Hardwood vs engineered hardwood vs laminate wood vs tile flooring

[Kloubek]

Originally posted by dirtsniffer
my parents have oak hardwood, raised 4 kids, 4 grandkids, dogs, and cats. the floor still looks great.

How many times was it refinished? That seems like a lot of traffic and potential damage to still look great.

I'm sure a lot of it has to do with the hardness level of the wood. Wood can get damn hard depending on the species, but the vast majority of them are just too soft for larger or more powerful dogs.

[rage2]

Originally posted by revelations
Rages' floor looks almost exactly like our vinyl plank we have in our bathrooms right now (will do the rest of the house the same).

Both LVP and tile have gone a long way. I tried out a couple of LVP options and didn't like how it felt on my feet, which was a dead giveaway that it wasn't hardwood. In hindsight, LVP might've been better for noise, when the kids rip through in their power wheels, it's fucking loud as fuck in the basement with the tile.

Only real downside to LVP is resale value really if you're ok with how it feels. People are still anal when buying houses with vinyl flooring, regardless of how good it is these days.

[mazdavirgin]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janka_hardness_test

Seems relevant...

[Tik-Tok]

Originally posted by mazdavirgin
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janka_hardness_test

Seems relevant...

Dents aren't typically the problem with hardwood, it's scratching the coating.

[88CRX]

Originally posted by dirtsniffer
my parents have oak hardwood, raised 4 kids, 4 grandkids, dogs, and cats. the floor still looks great.

+1 on the refinishing.

Plus what color is it? Bet its something really light and probably matte in finish and its hiding the scratches/damage.

[ercchry]

Originally posted by Tik-Tok


Dents aren't typically the problem with hardwood, it's scratching the coating.

90lbs dog doesn't really have sharp nails... so floors are not so much scratched finish wise... but the "scratches" he leaves are deep and plentiful in the high traffic areas... floors are maple but a dark finish

[C_Dave45]

Originally posted by 88CRX
Rage or Dave, any chance you know the manufacture/model number for that tile? Or roughly what the material cost on that tile was?

It was the Edonwood series from Stone Tile.
Jinx was the colour.
Retails for around $11 a foot IIRC.

https://www.stone-tile.com/collection/tile/edonwood

[thinmyster]

I am going to do luxury vinyl in my basement sourced through Divine floors. The manufacturer is HARO. Looks like quality stuff. Anyone have experience with it? Its thicker than some of the other brands, doesn't require an underlay but they suggest laying poly first.

[88CRX]

Originally posted by C_Dave45


It was the Edonwood series from Stone Tile.
Jinx was the colour.
Retails for around $11 a foot IIRC.

https://www.stone-tile.com/collection/tile/edonwood

Nice, thanks Dave!

Did you use a narrow grout width to get it really looking like real hardwood floors? Or is that not advised?

[revelations]

Originally posted by rage2

Both LVP and tile have gone a long way. I tried out a couple of LVP options and didn't like how it felt on my feet, which was a dead giveaway that it wasn't hardwood. In hindsight, LVP might've been better for noise, when the kids rip through in their power wheels, it's fucking loud as fuck in the basement with the tile.

Only real downside to LVP is resale value really if you're ok with how it feels. People are still anal when buying houses with vinyl flooring, regardless of how good it is these days.

Yea esp. with kids, Vinyl plank is good in so many ways vs tile: less noise, less chance of serious head injury after a fall (vs tile), warmer than tile, less chance of breakage if something hard is dropped (eg.ceramic) etc.

With the flooring appearing as planks, it avoids the whole Vinyl flooring look - but perhaps not feel to those with sensitive feet

[Tenkara Way]

Originally posted by dirtsniffer
my parents have oak hardwood, raised 4 kids, 4 grandkids, dogs, and cats. the floor still looks great.

I agree. Did a full hardwood restore a few years back as the flooring was from the 40's. I'd encourage others to have a pro do the job as it is a chore, rather expensive and never as good as a pro might do.

Yeah, I can power sand a couple thousand feet of wood floor, obviously a low skill job like mowing a lawn... Never again.

[ercchry]

Originally posted by Tenkara Way


I agree. Did a full hardwood restore a few years back as the flooring was from 1940. I'd encourage others to have a pro do the job as it is a chore, rather expensive and never as good as a pro might do.

Yeah, I can power sand a couple thousand feet of wood floor, obviously a low skill job like mowing a lawn... Never again.

The sanding part is pretty easy with the right tools, trick is to not nick the pads... that's when it gets expensive. Need a good duct and furnace cleaning after though, probably still have excessive dust for a while after in the house

[turbotrip]

we have tile hardwood on the main floor and would highly recommend it. I also thought it would be cold initially but never had any issue. However, I wouldnt put it in a basement as there im guessing it would be cold.

[C_Dave45]

Originally posted by 88CRX


Nice, thanks Dave!

Did you use a narrow grout width to get it really looking like real hardwood floors? Or is that not advised?

Yeah, very tight joints. 1/16th"

[dirtsniffer]

Originally posted by 88CRX


+1 on the refinishing.

Plus what color is it? Bet its something really light and probably matte in finish and its hiding the scratches/damage.

true story, light stain.

[J-hop]

Looks like you've got some good ideas but yea I vote an eff no for engineered hardwood.

Our home has some supposedly good/expensive stuff and it is the crappiest and least durable flooring I've ever seen. Granted we used to foster dogs as well as have our own. The dogs playing and draging their bones around destroyed the floor in less than a year. Also engineered hardwood is really sensitive to moisture from what I've found.

Good real hardware seems to be a bit better but my parents flooring after 20 years of dogs has degraded pretty bad.

Meanwhile my gf's parents house that is done up in tile on the main floor shows almost zero signs of wear after about 20 years.


Those tiles rage has look sick. If I could afford it that is exactly what I'd do.

[jwslam]

What about bamboo flooring?

Is it horrible for the humidity swings we experience?

[Kloubek]

Originally posted by jwslam
What about bamboo flooring?

Is it horrible for the humidity swings we experience?

I am not sure it is any worse for humidity changes than hardwood is. Guess it depends on what you get, as it certainly can be susceptible to humidity like hardwood can be.

The thing with bamboo is that the characteristics of it varies a ton between them. You have to be really careful if you want a long lasting floor, as the way it was created and the bamboo harvested itself play a huge bearing on the durability.

Personally, I'm happy with my decision to go with LVP. Yes, I realize the softness and printed nature of it detracts from an authentic hardwood feel, but it excels in almost every other way.

[cycosis]

I'm having wire brushed engineered floors put in my home build on the main floor. I figured smooth floors would get effed up by my pupper so with a rough finish, maybe it will hide scratches and wear a bit better.

All the puppers' toys will be upstairs as we are naively planning on the main floor being a "quiet/no play/calm energy" zone.

I think they look amazing. We'll see how it ages....

[ExtraSlow]

That wire brushed look is available in some of the vinyl planks. I really like that texture. I like how it feels on the feet, and how you get a little grip, and how it looks under light.

I've got prefinished "real" hardwood in my house, and it is trashed. We have no pets, but eight years of kids has taken its toll. once kids are a little bigger, will see about that tile or vinyl.