[Buckeye]

Please help me with some information.

What is the difference between Hardwood and Engineered Hardwood Floors and which would be best in The Villages?

What is the best or better business to purchase/install the above?

Could we also install the floors in the foyer and kitchen since they all flow together and would make our Bougainvilla appear larger?

Thanking everyone in advance for their reply.

[Uptown Girl]

True hardwood flooring planks will each be a one piece solid, real plank of wood.
Available with or without a surface finish. Available with tongue and groove edges or not. Can be American wood or imported exotic varieties.
Often, this floor is laid, sanded and finished/sealed on site. Probably best to do before you move in. It can be refinished (if needed) a number of times.

Engineered wood planks have a real, hardwood veneer on top, bonded to a sub-strata of another material. The sub-strata material and the way the boards connect varies from brand to brand. These floors are pre-finished and
can be matte, satin or glossy. Sometimes this type of floor can be refinished (if needed) one time. Can be made in US, Canada, China, etc.

Wood floors in potentially wet areas (kitchen, laundry room, bath) are a gamble. I have had them times before with both great luck and not so great luck. As much as I like the continuous look, I would not do it in our present home. Maybe if I had a cabin in the mountains...!

Your best bet is to do some homework by visiting different stores and deciding first what appeals to you. There must be 20 floor stores here in within a 30 mile radius.
Not all stores carry all brands and there are so many new varieties and price points that it would be impossible to predict what you might like, or wish to spend.
I found it helpful to do some research online. I started with the name brands we are most familiar with. (The ones who make carpeting)

It's okay to take your time choosing .... we had engineered hardwood installed months after we moved in and it wasn't very disruptive at all.

[ducati1974]

We have an eight yr. old Gardenia that had engineered flooring installed from the start in the living/ dining areas and it still looks like new. We like it so much that we just had our master bedroom & closets done with the same material. We used East Coast Flooring and would use them again in a flash. They were great to work with and their crew was very impressive in their installation. I would not have it installed in any wet areas such as kitchen or bath as there is no place for the water to go if it gets under your flooring. Send me a PM if you'd like to see our floors.

[Buckeye]

Thanks for your responses. I believe it is Engineered Hardwood that we will now get but I just didn't understand what regular Hardwood is. Thanks for the explanation. East Coast Flooring has been getting good recommendations.

[mrsyarbie]

I thought I was getting real hardwood floors when I paid the additional $8000.00 for them. But when I had the floor guy come after closing he said the are "engineered". They are specially treated because of the humidity in the summers here in Florida. I regret so much getting this flooring. The floor is always dusty every day and it shows marks. I use the products they recommended (BONA) and the floor always look dull. I scrub them lightly as instructed on my hands and knees and wax with the BONO wax. Last week a curtin rod fell on one of the planks and dented the wood and now it has a bare spot. I am glad to hear others are doing better with them than I am. The floor is less than 1 year old.. Any advice?????????????

[Belmont4-150]

To mrsyarbie,
Never, ever, ever, scrub a wood floor.
All (almost) of today's hardwood floors have urethane finishes and require no wax or polish. These finishes tend to build up unevenly and that is what is showing the marks. Call Bona and get their expert advice on how to remove their finish.
Bona makes a cleaner and that should be used exclusively. No other Bona products required.
Your dust issue is a condition of your home, not the flooring. If your flooring is smooth (not handscraped or distressed), has a high gloss finish, or is a darker shade, it will show the dust more than the alternatives. I have a Roomba vacuum by iRobot that I have run automatically on a schedule and it helps eliminate the annoying dust visual.

[Roaddog53]

Just as an option, I have had tile and hardwood floors. I am considering again hardwood floors. However, one option I discovered is rubber floors. They can look like travertine, wood, and are much more durable than both. We are leaning that way now. Anyone have experience with them?