I am looking to replace carpeting in a family room with a slab floor (approx 425 sf). I am planning on doing the install myself and therefore focusing on the click/lock type floating floor rather than a glue down. I have been looking at various engineered hardwood companies and samples for a few weeks now and have landed on either Mirage, Mannington or Armstrong. I was originally leaning toward the Mannington or Armstrong as they seemed like a good balance of quality and price, but I recently looked at the Mirage at a local dealer and I really liked the look and quality of that product. The price was about $2.50/sf higher than the others but it appears that they have a .50/sf promotion coming up that might seal the deal for me. After reading the various board posts it sounds like the Mirage is higher quality (less waste, less risk of future issues) and very simple to install. I am of the mindset that a few extra bucks spent on quality up front that can pay back thousands in reduced headaches in the long run is $$ well spent. I am looking for feedback from you experienced sellers/installers if I am off the mark. Your input is greatly appreciated.

P.S. I have a 3 pack calcium Chloride kit coming in the mail to check the moisture on the concrete. Any tips on that are also appreciated.

Thanks

These are all pretty quality brands. I would just see which has the thickest top layer of real wood. This will allow for the most refinishes in the future. If they are all the same, then go with whatever one you like the look of the best. You are headed in the right direction and you can't really go wrong with any of these. If you are floating the floor, a calcium chloride test is not necessary since you will be using an underlayment. This is really only for glue downs.

Not sure about Mannington, Armstrong is definetly lower budget depending on the product. Mirage is always good. I prefer having my clients by anything made in the USA that conforms to ANSI/HPVA EF 2002 for engineered hardwood. Even Shaw does and I think Owens does as well.