LESLIE: Well, David in Indiana is doing some decorative refinishing. You want to do the floors. Tell us about the floors you have now.
DAVID: Well, right now we’ve got carpet and we’re going to get rid of the carpet in the living room and the dining room and we’re going to go with either hardwood or laminated. My wife wants hard wood, because of the realism of hardwood, and I want laminated because of the cost. So I just wanted y’all’s opinion on it.
TOM: How about if we negotiate an amicable settlement between those two choices?
DAVID: That would work.
TOM: Yeah. Leslie, what do you think? Engineered hardwood?
LESLIE: Well, engineered hardwood is a great choice. But how does it fit in with cost between laminate and hardwood?
TOM: I think it’s right in the middle. Because engineered hardwood is basically … think of plywood, the way it’s made with different, alternating layers where the wood grain alternates; it goes one way and then it goes 90 degrees to the other way. But the top layer is solid hardwood and it’s as easy to install as a laminate floor because most of the installations today are just simply click together …
LESLIE: And …
TOM: … and it’s super durable.
LESLIE: And because it’s engineered, it’s more stable if there’s ever a moisture situation. So it’s good even if you wanted to put it in a bathroom.
DAVID: So anything I can get … my wife is a knotty pine fanatic. So I can get it in that kind of a finish also?
TOM: Yes, you can. But I would recommend that if you’re going to buy one in a soft wood finish like that, that you get one that has the toughest surface possible.
LESLIE: (overlapping) Top coating.
TOM: It comes in different … different grades. Because remember, knotty pine is a soft wood.
LESLIE: Is going to dent and ding and scratch.
TOM: Yeah. I mean if she really wants a knotty pine look, I’m glad you told us that. I would … I might recommend the laminate floor over that because …
LESLIE: Because you can’t ruin that.
TOM: Yeah. Especially if she likes a soft wood. You know, if you want a hardwood like oak or, say, a birch or a walnut or something like that, then, perhaps the engineered. But I don’t know about one with a pine finish. That might be a bit soft. That might really take a lot of dents and dings; even if it has a hard surface and a good wear surface. It could take a lot of abuse in a living room or in a dining room.
DAVID: Okay, well you gave us other options. So I’ll go on the net and find it and …
LESLIE: And if you do some research, Armstrong has some beautiful laminate flooring. And I bet they have a really nice knotty pine one that you could show your wife and convince her that it’s just as nice.
TOM: There you go.
DAVID: Alright. Well, appreciate your help.
TOM: You’re welcome, David. Thanks so much for calling us at 1-888-MONEY-PIT.
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