WoodFlooringGuy.com

Q: My son is in a wheelchair. What type of flooring is more conducive to wheelchairs? I’m thinking of going vinyl. A: Site finished hardwood is an excellent choice, being smooth, flat and hard.

What do you think of floating (glueless) engineered hardwood?

My bottom floor plan is open (dining and family room together, living room separated by half wall and no wall to kitchen.) The kitchen and walk way are tiled, while the rest is carpet. We are about to replace the carpet and I am thinking wood (on a concrete slab so I am leaning toward laminate.) The stairs will remain carpet. Is this an uncommon design… wood and tile on one floor with carpeted stairs? Are there any design rules, such as only 2 types of flooring per level? Or am I just paranoid?

We have to put a floating wood floor on the 1st floor in our 1890 brick city house in Philadelphia. Upstairs we have beautiful cherry stained yellow pine floors with a polyurethane coat that has tons of character. Could you suggest a species of wood offered in floating floors that might work well with the character of our floor upstairs? And, I’m confused about the 1-3 strip choices when choosing a floating floor. Which do you think might work best for us? And lastly, for floating floors would you recommend Khars? Any others?

I have carpeting in my house now, but I want hardwood or laminate. I don’t know what color. My house is over 100 years old. My living room furniture is cherry and my dining room is walnut (was my parents). Can you give me some suggestions?

I am redoing the floors in my foyer area with solid hardwood. I have a half bath off of my foyer that I was going to put hardwood in as well since it would flow very nicely. I know hardwood is not recommended for bathrooms, but would it be okay for a half bath?

I removed my old carpet. There is a thin padding underneath. It is in pretty good condition so I was wondering if I can install the engineered hardwood flooring over that instead of removing and putting the foam (as suggested by manufacturers.) Is this something not to do?

We are finishing our basement. It is cement and we are considering putting in a sub-floor, in-floor heating, and then installing cork flooring or tile. Which is the better option? We’re leaning towards the cork; however, will the cork flooring be durable enough in the event of a septic tank backing up?

Do you have a favourite brand of floating floors?

Is it wise to put good quality oak hardwood flooring in a front entrance ( 9′ x 7.5′) and up the 7 stairs to the main level? We have very expensive tile on the floors now and carpeting on the stairs and main floor. We were trying to keep some semblance of continuity by putting it all in hardwood. We use this entrance 95% of the time.

I live in a condo and recently had hardwood floors installed in my kitchen and living room. The contractor used nails versus glue. The original floor in my kitchen was vinyl and under the vinyl is zipcrete. I was told by another contractor that my floors should have been installed with glue and not nails and that my hardwood floors will not stay secure. Is this true? If so, what should I do to correct the problem?

Is there such a thing as a floating hardwood floor? I have seen hardwood flooring that has a “uniclic” design which looks like it can be floating. If so, what types of things should I consider for installing it in my new (less than 5 year old) condo? Would there be a sub floor over the concrete?

We just purchased a house that has ceramic tile flooring in the living room. It is on top of a hardwood floor. I don’t know if there is a layer protecting the wood, but from peeking on one corner it looks like it was laid directly on the wood. Is there any hope of salvaging the wood floors underneath? Can you give us any tips for removing the tile?

I was told my new “lap & gap” red pine may cause problems with curving, lifting, and not being able to lay down evenly. Do you have any insight on the practicality of using “lap & gap” red pine for flooring and installing “lap & gap”?

I just bought a house with wall to wall carpet that must go. There is plywood subflooring underneath and I can’t afford to install hardwoods any time soon. Can I stain the subflooring?

I am looking for floating floors for my basement. What is recommended for a basement?

My son is in a power wheelchair. To get to his room he needs to cross the den and I would like to replace it with wood. I’m understanding that the laminating would be easier to keep from getting damaged. Please let me know if a laminated one would work better than a hardwood one. It will get a lot of wear and tear.

My mother is in a wheelchair. What would be the best flooring for them to use in their home?

Is hardwood too slick for a large dog with bad hips?

We are building a new house. I love the look of hardwood and would love to have it in the kitchen. The problem is we have three children and I’m afraid it won’t hold up in the kitchen area. I’m also concerned about water damage. At this point I have requested ceramic tile in the kitchen but really want hardwood. The hang ups I have are durability and water damage???….. Help! What’s your opinion?