We want to install wood floors in the entire house except for the bathrooms and laundry room. From our research over the internet, we had decided we wanted to get prefinished solid hardwood (brazilian cherry), nailed down. We went to a showroom over the weekend and the salesguy has me totally confused about what we want so I wanted to check with the experts to separate fact from salestalk.

We have 3/4" OSB subfloor over a crawlspace and we live in Southern California, about a 1.5 mile in from the ocean. We wanted to get 3/4" solid hardwood in case we have to refinish in the future but the salesguy told us that:

1. The aluminum oxide finish makes it almost impossible to take off and refinish, in his words "it would be cheaper to replace the entire floor rather than refinishing".

2. The prefinished surface is so strong (and comes with a 50 year warranty) that we probably won't need to have it refinished for a very long time.

3. We should go with engineered floor because it is better in the kitchen and better for the "close to ocean" environment.

4. He then suggested that we glue it down instead of nailing it down, for both solid or engineered. I have read elsewhere in this forum that solid wood should not be glued down.

Can anyone help us verify the things that the salesperson told us? He was definitely pushing the engineering product even though he had both solid and engineered products (brand is Johnson) for sale.

Thank you all for sharing your knowledge.

BS! Prefinished Aluminum Oxide is refinished everyday. It is not impossible, it is just harder to cut off the wood. It would not be less expensive to replace the floor.






Read the fine print! That warranty does not cover dents and scratches, the floor will ugly out well before 50 years and need a refinish.






True to a point. Solid shrinks and swells at a much greater rate and dimensions than its engineered sister. True engineered works well in extreme environments. Thick sawn wear layers placed on another species of wood, act more like a solid, than they do a true engineered






DO NOT GLUE A SOLID WOOD!!!!!Unless it is "shorts" or very thin short strips. Engineered, unless designed to be a floating floor only, is perfect for a gluedown, as stated before, it doesn't move as much. Humidity plays a big role in whether a solid gluedown will work or not. If the wood is acclimated properly and milled well, and the humidity never changes one %, solid wood will work as long as it is kept in that environment.

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Well I was going to answer this post, but Austin and Gary have said it all, lol.

Thank you for the information, I really appreciate the time you take to answer the questions, it is very helpful for people like us overwhelmed with choices and nice to get some unbiased information based on experience.

From your answers, I could use prefinished solid hardwood and refinish in the future or I could go with a prefinished engineered product with a thick wear layer (say 3/16") that would allow me to refinish also. However, a thick wear layer will not act like a true engineered product.

In your opinion, given that I want to use it in the whole house including the kitchen but not in the bathrooms, and that I have 3/4" OSB subfloor over a crawlspace. My house is well insulated and temperatures should not fluctuate wildly but I do live relatively close to the ocean

1. Should I use solid or engineered?

2. Also, I would like to use prefinished so that we don't have to deal with the dust. Do you know if site finishing has practical advantages that we should take into consideration (for example, better for the kitchen environment, etc)

3. In my living room, I do not have the 3/4" OSB subfloor, instead I have the original 2-1/4" wide by 3/4" thick oak strips nailed at right angles, and directly to the floor joists (this was part of the original house which was built in 1945). I want to run the new wood flooring in the same direction as the oak subfloor. I have read that I need to put some additional plywood over it if I want to install new solid hardwood, can I nail or screw 1/4" plywood on top of the oak sublfoor then proceed as normal with 15# paper then the new flooring? If I used engineered hardwood flooring, can I place it directly on top of the oak subfloor that runs in the same direction without worrying about the additional plywood?

Thanks again!

Thanks. If I understood correctly, I should install 3/8" plywood over the entire subfloor (OSB and oak strip) regardless of whether I used the engineered or solid wood? Also, does the 15# paper go between the 3/8" plywood and subfloor or above the 3/8" plywood?


Thanks much!

on top of the plywood . cut a piece to length and flip it . it will lay flat now without trying to roll back up . the idea is to create a moisture barrier between the sub floor and the hardwood .

Let's not lead folks astray here Nick. The asphalt felt paper is considered a moisture vapor reducer/diffuser. It is not a moisture barrier. Two different things.

My bad Gary . sometimes the hamster takes a break , the wheel stops spinning , and well you see what happens .

Thank you all for your help.