Sources for Hardwood Flooring

I would say this depends a little on where you are planning on putting it. I’m going to assume that you are renovating a Brownstone, given the general context.

That being said this advice is coming from a meta perspective / professional gut. I know, a little esoteric, I’ll try to explain.

If you are renovating a single floor condo or apartment, I think that engineered flooring can be more acceptable. They are a bit more like suburban homes, the exterior is one thing and the interior is another, be it modern or traditional.

My own personal philosophy is that a Brownstone wants to be authentic to it’s tradition and that you should use a solid wood flooring. Ideally you would use the same species throughout the entire project and you won’t have any difficulties with solid material at stair treads and saddles. (I know they would switch to pine on the upper floors in the original buildings, but remember that all Brownstones were originally built by that eras ‘smarmy’ developers 😉

If you decide to go with pre-finished here’s some tips.
1. Go with the flattest/matte-est sheen possible
2. Insist on long and varied board lengths, don’t let the installer put in regularized patterns or ‘steps’ in the board staggering. It must look random, otherwise your floor can look like a computer rendering.
3. Don’t ever let an installer convince you to change board direction for different rooms, always run the boards in the long direction of the apartment. (can you tell I’m bitter?)
4. Insist on nail down installation and full 3/4″ sub floor – glue down with a felt or cork underlay has a hollow cheap sound when you walk on it.
5. Look for a product where the wood part is solid to the tongue – in the even that you doo need to sand at least you will have material thickness to do so.
6. Try to find a product that has a mircobevel – the surefire give away for pre-finished floor is big nasty bevels between each board.

That being said, LV makes some great pre-finished stuff. They have a nice showroom. At least you can get some ideas.

However I don’t think you’ll ever beat the feel and authenticty of a new solid wood floor.

Let us know what you decide,

Drew Stuart
Incorporated Architecture & Design
http://www.incorporatedny.com/

Sorry, forgot to give you my choices…I went with a prefinished wood floor (Kempass or Asian Rosewood) in lieu of the added time and cost. Also the pricing was just right. I actually purchased the same flooring for my NJ home. In hindsight I really like prefinished amboo flooring, it’s really sleek and nice on the eyes. It would not have worked in my brownstone but I’ve seen it in other more modern designed kitchens. Hope this helps.

Allan S.