[jruns]

Please help! I am new to this forum and a fairly inexperienced with remodel projects. My husband and I just bought a house (built in 1996) which needs some serious flooring updates. Much of the first floor has fairly worn red oak. Unfortunately, the dining room is carpeted, which would be a disaster for us since we have a toddler. So... we were thinking that we would purchase unfinished red oak to extend into the dining area and sand, stain, and refinish (actually have someone else sand, stain, refinish) the old stuff to match at the same time. However, we are being pressured by a designer (who works for the flooring store) to remove our existing red oak and replace everything with engineered hardwood. My gut reaction is that this is a mistake, but the designer makes some compelling arguments: 1). Our current floor is very generic wood and will not look nice even after being refinished. 2). The durability of the solid wood will be decreased with an onsite refinish as it is difficult to use more than 2 or 3 coats of sealant for an onsite job. I worry that removing the existing wood will decrease the value of our home and we will be unhappy choosing an engineered hardwood long-term. It is difficult to find someone who knows flooring products that will give us an unbiased answer. Any thoughts?

[Nick]

Find a new designer .
They are feeding you a lot of Bull.

[Dan]

I agree with Nick.

[Ernesto]

Well, from a design point of view maybe she wants it all to look uniform. The new wood will look different than the old wood. I don't think she/he is using the correct terms. Besides, anyone check under the carpet to see what there? Could be the same wood.

You need to contact a real hardwood guy before committing to a designer. Besides, I do not understand her use of the word "generic'. She must mean common, as red oak is the most common wood in the states.

[BudCline]

1). Our current floor is very generic wood and will not look nice even after being refinished.

That, is certainly arguable.

2). The durability of the solid wood will be decreased with an onsite refinish as it is difficult to use more than 2 or 3 coats of sealant for an onsite job.

Don't know what I'm missing but so far THAT is plain and simple hogwash.

However, we are being pressured by a designer (who works for the flooring store)

Sounds as if you need a different designer.

QUESTION:Does this designer have a vested interest in selling you a lot of new stuff?

ANSWER: Abso-damn-lutely she does. Commissions can be wonderful.

[Incognito]

You're crazy to tear out real hardwood to replace with engineered. Worn out finishes can often be screened off and recoated fairly cheaply. You don't have to match the existing wood. You can accent the area with some contrasting woods, finishes or layouts like putting it on a diagonal or having some other decorative, design feature.

Any good hardwood installer/refinisher could come up with dozens of helpful suggestions when he comes out to give an estimate. And the easiest solution would obviously be to just match up the wood and refinish the whole floor. It's nonsense that there's anything wrong with just doing that if that's appealing to you.

Sometimes we (not that I'm a hardwood guy but a flooring guy nevertheless) can look at an area and the ideas just explode from our years of studying floors. You see, it's like an obsession. You can't help but look and think about it and that generates all kinds of stuff you won't necessarily find in a textbook like the ones they might use in a designer's office or classroom.