Your favorite flooring

[Michele]

We just did our downstairs (and stairs!!!!!) with CoreTec HD LVT. We have gotten TONS of compliments!!!! Looks like wood floors, but it's water proof, cleans easily!!! Doesn't show anything! And is easy on my dad's fake hip and crappy surgerized knees. They even matched the stairs and there's a stair cap. I'll take pics in the morning.

We are going to do the entire upstairs, bedrooms included when we remodel up there. We will probably as second cork/sound layer.... But it comes with one already.

https://coretecfloors.com/?gclid=Cjw...RoCjmIQAvD_BwE

Olympus Contempo Oak is the color we got. Dark ish grey...

[ides]

I think you need solid hard wood for your house. It’s really the best choice.

[spotty_dog]

I think you need solid hard wood for your house. It’s really the best choice.

Everything else on the market is so durable and practical, but...it's a 100+ year old farmhouse. I think you're right, I might not feel comfortable with anything else, since we're talking about such a big a chunk of the place.

[MrsC]

I don't have a favorite yet but I hate the wood floor previous owners put in our kitchen. It's a medium color-wise and super shiny so it looks beautiful right after washing, then shows every scuff and mark. With two littles, it constantly looks dirty. It's also a pretty soft wood but it's only 4 years old so we won't be replacing it.
I would do a hardwood for sure, especially in an older house.

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[civilspouse]

I agree that in your old beautiful house I would go with solid hardwood.


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[JDAZ11]

I practically have PTSD still from the tile in our Phoenix house. Between the way the grout gets filthy and the way things shatter on contact (and gouge the tile to boot!)...ugh. I'm also not a huge fan of the slate in our bathroom, but it's livable. But I did like our luxury vinyl tile that we had in our little guest bathroom for about 13 months. It was a nice blend of give and durability. We'll definitely be putting the same stuff back in that bathroom. But not sure if it's what we want in the laundry, or just a tile-look sheet vinyl (or real linoleum, which I didn't realize they still make).

I think engineered hardwood would feel as natural as solid wood. I just don't know if it comes in more options, or is cheaper for the same look, or what. (From my initial research, you actually can't put radiant heat under solid hardwood. You'd have to go with engineered. Thankfully we don't need heated floors in my climate...)

I totally agree. Tile is awful. I also (particularly here where houses are built on slab) find it really hard on my joints.

I hate the engineered hardwoods in current new construction rental. Engineered is by far the most prevalent in this market at the moment. It just looks fake to me. And it actually does scratch - despite all the durability claims. I’m sure, like everything else, they aren’t created equal.... but real wood gets my vote.

I will add, that for the outside of a house, I think I am 100% in favor of synthetic wood materials (and slate roofing too). I think maybe it’s just the sun here, but so many people are putting real wood on the outside (you’d have to paint like twice a year to keep it from getting damaged), and then putting fake inside. I hate it.


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[medpedspouse]

What about cork? I remember looking at cork when we were looking at bamboo. It was beautiful. I know it is soft but I would think the imperfections/scratches would be camouflaged with the variance in colors/texture.

[ides]

Everything else on the market is so durable and practical, but...it's a 100+ year old farmhouse. I think you're right, I might not feel comfortable with anything else, since we're talking about such a big a chunk of the place.

Also for resale. People expect and want solid wood floors in an old house. I also think it’s the nicest floor material.


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[spotty_dog]

The flooring company's wood floor installation and refinishing guy stopped by today. He was nominally here to get us an estimate on refinishing the upstairs at the same time we redo the downstairs. (In for a penny, in for a pound?!) But it was good to have a chat about materials and finishes from the perspective of the guy who works with it, not the salesperson, you know?

He was kind of a fan of engineered, especially the kind with a nice thick layer of hardwood that can be refinished, but said that solid hardwood is an option as long as we keep the plank width below 4". He's a fan of oil-rubbed finishes both aesthetically and for durability -- he says they don't show scratches as much as shiny poly. He said that finishing in place is an option for either material, and would give a really custom result, but since he strongly prefers Swedish oil finish, we'd have to be out of our house (along with our cat and even our plants!) for several days due to the toxic VOCs. He said that's probably the main reason that prefinished is so popular these days...

Lots to think about!

[spotty_dog]

Almost two weeks ago we went to the flooring showroom. DH kind of gravitated to the engineered hardwoods, so we ran with that. (The materials we're looking at are moderately high-end, with almost a quarter inch wear layer, so I'm not particularly worried about it being "not wood-like enough". We also need some tolerance to temperature and humidity fluctuation.) I now have about nine samples in my house. Only one is really acceptable IMO, and I'm not completely in love with it. Now, part of me IS excited to get new floors, any floors; but another part is really leery to trade our unique flooring for a fairly trendy look (it's a smoked European oak with light distressing, 7" planks) and also anxious about how massive this change will be for the decor of our home. Not that we had a real style, but yeah. So much was predicated on those dang pine floors, you know?

DH is going to be working the next week or so almost straight through, so he is NOT going to have the bandwidth to help me with this any more than he already has. I either need to order the floors today so that we can get on the schedule for the contractor to start all the rest of our work, or I need to decide to go back to the showroom tomorrow. I don't know if it will be annoying to delay the work more, or to go in for an "upgrade" material that costs above the insurance quote -- but we don't even love.

GAH! I hate decisions!

[JDAZ11]

I’d hw r such s hard time too. I wish I knew what to tell you!


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[TulipsAndSunscreen]

I feel like a floor is SUCH a huge decision since it’s the base of your entire house. Don’t rush into it!


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[MrsC]

Yes, definitely no need to rush it. I love the mix of contemporary and traditional styles. Transitional I think they call it.

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[spotty_dog]

I ordered it. I think I just have to go with my gut. Everything else was obviously wrong, but this one worked in a lot of different areas in a lot of lights. It's not traditional, but yeah -- "Transitional" is my favorite style on Houzz, so I'll just say it's that.

If the contractor can get us scheduled and all goes smoothly, we might even have our house back together by the beginning of April -- just over three months after the backup! *knock wood*

[spotty_dog]

And...I like it. Kind of a lot. I'm so relieved! It's a bit trendy but also maybe a bit timeless. It kind of looks like this: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/173810866853056539/