I'm interested too. Anyone?

I'm going to disagree with echo here in practically only, as I am not a wood floor specialist, I do not make, sell, distribute, etc any flooring product. I am just a homeowner who initially installed prefinished, engineered veneer oak flooring. The veneer of wood was 1/8 inch thick. I will qualify this by saying that it was 1998 (and I am sure they are much better made now) when we installed and it was an expensive floor and costs us several thousand above our builder allowance for wood floor. We had a newborn, a 20 month old, and a almost 4 yr old at that time. This floor was in the entry, a path separating living/dining leading from one end of house to another, kitchen, and 2 baths. Within months, the baths were ruined from water splashes (and we were ogre diligent)and within 2-3 years, the kitchen ruined by the dishwasher drips, and the finish destroyed by daily wear and tear. In 2006, we went with a finish on site hand scraped, stained and sealed red oak that is also a veneer but the veneer is much thicker than the factory prefinished stuff. As for the seal, 3 coats were applied and 4 years later, it is still beautiful. Those little kids are now teens (or nearly) with lots of friends coming and going, plus 4 cats and 2 dogs. Minor scratches are covered with a sharpie or furniture pen and those we miss, are not noticeable. My favorite thing, is the joints got filled with the sealer. Things have been spilled that have not penetrated through the joints. Just this past April 2010, a hot water heater went out and emptied its contents onto this floor. Water flooded the hall 20-30 minutes before discovery. The water traveled under walls into another room (tiled bath and carpeted closet) as well as the boys carpeted rooms. The carpet was ruined. The wood floor stayed intact with no buckling, warping or damage to the finish. And this was HOT water. Go figure. Long story short, I am not against engineered veneer (ours was made by corning which is not longer available but similar through Shamrock wood flooring) but I do not like the pre-finished stuff at all. Finished onsite, imho, is the only way to go.

No idea how much to suggest for you to use, but we salted our pool and used water softner pellets by just throwing them in and playing in the pool. Took about half an hour for them to dissolve. Just be sure that your salt source has nothing in it but salt. Some softner salts have other "stuff" in them.

Hi MM, Yeah, I liked the lightness of it too - our lawns are on split levels so I have to lug the mower up and down a set of stairs, which is not fun! I'm pretty sure 1 battery would last our section...so long as I didn't let the lawns get away on me! Our lawns aren't in pristene bowling-green condition (I wish!) but otherwise o.k. We don't have to contend with too much - just the odd Cabbage Tree leaf that I've missed picking up, and the mulch the birds are constantly scratching out of the gardens! My old mower never said boo once to the missed leaves - I wonder if an enviromower would turn its toes up on them? The thing that I'm a bit iffy about is the blades - with my existing mower I got the blades sharpened, maybe, once every 2 years if I was lucky (yeah I know, maintenance is paramount and all that!). The frequency that the website talks about swapping and sharpening blades, etc, makes me think that perhaps the blades are not as robust as those on a petrol mower??? On adding it up, it'd cost NZ$823 for the mower plus a spare battery and cutting blade(just in case!), which is on par with many other mowers on the market here. Plus there is a dealer just down the road from me, so I have been able to see one close up. My biggest concern is wether it'd last the distance, or would I end up always dragging the thing into repair shops wishing I'd spent the $$$ on a tried and true brand! Regards, GF