Floor change

plank, if it's good plank, beats parquet. What do I mean by "good plank?' I am anti-engineered floors -- I know others will disagree with me -- but I think they generally look "plastic"-y.

ali r
DG Neary Realty

Engineered generally tend to look too engineered.

I have beautiful red oak but they are creaky as hell.
And I share main support beams with neighbors so all will have to do the floors to be effective.

875gator: If you're in the building I think you're in (Candela, early-mid 20s) nice plank should be fine, and will look classy. I would keep the stain in the oak-cherry range: not too light, not too dark. If you were in the Apthorp or Dakota, splurging on really spectacular parquet might make sense.

IMHO, cheap parquet is never a good idea.

I recommend engineered floors in typical post-war construction because they are well designed for the job. In many post-war buildings, owners have gone to great length to rip up the parquet, level the floors, instal sub floors plus tongue and grove hardwood. In theory, all this work can lead to a high quality finished product, but in other cases there are compromises. The fire rated entry door and interior doors are cut to accommodate the subfloor, or the floor is drastically tilted near the entry to accommodate the fire door. It is a shame that immediately upon entry, you see a flawed surface. This doesn't happen with engineered floors which are designed for glue down installation without a subfloor--exactly the same as the parquet they are replacing. If you buy top of the line engineered floors and have them installed by a good contractor, you should be pleased. Just ask to see samples of your contractor's finished work.

gator--we're faced with a similar decision. Our 1918 or so prewar's original parquet floors are pretty shot in the living areas (thinned veneers, areas of border marquetry loss and looseness), though still look beautiful. We're debating whether or not to replace them. It's a really tough decision and one we've been vacillating over for a few weeks now.

Personally, I do think plank can be nice when done well. I tend to be wary of 'new' parquet or herringbone, wondering whether it will look too contrived. Whatever you do, definitely spring for good hardwood and not the engineered junk.

I am thinking of red oak planks and considering keeping borders rather than having the planks run right into the walls. I know someone said that red oak was creaking but I wonder if it has anything to do with the installation and not the wood type.

Good parquet doesn't have to be expensive - I saw some installed in a Fort Greene brownstone that looked stunning. Copied the scale and design of the original floors.

Oh no, my red oaks creek because the building is 100 years old.
I am a)not thrilled with the prospect of tearing them up and b) would need participation with neighbors

Sounds like puttinh in red oak planks can only help the value of the home as the floor will be new.

Should I keep the boarders or get rid of them when the planks go in?

gator--did your floor guy say that would be possible? Sometimes it is not, sometimes it is. The last thing you want is to have the borders and inner areas not match correctly. It might work best to replace the borders as well to keep everything uniform.

He actually said that the borders would be gone when he puts the planks in but i am thinking that i wold like to have them. The borders are very simple but maybe he will need to replace them.

I think having some sort of border would definitely be nicer, especially with the plank. It doesn't have to be fancy; it would just provide a nice finish to the whole floor. If we replace our floors we're planning to have simple borders regardless of whether we do straight planks or something fancier like herringbone or parquet.

If we can get planks and borders at $10/sq ft then i will do it

$10/sqft for the materials? I think that's do-able. Call Premium flooring in Bk. http://www.premiumfloors.com/

The inlaid stuff they show on their site is way too McMansiony, but they can do simpler things as well. I bought my red oak (quarter-sawn & rift select) 5", for approx. $5/sqft 6 years ago.