Deciding which type of wood flooring to use in a home or condo remodeling project is a personal choice, according to New York Floorman, LLC owner Rich Kessner. Choosing between engineered or solid wood is an important step in any renovation project, and each option comes with its own pros and cons that people must weigh before making a decision.
With so many types of hardwood flooring to choose from, Kessner’s Manhattan clients often turn to him for advice. Kessner explains that before giving out this advice, he usually asks his clients a few basic questions, including:
- What type of apartment do you live in?
- Do you live in an apartment with high ceilings?
- Do you have doors that would need to be cut if we put in a solid floor?
- What is the existing subfloor in your apartment like?
- What type of flooring do you have right now?
- How long down the road do you plan on living in this space?
- Do you have pets?
Although these questions may seem simple, the answers that clients provide give Kessner valuable insight into what type of flooring is right for the job. Aesthetically, both engineered and solid hardwood floors will look great and pair well with a variety of different home design styles. However, choosing a floor is about more than just looks.
For people with low ceilings, for example, the style of floor they choose can have a real impact on their day-to-day lives. That is because many people with low ceilings cannot afford to lose the height of a subfloor, which must be put in underneath a solid floor. Therefore, these people would be better suited with an engineered wood floor that can be glued directly onto the concrete ground without any subfloor at all.
This has become an especially big issue for people looking at hardwood flooring options in Manhattan, where Kessner says condo and co-op apartments tend to have lower ceilings than those you would find in a typical suburban home. “If someone lives in a home in the suburbs, then I would recommend getting a solid floor, because they most likely have higher ceilings and they are generally not working on a concrete subfloor the way apartments in high-rise buildings are,” he says. “So they have more options as far as doing a real subfloor and a solid hardwood floor.”
Kessner says that the length of time that someone is planning on living in the Manhattan condo or co-op where the hardwood flooring is being installed will play a role in his recommendation for flooring as well. Although it can be more difficult to install, solid hardwood flooring is sometimes a better option for people who are planning on living in the same residence for the long haul because it is easier to sand and refinish multiple times than an engineered floor. People with solid hardwood floors can continue sanding their floors and refinishing them for years down the road.
The flooring that someone already has down in his or her apartment is also important, because certain types of flooring styles are easier to lay over the top of concrete or parquet than others. Kessner says that someone who already has a glued down parquet floor that is a 1/2″ thick or 2/4″ thick would be better off going with an engineered wood rather than a solid wood for the new floor, as engineered floors are typically less work to install.
For people with pets and children, Kessner says he would usually recommend choosing an engineered floor over solid hardwood because engineered wood tends to hold up better to major foot traffic. Kessner says that clients who are especially worried about the wear and tear of their floors can have special commercial-type polyurethanes put down that are more expensive, on average, but also more durable.
The only type of flooring that Kessner would not recommend to homeowners with kids and pets is bamboo, because bamboo floors are typically not as durable as solid hardwood. “There was a big boom in bamboo when the green movement started,” he says. “But I feel that it is sort of dying down now that people are realizing that it doesn’t hold up as well.”
Nonetheless, Kessner says that bamboo is a style of hardwood flooring that many of his Manhattan clients request because it is so eco-friendly, and he says he does install these types of floors quite frequently. “I’m all for it, and if someone does want to be green then that is the way to do it,” he says. “They just have to be more careful with the floor, that’s all.”
