Hello

I just joined this forum and am slowly learning a lot. Based on conversations here, I have eliminated buying chinese made stuff, lumber liquidators, buying online, Home Depot , lowes, etc. I visited couple of local shops and found that there is a whole different world out there when it comes to hardwood floor.

I live in Metro Detroit, Michigan (Obviously severe winters). I have 1200 square feet of carpet and vinyl on my first floor. This is on top of a full basement, Currently, I have a wood(I think plywood) subfloor under the carpet and vinyl floor. I want to replace the carpet and vinyl with Hardwood floor.

My requirements are as follows but can be altered based on suggestions except for the 5 inch width.

1 - 5 inch width planks (I want this for sure)
2 - square edges ( I prefer this if available but can adjust with micron or micro beveling)
3 - solid hardwood ( I prefer this but when I went to the local stores, everybody was pushing me towards engineered hardwood because the solid hardwood at 5 inch width will gap up during Michigan winters).
4 - I do not want oak as I do not like the look. I prefer wood that is plain like Maple, maybe cherry, etc.

Questions -

5 - With my locations, humidity, etc, would you guys/girls suggest that I buy engineered hardwood instead of solid hardwood if I want the 5 inch width. If I do this, am I settling - will the feel of engineered hardwood and solid hardwood be the same.

6 - Is there a 5 inch width solid or engineered hardwood that comes with square edges or should I settle for mirco or micron beveled planks.

7 - What manufacturer do you guys recommend - I want to go medium to high end as I will live here for atleast 10 to 15 years. Mirage and Lauzon are expensive, is there anything else that you recommend that is a little lesser in cost but comparable in quality.

8 - One local shop had the Mirage Nevada Maple engineered hardwood. We liked this a lot but it was $13 a square foot retail price. He said he can reduce it 10% if we get 1200 sq.feet. Is this a normal price or am I being taken for a ride. Are their any other manufacturers with lesser price.

9 - Is their any installer on this board that is in Metro Detroit. Just based on the civility and quality of the conversation here, I am sure I can gain on their knowledge and give them business as well.

Thanks for your consideration

Regards

Raavango

Hi Raavango,

5. Being in Minnesota, we have a similar climate and 5" width is where we deem acceptable in solid wood. Bare in mind that small gapping should be expected in the dry winter months. To combat this, we recommend the home is humidified between 30-55% RH. As for the feeling of Solid vs Engineered there will not be a noticeable difference if both are installed nail-down or glue down. However, Engineered hardwoods have the option of floating which can feel/sound different than the other two methods.

6. Prefinished hardwoods rarely come in square edge because it requires highly precise milling vs sand on site. There are a couple manufactures which I can think of, but to open up more options I would suggest looking into smaller micro bevels.

As for the rest of the questions, they deal with more particulars of your specific area and I will leave that up to someone else.