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Updated almost 15 years ago, 01/19/2010
Engineered Hardwood vs Laminate - Buyer Preference?
Regarding flooring, any opinions out there on whether buyers have a preference for hardwood or laminate? I was thinking of going with an engineered hardwood (more stable and cheaper than solid) over laminate so I can say yes to the question "Is that real wood?" Even though laminiate is probably more durable, not to mention cheaper, I need to sell fast and want to appeal to more buyers.
Laminate is much cheaper, and can look great, but I think everyone would still prefer the real thing. A low end buyer though probably wouldn't even know the difference. Depends on the house though - if it's high end, go wood. If it's a cheapo little starter, laminate would be ok, probably.
Check you options and please don't use the cheapest laminate it looks like it's the cheapest. For a little more hardwood adds a lot of appeal.
House will probably sell for 175K-200K. I'd be looking to do about 400 sqft. It sits over a really damp crawl space (high water table) but at least it doesn't have the two feet of water it had when I bought it. I'm afraid solid hardwood might warp. but I figured the engineered version would be ok, and look nicer than laminate.
Minna - would buyers in this price range know the difference? I will stay away from the ultra cheapo stuff but want to keep material costs below $2/sqft and will install myself.
I dont know where you are, but every house I've bought has been in that price range and I absolutely know the difference, and I believe my buyers do.
if it's damp, I don't think either hardwood or laminate would make it through a flood, but I'd rather lose a room of laminate than a room of hardwood, you know? What room of the house is it?
I've used the real cheapo laminate before, but it looks just that, and it's a real pain to install. Every week I'd have to walk through and kick the seams back together.
I did recently finish my own basement with a nicer laminate, it looks incredible and it was $2/ft (before underlayment..etc). It's very very believable too. It was a swiftlock brand. Real nice fit.
But also this is a basement - I didn't have a lot of choices. Now if it had been a living room, I would've gone hardwood.
I have just finished putting down 3 pallets of laminate in some of my rehabs, the most important things to look for are length of tongue (the short tongues have a tendancy to want to snap, plus they can move eisier), resistance to moisture, and of course looks.
I would not put laminate any where where there could be a problem with moisture, it will warp faster than wood. Never put laminate in bathrooms unless you have a huge water proof bath matt down.
I'd still not do the bathroom. I did it once, went out of my way to make sure it was 100% waterproof, and still 6 months later it started to smell like mold and I ripped it all out.
Engineered hardwood it is. Thanks so much for the advice. Its going in the living room and hall and I will probably nail or staple it down. I don't know if there are any real wood floors that can be floated. I put laminate in an apartment living room and hall once and it was a major pain trying to snap the pieces around corners and through door-ways.
Minna - for future reference, where did you get the laminate you used in the basement?
I think it was Lowe's.
An update for all you rehabbers. I went with the engineered hardwood from Menards in my current project, about 600 sqft worth. As long as I was renting the gun, I decided to replace the living room carpet with some more engineered hardwood from HD in one of my rentals, about 150 sqft. Here's some stuff I learned. First: the Menards material was cheaper and better quality than HDs. Second: the stuff looks great, much better than laminate. Third: it was a major pain to install! Like a lot of solid hardwood, the boards run 3 in. wide so there's lots of pieces. But unlike solid, they don't lie flat so you're on your knees fitting each piece together. Fourth: You need a special stapler (unless you choose to glue it - which I don't recommend) which I rented from HD at $29 a day. Ended up needing it for a week at a weekly rate of $116. Could have bought the gun for $210. Bottom line - I won't use it rentals again. I'm happy with the look for the rehab job but will probably go with solid next time.
Some Lowes stores carry a finished hardwood that has some 50 year warranty and it's in the $1.90 a foot range. It's very thin, but it's T&G hardwood, not laminate or engineered.
For my personal residence, I am building a timber frame home in SE Indiana on a 15 acre mini-farm. We are actually putting in SOFT WOOD. I am actually using 2x6 T&G pine car decking (untreated) and not even laying any floor covering at all. It's sitting on 2x12 joists spaced 14" on center. 1st & 2nd floor both. I could park a bulldozer on it. I am simply finishing it out with linseed oil and hoping that it scuffs up and dents quickly. New beauty marks will be treated with more oil. Of course, being a timber-frame in the country, we're going for a rustic finish.
I learned the trick when I went to log home building school. I toured one of the largest log homes in the US near Seattle WA. Many scenes from the TV show Northern Exposure was filmed there. I realized that the aged look of the rustic floors actually came from the fact that they were milled from the same Douglas Fir that the house was built with. IMHO, it was stunningly beautiful (if you like the rustic look).
I'm a big fan of that look. There's a cottage on Lake Michigan we go to each year done completely in pine car siding and decking. It inspired me to do our basement with car siding. Do I understand you're not using subfloor under your decking? Is the first floor over a basement?
Just crawlspace, no basement. No subfloor. The car deck is completely sufficient.
The entire house is built on trapezoidal piers that I have poured 8 feet on center. (My snow load is engineered to 55 lbs !!)
I have structural steel footer collars cast into the exterior perimeter piers that act as the base for my timber post columns.
The entire structural joinery system is pre-engineered by a company out of PA called Socket Systems. The columns are free-span, tilt-up and seated into the collar by pinning to the footer. The wood sits about 2" above the surface of the pier.
Immediately above the collar on the base of the column, there is a 2x12 hanger plate lag bolted to the timber columns creating a full perimeter. The joists are then hung from this perimeter by inserting them perpendicular between the outside perimeter and the field laminated 4x12 ((2, 2x12s lag bolted together)intermediary cross beams that are pinned to #4 rebar that I cast into smaller, interior support piers. Rebar sticks out 4 inches above top surface. Cross beams are pre-drilled in center and matched up to rebar pins.
Vapor barrier and insulation fill between joists and the car decking is pinned on the top surface across the joists.
I've always liked the idea of piers vs. traditional foundations they seem more forgiving and I suppose you don't have much of a freeze/thaw problem in your area. I'd love to see some pics if construction isn't too far along.