Thank you!

I'm in Illinois. The flooring company that installed my Raintree (Castle Creek) floor said that the cost per square foot was less with them (was $5 and some cents) than had I ordered the flooring directly from Raintree. Had I gone that route the cost per square foot would have been more although I don't know exactly how much more.

HU-728167709 Please post pics of your Castle Creek! I’m waiting for samples to come in.

Here is a pic of my kitchen floor: Raintree Castle Creek. I can see now that the lighting wasn't so good. I will try to take additional pics.

We are also in between castle creek and egret. Would love to see another picture 🙂👍

Thank you @HU-728167709 I would love to see another photo too if you don't mind. I can't believe how similar Egret and Castle Creek are. Wondering what are the differences between the two? Maybe a small difference in tone only? Because from the Egret pictures further above, they both seem to have lighter and darker wood variations.

I will take additional, larger pics of my Raintree Castle Creek floors this weekend. I had my entire 1-bdrm condo re-floored except for the bathroom. Most is still covered with paper because I'm having additional work in the condo done, including painting and thus want to protect the floors.

I hope I’m not adding to the confusion but I’m not “in love” with the color of my floors, Egret. They sometimes read a little pink and yellow and green. And I don’t remember the sample board looking like that. Its really hard to explain the color. But with that said, I don’t hate the color. I like it but it wouldn’t be my first pick if I could pick again. I got mine for $5sf. As far as the product and durability, so far so good and I have young kids who are rough on things. I’ll attach a few more pictures if it might help.

Egret

Castle Creek, which is what I have, is a white oak. It has a lot of grey tones. I almost went with Egret but chose Castle Creek because its pattern was more distinct and evenly spread. I might have chosen a different shade of Oak, more of a brown or red oak, had the selection included them but at the time that I selected Raintree the options were more limited than I think they are today. Most were white oak tones/shades. I'm very happy with my Castle Creek.

I just ordered one box of Soleil to test out before deciding. Here are a couple of photos uninstalled in different rooms/lighting. It is true to the store sample and the tiny sample mailed from Raintree. I love it and we are having it installed in a few weeks.

Thanks everyone for posting these pictures! I was able to take the floor samples from the store. Initially I was set on the Crevasse however I'm not loving the white edges.

I’ve absolutely fallen in love with Raintree Soleil but I’ve not found the sample to be as durable as I hoped. I dropped a butter knife on it and it easily left a dent. We have kids, a large dog and a pool. I was originally looking at LVP but prefer a more authentic wood look. For those that have installed Raintree do you have any concerns on durability?

Just had Raintree backcountry installed! Couldn’t be happier with the outcome!! Can’t wait to get my house back together. the installer was very impressed with the product.

Raintree Backcountry

Angie,

Raintree is a rigid LVP with a hardwood VENEER top layer. It is legit hardwood on top, therefore it is susceptible towards surface damage, more so than it's synthetic counter part. It's entirely waterproof but is not as friendly with surface damage like a traditional rigid core LVP. That in mind, if you're looking for a kid/dog friendly floor, you should look in the traditional LVP category, as they are easier on the rough lifestyle of children and pets. And once you're ready to resell and start renovating, I'd suggest going with Raintree to add value to your home.

RainTree held to abuse better than most LVP when I tested. The aluminum oxide coating helps... And if it does damage, it can easily be repaired unlike synthetics.

Angie, no concerns. Tests included dropping cans of yams from 5 feet...no denting.

Laura, Michael's Wholesale Flooring at 41 Old Country Road in Greenville has Raintree for $5.99 s/f.

Thanks cbundy! We're planning on going there tomorrow...Have you had any experience with them?

Yes, we've used them for small projects in the past, and we are planning on redoing our main floors using them--either RainTree or engineered hardwoods. I'm going back to look again at the RainTree after researching them here!

We just returned from Michael's and I'm disappointed in the person who spoke with us. He kept trying to lead us to this cheap LVP and when we were insisting on Raintree or at least some other engineered options he just walked away saying Well let me know what you decide.

Laura, I'm sorry you had a bad experience. We have worked with Kevin, and I know he was out of town this weekend. He was very helpful and let us know about the Raintree and engineered hardwood options. Did you see the Raintree display? They will let you take home samples to see if you like the color in your space. If you decide to go again, ask for Kevin.

Would love to see the knots in the wood on castle creek, still undecided between Castle Creek and Egret. Egret on left, Castle Creek on right. Thank you.

I am also deciding which one to get. Did anyone put the flooring in your laundry room?

Yes, having it installed in laundry room and 2nd bath. I have friends who did already and the installer said that it is warranted as waterproof.

still torn between roving elk and Soleil. From the Soleil pic in the kitchen it doesn’t appear to have a lot of knots but the pics from the case almost looks rustic...Help!!!!

HU, that backcountry is stunning!

If anyone installs castle creek...please take pics.

Yes, I‘d love to see pics of castle creek in a bigger space too!

@Evan C It looks like these floors only have a 1.2MM wood layer. which means that cant be sanded or refinished. When they start to show wear, what options are there other than replacing them?

Jennifer P,

So a typical engineered hardwood veneer lays about 1 to 2MM thick. Some may be thinner some thicker but majority of them will lie in between the two said numbers. The finish on top of Raintree products is an aluminum oxide, it's really tough and decently hard to remove. Now, depending on the finish and thickness and the skill level of your professional refinisher, you can refinish most engineered hardwoods once or twice (those two refinishes should last you a long time). And the twice side of the refinished veneers lays on the 2MM side. Not many people know about refinishing and that's ok, most people don't do it either because they're fine with how their floors look or they are terrified of the cost. Refinishing hardwoods is about the same price as it is to get new vinyl floor and having it installed. Cost varying depending on the product of course.

