wood floor
Comments (67)
cookiemaker
11 years agoYes, many woods have red or gold tones, which is exactly why I fell for our product, which has greys, taupes, and caramel tones. It is stylish, modern yet not so ultra trendy (lots of distressing, super wide planks) as to go out of style very quickly. It has a very contemporary feel to it. Loving it!!whitingshome
11 years agoThanks for all of the tips! Renomama, I would LOVE to see pictures of your floor when you get it down! Thanks! I wouldn't mind seeing some more pics of your floor (entryway, etc) too Carleeb12. :) Thanks!Related Discussions
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Tami
11 years agoThanks for sharing your comments and pics. We just ordered the African Plains Zanzibar, can't wait to see it on the floors as I haven't been able to find any pics of it in rooms yet. Glad to hear it is a fairly strong wood as well.renomama
11 years agoI am just frozen with what decision to make on the floor. I love the rustic contrast of the AP Sahara Sun with our clean white trim craftsman style home, but my husband is pushing for more of a classic look. rguru, would love to hear how you like the Zanzibar, and would love to see pix! Carleeb12, how is cleaning the African Plains wood floor? Is it tricky with all of the distress and dents??? Thanks for all the great discussion everyone!!carleeb12
11 years agorenomama, it is zero maintenance. Honestly, the cracks make no difference. i woke up in cold sweats one night prior to the floor being installed, but after it had been ordered. I realized I hadn't even thought of the upkeep of it! I started thinking about the dings and cracks and seriously had a panic attack. So I went and grabbed the sample, in the middle of the night, poured flour on it, broke up bread on it, etc. (i'm a nutcase! lol). Anyway, it all just swept up perfectly. I still worried about it though, because I was just sweeping a little sample, and I would have a whole floor to take care of. Anyway, it seriously hasn't even been a bit of a problem. Not in the slightest. I think the polyurethane is coated in the cracks and stuff, too, so stuff just sweeps out really easily. My sister has an engineered floor from a different manufacturer. It is a darker stain, but she hates it with a passion. Every single thing will leave a mark. It's really weird, like if she spills water, or water splatters from her fridge, it leaves a mark and she has to scrub the mark out. I was worried about this as well, but that doesn't happen with this floor. It must have a different finish or something, thankfully. And also, I can run my vacuum on it and it doesn't scratch. I had a friend over yesterday who just built a new home and had engineered wood floor installed and she said her vacuum leaves scratch marks on the surface. Anyway, I would base your decision solely on what floor appeals to you the most and complements its surroundings, because the upkeep of this floor so far hasn't been a problem. I will say that the darker the floor, the more you will see things. The floor always goes down darker than the sample. The flooring company told me this and it is very true. I can see every crumb, so I end up sweeping more often simply because I hate seeing crumbs. Is the floor your husband likes lighter in color? Well, I think the Sahara Sun is lighter than the African Plains anyway isn't it?Tami
11 years agorenomama-we are having the Zanzibar color put in our new home that is being built, so won't see it or have pics to share until about June. Carleeb12-thanks for sharing your thoughts and comments on the floor. I too have been having panic attacks about the flooring, but when we saw it at the design center it was so much more beautiful then the other choices. We were originally planning on a more medium brown color but ended up with the dark. The sample piece did give me some concerns though because of the hand scrapping/distressing, if you ran your hand across it, it felt a little rough, sort of like you socks or feet would snag on it. Do you have a problem with this? What do you use to clean it other than vacuuming or sweeping, special cleaners? Also, was the wood glued to the subfloor or is it floating? We don't want the echo/hollow sounding floors so were hoping they would be glued but not sure if it is based on what the manufacturer recommends or does the installer just do what they want? Thanks again everyone for the discussion and insight.carleeb12
11 years agohrguru - we haven't had a problem with socks snagging or anything like that. And it doesn't feel rough to walk on at all. Where do you live? If you are local to me, come over and test it out. :) Chances are you live in Canada or something though. lol. Anyway, I believe ours was nailed down, or stapled or whatever. We have a wood sub floor, and I know it isn't glued...I don't think it is floated either. We don't use a special cleaner. Well, the builder left a wood floor cleaner called Bona. We've sprayed that on and used the mop thing that came with it a few times. But really, i just spot clean with a damp cloth, or you can use a damp mop to go over a bigger area. I sweep it daily (because it's dark and everything shows up!), and then I vacuum it sometimes as well. For some reason vacuuming it still scares me, but every time I have done it, it hasn't left any scratches or anything, so it probably shouldn't.Tami
11 years agolast modified: 11 years agocarleeb12 - so glad to hear the floor doesn't feel rough. No, we don't live in Canada. We are in Las Vegas, NV. All your good reviews are putting my mind to ease on the floor. You say you use a damp mop, I had read some reviews not to do that, but you obviously aren't having issues. I may get a Roomba for the floor, and Maybe Swiffers would be okay too.carleeb12
11 years agoI love that!! I live in UT...not too far actually. :) I'm headed down to St. George in a few weeks. Too bad I can't bring my floor with me. :) I actually never saw that color. The flooring company I went to didn't have a sample of that one. I really like it a lot!
