Engineered wood floors
 

Anyone out there have engineered wood floors? If so, how do you like them? Were they more expensive than ceramic tile ? Ceramic tile on point? Personally Love the look of wood....

We are re-doing all the floors in the house we just bought. In most spaces we are going to be putting in laminate. I first heard about engineered wood on a couple of HGTV shows that we regularly watch.

Not knowing much of anything about it, I've asked several different floor dealers about it. While they say it's a good product they have all said that in the long run, laminate will hold up longer replaces easier and scratchs less if you are going to have a lot of floor traffic. If the inside of your house is going be relatively calm use-wise, then I think you might like the engineered wood.

Nothing is better on TV concrete floors than engineered hardwood. Combine that with attractive area rugs and you have the classiest, warmest look and feel. Rugs in walkways will virtually eliminate scratches and marks. Ceramic tile in living areas, even with area rugs, still seems more hard and cold to me.

I have laminate in two rooms and I don't like it, will never again use it, and am going to replace it. If you get water on it and don't get it up immediately it will curl up at the edges. It also will scratch and while you can cover it up, it will always show if the lighting reflects off it. I have also found it somewhat hard to maintain and keep looking good. The engineered wood looks good when installed and I particularly like the hand scraped look, but it is a veneer with a 2 or 3 mil finish layer, and a scratch could go deep enough to get through that layer. It would also be susceptible to water damage and warping. The cost of the engineered wood is generally higher than tile, while the installation cost is lower. My investigation of the two is that they are generally about the same cost installed. Tile is more durable and easier to care for in my opinion, and that is what I plan to go with.

From professional home builders

When examining your flooring options, there are some basic facts that you must consider first, including the volume of traffic and the potential for moisture problems. You may also want to think about what this investment means to the resale value of your home. Equipped with this information, you can then begin to weigh your options.
Hardwood and Laminate Defined

Traditional hardwood is exactly that – solid hardwood throughout. The biggest knocks against hardwood have always been its price and its susceptibility to moisture. But with the advent of engineered hardwood floors, there are more options for homeowners who want a real wood floor. Engineered hardwood is made of cross-laminated layers of wood with a hardwood veneer surface.

Laminate flooring is actually a picture of wood attached to composite fiberboard, under a clear finish of melamine. It is considerably less expensive than hardwood and has more options for installation, including some that do not require glue.
Hardwood vs. Laminate: The Day to Day

Moisture: Hardwood is affected by changes in humidity and is not recommended for bathrooms, kitchens, or below grade. Engineered hardwood requires a moisture barrier to be laid down first, but with this layer in place, it is suitable for all rooms, above and below grade. Many laminate floors are water-resistant, but you should check the warranty to be sure what is and is not covered.
Installation: The installation of hardwood floors is fairly difficult and not usually recommended as a do-it-yourself project. Laminate floors are installed as floating floors. The planks can be glued together, pre-glued, or clicked and locked together. The ease of installation of laminates makes them a good choice for those wanting to install their floor themselves. Like laminates, engineered hardwood is much easier to install than traditional hardwood. Both laminates and engineered hardwood require a layer of padding to reduce noise when walking.
Durability: Hardwood floors do tend to dent and scratch more than laminate floors. They can also fade if they are in areas with a lot of sunlight. On the plus side, traditional hardwood can be refinished. Depending on the type of veneer, engineered hardwood can sometimes be refinished, but usually not more than once. Laminate floors are very resistant to scratches and dents, but can be chipped. Once damaged, they cannot be easily repaired. If there is significant damage, you may find yourself replacing the entire floor. Laminates do not fade in sunlight and are stain-resistant.
Longevity: A well-maintained hardwood floor can last a lifetime, and floating engineered hardwood floors can last anywhere between 40 and 80 years. On the other hand, a laminate floor is estimated to last up to 20 years.
Aesthetics: Because laminate is an image of wood, to some people the aesthetic value is less than that of real wood. With real wood, there are tremendous variations in the wood grain, whereas the same pattern is repeated every five boards in a laminate floor.

Hardwood vs. Laminate: The Bottom Line

Ultimately, you must consider your budget and long-term needs when deciding between these two popular flooring choices. Hardwood costs more to purchase and install, but lasts longer and offers greater resale value to a home. Laminate is cheaper, easier to install and does provide considerable durability, if not the same longevity as hardwood.

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We have engineered wood in the living room/dining and love it. We had tile in our house in south fl and found it hard on the feet. Love the warmth and feel of the wood. We are putting it in the den this week. About the same price as tile

Problems
 

Tile- can be slippery when wet and it is like walking on concrete all the time. As we get older it may be hard on the "bones"

Hardwood-Will fade in the Fl sun and will scratch with pets and the sandy soil on your shoes

Laminate-Water damage can happen if not wiped up right away, some make a "clicking" sound if low quailty pad & laminate used. Can fade and be scratched but not like hardwood.

They are all nice and everyones needs are different. :shrug:

I have had laminate flooring in the past and will never use it again. If it scratches you can't repair it easily. Water ruins it if you have a dishwasher leak or fail or a water pipe burst or a window leak and rain gets in plan on replacing laminate. I only use hardwood in the areas i want the wood look to my rooms

We have 3 neighbors who installed an engineered wood in the past year. All have become paranoid over sand scratches. No shoes in the house, and forget about any moving chairs not on rugs! One has a cat with claws and the new floor has a couple of skid marks from when the cat was chasing around the house.
For us, it is tile in the kitchen, baths and high traffic areas and nice soft carpeting in the living areas. Carpeting also deadens the sound echos in the large, high ceiling rooms that seem to abound in The Villages. Try to listen to quality music on a quality sound system in an all tile or hardwood room; not too good.
Given all that , you still can't beat the wonderful look of a high quality, well laid hardwood floor! It just comes with its own set of problems.

There's nothing like real wood, if scratched it can be refinished.

There are newer systems to install wood over concrete that is a double sided adhesive & moisture proof membrane.

I think the cost is the same as the make believe engineered wood.

Investment/re-sale wise it gets high marks.

Our new home has some hardwood floors. They are very pretty but still have NO give to them. You are installing over concrete and hardwood feels the same to feet as tile.

Not if you had used the membrane I mentioned above it acts like cushion they claim

They did. We watched them. Still hard as a rock.

We have 2300 square feet of Anderson handscraped hickory flintlock flooring, wide plank, in our Seattle farmhouse that we installed. It has been on the floor for 8 years and looks fabulous. It is very forgiving in that you can put stain over scratches and you never know they were there, but it is a dark rustic type look. In our home in The Villages, we installed Brazilian Pecan flooring, and while we will not be living there full time for a few more weeks, I have been there to stay and I already know that unlike my rustic handscrpaed flooring, the Brazilian will need washing a lot more as it shows the dirt, footrpints if you have dirty shoes, etc...I cannot stand dirty so I know this is going to be a task I may not be too thrilled about. I may also have some regrets as again, unlike my handscapred flooring, this floor may show more scratches from the dogs. I knew this putting it in but I loved it when I found it so decided to be in denial. My reality will set in when we arrive but it feels fine to walk on and I do love the look. I will just have to buy some wood cover up crayons for any scratches, though I was told it is a very hard wood and should not scratch. Time will tell.

When you bought your homes what did you install in the kitchen or what flooring came with it? And in the living room if no wall to wall carpeting was used, was the floor same as that of a kitchen? When we move permanently, my wife wants to get rid of wall to wall carpeting and put tile, laminate or engineered wood. She says many homes have the same title in the living room as in the kitchen. I say they are not. Who is right?