need help choosing a floor type

last year

Hi. I’m in the process of choosing options for a new home build. I have two young kids (4 and 9 year old), no dogs yet but promised the kids they can get a puppy once we move. So ideally I’d like something that’s scratch resistant and waterproof/water-resistant. I was initially leaning towards LVP but another builder I know says that he would never install LVP and that we should at least go with an engineered hardwood to maximize the value of the home. I’m currently considering the following options. If anyone has any experience with any of the below, I’d love to hear. My understanding is that the first three are engineered hardwood and the last one is LVP. If you have any other recommendations, I’d be interested in those as well. Thank you!!

Shaw exquisite beiged hickory https://www.build.com/product/summary/1723135?uid=4074853&jmtest=gg-gbav2_4074853&inv=1&&source=gg-gba-pla_4074853!c6812011092!a83395608647!dm!ng&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiA_NC9BhCkARIsABSnSTZ3MhgDkABgq7lGR6oexTZww8jaSDrRxHzyjSocAi7bMfLP91ckwrYaAkwiEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

Provenza affinity https://www.provenzafloors.com/hardwood/detail?sku=PRO2301&color=Delight&collection=Affinity

Aquaguard Patterson white falls https://www.flooranddecor.com/engineered-hardwood-wood/patterson-falls-white-oak-wire-brushed-water-resistant-engineered-hardwood-101019388.html

Coretec grande vista oak https://coretecfloors.com/en-us/products/coretec-originals-premium/grande-vista-oak-vv662-08002?srsltid=AfmBOoo_dnA256U1ViZE_5D8Ui474WbIhdQU9qksS-fbBk3ld-1nqMjo

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Comments (5)

dan1888
last year
Well, your last option is an incredibly overpriced lvp.

For that price range you can look at 10"+ wide plank top of the line European Oak for DuChateau and Monarch Plank that are being installed in pricey California homes. Monarch Link. DuChateau link. These and most other products are made in SE Asia. Hakwood is more costly and European made using French Oak Q.robur. If you want to impact your builder, request AdvanTech high-quality water-resistant subfloor. I'd also like floor trusses like in this video. Link.
chispa
last year
last modified: last year
I used DuChateau engineered wood floor (Riverstone collection) when we built in 2021. The floors have some character and slight distressing. We have 3 dogs (2 large) and I've been very happy with how the floors have performed.

I have nothing against LVP, but when we went to a large flooring store with large sample areas installed on the floors, we just didn't like the way they sounded when you walked over them. Confirmed our choice to use engineered wood.

We used 7.5" planks in a large house and the size looks great. I didn't feel any need to go wider.

Also look at the length of the boards and not just the width. DuChateau had a good percentage of long planks per box.

My second finalist was from Legno Bastone. The quality was probably a tiny bit better than DuChateau, but they didn't have any colors that I loved. They have even longer planks.
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Daniel Choo
Original Author
last year
Thank you for your comments and letting me know about the DuChateau and Monarch options. They look stunning. Would you happen to know how they do with liquid exposure? Thanks!
chispa
last year
last modified: last year
Define liquid exposure?

Even tile will get damage (the sub-floor) with large enough quantities of sitting water, as grout is not water-proof.

I have no issues with normal spills with DuChateau, like dropping a full mug of tea or having my small dog randomly throw up and not seeing it and cleaning until after it dried.

No stains from dog drool.

It is a hard-wax oil finish, so you should read up on the properties compared to a polyurethane finish.

I really like the hard-wax oil finish. The oil needs to be reapplied after 4-5 years (maybe more), depending on use/traffic, but it can be done room by room ... not like a polyurethane finish that would need to be done all at the same time. You can touch up certain areas with the hard-wax oil finish. We use the cleaning products sold by DuChateau.

For me the hard-wax oil finish on engineered floors has been more durable than the site finished wood floors with polyurethane in my previous house.
chispa
last year
Get a box of the product you are interested in and test them at home. I used different thing to try to scratch the floors and had my dogs drool on some pieces and left it for hours/days to see if it cleaned up and if it left spots/marks. Make sure to then order the same dye lot that you tested, since there can be some color variance between production runs.