Flooring – I NEED HELP!

Q: I have several flooring questions for you. My condo flooded August 14th (yes, that is over 2 months ago!). I have been struggling with deciding on the best flooring options considering several issues pertinent to my situation. I have been overwhelmed by it all and have finally decided to ask for help!
A DESCRIPTION OF MY CONDO:
I can forward digital photos if it will help
It is a 2 story (row house) design with a cement main floor. When you come through the front door you can see straight to the back door.
Standing in the front entrance looking right is one large rectangular room (living room at the front, dining area behind). Beyond the back wall of the dining area is a laundry/utility room. From the front entrance again, looking left is a front hall closet. As one walks toward the back door on left is the stair case to the 2nd floor (2 steps up-a landing-right turn-7 steps up-landing-right turn-5 steps up to the 2nd floor. On the main floor continuing to walk to the back door, there is a door to a pantry/storage area under the stairs and finally the kitchen which is “U-shape” to the left with a window facing the back. The back door enters directly into the kitchen from a large back deck. If one enters the back door, the entrance to the laundry area is immediately to the left followed by the entrance to the dining area. The entrances to the dining/living area from both the front and back of the condo are ~ 4 ft wide with a ~ 4 ft wide floor to ceiling wall separating the dining room from the pantry entrance so there is sort of a small hallway so to speak (~550 sf/floor). Given the design, the main traffic route is from the front to back I bought the condo just under a year ago. Ironically, the owners were selling after renovating after a flood! My neighbors installed engineered hardwood flooring a few years ago. Their installer said the cement was in good shape but was very uneven. He installed a wooden subfloor and then glued their engineered floor to it.
MY ISSUES:
1. BEING “GREEN”
I initially considered artificial flooring (laminate wood and/or tile) but have decided that my conscience won’t allow my to contribute to more “plastic” in the world. I’m a subscriber to Consumer Reports and therefore am fully aware that they are in a category of their own when it comes to durability, scratch resistance etc. etc. and that, given my other issues, they might be the recommended first choice but I won’t budge on this one so….I need to know what my other choices are.
2. DOG
Medium sized, shepherd-mix.
3. CLIMATE
Northern Ontario. Think Northern Minnesota. Approximately 1 hour drive east along Lake Superior from the Canada-U.S. border. Cold, snowy winters, slushy spring and fall, summers ~ 75 degrees.
4. ECONOMICAL
The sky is not the limit! Enough said
5. QUALITY/RESALE
I don’t know if I’ll be living here forever or moving and reselling in a few years. It is not the most ideal living situation for a dog….aside from other considerations. For that reason I want to put down flooring that will be as durable as possible so that it will still hopefully look OK in a few years. Although I personally like cork as much as hardwood, I think hardwood would be preferred by a larger percentage of the prospective buyers in this neighborhood (usually older, retired couples who develop world-class gardens).
6. CONDO DESIGN ISSUES
a) back door enters directly into the kitchen
b) kitchen and laundry area are opposite each other; both rooms potential for water/moisture; laundry room also contains a chest freezer and hot water tank and has a floor drain.
My neighbors installed hardwood throughout the entire main floor and it looks beautiful. I have also read that using one single flooring throughout an area that is relatively open with one space/room flowing into another can make the entire area look bigger. Although, I would like hardwood in my living/dining area, I think it’s too risky for the kitchen/laundry area and am concerned about the high traffic areas (entrances and “hall” area, dog bounding in with snowy, wet paws etc).
So, although it won’t look as nice, the option of using another flooring for the entrance/hall/kitchen/laundry areas such as tile or linoleum seems wiser to me. Tile is probably the way to go (over linoleum – haven’t seen many attractive options that would work well in this case) for resale and durability.
I’m also considering doing the stairs and second floor too but would not be restricted to engineered if I wanted hardwood. My questions/issues here are:
1. The 3rd bedroom is an office and I have a very heavy bookcase all along one wall (6 ft width and height) with 2 narrower matching ones on either side , each 1 1/2 ft wide and 6 ft tall. I have read that a floating floor would not be recommended in this case due to the weight.
2. Doing the stairs is expensive right?
3. If I wanted a different color hardwood upstairs, which wood would I use on the staircase? The one from the main floor (likely lighter) or the one from the second floor.
7. KITCHEN ISSUE
When the flood restoration folks were here assessing the kitchen, their opinion was that the cabinets had been “saved”, meaning that they were not really damaged much. They are all slightly swollen at the bottom.
