Hi,
I want to install a new Hardwood Floor. What we came up on is engineered oak with the click system. No glue or nails. 12 mm. Would you guys recommend it?
Also, one room is over the garage the other 2 rooms over the basement. The last one over the room where my water tanks are.
I removed all the parquetry. The room over the garage did have a leveling problem which needs to be fixed. Although not to serious. This is why I like to go with engineered in stead of just hardwood.
Your advice would be great. Thanks for your help.
Matt
Hi Matt,
Engineered wood it is not bad, if you can not afford the real hardwood, or you do not want to bother with fixing the levelling the floor. Some of the engineered wood you can sand it once or twice incase you need too.
Good luck to you.
AMMAR
Hi Matt,
Generally, I would install hardwood flooring on the main and second floors of the house and install the laminate in the basement. I would level and repair the sub flooring.
However, if you do wish to install the laminate make sure it is a high end hard laminate product.
Regards,
James Fram
Hi Mark,
I just saw your post here and thought I'd weigh in.
An extremely common mistake made is the term "Engineered Flooring" and how it is applied.
The term "Engineered Hardwood" is often used in place of "Laminate Flooring". They are NOT the same thing.
Laminate flooring is essentially a photograph of wood laminated to High Density Fibreboard (HDF NOT MDF). Higher priced options increase thickness and can add texture to the surface and can look fantastic if installed correctly.
Laminate flooring is often chosen as an attractive solution for uneven floors or basements where moisture might be a problem. I assure you it is NOT suitable for either option. It will swell and buckle like crazy if introduced to water and unless your substrate (sub-floor or slab) are very flat (not necessarily level), huge gaps will appear at the joints.
"Engineered Hardwood" is a premium product and is typically more expensive than solid hardwood. It is actual hardwood in almost any species laminated to plywood.
Because plywood is cross laminated and impregnated with resins, it is far more stable than solid hardwood and can in many cases be applied over radiant floor heating systems or below grade.
Also because of its stability, it is no where near as susceptible to seasonal changes in humidity that notoriously open and close the joints in solid hardwood which can actually destroy a floor if not taken into account at installation.
Because Engineered Hardwood is actually real hardwood above the tongue, it can be sanded and refinished as many times as solid hardwood. In either case, you cannot sand below the top of the tongue or for that matter, after the tops of the nails or staples have been exposed. It is the wood below the tongue in solid hardwood that will never be seen as flooring that causes most of the problems with flooring installations.
You will pay a premium for Engineered Hardwood, but it is the best choice in wood flooring.
In all cases, the right thing to do is to address the "flatness" of the sub-floor for best results. Level is another issue and either way, I would recommend ensuring that it is not a structural issue before spending any money on new floors.
I hope this helps and best of luck.
Jason Irving
The Cedarbrook Group
Toronto, Ontario
Hi Matt,
Engineer flooring system is very good the only problem with it is make squeak sound when you walk on it and the only solution for that is glued down I hope this is helpful to you
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