We installed a Kahrs engineered floor in a Parade of Homes entry we built back in 2004. It saved a full week of installation time on a tight schedule, plus we wanted an extremely durable finish. Our home was the only one in the Parade competition that didn't need to have the floor refinished after the 15,000 +/- attendees wandered through it over the course of the two week/three week end parade.

Charles:

There's a testament to Kahrs, unless the other homes did not care for the floors as much as you. Did you use a lot of area rugs?

@Uptown, We only had protective coverings on the carpet. The main traffic areas were hardwood with no runners or area rugs. We were really pleased with how it performed.

One thing I just learned about Kahrs that gives me considerable pause: warranty only applies in areas with a humidity average up to 60%. I'm in SoCal, and though we are a semi-arid desert, Google keeps telling me our average humidity is closer to 70-80% (what!). I was ready to hit the buy button on Kahrs, but the loss of a warranty for an investment like that is quite a drawback! :(

The Kahrs warranty would likely be referring to the INDOOR humidity. If you're going to subject ANY floor to consistent 70% to 80% humidity, you might have a problem. Same is true of levels below 35%.

I've done lots of Kahrs floors. I can recall only two issues. One had narrow stripes of missing finish along a few pieces. On the other, they apparently had someone who didn't know what they were doing, hand distress some plank with an angle grinder. Either that or it was done by a machine and something malfunctioned. Kahrs offered to replace it but the homeowner declined the offer. I wouldn't hesitate to sell Kahrs floors to my customers.

Thanks! That's great to hear. I'm going on a hardwood floors field trip with my flooring guy on Monday to look at his recommendations, but I'm glad to hear all the positive experiences with Kahrs to back up my initial choice. If anyone else has a favorite hardwood or engineered hardwood, I'll all ears. I love real wood and prefer a natural look and, as the ash floors made obvious for 20 years, I am not real worried about following trends. Thanks.

What did you decide on? I'm on the flooring quest as well and Kahrs is a front runner.

@jysrnsn, I still haven't cemented my decision. Send help!!! :)

I am driving around with a ton of flooring samples. One day I will probably get conked in the head by one of them and that will be my choice!

But FWIW, I am not thrilled by recent reports that Kahrs has moved some of its flooring fabrication to China. Not sure which of its flooring is being made there, but...

Starting to ponder Kahr's maple engineered flooring. Anyone have experience with it?

@cpartist Beautiful room! Are your floors still holding up well? Did you float them or glue? Are they oil finished and if so how has upkeep been?

@Mittens Cat Which flooring did you choose? How do you like it?

@CPBR, I went with PanTim and I could not be HAPPIER!!!!!! Search PanTim on Houzz and you'll find all my praise and reasons for it! Also, something I have not mentioned yet: we left a bunch of plank scraps out in our backyard for over a year and they all still look like new! No warping, delamination or such. Amazing!

Was the use of both Kahrs Woodloc Hand block AND Kahrs wedge absolutely necessary or can I just use an offbrand rubber mallet and wedge? Will be floated over plywood and quiet plus underlayment.

I'm a first time installer with zero experience.

Go ahead and purchase the installation kit for the Kahrs. Because you are a first time installer you will benefit from the 'proper fit' of the kit. Once you've had 3-5 floors under your belt then you can start using your own ingenuity for flooring installs.

Trust me when I say this, the easier it is your FIRST time out, the better you feel about yourself, the product and the final look.

If you value your sanity, please spend the extra $20 - $40 for the kit. You won't be sorry. First timers need to feel encouragement...which comes from the proper tools.

Good luck. You won't be sorry you went with Kahrs.

This is an old thread but adding my comment that anyone with kids needs to see… don’t buy Kahrs floors (or any brand) that are oil finished. It stains incredibly bad. One blueberry dropped stays there forever and you cannot scrub it off bc it will take the floor stain with it. Our friend warned us some people love oiled floors and some hate them… well they are gorgeous but the vain of my existence! If you have kids or just don’t want that high maintenance then look for a different finish.

Hi Jenny, after months of looking for flooring I'm just now seeing this thread because I only recently discovered the Khar's brand of flooring. I need sturdy flooring that can withstand the toll of 4 kids and a 115lb German Shephard and I've looked at SO many brands that it's unbelievable. I can't find one that has colors I love with quality to match but I thought I finally found in with Kahrs until I saw your post. I need around 2600 sq ft so it's really stressing me out. If you're saying that Kahr's stains badly then that would not be a good fit because we not only eat a lot of berries but we use a lot of high colored ethnic seasonings - think tumeric, cheyenne pepper, masala's etc. I going crazy. Do you have any suggestions? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Hi Jenny, after months of looking for flooring I'm just now seeing this thread because I only now discovered the Khars brand of flooring. I need sturdy flooring that can withstand the toll of 4 kids and a 115lb German Shephard. I've been looking for SO many month's its unbelievable. I thought I finally found my flooring with Khars until I saw your post. I need around 2600 - 3000 sq ft and it's really stressing me out because it's not something I can readily change out. If you're saying Khars stains badly then that won't work for me because not only do we eat a lot of berries, we also use a lot of colored ethnic seasonings - think tumeric, cayenne and masala's. We have a big family and things do tend to get messy so a product that stains easily will also be the bane of my exisistence. I'm going crazy looking for these floors. Do you or anyone have any suggestions? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.

Pdxmom she was referring to the oil-finished kahrs flooring. the other finishes (matte lacquer etc) do not stain. Ive had two so far in two different homes, going on our third round shortly, but no i would not buy the oil finish with kids etc.