Engineered vs. solid hardwood flooring

I loathe engineered flooring and you can always tell the difference, but, if you are renting your hardwood will get destroyed,I promise.

Sanding and 2 to 3 coats for hardwood should run around $3 to $4 dollars a sq foot.

I'd go with engineered flooring but have them do it in a way that should you decide to stop renting, you can use the engineered as a subfloor later on.

I defer to contractors and experts if this is not practical.

Actually I take it back. You can always sand and refinish hardwood floors, I dont think you can sand an engineered wood more than twice.
You can also spot repair natural hardwood.

Engineered also can easily scratch (mine sure as hell do) and have a shorter life span since you can't refinish more than once, maybe twice if you're lucky. The engineered look has actually grown on me, and it's certainly much cheaper and easier to install.

It's a tough call and one many people struggle with. Not even sure what I'd do if I were replacing mine at this point.

I think high quality engineered is the way to go. both are susceptible to scratching. engineered is the standard in the city...a place in the country would have hardwood.

more grass roots stuff?

real wood is far superior

Ive dealt with both...I think engineered is the way to go for apartments

columbiacounty
about 1 hour ago
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more grass roots stuff?

Haha. C0C0 made a pun.

greensberg, why?

Hi C0C0!

dead dead green stein.

Engineered may be the "standard" for newer, cheaper construction, but it's hardly the "standard" for MOST buildings built prior to 1985.

It's also ugly as hell and screams "FAKE!!" louder than golfball-sized cubic zirconia.

Pay for hardwood now, and reduce your refinishing/replacement costs later, or save some money now w/ engineered floor and pay up later when you have to replace. I'd suggest a real wood 3/4" white oak tongue & groove floor, with a commercial poly finish applied after installation (like the compounds they use on basketball courts, though not so glossy). With reasonable care, should last 100 years, minor touch up required between tenants, major resanding every 20 years.

Engineered floors have come a long way. But the well made versions are only moderately cheaper than solid wood, and have a substantial wear layer that can be resurfaced many times. There is no way anyone would know the difference, and it screams nothing. Take a look at LV Wood or Carlisle floors. The factory finish on pre-finished floors likely will outlast any site finish.

But, if you are talking about using micro-beveled Bellawood floors from Bob Vila, those are indeed horrible looking.

Not sure I agree with NYCMatt on the ugly as hell either. Some good quality engineered looks fantastic, and other than the scratching, I actually love our floors (original installation by developer in 2004). My neighbor had water damage due to a leak from the apartment above and he replaced his floor with the exact same stuff. He had the choice to do something different and after living there for 10 years, cost not being an issue, elected to install the same thing all over again. (2004 vintage new construction so all units had the same floors).

OP, pros and cons to both, you're just going to get personal opinions from people here on both sides. Just make an educated decision and move forward.

It's entirely possible that, like hair plugs, you only notice the bad ones.
Ive personally just never seen a floor yet that Ive asked about and surprised to find out it was engineered and not hardwood.

NYCSport, LV Wood's site looks impressive, I may stop in to their store to have a looksy.

>truthskr10

I agree with NYC_sport, for the good ones, it s impossible to tell the difference. It s both cheaper and more stable (and not that it matters here but the only solution for radiant heat).
My experience is that the finish is extremely important. Polys tend to be very shiny (much more than oil) and in my opinion, make them look fake, even on real wood... But polys are much better at enduring years and I would do polys in a rental apt.

Here is a HUGE difference... the engineered/prefinished stuff might lock together, but then there are gaps. Spill, and it goes through. THEN try and see what you have going with smelly padding rotted away underneath.

A floor finished in-house shouldn't have these gaps...