Wood or wood look?(special section - flooring)(Buyers Guide)(Industry Overview)

Deep gouges, split or warped boards, and other widespread damage are all reasons to replace a wood floor, rather than refinish it. Or, you may simply want to trade a threadbare carpet or a dingy vinyl floor for the warmth of wood. Either way, a solid-wood floor is hardly your only choice. Plastic-laminate flooring such as Pergo typically costs less than factory-finished wood flooring and mimics it--along with other materials--using a photograph beneath its clear surface layer. You can also opt for engineered-wood flooring, which incorporates a thin veneer of real prefinished wood over structural plywood. It costs about the same as solid wood, but is easier to install.

Which to choose? To help make that decision easier, we put six models of prefinished solid-oak flooring, eight plastic-laminate models, and three engineered-wood products through a punishing regimen of wear, tear, spills, and sun. We also looked at flooring made of bamboo, which brings an ecological advantage, since bamboo is a plant that grows much faster and is more readily renewable than trees (see "Is Bamboo for You," page 47).

Solid wood remains many people's ideal for floors. Indeed, hardwood flooring can increase a home's resale value and speed its sale, according to the National Association of Realtors. We tested prefinished oak, the most popular and readily available kind. Your choices also include harder, lighter-colored maple, as well as cherry, hickory, and other hardwoods, along with pine--a lower-cost softwood. You can also pay less at the store for unfinished solid wood, which is what to buy if you prefer staining the floor yourself. But the price of the stain and varnish that go onto it raises its ultimate cost.

Despite solid wood's appeal, there are several areas where faux beats the real thing. Relatively easy installation is one of them. Like some engineered-wood flooring, plastic laminate can be glued at its tongue--and-groove joints and laid down over a layer of foam. With solid wood, each piece must be carefully nailed to a level wood subfloor using a special nailing tool. You'll find installation methods and tips below.

Plastic-laminate flooring is likely to look better longer, especially in busy rooms. Manufacturers claim that, unlike most solid-wood flooring, it can go in basement areas and other damp spots where solid wood may not be suitable. Still, it does have some well-defined limits.

HOW TOUGH?

Scrapes and scratches. Plastic-laminate proved a clear winner in wear-and-tear resistance. For all three flooring types, we used a special abrading machine to simulate foot traffic grinding grit into their finishes. We also gauged their scratch resistance using a scratching tool.