What type of flooring?

9 years ago

So the story is...

We bought a new construction "spec" home with engineered hardwood floors in the kitchen, dr, and foyer, and carpet in the family room (open to kitchen). The house is on a slab, so solid hardwoods are out of the question, as I understand it.

After a year old living here and vacuuming the hardwoods DAILY they look terrible. They are a very uniform look, and dark and have tons of dents, dings, and scratches and I need to figure out a new flooring plan!

So...I went to the store to look at some engineered hand scraped options that look a little more distressed, thinking that if they came distressed, a few more dents and dinges wouldn't matter. The majority of homes being built in my neighborhood have oak engineered hardwoods, so I kind of want to at least have a wood look, as this is not my "forever house." While at the store the hard scraped engineereds were in the $4-5/soft range, and I have about 800 sq ft to do. However, while there I also saw some vinyl planks that I really liked. They were much less expensive and I'm wondering if they would wear better than wood with 2 small children?

Anyone have experience with these? Also, I have read that the sun can be a problem, anyone with experience?

Thanks in advance!

Featured Answer

PRO

Wood Floor Warehouse SLC

9 years ago

Katie, I'm sorry for your floor problems, I promise that all wood floors are not equal! Many "spec" home builders will put entry level floors in their homes as standard but if a customer desires to upgrade, will sometimes change them out, for an upcharge of course, for a better floor. May I suggest an engineered, hand scraped hickory? Very durable. Buy from a reputable store like haleydaniels stated earlier, that would be a wise decision as they will be much more knowledgeable as to what floor best fits your application! Good Luck!

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Comments (6)

hayleydaniels
9 years ago
My only advice is to go to a regular flooring store rather than a big box store like Lumber Liquidators or Home Depot, and buy quality flooring so it will last. The others sell inferior products that don't last.
User
9 years ago
Luxury vinyl flooring mimics wood or stone, and can be a good compromise for wear and tear, on a budget. Magazine pictures never show what things look like after the "new" wears off.
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Katie Gooding
Original Author
9 years ago
If a magazine showed what my floors look like after one year, the manufacturer would be out of business. The worse part is, half my neighbors have the same floor and all of them look terrible. I'm just the first one that is giving in and ripping it out!
Carol Johnson
9 years ago
Before you tear out your floor, can it be skimmed & re coated? Have you checked with a floor refinisher? Maybe a new color & a satin finish will save these floors. Just a thought for you.
Katie Gooding
Original Author
9 years ago
That's an interesting idea, I haven't checked into the skimmed and decorated idea. I do want to change out carpet in the family room to wood, which is a good chunk of the square footage, but if I decide to keep the carpet I'll definitely look into it. When we first bought the place I priced out buying more wood to do the family room and found that the product they used was $6/sq ft, so I wouldn't think it was an entry level floor, but honestly, I have had maple engineered from lumber liq before that wore better!

What type of flooring?

Wood Floor Warehouse SLC

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hayleydaniels

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