Engineered Hardwood and Solid Hardwood - Brands?

[CharmyPoo]

Hi All,

I am looking for both an engineered hardwood (on main floor due to concrete subfloor) and a solid hardwood (second floor). I have been to over 10 flooring stores and having trouble finding what I want.

I am looking for a dark wood that is 3.5" to 3.75" wide. The closest we have seen is the 3.5" Satin Finish Graphite solid wood and the 3.25" Mercier Mystic Brown Engineered hardwood. I am open to a glue down engineered wood.

Ideally, I would like both the solid wood and engineered wood to be from the same company. The solid wood isn't a problem but I can't find an engineered wood at the 3.5" width! Help - any suggestions?

Thanks!

[patrob]

Hi All,

I am looking for both an engineered hardwood (on main floor due to concrete subfloor) and a solid hardwood (second floor). I have been to over 10 flooring stores and having trouble finding what I want.

I am looking for a dark wood that is 3.5" to 3.75" wide. The closest we have seen is the 3.5" Satin Finish Graphite solid wood and the 3.25" Mercier Mystic Brown Engineered hardwood. I am open to a glue down engineered wood.

Ideally, I would like both the solid wood and engineered wood to be from the same company. The solid wood isn't a problem but I can't find an engineered wood at the 3.5" width! Help - any suggestions?

Thanks!


Is there a reason that you want solid wood upstairs? Since you can install engineered right throughout the house & keep the same colour/width & species....plus you can glue it, nail it or float it!

Try www.vintageflooring.com

They make solid & engineered in the same species & same colours. Eng. in 3 1/2" width, extremely good quality milling and reasonable price.

[north5995]

Bah stay away from Satin Finish. We just ripped out 600 sq feet of Satin Finish hardwood as they are having quality control issues. The stain was flaking off the ends of the boards and the boards had a significant amount of manufacturing defects (staple marks, dents and very deep grain marks). It probably depends on the line of hardwood though.

We replaced it with Lauzon and have been satified so far.

[patrob]

Bah stay away from Satin Finish. We just ripped out 600 sq feet of Satin Finish hardwood as they are having quality control issues. The stain was flaking off the ends of the boards and the boards had a significant amount of manufacturing defects (staple marks, dents and very deep grain marks). It probably depends on the line of hardwood though.

We replaced it with Lauzon and have been satified so far.

Lauzon is one of the top brands.

From time to time, Satin Finish has quality control problems...but more known to have problems with dust in the finish. They don't use protection foam between layers when packing the wood in boxes:rolleyes: that helps reduct dents & scratches. The production is too big for them to keep up with good quality control & sometimes it looks like they mill second grade & sell as first grade.

[gooch1000]

Try Mirage Hardwood Flooring.

http://www.miragefloors.ca/

They make a Soild, Engineered Glue/Nail down, and a new Floating lock product.

Look at the colours Vienna or Java.


G.

[patrob]

[B][SIZE="2"] Try Mirage Hardwood Flooring.


Mirage - good product but for some time now, there are more & more shorts in all the wood that comes from Quebec and all that for a higher price, since Mirage is not cheap.

Probably as you know, Vintage is equal to Mirage for slightly lower price, better lengths, good choice of colours, above quality and is made right here in GTA.

Over many manufacturers and grades of wood installed, my husband still prefers & recommends Vintage above all:!: :!: Vintage daily production is smaller than Mirage, so the quality control is much better...;)

[DSTU]

I used http://www.goodfellowinc.com/ engineered wood, not one bad board in over 9 boxes.

Highly recommended.

I used Bellefloor.

http://www.goodfellowinc.com/english/ProductEn/Plancher/plancherBellefloor/index.php

[patrob]

I used http://www.goodfellowinc.com/ engineered wood, not one bad board in over 9 boxes.

Highly recommended.

I used Bellefloor.

http://www.goodfellowinc.com/english/ProductEn/Plancher/plancherBellefloor/index.php

Then you're one lucky 'fellow' :lol:

[gooch1000]

Strictly speaking about engineered Flooring. The biggest difference between Vintage and Mirage is not so much the price.

Mirage's Engineered has 5 set lengths that make it easier for repairs. It also has a 5 ply hardwood core, and it's available it 3 different widths.

Vintage's Hardwood Floorings strength in its engineered line, are the choices of species, they offer alot more exotics than Mirage. They also offer only 2 widths, and random lengths. Although Vintage may be less than Mirage when looking at solids, they are actually a little more money when you compare engineered products.

Regardless both are excellent products. I recommend going to a dealer that carries both lines to compare them side by side.

Try.

www.darmaga.com

Or

www.woodchuckflooring.com


I've had success with both places.

G.

[Jucius Maximus]

Try Mirage Hardwood Flooring.

http://www.miragefloors.ca/

They make a Soild, Engineered Glue/Nail down, and a new Floating lock product.

Look at the colours Vienna or Java.


G.

I have mirage floors in my condo and it's not defect-free. Not full of defects either but I had one long full-length plank right in the middle of the living room start to separate and lift out of the floor. Not a pretty repair at all. Just bad luck on my part I guess.

