Wide Plank Flooring

Q: We are building a 2300 sq ft ranch w/ heated basement in the Chicago area. We like the look of wide plank flooring but builder has not worked with it before and we are having trouble finding out if this type of wood flooring would work for us. We would like to have wood flooring throughout kitchen/dining/family room. There is not a formal dining area. We have a large dog and 3 cats. Considering having radiant heat in kitchen but realize this may not work for flooring choices. We do not want a laminate. Would consider a tile in kitchen and foyer but want something that will tie in with flooring. Style of home is French Country. Would wide plank flooring be a feasible option, and what would be the best choice in material?
Thank you,
J.B.
A: Wider planks of flooring tend to give a room a more comfortable and casual feel than the more formal and traditional look of strip style flooring. This being said wide plank flooring can be a great fit for country style homes.
When it comes to radiant heat, you can install wood flooring over these systems, but you have to be careful about what flooring you choose. Your best bet is to purchase an engineered floor for this type of installation as they are more resistant to expansion and contraction due to temperature than solid flooring. If you choose a solid hardwood, ensure that the planks are quarter-sawn, not plane-sawn as these are more stable. Also, look into species which are more dimensionally stable (determined by the dimensional change coefficient), as these species will expand and contract less.
The problem you may run into here is that wood flooring will get damaged. If you drop a soup can from a counter, the floor will dent, though some species of wood will have a shallower dent than others, a dent will occur. If your primary concern is durability in your kitchen, do with a stone or tile floor. If durability is only a matter of foot and pet traffic, wood floors will do the trick, just make sure you get a harder species (Maple or harder being a good bet). Also, keep pet nails trimmed and keep a regular cleaning schedule to keep grit and debris off your floor.
Keep in mind, that it is not suggested for a glue-down application to occur over radiant heat systems. Although this can be done, it usually requires very specific adhesives and professional installers and becomes rather expensive. Try to get a floating or nail-down floor if possible.
To sum up here: Wide plank wood flooring can work very well over radiant heat. Get an engineered wood floor if possible and at the least, get a dimensionally stable, harder species in order to deal with the durability and project needs you have.