Hardwood flooring vs synthetic hardwood

[Joe1]

I have a condo that got some water damage from a leak in the exterior during the recent storm that hit the northeast.
The flooring was damaged and will be replaced.

l have decided to replace all floors in addition to the damaged area.

l really don't know much about this stuff and was wondering if someone could give advice on what are the pros and cons of using real wood floors vs synthetic or provide any specific recommendations.

About 1000 square feet will be replaced.

 

[Zee09]

Vinyl plank appears superior to real hardwood in many situations.

 

[PandaBear]

Wood should never be in a place that has water, that's my experience. Vinyl is great although it doesn't "feel" as nice as real wood, I'd still take it over real wood any day.

 

[Jimmy_Russells]

I like hardwood at/above grade and engineered below

 

[Donald]

You have a lot of options. Normal oak flooring can be sanded and refinished many times. Some of the engineered wood cannot be refinished more than once or twice as the wood you see is a veneer. There is non wood flooring, being vinyl and ceramic tile that looks like wood.

I like normal oak flooring that is 2" or so wide. My NY house has prefinished 6" oak flooring. Not engineered. But is shrinks and expands in the various humidity. Gaps here and there. I am not a fan of wide oak flooring unless its screwed/nailed and pegged. At least that is what I am told will eliminate gaps. But have not tried that install method..

 

[Zee09]

With the vinyl plank read the description carefully.
Go for waterproof instead of water resistant..
Seen both at the same prices.

 

[JeffKeryk]

Depends on your budget. The new vynal plank stuff is pretty amazing. If cost is no object, wood is flat out beautiful.
We put in Pergo Select 15 years ago. It is so easy to clean. Looks fantastic. The new stuff is far better I imagine.
We are looking into working on our Petaluma home. I will fo vynal plank.
If I did our Los Gatos house again, I just might do wood. Who the heck knows?

 

[Wolf359]

Well the best and most expensive will be real hardwood floors that are 3/4 inch thick. That will basically last a lifetime. The engineered stuff usually can't be sanded and are good for 20-25 years, they're also thinner and don't feel as solid. They are much cheaper though. It's important that it be installed correctly otherwise the floor will expand from humidity and if there's not enough room, you'll ended up with ridges in the flooring and it will be uneven. Real hardwood you'll need to replace the baseboard and give it room to expand. Also will have to put in thresholds and there will be a bump at the door for the higher height. At least they can be sanded though and redone when needed.

 

[WylieCoyote]

Saw a lot of different vinyl plank when I went house-shopping with my parents in Florida. That plank somehow absorbs sound better than hardwoods. There was a noticeable difference between houses with / without. Waterproof is a big point in Florida. They make it look like wood, but it'll never look or feel JUST LIKE wood. It's attractive in its own right, and basically indestructible, unless you're a dummy who drags heavy furniture or appliances across your floors. I'd do it in a minute in my next house. The scenario of the kitchen sink supply hose bursting while we're out of the house gives this engineered flooring owner flop sweat.

 

[Boomer]

Real hardwood flooring that is factory finished has a quality of finish that you can never duplicate in your home by sanding and applying a urethane with a brush. The factory finish is usually many layers and is generally UV cured, making it EXTREMELY resistant to general life experiences. Laminate flooring is like a Formica top with and engineered material underneath. It is VERY resistant to scratches and spills which makes it ideal if you have small children or pets. However, laminate can be a bit slippery and does not always behave well with throw rugs which can slide out from under you causing a fall. IMHO, it is best left as is after installation. Vinyl plank is the most resistant to water damage and if that is a major concern, it may dictate the way you go. Most floors today are using a snap together edge or a Click Lock feature which makes it VERY easy to install. You have to leave enough room around the edge to accommodate expansion and this area is usually covered with quarter round molding.

