Cost of Engineered Hardwood

[Kyle B.]

I have a property I'm going to flip and am considering installing engineered hardwood in the main living areas. I've never purchased this flooring before so I was interested in knowing what other rehabbers typically pay per square foot. I've mainly been looking through Lumber Liquidators and BuildDirect and have found a lot of options in the $2.50 to $3.00 price range. Can I expect flooring in this price range to be quality, or would I need to pay up for a better quality. I'm not looking for anything fancy, but I obviously want to avoid crap product. For reference, this is a house that will sell for $135k, so most likely a first time home buyer.

Thanks!

[Roy N.]

Originally posted by @J Scott:

How much are you paying for installation? If you're paying $3/sf for materials and another $2/sf for installation, you can get site-finished hardwood for about the same price ($5-6/sf), and it will be a whole lot nicer (and last much longer).
Just a thought...

J.

Some of the newer, better engineered hardwoods are durable like real hardwood and can be refinished couple of times. The big pluses engineered hardwood are:

• it is more stable than traditional hardwood, so are less likely to cup or twist;
• is more sustainable to produce than traditional hardwood (makes resources go further);
• some are available with installation methods/systems allowing for easier installation than traditional hardwood.