[meford4u]

hardk0re,Aug 22 2007, 06:49 PM Wrote:Allot of the houses here in the new development have had the hardwood buckle up.  I was in one today and the wood is all but up against the walls and along the tile, guess thats the reason.

I would suspect laminant not so prone to this.  As for realestate it all depends on the market, if its a high end home >300K then yes laminant is a BIG turnoff for buyers in that range, if its a lower market low 200's then laminante/carpet doesn't really matter to the buyer as much.  That would be my view on it.

I myself would only do real wood, but thats just me.
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You and I have the same opinion then. Only real wood.

And I agree that once you start to get up around $300k in the GTA, you better not have laminates present in the home. It devalues the home.

Here's an explanation of a decent engineered floor.

Engineered flooring

Engineered flooring is composed of two to five thin wooden narrow pieces glued to each other to form a parquet strip. The top layer, cut from hardwood, produces a look that’s comparable to solid wood parquet strips. Numerous species are available, even exotic woods, and this for a fraction of the price.

Under the effects of humidity, this type of flooring expands along its width. To counter this problem, manufacturers place the pieces in a cross-grainpattern. This method produces a more stable mass that can be installed in the basement and even in direct contact with the cement sub-floor. Engineered parquet can be nailed, glued, stapled or floating.


Engineered flooring typically has a base of wood fibres that are woven together to stop buckling. Laminate floors differ from engineered flooring because they use a base of MDF.