They also suggested that any new flooring would be installed “up to” the bottom cupboards and then the kick plates would be reattached and that all would be fine because the minimal damage would be out of site. They suggested putting wall trim along the base of the only cupboard wall that is visible. Does this sound right to you? Doesn’t the old flooring
(vinyl) need to be entirely removed including under the cabinets to the wall? The vinyl is curled and you can see the floor underneath. And, wouldn’t my new flooring need to be replaced in the entire kitchen (requiring the cabinets to be removed and reinstalled)? For example, if I chose ceramic tile, if it was not installed all the way to the wall would I not be in worse shape should I have water damage again? This kitchen issue doesn’t seem right to me. They are brand new kitchen cupboards. Any prospective buyer may want to inspect beyond the kick plates. Given that your people install floors have you ever encountered this situation? I don’t want to be taken advantage of….Your experience, from a flooring perspective, would be appreciated.
Now you can see why I NEED YOUR HELP!
Any suggestions that you could give me would be most appreciated.
– types of flooring
-specific Brands and/or lines within brands…For example, I’ve been looking at Bruce -Turlington -Lock & Fold with the hope of keeping installation costs down…no glue, therefore faster???
-tile (what kind?? ceramic, porcelain, stone).
-Consumer reports rates flooring as follows, best first under each category:
1. Solid hardwood – Bruce (Armstrong dundee plank), Lauson
(classic),Shaw(fairfax) etc.
2. Engineered HW-mannington(classic collection), ***BR-111, Mohawk (heirlooms), Bruce(lock and fold), Mannington (exotics collection-bamboo), lauzon (next-step).
***BR-111 initially appealed to me but apparently you can’t get more than one floor out of them due to their 5/16th thickness so this might not be so great for resale…
3. No ratings for tile from Consumers
Sincerely,
Jackie

A: Looks like we have quite the task ahead of us here, but no worries, I’ll help walk you through it all. First things first, what you are going through (frustration over a big project) is pretty normal, so don’t let it worry you too much.
If you can forward along some photos that will help immensely, but let’s try to take this one step at a time here. Let’s start with prep work. First off, have you determined what has caused this flooding in the past and is it something you have resolved. I ask because I want to make sure I can account for where the problems occurred in the past.
For the kitchen you will want to remove the vinyl that is not covered by cabinets at the very least as its current condition is not suitable for installing a new floor over. Now you might be asking why not under the cabinets as well, and its a good question as you have mentioned in your email. Here’s why – new flooring can be installed up to the cabinets, allowing for a proper expansion gap of course, without any worry. In certain cases, like floating floors, you can not install cabinets over them and MUST install up to the cabinets.
Before we go too in-depth here I will wait on your photos, but let’s do some basic talk about saving bucks where you can and going green. Consumer reports has a ton of great information, but keep in mind that it will only rate the very big names of the industry. There are several smaller names whom get their products from the same or similar mills around the world at much lower price points – easy way to save a few bucks while still getting the high quality items.
As far as actual product selection is concerned, cork when done well looks absolutely amazing and is the best green solution out there. You can also look into bamboo which has good durability and has quickly become a very popular appearance in homes, especially the handscraped lines made by several companies. Your biggest concern is most likely your dog here. In this case a bit of grooming will help minimize the problems you might run into with your dog’s nails and traffic. Cork is good in this respect as any denting to occur will naturally be pushed out over time, but like vinyl, cork can be vulnerable to gouging, especially if you drag something heavy across it. Bamboo is a bit more durable in this sense, but dents will be a bit more visible and can potentially put hairline cracks into the bamboo. An alternative would be to look into an engineered strand woven bamboo. Engineered strand bamboo cuts the formaldehyde emissions down to acceptable E1 standards (and looks great) while giving you a much more durable surface than standard bamboo.
If you look into hardwood, make sure to go with an engineered species that is able to handle the climate. Solids are not likely to be a wise idea here unless you want to use the solid on you stairs and upper portions with a different floor over the concrete. Your concern about the 5/16″ products is understandable, but typically you won’t need to refinish very often, perhaps every 10 years. Also keep in mind that you can rescreen a floor, which will renew the finish without having to sand the actual wood down. In this case the 5/16″ can work through your entire home and you will stick to the thought that hardwood is a bit more universally appealing should you sell your condo.
In the end for this portion of your project, don’t be afraid to take your time and do research. First narrow down your thoughts to what will fit the specs required. Then find 3 floors you really love. Once you have found 3, it gets much much easier.