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Posted by Sasquatch on January 2, 2007, 6:09 pm
What's unique about this product is that it's 3/8", pre-finished, real
wood, and engineered, but it's a *SOLID* product. It's not a laminated
product made of wood veneers. It's one solid piece of real oak--just
3/8" instead of the typical 3/4". I can't find any mention of this
product at the Bruce website. Perhaps it's not a Bruce product after
all. I'll double check with the flooring retailer.
But it's the solid feature that I'm curious about. I've never seen
solid wood flooring this thin before. According to the salesman, the
only issue is that it cannot be refinished as many times as 3/4" solid
wood flooring. Moreover, the salesman claims that a skilled
professional can realistically expect only one refinishing with an
engineered wood laminate product. It can be done, but only once. 3/4"
solid wood, on the other hand can be refinished numerous times, and
it's something DIY-ers can realistically do on their own if they're
handy. In the case of this unusual 3/8" solid product (again,
according to this salesman/installer), it is sort of a happy medium; it
still can not be refinished as much as a typical 3/4" solid product,
but one might get as many as 2 or 3 refinishings if the refinishing is
done very carefully by a skilled professional, and at least 1
refinishing is assured. ...again, this is according to the
salesman/installer.
As for the useful life, I don't need this stuff to last forever. It's
only going to be used in our formal dining room. And the cost is
hardly more than plastic laminate. So I don't care of the floor needs
to be replaced in 25 years. In fact, I don't care if we need to
replace it in 15 years. Plus, if the refinishing options are like he
claims, it could turn out to be a lifetime product for us, especially
since our formal dining room will be a low-traffic area.
I'll check with our retailer to get the exact name of the manufacturer
and model.
Thanks,
John
dpb wrote:
> Sasquatch wrote:
> > Anyone have any experience with 3/8" solid oak flooring? We're
> > thinking about using it for our formal dining room. I think the brand
> > is "Bruce" but I can't seem to find anything on the Web about it. Note
> > that this is 3/8" and not the typical 3/4". It's being sold as...
> >
> > - Aluminum Oxide factory finish has 25 year warranty
> >
> > - Same price as comparable 3/4" products
> >
> > - Thinner material allows more installation options, including concrete
> > (not important to us)
> >
> > - Thinner material allows for use next to other thin flooring like
> > vinyl and plastic laminate
> ...
> > I'm mostly wondering about durability, and in general any other
> > performance differences between this stuff and traditional 3/4" solid
> > wood.
> >
> > Any info is greatly appreciated.
>
> Start at www.bruce.com and you can do a search on "3/8" engineered" and
> find some info. The Bruce site isn't the most informative out there,
> by far, though, unfortunately. :(
>
> But, to your questions --
>
> 1. Bruce is well-respected name in flooring -- they make good stuff and
> will be around
>
> 2. That said, this is a prefinished engineered product as you're aware.
> The original finish is 25-yr residential and that is probably
> reasonable expectation. Add dogs, kids w/ trikes/whatever, stuff goes
> down.
>
> 3. The key difference between 3/8" prefinished and 3/4" either
> prefinished or finished in place is the thickness (well, doh! :) ).
> Obvious, of course, but--the point is you can typically expect and
> probably get a warranty to allow a full-thickness hardwood floor to be
> sanded and refinished up to three times. W/ 3/8" I doubt you'll get
> that for one although I didn't actually check the Bruce warranties.
> IOW, you can rely on a 3/4" floor to probably be able to be refinished
> and therefore last your remaining lifetime and probably that of your
> grandkids and on...the 3/8" is likely going to last your time in the
> current house, but may not make it past the kids.
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