[patrob]

:arrowu: What's with the big font size:rolleyes: It gets bigger & bigger with every post :|

You really sound like a Mirage sales rep...:lol:

My husband actually works with both & Vintage's new line of engineered has pre-set lengths as most other companies, NOT random.

Regardless, both are the best on the market.

[patrob]

I have mirage floors in my condo and it's not defect-free. Not full of defects either but I had one long full-length plank right in the middle of the living room start to separate and lift out of the floor. Not a pretty repair at all. Jut bad luck on my part I guess.

From time to time, you might find one of those boards in your floor that will start to de-laminate (separation between vaneer & core). Fixable but pain in the a@@:mad:

Usually it's a manufacturing defect & they usually take care of it, if not caused by water or improper installation.

[CharmyPoo]

Thanks for all the feedback everyone!! No one said anything about Mercier so I am not sure if I should stick with them. At least, I know for sure to stay away from Satin Finish! I really like the offerings by both Vintage and Mirage - I am just surprised that none of the hardwood stores offered it to me even though they carry those two products.

[patrob]

Thanks for all the feedback everyone!! No one said anything about Mercier so I am not sure if I should stick with them. At least, I know for sure to stay away from Satin Finish! I really like the offerings by both Vintage and Mirage - I am just surprised that none of the hardwood stores offered it to me even though they carry those two products.

I bet I know whey they did not offer it to you:rolleyes: ...their commission is probably higher on the 'other' stuff, since Vintage & Mirage dealer pricing is higher & they don't make as much profit...:idea: So tell them you want to buy the stuff they don't want to offer you:twisted:

[gooch1000]

:arrowu: What's with the big font size:rolleyes: It gets bigger & bigger with every post :|

You really sound like a Mirage sales rep...:lol:

My husband actually works with both & Vintage's new line of engineered has pre-set lengths as most other companies, NOT random.

Regardless, both are the best on the market.

Sorry, I'll tone it done. Just fooling with the font options. Nope not a flooring Rep, just a GC.

G.

[gooch1000]

I have mirage floors in my condo and it's not defect-free. Not full of defects either but I had one long full-length plank right in the middle of the living room start to separate and lift out of the floor. Not a pretty repair at all. Jut bad luck on my part I guess.

Did the product fail or was it the installation? If the product delaminated, call and get a Mirage rep out to look at it. If it was the installation, have the installer come back and fix it. Ether way it should not be you responsibility. Unless you’re the installer.... Or you work for Mirage.:)

G.

[smp]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Torlys. I used their product, engineered, installed it floating. The quality seems good, but I think with any engineered floor the top layer is more prone to scratches and dents than a solid wood floor. Mine is maple, natural finish.

[CharmyPoo]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Torlys. I used their product, engineered, installed it floating. The quality seems good, but I think with any engineered floor the top layer is more prone to scratches and dents than a solid wood floor. Mine is maple, natural finish.

I looked into Torlys but I didn't like it. They didn't have the colours I wanted and for some reason - the surface felt fake to me.

[Jucius Maximus]

From time to time, you might find one of those boards in your floor that will start to de-laminate (separation between vaneer & core). Fixable but pain in the a@@:mad:

Usually it's a manufacturing defect & they usually take care of it, if not caused by water or improper installation.

In this case the installation was under warranty from Tarion so the plank was replaced at no cost to me.

[Jucius Maximus]

Did the product fail or was it the installation? If the product delaminated, call and get a Mirage rep out to look at it. If it was the installation, have the installer come back and fix it. Ether way it should not be you responsibility. Unless you’re the installer.... Or you work for Mirage.:)

As I wrote in another post, the plank was reinstalled at no cost to me due to the Tarion warranty. I taked to the warranty people from my condo and they had the flooring people come in and repair.

According to one installer who was supposed to repair it, he suggested that it might be due to the expansion of other boards due to humidity. They were all putting pressure on that board in the middle of the room causing it to de-laminate. However I can tell you that it was definitely OK when it was installed. Only sometime afterward I had friends over and one of them pointed it out.

The other repair guy who actually did repair it say that the cause was hard to determine, but possibly due to a manufacturing defect.

[Ray]

Thanks for all the feedback everyone!! No one said anything about Mercier so I am not sure if I should stick with them. At least, I know for sure to stay away from Satin Finish! I really like the offerings by both Vintage and Mirage - I am just surprised that none of the hardwood stores offered it to me even though they carry those two products.

I just bought 500 sq ft of solid 3/4" select and better Mercier natural oak floor. It took 3 weeks to get my wood shipped from Quebec. I got it at Downtown Flooring in Toronto for 5.82 sq ft. There were some defects in the flooring like cracked edges (probably due to rough shipping). The wood seemed to have alot of differences in color and grain and knots which made it seem like it was a lower grade ie: select or tavern grade. The milling along the sides were great but the end milling was just ok. There were a variety of lengths even long pieces like over 5 ft. I probably would not buy from them again because of the huge variations in wood color, grain and knots.