We need new floors!!

Well, as I may have mentioned a hundred times before, we live in an old house. Over 100 years old. The floors are uneven, and on the main floor of the house we have some nice pine floors which are original to the house.

 

  The floors may look nice in the photo, but this was taken about 5 years ago when we had just refinished them. They were refinished with about 6 coats of Diamond Finish Clear Poly.
CONS:
~When we refinished them we sanded, and the nail heads were starting to protrude above the wood. This means no more sanding! 
  After several years I have some annoyances: (is that a word??) anywho...
~this floor is dry, & brittle. Under the desk area, where the chair moves in & out the floor has literally deteriorated & large chunks of wood have just broken off!
~Also there are large gaps in between the planks. This means in the kitchen area I can not even sweep! I have to vacuum. The inconvenience of taking out the vacuum 3 times a day (not that I ever do..shhhhhh)  is wearing on me.
~From a design point of view, I don't like the brown cupboards, brown wood floor & brown counter top (which was supposed to be black) - going on here.  Too much "matchy matchy"!

PROS:

~When we renovated the kitchen, it saved us thousands to NOT have to purchase new floors. :)
~Crumb catchers are handy. (big gaps between boards)
~The natural ambered natural color is GREAT for hiding dirt...seriously if it were not for the big gaps filled with crumbs, it would never look dirty!


I do work in a flooring speciality store, so I have a couple of products in mind:

 http://www.gerflorcanada.com/canada-en/floors-for-the-home/product-page/texline-bois,277.html

GERFLOR

I like this for a few reasons.
~it has that 100 year old house feel,
~it will brighten the kitchen & not be so "matchy-matchy",
~it is a ply able vinyl product so it will go over our EXTREMELY uneven floors without much prep,
~it is textured,and has a "feel real" wood vibe
~1 solid piece means no place for crumbs to hide & easily sweepable
~It has an anti-mildew layer, which means it is great for wet areas - & will not grow mold
~It is softer & warmer & more comfortable than hardwood
~The backing has a fibreglass layer, which prevents it from curling up on the edges 
~Pricewise it runs about $3.67/sf for this particular series

 

OK, so next is MARMOLEUM (no photo available..just the link)

 

Marmoleum has been around for 100 ++ years!  It is a completely natural product!  Interestingly enough it is made from some basic ingredients:

• linseed oil
• sawdust (tree flour)
• tree gum (tree resin)
• jute backing
• natural pigments

Cool eh? 

 

It comes in a click floor (which has a natural cork backing),

a tile form & a sheet form

(here is the link)

http://www.forbo-flooring.us/Residential-Flooring/Products/

 

PROS: 

~They offer matching cool borders too!  (for the tile & sheet product).   

~All 3 types of marmoleum is refurbish able!  They can be polished up like new over & over again. 

~Environmentally friendly - biodegradable

~It is considered a "breathe easy" flooring product

 

CONS:

The only disadvantages of this product were hard to think of, but here are a few downfalls:

~I guess just the price.  This stuff goes for $6-$7ish per square foot in Canada.  That can add up if you have a large area, but seriously it will last forever. 

~The only downfall of that is if you ever remodel, you have no excuse to get a new floor!!

~The sheets MUST be installed by professionals, due to the weld-rod they use to seam it together. This weld rod requires a special machine. It is a 6 foot wide roll.

 

So which do you prefer?