I'm going through a remodeling and when it came to the flooring choice I installed top-of-the-line bamboo in my living room, I loved the modern look and the supposed durability. Well 2 weeks after install the floor failed, it was cupping and had check marks everywhere. Fortunately the manufacturer, distributor and retailer stand behind their products and they agreed that install was done to specs and that the problem was with the product. They gave me credit for material and labor so I'm in the market for a new floor once again.

This time bamboo is totally out of the question as I can't trust this thing anymore. I've been educating myself about wood stability and I want something that will be extremely stable throughout the year. I'm in the Northeast so we have very cold and dry winters, and very hot and humid summers. I'm planning on trying to climate control the house as much as I can but there is only so much you can do being in an older house.

The living room is on the first floor, T&G OSB subfloor, on top of full basement. I will run a portable dehumidifier in the basement in the summer and a whole-house humidifier in the winter. I want to try to keep things around the 45% humidity mark. I wonder how people were caring for their floors 100 years ago when there was no HVAC.

I'm repeating myself here but top priority is STABILITY. I don't want this floor moving on me again. To me that means:

- Wood species with a reputation for stability.
- Engineered not solid.
- Wood layer sawn not peeled.
- Rated for radiant flooring even though I don't have one but that's probably an added guarantee for stability.
- Narrow planks.

Call it an over-reaction, but I'm not taking any chances, this is just too costly.

I've been to the store and I identified 2 brands that seem to have a higher standard for engineered floors. Mirage and Somerset. Mirage is slightly more expensive than Somerset. as in $9 sq./ft. vs $8. Still quite expensive

I like the Walnut and Hickory options... Modern and timeless at the same time. Also they are local species and I'm afraid of getting exotic and getting the same issues as with the bamboo due to low humidity in the winter. Also nobody sells American Mesquite around here which is too bad as that seems like a magical wood for hardness and stability.

- Question #1: Would you say that Somerset is as good for engineered as Mirage?
- Question #2: I see Walnut is a soft floor, so I'm wary of that. How about Hickory for hardness and stability?
- Question #3: I want to have the floor nailed or stapled since I have a wood floor and glue-down is more expensive. Any downside to that?
- Question #4: I love square edged planks versus micro-beveled. Any downside to that?
- Question #5: Should I install a moisture barrier, an underlayment, or something?

Hopefully somebody bothered to read so far. Thanks!!!

yes......and get the floor you like and your gut tells you to get..stop being so anal and stay off the net...
both are great manufacturers.

Like James said , both companies are reputable.Mirage is generally known for offering beautiful flooring but they tend to sell shorter lengths because they reject so much wood . So you get beautiful pieces at the expense of longer lengths sometimes.

Regarding stability. walnut and hickory are both fine if the flooring is acclimated properly before installing. Nailing or stapling down is fine. Glue isn't necessary for your application ,especially with an engineered floor.

Hickory is super hard which is why drum sticks and baseball bats are made from it. If you like hickory,go for it. It's reasonably stable if acclimated properly.

square edged pre finished might be an issue. It is generally meant to be floated so that un eveness in your sub floor is somewhat compensated for .Other wise, you are going to feel low and high boards . If you install un finished wood and site sand it, then you certainly wont have that problem. Just hire a competent contractor that is known for excellent sanding and finishing.

Moisture barriers only apply to a floating install as the plastic is not penetrated by fasteners. If you put down some kind of barrier like 6 mil construction plastic and nail through it, it is compromised and no longer a barrier . 15 lb felt paper for instance is used for nail down installations most of the time and is considered a moisture ,retarder. Not an actual barrier.

Well thanks Paul for your answer. I decided to go for Mirage natural Maple in engineered as the pricing was the same as Sommerset for this wood and it seems to be a compromise between the stability of Walnut and the hardness of Hickory. And the looks aren't too bad either. The sales rep was much more enthusiastic about Mirage, maybe he gets a cut. It's not paid for so you can still change my mind if I made a big mistake with Maple...

I'm going to install some kind of underlayment to jack up the floor a little so it meets with tiles I have in an adjacent room. What would you recommend for that? I was thinking ~1/4 inch 3-ply or 5-ply plywood. I don't want to spend a boatload on that. HD sells a cheaper 3-ply underlayment, any advice on that? I would glue it and screw it down into the OSB subfloor. http://www.homedepot.com/Lumber-Composi ... ogId=10053

Then I'm thinking of using #15 felt as a retarder, just to be safe. Is this ok? Should it be glued down or stapling through it will be enough?

Thank you... And sorry to be so anal James, I like to analyze things in depth to stay out of trouble.

The 3 ply would be just fine and the 15# felt will be ok as well.

Maple generally isn't very stable. It likes to move a lot .However, in the form of engineered and pre finished, it should be very reliable , especially coming from Mirage.

For your sub floor, OSB is not great as it does not have the holding power that quality plywood does. I might recommend getting a good 1/4 3 ply actual plywood and screwing that into your OSB but not gluing it. IF you glue it and then want to take it up some day, it will be a real pain. As for the 15 lb felt, you shouldn't glue it to the sub floor. No need to do that . All you have to do is lay it out onto the floor . The only staples you might want to use would be on the ends of the paper to prevent it from curling up on you. But even that isn't necessary.

Thanks I may use your post as a reference in my reviews.