If you are installing on concrete, you will want to do a moisture test. Put down a square foot of Saran wrap on the concrete and seal all four sides with duct tape. Wait a day or two. If you see condensation, you have a faulty vapor barrier and mold will grow underneath your flooring. This is a very important thing to do before installing flooring over a slab. If there is condensation, you will have to take remedial measures.

Hope this helps. Worked for a major manufacturer of vinyl and hardwood, laminate flooring for many years.

 

[gman2304]

Well the best and most expensive will be real hardwood floors that are 3/4 inch thick. That will basically last a lifetime. The engineered stuff usually can't be sanded and are good for 20-25 years, they're also thinner and don't feel as solid. They are much cheaper though. It's important that it be installed correctly otherwise the floor will expand from humidity and if there's not enough room, you'll ended up with ridges in the flooring and it will be uneven. Real hardwood you'll need to replace the baseboard and give it room to expand. Also will have to put in thresholds and there will be a bump at the door for the higher height. At least they can be sanded though and redone when needed.

^ This. My house was built in 1970. We bought the house in 1994 and every inch of the floors were carpet…shag carpet…and yes the kitchen and all 3 bathrooms were carpet…every inch! The underlayment was particle board and we stripped it all out and hired a local one man flooring company to come in and lay down 2 inch x 3/4 inch tongue and groove white oak flooring along with new 4 inch baseboards with 1/4 round shoe molding and oak baseboard hvac registers. We had him finish the wood in a natural semi gloss stain and the floors are absolutely gorgeous to this day! It took him a month to finish it working 6 days a week and cost a small fortune but I would do the same thing all over again if faced with a similar situation since we were and still are planning on living in this house forever. If one plans to live in they’re house a decade or less the engineered wood might be the better option.

 

[samven]

I bought a house that had the engineered wood flooring in the dining room which sat next to the kitchen. the ice maker line had broken and flooded the kitchen and dining room. The kitchen was vinyl and there was no damage except the toe kicks but the dining room floor had swollen up like a fake sponge at all the joints. I would never put it anywhere it might get soaked but it is tough and stands up to pebbles caught in shoes and kids dragging toys.

 

[Joe1]

Real hardwood flooring that is factory finished has a quality of finish that you can never duplicate in your home by sanding and applying a urethane with a brush. The factory finish is usually many layers and is generally UV cured, making it EXTREMELY resistant to general life experiences. Laminate flooring is like a Formica top with and engineered material underneath. It is VERY resistant to scratches and spills which makes it ideal if you have small children or pets. However, laminate can be a bit slippery and does not always behave well with throw rugs which can slide out from under you causing a fall. IMHO, it is best left as is after installation. Vinyl plank is the most resistant to water damage and if that is a major concern, it may dictate the way you go. Most floors today are using a snap together edge or a Click Lock feature which makes it VERY easy to install. You have to leave enough room around the edge to accommodate expansion and this area is usually covered with quarter round molding.

If you are installing on concrete, you will want to do a moisture test. Put down a square foot of Saran wrap on the concrete and seal all four sides with duct tape. Wait a day or two. If you see condensation, you have a faulty vapor barrier and mold will grow underneath your flooring. This is a very important thing to do before installing flooring over a slab. If there is condensation, you will have to take remedial measures.

Hope this helps. Worked for a major manufacturer of vinyl and hardwood, laminate flooring for many years.

Thanks. I am on an upper floor in a high rise condo. The floors are separated by a concrete slab. In my case, the water entered from the exterior and got underneath the flooring and caused it to buckle upwards.
l will check the concrete after the flooring is removed.

 

[Kruse]

Both have advantages and disadvantages. About 17 years ago, I put down about $6K worh of 3/4" solid oak tongue and groove (that was material cost at that time. I did the labor myself) in my house. That took a lot of time and I then had to finish it. I'm sure it would cost a lot more today. I did put down some Pergo in the laundry room and main bathroom because it was more resistant to moisture than solid wood.
A flooring salesman did tell me this one time. You have a lady walk across Pergo with high-heeled shoes and you will hear "clicks". With genuine hardwood flooring, you will not.

