naturally over 6 months to a year. It is a bad idea to put anything on the floor in areas near windows. Obviously this is unavoidable at times, but do your best. This is true of all hardwoods, regardless of colour, but it's not nearly as noticeable with the lighter colours.
-What is a common practice in my climate is putting down a vapor barrier, an extremely dense noise isolation padding and then the hardwood. This is something that helps with blocking a bit of the cold from the concrete as well as noise travelling through the floor. It may not be common or necessary where you're at, but it certainly helps.

Of course, these are all tips for real hardwood, the stuff that is lap-joint and nailed together and down (the use of glue is a bit different with this stuff, depending on how you decide to lay it down determines whether or not you'll use it). Engineered and laminates are different, but these are good tips to keep in mind regardless of what you go with. Best of luck with it!

I've installed both Pergo and real hardwood floors.

Short story, I'll never lay down laminate floor again. Ever.

The laminate was a full room, that was an addition to the house put on before I bought it. The wife researched it and it seemed good enough, and cheap enough. Except it shifts and echoes like the dickens. This is the glue on stuff, and I followed instructions carefully and installed the green padding underneath. As soon as the wife is looking the other way, I'll remove this thing and lay down proper wood floor. White oak is relatively cheap and looks like a million bucks.

I had "issues" with a cat we had, who got very sick and lost control in a corner of the (carpeted) living room repeatedly. By the time we found out it was too late, so I replaced the hardwood in that part of the room and a couple of small spots where prior owners of the house had tried their hand at mining.

Turned out lovely, though I had professionals come over and sand and finish. I bought second best planking on sale at the home improvement store, had about 20% waste

Pic1 - Me, faking happiness at hard work.
Pic2 - partial view of the new floor section - look at the contrast with the old floor.
Pic3 - After sanding and first coat of whatever they covered it with. I think it was wet, because it dried to a dull finish, which has lasted several years so far.
Pic4 - All done. After the finish dried you can't tell the old from the new.

Gentlemen, Thank You for your insightful and quick responses. Bruno, I will look and demand that all of the wood planks be glued down, and not just the edge boards. I don't think I will be able to let the wood acclimate to my house for three weeks but if I could I will. Top quality is always been my method, and will continue so. I'm so glad to know I have a very trustworthy source for just about any decision I may make. I'll post pics when I put a bow on this project.
Much appreciated guys.- John

May I suggest that if you are going with hardwood floors you also add underfloor heating it will actually save you money during the colder months on your power bill and keep the room or rooms a really nice temp as well as keep your feet nice and toasty.