You can always buy hardwood touch up kits all over the internet. Here's a trusted brand my friends and I use for all our projects: https://www.amazon.com/Coconix-Floor-Furniture-Repair-Kit/dp/B07JCB5WRV/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?dchild=1&keywords=Hardwood+Floor+Repair&qid=1603375329&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUE3TEszRVU1WjFLVE8mZW5jcnlwdGVkSWQ9QTA5NTU0NzIzNFNQUkpTSFZQSjhKJmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTEwNDM3NDIyRjdZUkRKWFFHRkdOJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==. You'll have to mess around with it to find the right tone for your floor but the cost can't be beat for what you are getting in the product.

When you go hardwood, solid or engineered, you are taking a risk at having scratches and dents everywhere. Some species of wood actually look better and richer with scratches, some say it gives it "character" and others obviously look atrocious. At any rate, if you're worried about damage to your hardwood then you shouldn't be in the market for it at this time. That's just what it comes down to, is it the right time or not.

Castle Creek

Here is another Castle Creek pic

I LOVE IT!! Thank you for posting these pictures. I placed my order for Castle Creek 2 days ago. Now I am certain I made the right choice. YAY!! 🙂👍

@Evan C thank you for such a detailed response! Ive heard from a few other people that I should be looking for a min of 2mm wood layer with engineered floors, preferably 3-4mm. However, Im not planning on staying in this house long enough to have to refinish the floors. Also, the aluminum oxide finish is more important to me because I know I definitely dont want an oil finish. Too high maintenance for me.

Being a mom of 3 little kids, I tested the samples for any writing instrument I could find. We all know sharpies are our biggest nightmares with little kids. Happy to say after deliberately scribbling on the samples and letting it sit for almost an hr, it came right off with 70% alcohol. 🙌

cbundy, Have you made it out to Michaels yet? They came out and measured Friday and called me yesterday with my estimate. Unfortunately it seems as though we're stuck with our original salesperson. Not that it really matters I suppose, although I thought it was odd that he told me that Raintree isn't engineered because of the core. Really don't think he knows what he's talking about 😂

All that being said however the quote came in just under $10,000 for a bit over 1000 sq. ft. Not bad!

@Margid Buitrago what color is the sample that you wrote on?

Heather, this is the floor from the sample I tested on.

Question; I am debating if to install this Raintree engineer WATERPROOF floor in our guest powder room, located on our first floor. There is only a sink and toilet in that room, I like the idea of the floor flowing without a transition. But not sure, about sanitizing and keep floors clean here.🤔 Would love to hear what everyone else is doing in their bathrooms. We have a cabana bathroom that will go out to our pool area, so that one we are doing tile because it has a shower and there will be a lot more water traffic. Would love to hear feedback on this, I have to make a decision very soon. Thank you. 🙏

@Margid Buitrago I have the exact same decision to make as you do. My thoughts are going to what if the toilet overflows? I think Im sticking with tile in the bathrooms for this reason.

@Margid Buitrago and @Jennifer P, the entire floor is waterproof and can withstand extreme temperature change unlike it's more expensive brother, solid hardwood. You can most definitely put it in a bathroom that has less chance of constant waterflow. I actually like the fact you want to put in a low traffic room because it is a legit hardwood veneer and can be damaged with scratches and dents from constant walking. Last bit, maybe a deal breaker.. because it's not a solid hardwood or an engineered hardwood you cannot seal the floor, therefore "exposing" the subfloor to possible damage if the water is left set on top for too long. Overall, great idea but there could be a possibility of a mishap, which can happen to any and all floors. Hope this puts you at ease or helps you come to a better decision.

Evan, just your mid-America flooring guy

Thank you Evan, we are laying it over tile, we just built out our home with Lennar, they do not give you the option to do engineered hardwood, so I chose their prettiest inexpensive neutral tile (For resale value) and another reason I chose Raintree, was because I could lay it over tile without damaging it. Finally, we decided to go with Raintree in the powder room. The subfloor is tile, and if it does not work out I can always have it removed and go back to tile. ** BTW This is castle creek and I am so happy with my choice ~ I absolutely LOVE IT!! ✨❤️👌

• This picture above was taken at night, sample looked so much lighter @ showroom because of all the bright lights, I compared it to my sample and the color is exact. If you are going for that Modern Boho California Coastal look, it is the same color as the floor showcased at the Serena and Lily store we have in West Palm Beach, FL. That helped me make my decision on this floor. The variations and knots are Gorgeous!! 🙌

Absolutely awesome pick and smart decision on a floating floor for an even safer choice. You have two highly sought after floors and one is just on top of the other, blows my mind. Yeah, unlike your LVPs which consist of repeated pictures for the surface, you have legit wood variations in Raintree. I'm excited to see the finished product, post the after pick!

@Margid - Let me know how your install goes over the tile. We are about to do the same but my only concern is the feel of a floating floor over the tile. The sound and “hollow” spots that I’ve heard about with LVP concern me and hoping it’s not noticeable with this beautiful product!

Margid. Looks beautiful. Please post a pic when your done. 🙌

Margie. Are you seeing any gold in your floor...I’m down to deciding between roving elk and castle creek. Also you shared you saw it showcased in a store...what type Of store is Serena and Lilly. Trying to get a sense of their accent colors. I live on the west coast and not familiar with the name. Thank you so much

Thank you All 👍 I will post pictures of the floors and stairs once they are done. Install begins on Monday. @sandy look them up on Instagram 🙂 I personally LOVE their style. First two pictures are from their showroom, and the kitchen picture is an inspiration picture of the aesthetics we are aiming for.

@sandy You can order 3 free samples on twenty & oak website and get a $100 coupon which helped me with shipping 👍