We have spilled lots of water on our floor and wiped it up and it hasn't been an issue so far. It doesn't appear to affect the finish or anything. I can't see how a damp rag would be any different, you know? I'm usually just using the rag to spot clean, but that Bona stuff works really well, too. It is just expensive, so I only use it about once a month to do my whole floor. I wonder if the manufacturers just tell us not to wipe with water because they want us all to buy their expensive cleaners. :)
I remembered something else I was going to tell you. Just make sure the floor acclimates a while before it is installed. The flooring company told me that this particular engineered wood acts more like a hardwood because the veneer is quite thick, and it has thicker core layers. So just make sure it's in your home for several days prior to installation so the pieces will fit together nicely.Tami
11 years agolast modified: 11 years agoUtah, we're neighbors! :). I love the pictures of both floors above. They both have nice color and variation. I think ours will look similar except darker and more brown. we are also getting dark cabinetry as well. Sounds like the flooring is really well constructed, thats great! Since we are having a new home built I'm not sure the builder or floor installer would leave the wood in the home while others are working in fear of damage or being stolen. Hopefully it will all work out. Cant wait to see it, I'll post pics after its installed.Tami
11 years agocarleeb12 - does your furniture put dents in your floor at all? Do you put felt under everything? Also, what about rugs, do you have to put something under your rugs.cookiemaker
11 years agoIt is good practice to protect the floors from furniture with felt protectors. Rugs need underpads so they don't slip. Wood, no matter its hardness, will scratch, though it shouldn't really dent.renomama
11 years agoThanks again for all the wonderful information. I can't tell you how much of a support this is when making such an expensive decision that is not easily changed!! I was dying laughing over your late night sweats and flour test Carleeb12~so good to know there are others like me! I feel better about the cleaning issue now. Hrguru, the Zanzibar is beautiful! I love the unique quality of the African Plains flooring. I ordered a box of the Sahara Sun. If it looks as good larger scale as the sample does, we will have it down in two weeks!carleeb12
11 years agoYeah, we put felt pads on everything. And I put the rubber stuff under my rugs...well, the rugs with the harder backing. I have a few woven rugs that are fine. Cookiemaker's right....every wood will scratch, so always put the felt pads on. Costco has the best deal by far on these. You get a huge pack of them in all different sizes for like $6.shellgodett
11 years agoCarleeb12, I just ordered the Provenza Black River. Your pic of your house sealed the deal for us. The original post on this site has a completely different color? Yours looks more gray, which is what we are looking for. Question: how long did you acclimate it for? We are close to the coast, so humidity can be a factor. Thanks so much and your space looks amazing!!carleeb12
11 years agoI think the longer it can acclimate, the better. We only acclimated ours for 48 hours because there was a mix-up and they sent the wrong wood, so then they had to switch it out for the right one. I would say at a very minimum 48 hours, but preferably up to 2 weeks. We had a few minor issues with some gapping at first because I don't think we acclimated it quite long enough and we live in a very dry winter climate, but once we got our humidifier installed, the gaps closed right up and they've been fine ever since. I hope you like your floor! We have received more compliments on it than any other part of our home! :)Tami
10 years agoWell our flooring was being installed last night. I don't think they did anything to acclimate it though. The flooring guys had all of it on their truck and they were installing over night. There are so many people working on/at our new home that we can't really get in to see anything so we probably won't see how our new floor looks until we do our final walk through next Wednesday. I have a question about putting the felt pads under the furniture. We have movers moving all our stuff over to the new house, but I don't know if we want to put the felt on the bottom of the furniture before because it might fall off during the move. But if we wait, we are worried our floors will get scratched when they put everything down. Suggestions? Thank you.renomama
10 years agoHi Hrguru, We have had our Aftrican Plains Sahara Sun installed now for about 1 month- I need to get pix up. We love it!! I would suggest putting the felt pads on before. Most will stay on and then your brand new floor will be protected. You can then just add a couple here and there that fall off and not worry about them moving and sliding the furntire across the wood. You are going to love it!!!!Tami
10 years agoThanks Renomama! We will get the pads on, I am so worried about scratching the floors, thanks for commenting. Please post your pics, would love to see them. We are getting the African Plains Zanzibar. I will post pics as soon as I can too. :)Tami
10 years agoJust completed our final walkthrough on our new house this morning. Here is what our African Plains Zanzibar looks like. It's pretty dark, but in person it does have some light shades of brown mixed in. We're quite happy with it, sure it will be hard to keep clean and dust/dirt free here in the Las Vegas, NV desert.
