Hill Homes: Hardwood (Engineered and Laminate!) Floors

Boxes of flooring waiting to be installed

On August 1 we celebrated the first anniversary of our new floors, not the day they were installed but the day the flooring, still in boxes, was stacked behind the couch in our living room. Last summer we bought enough flooring to replace the floor on our two main living floors, but the process from box to finished product has not been easy. There were walls to insulate and board and a subfloor to stabilize upstairs. Downstairs required intensive work on a banister and the tearing down of walls between the living and dining room before the project could be checked off as completed.

Despite what you may see on TV, refinishing or replacing hardwood floors is not an easy project. First you need to decide if the hardwood floors in your home are worth saving. In our case, the floors had been sanded and stained a number of times, and the gaps in the boards, born from wear, were enough to push us towards new floors. This week let’s assume that you, too, would like to replace your floors.

Once you’ve committed to replace your floors, there are more things to consider than just stain. Will you be installing a new subfloor for your new floor? In what rooms will you be installing the new floor? Most importantly,  do you want to install a real wood floor, an engineered floor or a laminate floor? It’s important to understand your options and plan your project before you get started.

Hardwood Floors
There are many advantages to installing true hardwood floors. They can be refinished or sanded and stained multiple times, depending on the species of wood and the condition of the floor. You can purchase pre-finished floors in the species — oak, pine, walnut, bamboo, to name a few — and stain of your choosing, or you can choose unfinished floors that are installed and then stained on site with a custom stain.

Hardwoods can be installed in bedrooms and common spaces, such as living rooms, dining rooms and kitchen. Basements and bathrooms are not ideal rooms to install hardwood because the spaces tend to be damper than traditional spaces.

Hardwoods require a nailed installation, and for that reason it is best to install them over a new wood subfloor. This alone makes hardwood the most expensive and time consuming option.

Engineered Floors
Engineered floors are ideal if you are looking for a more stable floor or if you are planning on installing the floors over your existing hardwood floor. Typical engineered floors are pre-finished and feature a top wear layer followed by alternating layers of plywood, which increase the floor’s stability. That stability allows for multiple types of installation, from nail down to glue down and even floating; however, the floor’s stability doesn’t mean it is designed for basements and baths. Engineered floors are still wood floors and shouldn’t be installed in damp locations.

Before you fall in love with engineered floors, keep in mind that they can only be sanded once or twice, and deep scratches in the wood that reach the plywood layer cannot be sanded and refinished.

Laminate Floors
Laminate floors are not hardwood floors, but a good laminate floor can look like the real thing when installed correctly. Comprised of two layers — a top layer that is a sealed photograph of real wood and a composite layer underneath — is easy to install by either gluing to the subfloor or floating on the subfloor and wears well in any room of the house — including kitchens, baths and basements.

While laminate floors are easier on your wallet than hardwoods or engineered floors and stand up to wear better than real woods and engineered floors, laminate floors have a lower resale value than real wood floors.

Our handscraped engineered floors installed last November.

Before you install your new floor, think about the other projects that will be impacted by your decision. Are you installing over existing floors? If so, you need to address banisters that could now be lower than code allows (36 inches high). Do you have to remove radiators to install your new floors? Maybe it’s time to upgrade your heating and air conditioning system while you are at it.  Had you dreamed of an open concept? Then you need to start taking down walls! Don’t forget about mouldings. A new layer of flooring will shorten the appearance of moulding not removed prior to installation. Be sure to budget for the side projects that need to be addressed prior to or as a result of your latest project.

Finally, when your new floors are installed, be sure to follow the manufacturer or the installers instructions for keeping your floors clean and looking like new.