hardwood flooring questions/recommendations

[dmr]

Hi

We are getting a new house next week and are planning to put in hardwood to replace the existing carpet (something like 1200-1500 sq. feet). People here seem to be knowledgeable about everything so maybe some people know hardwood.

I have little kids and probably will have a dog within the next few years so I am definitely concerned about durability but don't like the heavy grain of the oak floors.
Did some initial visits to showrooms yesterday and it looks like bamboo and maple are the favourites right now. Any other options we should be looking at?

One person told us all the floors will dent and scratch with kids and dogs, another was saying we would definitely see the difference if we went to the hardest varieties. Any real-life experience with this? I do have cherry engineered floor in the basement of my current house and it does damage easily but then again the finish on it doesn't compare to the prefinished stuff we saw yesterday.

Bamboo all seems about the same but there is some pretty huge variation in price on the maple between brands (comparing the same grade of flooring - we are looking at "Select or Better" or the grade bellow that). Is it really worth spending the money on the expensive brands like Mirage or is the stuff I can buy at HomeDepot just as good?

Also I am looking for recommendations for installers if anyone has had any good experiences.

thanks
dan

[left and gone]

we have maple hardwood floors with kids and dogs and if our experience is any indication, there will be marks. However, they can be buffed out fairly easily by a professional. Our view is that we will live in the home and remove the kids/dog marks when it is time to sell. Enjoy your home and then fix it later if required.

[jeffc]

my suggestions are: the harder the wood the better - esp with kids/pets. Also, darker woods with a glossier finish will show more dirt, scratches, etc. IMHO, matte finishes are better, as well as wood with a bit of grain or colour variation if you want to hide dirt and wear and tear. It really depends on the look and colour scheme you are going for. As for the various qualities, I am not really sure. I imagine there are a lot of good quality products out there at a reasonable price but it may depend on your budget.

We have a dark brown hardwood in our main living room and its tough to keep clean with two small kids.

[orangeTANG]

Hicory is one of the hardest of the domestic woods, and to me its also one of the nicest. You can get hickory in a bunch of different grades. The high end stuff is all a uniform colour, but my favourite, and the cheapest actually has colour variance.

http://www.bamboofloorings.org/wp-co...y-Flooring.jpg

Search google images and you'll see plenty of other samples. Cost is about the same as maple depending on the quality. That said, if you want durability, stay away from Home Depot and other places that throw on sales. Those are normally lesser grade, and 2nds in the factory. Gaylord Flooring in Tweed (I believe) manufactures Hickory floors and they do 12 coats of finish with hardener added to each coat, rather than most that just add it to the final 1-2 coats.

[jeffc]

btw, here is a hardwood hardness scale....lots more out there, just google it. Gives you a relative idea of hardness.

http://www.thehardwoodguy.ca/services/types/index.htm

[smiths_falls]

If you are really concerned about scratches and having to eventually refinish the floor, put in a floating floor! Its really scratch proof! 1/2 the price, easy to install, ALOT more durable! atleast look at your options...and if you get real hardwood, go with something that looks good and is cost effective. I wouldnt worry about density, all hardwood floors will scratch and dent no matter what.

[Wilster]

Floating floor is cheap and easy to install , but if you get any water in the seams , its done .It'll spit and you'll have to replace any damaged boards . We had a dishwasher leak in our kitchen and had to replace the whole floor area.
I've just recently installed the engineered hardwood (bamboo) in my basement , and i think its the best option over cost and durability , and really easy to install.
I have hardwood on the main floor and its great , but already , after only a year and a half , is showing some noticeable scoring , but 2 dogs will do that .
I got the engineering hardwood on special at home depot , for 400sq ft , material and underlay insulation (foam pad), the cost came around $1400

[dmr]

Thanks for all the advice, we are definitely looking at lower grade maple now that has more grain and a few knots to hide the scratches and dents. The hickory looks nice too, I see a daytrip to Tweed in my future.

[John]

Save yourself thousands and do it yourself. It is one of the easiest DIY jobs i have ever done.

[disenor]

Your idea of a trip to Tweed is a good one, Gaylord's flooring is the best place I found for quality, finish and price. They offer a pet finish and have several of the exotic hard woods that are perfect for high traffic and family situations. My brother used both tiger wood and jatoba in his house with great success. As for DIY if you have used lego blocks you can install hardwood flooring. All tools are available via rental companies and 3 guys call install that much flooring in a weekend. Good luck and if you have any questions don't hesitate to ask. I've been building house most of my life and although I specialize in bathrooms now I have laid more flooring than tiger has ladies.

Cheers

[dmr]

Went to a pretty cool place off of Belfast yesterday www.logsend.com. They have some really nice flooring in there, wide planks, reclaimed wood from the Ottawa river and lots of wood trim (baseboards, window trim etc...). Not what I was looking for but if anyone is reading this and is looking for more of a rustic feel for their house this is definitely worth a visit. Not cheap but some very nice flooring.

I'm still considering doing it myself, but I measured it out this morning and I'm at 1400 sq. feet - with 2 staricases, lots of interfaces - I'd need to take at least a week off to do this and I could definitely see it lingering. I may get a pro to do the stairs and second floor and do the third floor myself.

[dmr]

Looks like we are leaning towards Dava flooring which uses timber that is not processed by regular lumber mills because of metal objects in the wood. I've seen/read a few things about them in Quebec media and they seem to be trying to make environmentally sound decisions within the confines of their industry - could all be marketing of course, how is one to know without spending weeks doing research.

Here's a little 5 minute promo video - not very interesting unless you're interested in that stuff.
http://www.dava.ca/index.php?page=historique&hl=en_US

[shaner85]

Hey DMR,

We just installed the Logs End reclaimed river pine grade #2 flooring and absolutely love it. The only thing is that it is softer and if you drop something with any real weight, it will dent it. We found that out the hard way when installing it but, it also adds character to the floor. We have 2 boys (4 and 2) and they seem to drop things on it all the time.

We got used to it after a while with the small damages but really you can fill in the larger dents like I did with the Varathane...And with using the second grade lumber, you are spending about 1/3 the cost and it has more of the knots, colour, and other intricate little details that get culled from the #1 grade...We figured it out to under $3.00/sqft...Installed it ourselves and stained it and finished it myself...I should get some pics of the finished floor for you if you want...