lalomia2
10 years agoCarleeb12 we have been looking into buying the African plains black river for our home also in utah (utah county). We've been doing lots of research online and came across the picture you posted on this thread. It looks amazing. My wife asked if there was any way you would be willing to let us see your floor in person. I understand if its an awkward request so no worries if you dont feel comfortable. The gray walls and white cabinets are very close to our color scheme and we are debating between this flooring or a dark birch expresso. Seeing it in person would definitely help us make up our minds. Thanks in advance!carleeb12
10 years agolalomia2 I would have no problem with that! Email me Carleeb12@yahoo.com so we can set it up!
Amber Armijo Plath
10 years agoCarleeb12 we are having black river installed in our new home as well and I was wondering if you could provide more pictures?? I'm dying to see it on a larger scale, The picture you have posted already looks amazing I was just wondering if you could take some more up close and in natural light. I know that's a lot to ask and understand if your not up for it =)
reneemumma
10 years ago@renomama any chance you could post pics of sahara sun? still happy with it? considering putting in it in my entire house!renomama
10 years agoHi Reneemumma! I LOVE my floors! We love the color, look and feel. We have it all over our 2800 sq. ft. house, except the bedrooms, and it is not too much...we also have young children and as many times as things have been dropped on the floor, we don't even flinch because it is a distressed floor and we figure any dings will only add character;-). I will try to get pictures up soon!Malcolm Kegel
10 years agoMy wife and I are considering installing the Provenza Palazzo San Marco does anyone out there have this floor in your homes? Do you like it? any info would be greatheatherfisher1
10 years ago@carleeb12 we are installing the african plains floor in our house, do you know what the name of the stain is you used on your banister?J. Shott
10 years agoHello,
My husband and I are considering installing the "Vintage" color on two floors and in the basement the "Stonehenge" color of the Provenza Antico line. I have done a ton of research and have heard from a couple of ex distributors that Provenzas flooring is all manufactured in China. They have had problems with the color not matching what was ordered; quality of the product and lack of support when it comes to warranty issues. They also indicated that they have customers that have complained of how soft the floors are and scratch and dent very easily and the floors look terrible after a year.
We live in Edmonton Canada and would really like to hear from someone that has had this flooring installed in their home for at least a year or more. Would like to hear about all the positives and negatives. We thought we had finally made our decision and now we are back to square one.duffyfluf
9 years agoI have looked for reviews on Proenza floors since we installed it 2 months ago. Our Roma floor made with Acacia wood already has a chip in it. The V grooves also seem to splinter and scratches are also showing. No children in the house, just two very neat adults.
Tyler Fischer
8 years agoHi Cookiemonster, I see you installed intemporel by Alexandra. We are very close to doing the same. How are you floors holding up? Any pictures of you floor? Thanks!
cookiemaker
8 years agoTyler, our floors are absolutely awesome. We love the natural look, more classic than some of the engineered products. You have to protect the floors by putting felt pads on your furniture, but that's pretty standard stuff for hardwood. The oil finish really keeps the floors looking rich. We applied the treatment once, a year ago, and think it's a good idea to reapply every year. Also love the matte finish, very contemporary and natural. Our birch floors are dark but have a beautiful caramel streak in them. They are really stunning and easy to live with. Good luck with your project!
cbronte
8 years agoHello Carleeb12, I see that it has been a while since you installed your Provenza African Plains floor. Can I ask your opinion as to the wear-ability? We are considering this for our upstairs bedrooms and I'm a bit nervous about the low Janka score. Thank you, and you have a beautiful home! Love the floor!
carleeb12
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoYeah, so we have had them in for almost 3 years now and we still really enjoy them. In fact, I posted a picture of my little boy on instagram today and 3 different people didn't say a word about my son, but commented that they loved my floors. haha. I get a ton of comments about them and my neighbor across the street just had them installed in her house as well. They will ding for sure when you drop things on them. However, because they are already so distressed, it really just blends in. I actually have come to the conclusion that all wood will ding. The dings are probably deeper on these floors, but I still think I would rather have a highly distressed floor made of softer wood than a smooth floor made of harder wood. Because even the harder wood will ding a bit, and with the smooth floor it will show a lot more. We have ours in our kitchen, and I feel like the kitchen is way more susceptible to dings because we live in it and we are constantly dropping cans and plates and utensils, etc. on them. I was terrified off the janka score before we got them. I almost canceled the order because I was so nervous. Now here we are 3 years later. And yes the wood will dent, but it's much less of an issue than I thought it would be, because they are so heavily distressed anyway that you will rarely notice a ding unless the light is shining on it just right, and even then only you will notice it, nobody else. Would I get them again? Definitely. After 3 years it is still the number one thing people comment on about my house. :) Let me know if you have any more questions. Do you live in UT?
