Best wood flooring choice for diy’ers?
+7
9x10 bedroom,plywood subfloor. I am a disabled,widowed, single mom. My nearest relatives that could help are in Georgia, and California. I have done the demolition myself.
Floating floors of engineered wood. Leave a perimeter space for expansion and contraction. Keep household humidity no higher than 40 % (may need to run a dehumidifier. Leave no water in dishpans, sinks, basements ,etc. for extended periods of time.
I did two bedrooms and closets with good rated lamente flooring, checked out on consumers reports.org, was easy and very happy
Bamboo floors resists scratching and odors as well
If trying to save money and get a good looking floor check out
Plywood Plank Flooring.
It can be a click down or nail down style. Bamboo is a wood.
I'm very pleased with the engineered wood floating floor we did. Really very easy. BUT: next time I wouldn't choose the maple even though it's beautiful. It's too soft and scratches easily. Oak or bamboo are the best choices for durability, and there are plenty of colors. Interlocking planks are far easier than nail-down. If you have the ability and tools and need to really go cheap, though, cut plywood into 6" planks. It's lots more work, but can save you a lot of money.
Since we live in a cold climate with a lot of snow, I had to consider weather when choosing a floor. If moisture could become a potential problem consider vinyl wood-look plank tongue and groove flooring, realistic, durable, and installs with a razor knife. My kids have walked with ice skates on, across the vinyl floor to an outdoor rink; floor still looks great 6 years later. I installed the cherry-look vinyl myself. I also installed a Perego laminate oak-like flooring in my finished basement. As for the laminate it is incredibly durable, there has been a lot of foot traffic, even roller blades. It, too, was very easy to install; not meant for areas where moisture is an issue. I installed that flooring by myself 14 years ago, still looks great! Both of these are floating floors. I am fussy about my hardwood. No shoes in those rooms.
Trending now is LVP - luxury vinyl planks - they are affordable, easy to install, and very durable (and waterproof). They look like wood but not as hard and don't scratch like wood and laminate and hold up better than bamboo (which is soft). Be sure to check it out - I run a DIY Group on Facebook with over 24,000 members and this is the trend now for flooring.