Following a flood, I'm replacing my wood floors. Because of the building's rules, it will be a floating installation over the damaged engineered hardwood floors. I can either accept the insurance payment or use a supplier who will be paid by State Farm. I had one come for an estimate. They seemed competent and cooperative, but the product they presented (Boen) has had several very unfavorable reviews on one of the websites. Has anyone had experience with Boen flooring? If not, I would be grateful for any suggestions - I'm happy to pay for something good.

 

I don't understand why the "building rules" specify that the new flooring must be installed over the damaged flooring. That doesn't make sense. I have never heard of Boen flooring. Looking at their site, I see that they do not use aluminum oxide on the surface, which will lend to scratches and possible discoloration if not protected from the sunlight. They have a natural finish and a lacquer finish, neither of which is very hardy. There is no mention of a wearthrough warranty, or any warranty for that matter.

I can only speak from my experiences and feedback from my clients, but stranded bamboo has an excellent record for wear and stability. I have used handscraped 5" bamboo engineered click lock flooring in our bedroom, and it gets the punishment of two labs all the time, and in the years we have had it, no scratches. Easy and fast to install and looks great. Will run about $2.50 sf for the flooring, so do a comparison.

 

"I don't understand why the 'building rules' specify that the new flooring must be installed over the damaged flooring."

Many thanks for the information, Chandler. Just FYI - it's really the City of New York's rules. When they've boiled the glue of the floors here and analyzed it microscopically, they've found unidentifiable "traces" which they say could be asbestos. So removing the existing floor would require a $20,000 asbestos abatement which the insurance will not cover.

Boen does offer a warranty Warranty - Boen but from what you say it will not be a satisfactory product.

The supplier also offers Invincible, Voyager and Rustic River - I wonder if you are familiar with any of those brands.

Many thanks.

 

Gotta love New York for it's ambiguity !! "unidentifiable" "traces" and "could be", just can't float a boat, IMO.

The warranty you refer to is for parquet flooring. Is that is what you are looking for? Do you know who the manufacturers of the other floorings are?

 

Those are brands handled exclusively by carpet one.

invincible-hardwood
voyager-hardwood
rustic-river-hardwood

 

Asbestos in an engineered wood flooring product!
I do not see anything good coming out of just covering this issue up.
There has to be moisture trapped under that old flooring that can cause mold issues and cupping.