Flooring choices in higher end home.

[JasoninDenver]

We are about to embark on a major remodel of our 1960s ranch home in the Denver area. We will be installing radiant in-floor heat as we will be removing a bunch of interior walls which currently allow placement of hot water baseboards. Consequently, we are forced to consider only the options that are stable over radiant heat and this rules out my normally preferred solid wood flooring.

Our choices are engineered hardwood or porcelain tiles with a wood look. Regardless of which we would choose, we will only be installing a high end product. We need durability with kids and a big dog.

The porcelain tiles win hands down on durability and maintenance.

Engineered wood wins on traditional looks. Good engineered products retain nearly all the appearance of solid hardwood. However, some of the high end porcelain actually requires you to get down, look and feel to be sure its not real wood. Plus, I would still have problems with wear on engineered wood and the need to refinish every 10 or so years.

Neighbors have been remodeling with all different materials from solid wood, engineered wood and tile. I have not seen wood look porcelain yet, though.

Would anyone consider it a detriment to the home value on a $1.5 m home if the flooring was a porcelain wood look tile as opposed to engineered wood?


Thanks All.

[GMTMasterII44]

Good question for a realtor as I am not but personally I would not see it as a detriment and like the look of porcelain w wood look, albeit I am more traditional though and would go for wood.. I also worry the porcelain that looks like wood is a trend/fad right now. Wood will always be in, esp tastefully done and higher end. I imagine it also depends on the location, as I am not familiar with the Denver market, trend, prospective buyers, etc. hope this helps.

[machob55]

Hi there, I have porcelain floors in my home is Spain. They're awesome. Easy to clean and maintain. My bathroom walls have the one that look like wood. Extremely durable. My floors have designs but still simply look beautiful and amazing. Come in all varieties from the distressed look to something more contemporary. I would not be surprised if what you're thinking of purchasing is not made in Spain. They last forever. Unlike wood, these require no major upkeep except cleaning with a very light damp mop. Perfect with all floor heating elements. Good luck!

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[GB-man]

I would second asking a realtor but to be honest if i was a buyer I wouldn't think twice about purchasing a home at that price with ceramic wood look floors provided A) they look good and b) there's logic behind the choice.

Radiant heat flooring is well worth the trade off and I would be pleased I would not have to refinish them.

[SG56]

I personally find ceramic wood imitation hideous and it is definitely a current trend. If your floors are not perfectly flat, longer tiles will have sticking edges. Not much one can do.

Google concrete floors. Might be a very pricey option, but if done right, it looks marvelous.
Another high end option would be marble tiles, instead of ceramic tiles.

[mannyv11]

I have seen this type of flooring a lot in the area that I live, when done right it looks very nice. As far as having sticking edges on an uneven floor, if you have a good installer there are a lot of ways to fix that issue so that you get a flat/level floor.

[brandrea]

Hi Jason

We just completed a similar renovation to our 80's ranch. Completely gutted and vaulted the ceiling and put in new hardwood flooring throughout.

We considered radiant floor heat but decided against it mainly due to the cost (as we wouldve had to change all of the mechanicals over as well).

We went with an engineered hickory board material which looks gorgeous (in our view). It is so warm and inviting and much kinder to the feet than porcelain tile.

I'm sure your builder would know the in's and out's as to compatibility with radiant floor heat but as far as I know it is suitable.

I wouldn't do tile throughout mainfloor house. IMO it's just not as liveable.



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[locutus49]

We are going to have our floors re-done in all wood.

We are going with a 8" wide light wood (I forgot which, maybe birch). This is a high end store (Cut and Dried) and almost all the flooring they sell is engineered, but with a thick top layer of wood. It is more stable in temperature changes, etc.

Not cheap, our 900 Square Foot condo will cost 30K to do the floor in the product we selected.

[Kostas]

If your looking for ideas , not sure if useful

We went with travertine from when you enter the house ,hallway all the way up to the kitchen , and timber for the lounge room & dining , sometimes one type of flooring can get monotonous in big areas, but that is a more modern look not a ranch,so not sure , wonder if the heating system will work with travertine as it is a type of stone.



And kitchen

[offrdmania]

My sister has radiant floors, no wood though; only the concrete floor. She had grout lines cut into the concrete to make it look like large tiles on the floor, they then stained the concrete. Looking at the floor, you would never know they werent tiles.

[Moving Chicane]

Originally Posted by Kostas

........wonder if the heating system will work with travertine as it is a type of stone.

I apologize for not being able to assist the OP so much (but a lot of our SoCal. Starbucks have new wood-look ceramic tile floors and I like them FWIW).

But to answer the quote I've made: Yes. We had in-floor electric radiant heating installed for our master bathroom underneath travertine during the remodel - works just awesome! :)

[SG56]

Concrete







They do have "wood" stamps for it too....

[locutus49]

Your house is stunning. It takes my breath away.

Originally Posted by SG56

Concrete







They do have "wood" stamps for it too....

[Etschell]

gold.

[incontrol]

Originally Posted by Etschell

gold.

Maybe we can do it in a gold look concrete and save a couple of dollars.


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[SG56]

Originally Posted by locutus49

Your house is stunning. It takes my breath away.

Not my house!!!! Just googled for concrete images :)

My husband has been talking about it and my first reaction was hell no, no concrete. Then i looked and it does look nice. Maybe one day. Maybe.

I prefer the hardwood.

My favorite so far was the walnut, but super duper soft and sensitive.



Another fairly affordable hardwood option, very durable too, oak B sorting. (i hate oak, but this looks nice)

b sorting



A vs B (unfinished)

[locutus49]

I agree, your oak looks amazing and is very durable. I wish I could remember the type of wood we picked, it is light color and can be refinished 3 times or so.

