Hardwood Flooring Experiences

[Pinao]

Hi All,

I was wondering what your experiences with wood flooring are. I bought some Cali Bamboo and that didn't even install because the click floors weren't clicking, so now I'm searching for something else. I love wood but am concerned about how they will hold up in our climate. I know I shouldn't even be worried about this because all the old homes here have wood floors and no problems, but maybe that wood was higher quality stuff that what we can get these days. I'd love to hear what kind of floors you have, especially if your floors are wood and installed in the past 10 years.

[fishenjim]

Ipe is the wood to use For longevity weather and insect resistance IMO.Very hard to work,dulls blades,doesn't take glue well,doesn't sand well.I have seen decks open on three sides to the Atlantic on OBX 25 years old Ipe,Only treated with Brazilian rose wood oil every few years,looking great maybe just a little fade.next Tiger wood or last bubinga.Poly if you like spar or other marine grade.many thin coats are better than a few heavy.let dry between coats and light sand with 180 grit use lots of tack cloth between coats.Better yet sand well and hand rub with rose wood oil 2 coats initially.scrub,dry and reapply as needed 1 to 2 years on average.I don't recommend the pre Finnish wood flooring.That being said I'm not comfortable with the sustainability of these exotic woods and always prefer tile .The advantages are to numerous to list

[Guest]

Some I am guessing that Pergo is a no go lol

[csgray]

We have laminate fake wood floors in our house that were put in by the last owners, I don't know what brand it was. It has held up through house breaking two puppies, one of whom had a bladder the size of a thimble, with no sign of buckling or damage. It is also very slippery with even a tiny bit of water on it, that is how I broke my leg.

My brother in law is a builder on Orcas Island, he builds houses that become vacation homes that sit empty all winter, and he uses a lot of bamboo laminate and wood laminate flooring. He tests various brands by putting samples in a trash can full of water and then checking them over a preiod of time. He has had certain brands test well one time and then fall apart right away another time, so he tests what is available right then. His theory is that the flooring is being made in different factories with a lot of latitude on the specs, so depending on which lot you get performance will vary.

Carol

[Guest]

^^very interesting...thank you.

[Carey]

Also be aware that the subfloor here has a lot to do with how well the flooring will hold up (of course, after you take into consideration the mfg. variations as Carol mentioned)

We have friends with solid wood floors & manufactured wood floors that have held up well for years, and others have flooring failures in months..

We bought a slab house & were advised by 2 separate flooring guys not to even look at wood/laminate type flooring, as the moisture issues would haunt us.. the house we bought had a roll flooring in the great room. vinyl tile in the baths & kitchen & had had wall to wall in the bedrooms (the tack strips were still in the rooms, but we had asked them to remove the carpet as it was into the musty stage of life)

Based on what we found taking out the old flooring, the vinyl had the least uck-factor on it, the roll flooring had patches of weirdness on the underside, the tackstrip wood was a harbor for all sorts of mold/mildewnesses (and the carpet was most likely into the toxic realm...)

When we redid our toilets, we found evidence there probably was/is a vapor barrier, but almost a half century most like means vapor sized pukas in the barrier & there is never water seal around the things like plumbing holes...so there is never a complete vapor barrier in these...

We looked at acid etching the concrete (the slab was good condition) but our metal studs made that a no go..so then we decided on porcelain tile...we were very careful to find a tile that had a very low slip factor when wet (splashing water on tile samples in the store then trying to slip & slide on the tiles is a great way to meet the sale people!)

[csgray]

I really like the look and feel of cork flooring, you can get it in tiles or rolls, but don't know if anyone installs it here. I also like real linoleum, not vinyl, but same thing, I don't know if there are installers who know how to work with it. Both are expensive up front, but last for decades.

Carol

[Guest]

I prefer tile in living spaces and wood in bedrooms myself, and I cant stand carpet.

What area of Puna do you live?

[csgray]

Carpet is a really bad idea here.

Carol

[kalakoa]

Carpet is fine -- in small quantities that aren't permanently installed, such as an area rug over a tile floor.

When it gets too nasty, find a new one at Ross.