evansvillehousewife

We just installed 8 inch wide oak planks in our kitchen, unfinished, and plan on using tung oil based waterlux to finish it. We are not going to stain.

We have undergone amazing steps to make this floor possible, as we are replacing a carpet that was laid over a cracked cement slab. I can't wait to post the finished pics.


We chose this way because my husband is big on authenticity (I am too, I guess, he just goes way overboard!) and the engineered/laminate looked terrible when I saw it in other's homes. Plus, it was actually MORE expensive per square foot, and since we have a 220 sq ft kitchen, that was a big deal.

WestBentley

Well after talking to sales people from various stores locally over the weekend, it looks like we are skipping hardwood altogether. With at least one sizable (60 lb) dog that is prone to doing the "boxer burn" inside the house (a mad dash of crazed running out of nowhere - very endearing, but not easy on wood!) and the possibility of adding another dog in the future, scratches are just too much a possibility/problem for us to reconcile spending money we don't really have in the first place.

As much as I loathe using nasty materials that will outgas us for the next 10 yrs, we may end up going with snap-lock laminate 16X16 tiles because they are cost effective and near impossible to scratch - the saleman scraped a quarter across the top for us after we mentioned our dogged reservations.