 

[Wolf359]

Thanks. I am on an upper floor in a high rise condo. The floors are separated by a concrete slab. In my case, the water entered from the exterior and got underneath the flooring and caused it to buckle upwards.
l will check the concrete after the flooring is removed.

You probably want whatever caused the leak to be repaired first. You basically need some room under the baseboard for the wood to expand. I've seen wood flooring improperly installed that butt up right against the baseboard so there's no room for expansion and then it buckles once you have high humidity or water.

I see wood floors damaged from water leaks all the time. I would say that about 1000 square feet is probably in the 10-15k range depending how much labor is in your area. With the wood shortage I'm not even sure what hardwood flooring goes for now, maybe more. But it sounds like the damage should be covered by insurance. I would always get unit insurance on the condo unit so if you get 20k worth of flooring damage, it gets covered by your own insurance and not have to fight with the building insurance which may have a high deductible.

 

[wpod]

I am doing Vinyl plank in everything I won. 7 houses and 2) 4 plexes . I really like vinyl plank.

 

[Joe1]

You probably want whatever caused the leak to be repaired first. You basically need some room under the baseboard for the wood to expand. I've seen wood flooring improperly installed that butt up right against the baseboard so there's no room for expansion and then it buckles once you have high humidity or water.

I see wood floors damaged from water leaks all the time. I would say that about 1000 square feet is probably in the 10-15k range depending how much labor is in your area. With the wood shortage I'm not even sure what hardwood flooring goes for now, maybe more. But it sounds like the damage should be covered by insurance. I would always get unit insurance on the condo unit so if you get 20k worth of flooring damage, it gets covered by your own insurance and not have to fight with the building insurance which may have a high deductible.

Thanks. The building management will fix the exterior. l will wait for that to be done before installing new flooring. The insurance adjuster visited today.
I submitted the claim through my own policy. My insurance company thinks the condo insurance should cover it. l will let them fight it out. But the condo is responsible for exterior maintenance where l presume the leak is.

 

[Wolf359]

I bought a house that had the engineered wood flooring in the dining room which sat next to the kitchen. the ice maker line had broken and flooded the kitchen and dining room. The kitchen was vinyl and there was no damage except the toe kicks but the dining room floor had swollen up like a fake sponge at all the joints. I would never put it anywhere it might get soaked but it is tough and stands up to pebbles caught in shoes and kids dragging toys.

Like I said, as a real estate broker I hear of and see water leaks all the time. Toilets overflows, tub leaks (usually whirlpool tubs that have additional plumbing underneath it) people above the unit causing water leaks, sprinklers letting go, water heaters leaking and of course the water line to the refrigerator. The worst is pet stains, can't get that urine stain out of the wood no matter how much you sand it.

 

[97prizm]

This is somewhat new but how about [Pergo Portfolio + WetProtect Waterproof Oak 10-mm Thick Waterproof Wood Plank]. Now Pergo used to be the butt of the flooring jokes, but this looks real and is supposed waterproof

 

[CharlesInCharge]

I love real hardwood but it has limitations.

First, never use it in areas that have plumbing like bathrooms and sinks. Use tile or other materials there.

Second, wood is expensive but ends up looking absolutely fantastic. The best is 3/4 inch tongue and groove. It's pretty easy to lay and work with oneself to save massive labor costs. I've done probably 15 or so room and some complex stair projects that turned out amazing, and a lot with mismatched remnants that fit together. Bambo is a nice inexpensive and renewable alternative but don't believe the sellers that it won't mar. It definitely mars.

I do like well-done laminants but they seem to feel cheap and echo a lot more noise. For high-traffic areas they are an excellent choice as they are cheap and super durable. Some of the wideplank laminants look almost as good as real wood for a fraction of the price.