Hello,

We are upgrading about 10,000 sq ft of hallways in an office building of NYC. The hallways were always carpeted but general feedback from tenants are requesting wood flooring in the hallways. About our building:

1. Building were built in late 1800s.

2. Floors are a mismatch of plywood and various wood floorings under carpeting. Floor creak a lot. Carpeting was placed in hallways to level floor and keep noise down from creaking. When we install new flooring it would be above old flooring.

3. Lots of wear. About 300 people use this building a day. Not just people, but carts, and large items are dragged on floor. Not your typical office building - pretty rugged tenants.

Anyway, we are trying to figure out what is best for redoing the floors. Should we stick with carpeting even though tenants prefer wood? If wood, do we go with wood, engineered, or laminate wood? Any suggestions are appreciated.

Thanks.

Randy

Any new wood floor without a fix to what's under it will probably sound worse over time. Too much effort and time to fix the original? One could always fix (add new/weave) the plywood areas unless it's a huge amount. Top nail or screw the heck out of the rest to quiet the squeaks while creating some kind of in fashion type distressed look?