# 3/4" thick hardwood vs. 5/8" thick hardwood floor **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 17, 2014, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-4-thick-hardwood-vs-5-8-thick-hardwood-floor/679067 "2014-01-17T16:13:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![sweepkick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/87869e/32.png) [@sweepkick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweepkick)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2014, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-4-thick-hardwood-vs-5-8-thick-hardwood-floor/679067/1 "2014-01-17T16:13:38Z")
I’ve been looking at solid hardwood and the company that I have been working with has a real nice angico that I like better than the tigerwood and the brazilian cherry that I was initially looking at. They have a 3.5 inch wide that I prefer to the 3" wide slats, but the 3.5" only comes in 5/8" thickness. Are there any reasons, significant or otherwise, to avoid going with the 5/8" for a hardwood floor? Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Alpha\_Twit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alpha_twit/32/265_2.png) [@Alpha\_Twit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alpha_Twit)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2014, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-4-thick-hardwood-vs-5-8-thick-hardwood-floor/679067/2 "2014-01-17T16:17:35Z")
The only obvious thing I can think of is that years from now when the floor is looking abused and scarred, the thicker flooring will improve your odds of a successful sanding and refinishing. Beyond that, I bow to the experts who will show up shortly. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2014, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-4-thick-hardwood-vs-5-8-thick-hardwood-floor/679067/3 "2014-01-17T16:20:13Z")
Assuming a proper sub-floor I don’t think it should make much difference. Top quality 5/8" flooring would be preferable to a lower grade 3/4". ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2014, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-4-thick-hardwood-vs-5-8-thick-hardwood-floor/679067/4 "2014-01-17T16:22:51Z")
Moved to IMHO from Cafe Society. ---
**Author:** ![FordPrefect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e99b99/32.png) [@FordPrefect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordPrefect)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2014, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-4-thick-hardwood-vs-5-8-thick-hardwood-floor/679067/5 "2014-01-17T17:37:20Z")
Modern pre-finished flooring is coated with an (IIRC) aluminum-oxide coating (or some such) that is pretty much bulletproof, and more importantly, next to impossible to refinish. Save trees and go with 5/8", save even more trees and go with engineered flooring 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Sal\_Ammoniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sal\_Ammoniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sal_Ammoniac)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2014, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-4-thick-hardwood-vs-5-8-thick-hardwood-floor/679067/6 "2014-01-18T01:44:28Z")
The other issue, possibly, is doorframes and thresholds. If you’re replacing an existing floor that is 3/4 thick, you might have done rework to do. You might also have a slight problem if your new floor adjoins an existing floor, which might be a bit higher. ---
**Author:** ![rbroome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/838e76/32.png) [@rbroome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rbroome)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2014, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-4-thick-hardwood-vs-5-8-thick-hardwood-floor/679067/7 "2014-01-18T01:55:35Z")
> [@FordPrefect](#): > > Modern pre-finished flooring is coated with an (IIRC) aluminum-oxide coating (or some such) that is pretty much bulletproof, and more importantly, next to impossible to refinish. > > Save trees and go with 5/8", save even more trees and go with engineered flooring 🙂 Perhaps bulletproof but certainly not scratch proof ☹ ---
**Author:** ![sweepkick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/87869e/32.png) [@sweepkick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweepkick)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2014, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-4-thick-hardwood-vs-5-8-thick-hardwood-floor/679067/8 "2014-01-18T17:05:43Z")
Thanks all for your feedback I feel good about going with the 5/8ths. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2014, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-4-thick-hardwood-vs-5-8-thick-hardwood-floor/679067/9 "2014-01-18T17:28:59Z")
What’s on your floor right now? As noted, there’s a good chance you’ll have to redo all your door casings if you go with 5/8" flooring (if it bothers you to have a 1/8" gap, which is possible). People are doing wider planks these days, and I think they look a lot better. Does the company you’re working with offer anything in 5" widths? ---
**Author:** ![sweepkick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/87869e/32.png) [@sweepkick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweepkick)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2014, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3-4-thick-hardwood-vs-5-8-thick-hardwood-floor/679067/10 "2014-01-20T15:52:11Z")
The doorways are on linoleum so they would still have to be cut.