The Floor Itself

Neither is better in the abstract. Over a wood subfloor above grade, solid hardwood gives you more refinishes, four or five across its life. Over a concrete slab, below grade or over radiant heat, engineered hardwood is the correct answer, because its cross laid core stays flat where solid wood cups. The substrate decides, and Deco Hardwood Floor checks it before recommending either.

Not necessarily. An engineered floor with a thick wear layer from a good mill can cost more than commodity solid oak. The reason to choose engineered is where it can go, not what it costs. The reason to check the wear layer is that a thin veneer and a thick one are sold under the same name and have very different lives.

For wet rooms and basements, yes. For the whole house, think first. Vinyl plank cannot be refinished and is replaced when it wears, and in this region most buyers expect wood on the main floor. Where a room is wet, below grade or hard on a floor in a way wood cannot answer, vinyl is the right material. Deco Hardwood Floor will tell you which situation you are in.

The construction and the specification move it more than the species name. On engineered wood the wear layer thickness and the mill change it, and a thick wear layer can cost more than commodity solid oak. Deco Hardwood Floor buys direct from the distributor at the store price and quotes the material with the labor as one number, after seeing the room.

Site finished if the floor has to match one you already own, because old and new are sanded and coated together. Prefinished is reasonable when the whole floor is new and you want to walk on it the day the last board goes down. The permanent difference is the bevel at every prefinished board, which a site finished floor does not have.

It depends on the kind of damage. For spills on the surface, vinyl plank survives what wood does not. For dents and scratches, harder species such as white oak and hickory take more punishment than walnut or pine, and every species dents under enough weight. Wood can be sanded and repaired afterwards. Vinyl is replaced when its wear layer is gone.

If the floor meets an existing one, match that. Red oak is the default in this region: it takes stain evenly and it is what most existing floors here already are. Where nothing has to match, hardness and the light in the room decide. Deco Hardwood Floor brings samples to the house, because two boards of one species can take the same stain differently.

No. Deco Hardwood Floor brings samples and larger offcuts to the house, so you see the material in the room and the light it will live in. Stain color and the bevel of a prefinished board both read differently at home than in a showroom. The material is then bought direct from the distributor at the store price and quoted with the labor.

Solid hardwood, four or five times across its life. Engineered hardwood sometimes once or twice and sometimes never, depending on the wear layer: above about three millimeters there is room for a light sanding, and below two there is not. Vinyl plank cannot be refinished at all and is replaced when worn. If keeping the floor for decades matters, compare this first.

Solid hardwood, and laminate unless the basement stays dry. Concrete moves moisture from the ground into the room, and a solid board sitting in that cups and stays cupped. Laminate has a wood based core that swells when water sits on a seam. Engineered hardwood, after a slab moisture test, and vinyl plank are the two materials that belong below grade.