Teach me about doing hardwood floors

kilgoretrout said:

There's a little bit of confusion so far so hopefully this helps.

Solid hardwood - a chunk of wood (3/4" thick usually) that is milled for tongue and groove. This will not work on concrete as already stated. It is the least stable of any option, meaning it will expand and contract with the weather and is less moisture tolerant.

Engineered hardwood - plywood core with a wood veneer (can be 3/8" to 1/2" thick). Plywood is more dimensionally stable so it can be glued, floated, nailed, stapled, whatever. This is the route I'd go if you want wood.

Laminate - HDF core with a paper image to create the visual, and a wear layer/texture stamped together. Generally they are very durable but can swell if the are submerged in water. However, they make these in water resistant styles where the core is immersed in resin to make it more tolerant.

LVP floating - The recommendation above for Coretec is a good one. They were the first to come out with a composite rigid core LVP and it has a cork pad attached. There are a ton of products that are similar but I think there's is the most reliable. That stuff is easy to install, is inexpensive, looks good, and is durable.

This is correct, but a little inadequate regarding the laminate flooring.

Older laminate floors were essentially a paper picture of wood on a composite backing.  I am not sure if these exist any more.  They were very prone to damage and failure.  They were junk, and laminate has shifted away.

Much of the current generation of laminate flooring is sometimes called "embossed laminate".  The decorative image is the second layer, under a melamine resin surface which is extremely durable.  This layer is often embossed with a texture registered to the image underneath which looks very convincing as wood grain.

The core is HDF (High Density Fiberboard).  It is usually in a color to match the decorative layer, so a scratch would be really hard to see.  (However, I have tried to scratch the outer melamine resin layer, and it is extremely durable)

This material is marketed as waterproof, and I believe it.  I have had standing water on the material for several days without damage or warping.

This is what I am referring to when I say "Pergo".  Yes, it's laminate, but it is a far superior product to what laminate was a few years ago.

SVreX said:

I also suggested the laminate or engineered floating system because the OP was insistent the material be the same in both the lower level AND the upper level. 

The lower level is concrete. The upper one is wood. LVP is perfect on concrete, but less than perfect on wood. 

The ONE product that would do BOTH levels well is a floating floor, and the one floating floor that is moisture resistant is laminate. 

I agree LVP is great on concrete. Not so much on wood. 

I didn't mean to be insistent that they were the same material on both level but both rooms are on slabs.

Basically I want a good match on the bonus room (the 8x10) with the existing hardwood so it doesn't look completely out of place. Or is it going to be so hard to match that I should go with something completely different? I just want to get rid of the junky carpet.

The downstairs does not have to be a perfect match. But I don't want to look terrible versus the stairs coming down if that makes sense.

In reply to SVreX :

Is LVP the stick on stuff we are seeing used on slab foundation, "starter homes?" 

In reply to z31maniac :

Probably not. 

There are several products that can be easily confused. 

1- Peel and stick- ANY product that has a peel off paper backing with a glue underneath that self-adheres to the substrate is JUNK as far as I am concerned, regardless of what name they give it. They don’t work. 

2- LVP- Luxury Vinyl Plank- This stuff usually looks like wood planks, about 4’ or 5’ long. There are at least 2 separate versions- 1 is glued down with a thin watery glue that is like a contact cement. The other is an interlocking floating floor (not glued down). I have never used the floating floor but hear good things about it. I have used the glue down LVP, with awesome results. Note also that there is nothing proprietary about the word “Luxury”. These products first hit the market as a premium product, but the cheap versions realized quickly they could usurp the word “Luxury”, and sell their crappier stuff as the premium product. So, you need to look at marital thickness, and wear later thickness. 

3- LVT- Luxury Vinyl Tile. Sometimes called “Groutable Vinyl”. Similar to LVP, but in the shape of tiles instead of planks. This can be installed with gaps or joints that get grouted (like ceramic). Really nice product when done right (and a much easier surface to walk on than ceramic)

4- VCT- Vinyl Composite Tile. This is the old school glue down commercial product often seen in schools and institutional settings. Super durable, inexpensive, good for shops basements etc, but not very attractive. Again, look at thickness. 

Then there are the engineered woods, Pergo type products, etc. 

Hope that helps. 

In reply to SVreX :

I specified a foam-backed, loose-laid floating LVP floor in a charter K-8 school we did last year.  It looked great, went down very smoothly and quickly (even with color changes / patterns), hid a multitude of sins in the existing floor slab, and seems to be holding up well.  The planks were fairly heavy, and don't show much tendency to lift.

The only issue was that it took forever to get via container ship from whatever Asian hellhole sweatshop it came from.  But in house-sized quantities, I don't think that would be a problem

I put down a LVP floating floor in my laundry room remodel last year. I and the wife love it. Looks and has a texture like wood, impervious to water. I went with the best underlayment pad they offered. Bought at Lumber Liquidators. Is way better than the old laminate (read E36 M3ty) I have in other parts of the house.

If you do laminate, get one of these. It will be the best $125 you ever spent. 

SVreX said:

In reply to z31maniac :

Probably not. 

There are several products that can be easily confused. 

1- Peel and stick- ANY product that has a peel off paper backing with a glue underneath that self-adheres to the substrate is JUNK as far as I am concerned, regardless of what name they give it. They don’t work. 

2- LVP- Luxury Vinyl Plank- This stuff usually looks like wood planks, about 4’ or 5’ long. There are at least 2 separate versions- 1 is glued down with a thin watery glue that is like a contact cement. The other is an interlocking floating floor (not glued down). I have never used the floating floor but hear good things about it. I have used the glue down LVP, with awesome results. Note also that there is nothing proprietary about the word “Luxury”. These products first hit the market as a premium product, but the cheap versions realized quickly they could usurp the word “Luxury”, and sell their crappier stuff as the premium product. So, you need to look at marital thickness, and wear later thickness. 

3- LVT- Luxury Vinyl Tile. Sometimes called “Groutable Vinyl”. Similar to LVP, but in the shape of tiles instead of planks. This can be installed with gaps or joints that get grouted (like ceramic). Really nice product when done right (and a much easier surface to walk on than ceramic)

4- VCT- Vinyl Composite Tile. This is the old school glue down commercial product often seen in schools and institutional settings. Super durable, inexpensive, good for shops basements etc, but not very attractive. Again, look at thickness. 

Then there are the engineered woods, Pergo type products, etc. 

 

Hope that helps. 

Very helpful, thanks!

So both of these products should work for what I want correct?

For Downstairs

https://na.pergo.com/laminate/detail/28939-265012/coffee-handscraped-hickory-10mm?tab=overview

For the little extra room

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Home-Decorators-Collection-EIR-Sky-Gray-Oak-12-mm-Thick-x-4-92-in-Wide-x-47-80-in-Length-Laminate-Flooring-16-33-sq-ft-case-HL1323/305217491

The second one doesn't have the underlayer attached. I am guessing I would need to buy that as well.

We went crazy.  Seven rooms, two hallways, and the kitchen sanded to match.  We basically moved 2600’ of house into the garage in two sections.   Big job - really happy wife.