Originally Posted by SG56

Not my house!!!! Just googled for concrete images :)

My husband has been talking about it and my first reaction was hell no, no concrete. Then i looked and it does look nice. Maybe one day. Maybe.

I prefer the hardwood.

My favorite so far was the walnut, but super duper soft and sensitive.



Another fairly affordable hardwood option, very durable too, oak B sorting. (i hate oak, but this looks nice)

b sorting



A vs B (unfinished)

[520Matt]

I do think Concrete is an options and can look good.

[JasoninDenver]

Originally Posted by SG56

Concrete







They do have "wood" stamps for it too....

Wow, simply amazing work you had done there. We cannot do concrete due to subfloor requirements and ceiling height. I had it in my office and it was incredible.

[JasoninDenver]

Originally Posted by locutus49

We are going to have our floors re-done in all wood.

We are going with a 8" wide light wood (I forgot which, maybe birch). This is a high end store (Cut and Dried) and almost all the flooring they sell is engineered, but with a thick top layer of wood. It is more stable in temperature changes, etc.

Not cheap, our 900 Square Foot condo will cost 30K to do the floor in the product we selected.

A good engineered wood product will easily cost $15-$25 a square foot installed, but last for our lifetimes.

I am considering using this company which reps a Austrian brand that makes stunning wide plank engineered floors.

www.arrigoniwoods.com/

Their thick (15mm) product has a 3.6mm top sheet which can be sanded down three times. Product cost alone ranges from $14 - $18 sq ft.

[JasoninDenver]

Originally Posted by Kostas

If your looking for ideas , not sure if useful

We went with travertine from when you enter the house ,hallway all the way up to the kitchen , and timber for the lounge room & dining , sometimes one type of flooring can get monotonous in big areas, but that is a more modern look not a ranch,so not sure , wonder if the heating system will work with travertine as it is a type of stone.



And kitchen

Love the looks of travertine, but the one time I had it in an older house, it looks really dirty because the previous owner did not keep it sealed well and even a professional tile cleaner could not remove many stains (presumably wine and grease).

[JasoninDenver]

Originally Posted by brandrea

Hi Jason

We just completed a similar renovation to our 80's ranch. Completely gutted and vaulted the ceiling and put in new hardwood flooring throughout.

We considered radiant floor heat but decided against it mainly due to the cost (as we wouldve had to change all of the mechanicals over as well).

We went with an engineered hickory board material which looks gorgeous (in our view). It is so warm and inviting and much kinder to the feet than porcelain tile.

I'm sure your builder would know the in's and out's as to compatibility with radiant floor heat but as far as I know it is suitable.

I wouldn't do tile throughout mainfloor house. IMO it's just not as liveable.



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That is exactly what we are planning on doing with our main living areas. Your home looks great with the vaulting.

We already have the mechanicals for in-floor radiant, so it is actually very cost effective to go this route.

[JasoninDenver]

Thanks to everyone for the replies.

It seems the majority feel that a quality, well-installed, product will be appropriate for our neighborhood and market.

I considered talking to a realtor but, frankly, many cannot tell the difference between engineered and solid wood unless they have been through a major remodel themselves. I remember touring a home a few years ago which had a granite look Formica countertop (which I actually used to sell in a former life) and the listing agent firmly believed (and advertised on the house brochure) it was actual granite. A painful encounter to say the least.

[cdmorenot]

I have wood look-like porcelain floors on the common areas of the second floor of my house and we absolutely love it.

We went with a grey tone and while it was a very tough choice between wood and porcelain, we're glad we chose the latter. It was an absolute home run we did the same thing in an investment property we built and it was actually a HUGE selling point. It isn't for everyone, but we love it.

[bdex75]

A high quality glued down engineered floor that can be refinished multiple times is my choice. The product you are looking at appears to be a good one. I would rather that than the tile stuff.

Yes you may have to do some refinishing at some point but someone else (or you) could change the color as tastes evolve. With the wood tile you are stuck.

We have had many of hardwood floors sanded down and stained a different color to meet out tastes when we bought a new house. If it was tile it was a bigger project. The refinishing wasn't cheap, but cheaper than tear out and reinstall of new ceramic.


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[breitlings]

you can do marble (jade and other stone) with heated floors. i like marble more than tile.

[SDRider]

Originally Posted by JasoninDenver

Thanks to everyone for the replies.

It seems the majority feel that a quality, well-installed, product will be appropriate for our neighborhood and market.

I considered talking to a realtor but, frankly, many cannot tell the difference between engineered and solid wood unless they have been through a major remodel themselves. I remember touring a home a few years ago which had a granite look Formica countertop (which I actually used to sell in a former life) and the listing agent firmly believed (and advertised on the house brochure) it was actual granite. A painful encounter to say the least.

My wife is a Realtor. I could PM you her e-mail address if you have any questions. She specializes in north San Diego county.

[locutus49]

That sounds exactly like the engineered floor we are getting. Our is pretty expensive because they have to remove all the furniture and put it in a pod or something. And our condo requires a high grade sound-proof rubber subfloor.

And we have to take the cats and stay in a hotel for 10 days.

Originally Posted by JasoninDenver

A good engineered wood product will easily cost $15-$25 a square foot installed, but last for our lifetimes.

I am considering using this company which reps a Austrian brand that makes stunning wide plank engineered floors.

www.arrigoniwoods.com/

Their thick (15mm) product has a 3.6mm top sheet which can be sanded down three times. Product cost alone ranges from $14 - $18 sq ft.

[Wesley Crusher]

Solid hardwood is the best option, IMO. Everything else (not counting carpet) is too hard on the feet.

[csfischer20]

I’m a real estate investor in Denver. I’ve seen the wood look tile in 500k homes, but not in the price range you’re going for. If your budget is under 2 bucks a square foot, use engineered hardwood.