I've never had hardwood except when a kid, and we eventually covered that with carpet. BUT, I've had lots of experience with tile. It looks good, but is a pain. Grout gets dirty in traffic areas, and drop something on it and it chips. We had a pool and when walking in from the pool area with wet feet to use a bathroom the tile was like walking on ice. I was always afraid somebody would fall.

Yes, tile is very slippery....at least up here. If one's feet are wet from snow or ice and walk from the deck into the kitchen via the atrium doors, you can slip and fall if not super careful. Ditto for getting out of tub or shower without a bath carpet to step onto. Good cautionary tale.

The hard wood floors you describe we had in all our earlier homes in Vermont, with basements.

My question: What is a floating wood floor?

WE have a room in Vermont that is on a cement slab.........our carpenter told us that he could install "floating wood floors" right on the cement?

Would that be laminate floor? That would be a layer of wood over some man made composite board beneath it????? I'd also like to hear how they put the wood floors onto the cement in Florida.

This particular room is the cellar, so no basement below it.....it's a daylight basement....half in the ground.......due to sloping of the hilly property. It's presently carpeted.

Was told about this product during a recent visit to Lumber Liquidators. You can use standard tongue and groove hard wood over this. You would glue the seams together, and the gripping quality of the underlayment keeps the flooring still. That would be a floating hardwood floor.
http://www.lumberliquidators.com/cat...&nonFlooring=1

Thankyou for the link. That must be what our carpenter was talking about.
I believe our next door friends and neighbors did the same thing with a cherry wood "floating wood floor". They told me they couldn't walk on it or put furniture on it for three days??? The reason so many of our tri level homes up here have cement slabs is that they couldn't dig for cellars due to the ledge....and lots of boulders under the ground..........at the time, dynamiting was not allowed.........although some homes above us did have their basements dynamited. Vermont has very rocky soil with a lot of ledge.
Everything on this road is sloping.......either high up in the back....very hilly...or on the other side of the street, sloping downward in the back.
Hard to explain. So.......the homes are built "into the hill".....this one happens to be a tri level with hilly front lawn and hilly back yard and side yards.............now I know what a floating wood floor is. Thankyou.

A floating floor can also include laminate and engineered floors. Personally, I like the engineered floors with their real wood surface and their man made backing. Here's one we liked:
http://www.lumberliquidators.com/cat...productId=5594

a P.S. about Glass Wax
 

P.S.
In talking to a friend today, I was told they sold the formula to another company a few years ago (my, but my can has lasted a long time!) and it is now known as "No Streek Glass Wax". It is sold in a plastic bottle and is yellow, but otherwise is the same formula. My friend ordered it online, but says that some Ace Hardware stores carry it.
Just thought I'd add this, so you don't drive yourself crazy trying to find it!

Looked on lineSub-Total
 

I'll wait till I can buy it at the store....

They want 7.50 to ship it!!!! :D

Tile floors with no grout problem
 

In my kitchen, bathrooms, and utility room I have squares of vinyl tile that were installed by Village Flooring. They look just like "real" tile. They installed them with rubber grout between the tiles. The grout is easy to clean and looks brand new after two years. There are many styles to choose from and it's also available in planks that resemble wood. I wish I had used these tiles in the rest of the house.

Available on Amazon - free shipping if your total order is over $25:

[ame]http://www.amazon.com/Industries-NS-8-8OZ-Glass-Polish/dp/B000IO8GWC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1311126855&sr=8-1[/ame]


Bill :)

Very very nice indeed. Will make the room look beautiful.

Thanks for explaining how the entire flooring "system" works.

Another good option. Our daughter has them in northern Vermont and claims they are easy to maintain. Hers actually came with a two story modular Colonial home (in the bathrooms and in the mud room)....Thanks.....

I found something similar at Amazon.com

Thanks for the update........appreciate it.

Go to Amazon.com and type in glass wax under "Home"
It will bring you to this site. It didn't copy and paste very well.....
but seemed like the same thing...mentioned the stencils, etc.

Home > Home Solutions > All Home Solutions Products > Window Glass Wax



Old Fashioned Glass Wax
Clean & Decorate Windows

Window Glass Wax

Item# 411006

Regular price: $17.95

Sale: $14.99, 3/$30.00

Availability: Usually ships the next business day
Quantity: .

Product Description

Remember Glass Wax? Our Window Wax formula brings the same results as Glass Wax from yesteryear! For sparkling clean windows, mirrors, chrome and more, simply dab on Glass Wax, rub and let dry. Use a dry cloth to remove, and you are left with a streak-free shine. When the sun shines through, you’ll see the crystal clear, ultra clean, streak-free windows you’ve always hoped for. Use Window Glass Wax to decorate windows for the holidays, or any time. Apply a small amount of Glass Wax over stencils, rub, then remove stencil and let dry. It’s Easy! To remove, simply use a dry cloth. Hint – Flour Sack Towels, sold below, are perfect for cleaning windows and useful for many household tasks. Window Glass Wax plastic bottles contain 12 ounces each. Buy 3 for the price of 2!.

Palm Springs CA
I was very disappointed to learn that Glass Wax had been discontinued, and then I found Window Glass Wax on the internet. Couldn’t be happier--nothing works like it for a streak free windshield as well as all the chrome on my Harley-Davidson--



West Hartford, CT
Window Glass Wax is great--just like in the old days. My 100-year old panes sparkle.



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I had a floor of floating engineered wood installed over concrete in my basement for my mother who lived with me until she died at age 84. I used engineered wood because it has less of a tendency to buckle in humidity owing to man-made backing. I had the installer put it in as floating, as opposed to glued down, because floating is a bit more "springy". When my mom fell down on occasion she never injured herself because the floating engineered wood was resilient enough to absorb the energy of the fall. The engineered wood is about as expensive as real wood. I loved this flooring (and I loved my mom).