cbronte
8 years agoHi Carleeb12, I cant tell you how much I have been dwelling on this! We met with the dealer today and will probably have everything finalized by Monday, I have been anxious ever since. I agree that a more uniform smooth floor will definitely show the dents and wear a lot more than a floor with this much character. Again, I really love your floor and I'm sure that your son is adorable! I'm in AZ, so engineered wood is the way to go. You have calmed my nerves! Thank you so very much for responding.
carleeb12
8 years agoI just want to clarify that dents will happen for sure, but I just don't think they are as big of a deal as I thought they would be. They just sort of blend in and add to the character of the already character-filled flooring. Does that make sense? The first time you drop something on it, you will panic like I did. But then you will forget about it and nobody else will notice. You might notice if the light hits it just right, but that's it. If you like the look of the floor more than anything else you have found, it will be worth it and you will enjoy it. :) For us, we just thought everything else was so boring and lacked any character, so that's why we chose this floor, and we still don't regret it 3 years later. I actually had another neighbor who is building a new home just ask me for the information on our floor because she wants the same thing. Hope this helps and allows you to manage your expectations.
carleeb12
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoAlso, I dwelled on the decision forever. It honestly caused me so much heartache, wondering if I would regret it. It was awful. I do not have fond memories of building our house, mostly because of my anxiety about our flooring! I spent countless hours looking up reviews (which are basically nonexistent), and reading about the janka scale. haha. So I get it! And I asked if you lived in UT because I was going to suggest you come look at my floor to see how it has held up over the past 3 years with 3 kids and 2 adults, in order to ease your anxiety. Oh well. :)
Steph Shirley
8 years agoHi carleeb12 I have read all your comments and seriously considering this floor. It is such a hard decision but your input has been very helpful. I'm wondering if you would give me your email and I might arrange a time to see your floor as I will be in Utah county this coming weekend.lalomia2
8 years agoSteph Shirley we installed African plains black river back in 2014 after serious research and input from this thread. Our flooring is roughly 2 years old now and we are very happy with our decision. Our home is in Utah county and you are welcome to a tour if you'd like.
Steph Shirley
8 years agoIt is beautiful lalomia2. I would love to come see it. Would you mind giving me your email or a way to contact you.
Maria Khachi Contino
8 years agowe are thinking about installing black river hevea wood throughout our house...can someone who has had it for a couple of years, tell me how it has held up?shellgodett
8 years agoI've had mine for about 3 years now. Aside from some scratches from our dogs, it's held up amazing. You can only actually see the scratches at certain times of the day when the sun hits it. We love it!!! Highly recommend.
lstanton
7 years agoI have had Black River installed for 5 years now....still love the look and get compliments all the time. We have a dog and three children so this floor gets a ton of wear and tear! Lots of groove marks from my dogs nails but unless you look up close they are not noticeable at all. Would highly recommend this floor.
jenaraz
6 years agoI am remodeling and love the Provenza African Plains collections - am wanting to go with African Sun in my bedroom. However I'm concerned if it is omitting harmful VOC's in particular formaldehyde. Provenza unlike many other manufacturers doesn't have any info on their large samples in the store. Did those who purchased from the African Plains line and live outside of California have any indicator on the packing if it is CARB compliant? Appreciate any info any has on this. Also as I live in AZ I can have very low humidity - any feedback from anyone who installed this line and has low humidity as to if any issues (or not). I need to made a decision early this coming week, any info would be very much appreciated. Thanks!
mindman
6 years agoWe are stongly considering putting the African Plains Black River in the home we are building in Utah. Did you ever find any information on the VOC's?
jenaraz
6 years agoDid not get any info from this posting, but did contact manufacturer and got info from them and they said they are CA compliant. I spoke to some other stores who sell this product also. I didn't get my questions 100% answered, but felt comfortable enough emissions likely very low - so decided to go with it, as all floor options I looked at seemed to have emission questions associated with them - and this option seemed a good one. Love the floors and had lots of positive comments about them also. Good luck
penguin1969
5 years agoJenaraz - wondering if you might post a finished pic of your African Plains Sahara Sun? Thank you!penguin1969
5 years agoRenomama - any pics of your Sahara Sun? Would love to see them as I am thinking about using it throughout our upstairs. Thank you!!
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carleeb12