Why only these 2 choices?

Hi Patricia, I’m looking for engineered hardwood at $5-$6/square foot for materials and Reward was suggested by the flooring stores I went to. I’m trying to keep to this flooring budget as the glue down cost is estimated to be $3/square foot and could be higher.

We plan to install 2500 square feet of the engineered hard wood in our house.

Do you know of other brands of engineered hardwood in the $5-$6/ square foot price range that you would recommend? Thank you!

Why glue down?

Hi btydrvn, we could float the floor but I am concerned if the floor with make a hollow sound. I thought glue down would be more solid sounding.

We just put Reward flooring in our kitchen and office. Camino II natural hickory. I think it's fine- definitely not the highest quality floor, but it was the color I was looking for so I went for it. It only has a 2mm wear layer, so will only be able to refinish it once, max.

Have you considered Robbins? Not sure if you have a dealer near you but very pretty stuff at a good price point https://www.robbins.com/en-us/products/engineered-hardwood.html?size=24&filters=collection%3ANature%27s%20Canvas%20Silver

To save $7500-$10,000 ....i would not glue....also using glue may make any repairs or changes difficult ...a little more research to see if sound is an issue or if there are other materials ..liners?..this savings could also be applied to an upgrade in flooring

@Imp1959, thanks for comment. The Reward Camino II natural hickory looks like a nice light color. Does it look like a white Oak in person? Did you float, glue down or nail the flooring down?

@cynthia, thanks for the recommendation on Robbins. I lolled for a retailer and it would be a couple hours away from me unfortunately.

@btydrvn, I like the idea of floating to save on the install. I’m worried about glue down if we have an issue that needs to be repaired. The contractor is putting on a cement overpour as we are removing a step down in one room. I wonder if we can float in some rooms and glue down in an room where float doesn’t work out?

Does the concrete need leveling ?...

Yes the concrete needs to be leveled.

Have you assessed the cost of leveling per square foot?...that would be my choice for the reasons discussed...even if it costs a little more...and in general ...i find the less variations in the floor color is better...as it will not dominate the room as much...

@Imp1959
The flooring looks great! It’s nice and bright. Is there a reason you went with glue down instead of floating?

@btydrvn
I confirmed that the cement overpour will involve leveling after. I like the lighter oak look. Some oak floors have too much wire brushing for me. Less color variation would be good since the flooring will be all over in our house.

Reward seems to have a few different thicknesses 4mm, 3mm, 2mm. 4mm is more pricey than I am hoping for. We won’t refinish the floor since it’s seems like it would be a huge mess, plus if you refinish I think it could remove the distressed finish on the floor. What do you suggest for the wood thickness on engineered? Is 2mm too thin?

as to the the thickness you just have to decide whether cost or the life of the flooring is your main consideration...it would seem safe to choose the mid level..

@N H- not sure why we went with glue down, we didn't even discuss floating. Sorry I don't have more insight on that!

We recommend glue-down over floating for the following reasons:

1. Finished floor is more stable and permanent comparing to floating method.

2. Easy to replace boards.

3. Transition moldings can be flushed with wood floors.

4. No expansion requirement.

@N H …. What did you end up going with for the flooring?

Hi Erin, we went with the brand Everbright with a European white oak color engineered wood 4mm thick. We have it in all rooms of the house except the bathrooms which have tile.