UmMusa Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 Anyone have advice for a first timer putting in wood flooring? We want to tear out carpet in our downstairs rooms (dining, living, family rooms, and a hallway). I don't know what to get or who to buy it from. There are so many showrooms and installers around here (Plano, TX) that it makes my head spin. My two brothers have had it installed in the past year, and each one used a different person. I'll start there, but do you have any advice or recommendations? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 (edited) I have swedish finish on site in my entry, living, dining, master, two sets of stairs - yes, it is toxic to install and you have to vacate the premises, but it lasts a long time and is very durable. When I was installing and asking friends with wood floors about finishes, one very environmentally friendly woman I was talking with had a "sturdy" water-based finish on her floors. Her recommendation? "get the toxic one." (aka: swedish) I have the "aluminum oxide" "50yr"(supposedly) from lumbar liquidators in my kitchen. NEVER AGAIN. plus, because it is prefinished, it has cracks between the planks of wood so dust and water can get down between them (and did when my dishwasher overflowed). Did I say I will NEVER AGAIN do a pre-finished floor? eta: it's all (even the prefinish) solid 3/4" tongue and groove brazillian cherry. (VERY hard wood. gorgeous.) Edited January 27, 2012 by gardenmom5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrincessMommy Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 I have swedish finish on site in my entry, living, dining, master, two sets of stairs - yes, it is toxic to install and you have to vacate the premises, but it lasts a long time and is very durable. When I was installing and asking friends with wood floors about finishes, one very environmentally friendly woman I was talking with had a "sturdy" water-based finish on her floors. Her recommendation? "get the toxic one." (aka: swedish) I have the "aluminum oxide" "50yr"(supposedly) from lumbar liquidators in my kitchen. NEVER AGAIN. plus, because it is prefinished, it has cracks between the planks of wood so dust and water can get down between them (and did when my dishwasher overflowed). Did I say I will NEVER AGAIN do a pre-finished floor? I think this is what we have in our new home. I don't like it. There are cracks between the planks and I'll never get the dust and little pieces of dirt out of those - never. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Rat Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 We got a great deal through Lumber Liquidators. We've gotten engineered bamboo, which we glued down, and a laminate (Pergo) which is floating. Floating means it's not attatched to your subflooring. We have concrete underneath the bamboo which is why we went with glue. Otherwise, we would have had to lay a plywood subflooring. My husband and I had a friend help. I spread the glue, dh laid the floor, friend cut the wood. It took us 10 hours to do a long L shaped hallway and a 14 x 16 size room. It turned out great! We are very happy with it. Of course, I'm a perfectionist so I see little mistakes here and there, but no one else notices them. The glue doesn't come off, so if you go that route, wear clothes you will throw away afterwards. And soaking in a tub will eventually get the glue off your skin, but it takes awhile. If you don't have a good saw, rent one. It'll save on headaches. After the floor was done, you can't really walk on it for 24 hours. This didn't work for us because it was our main living area/hallway to bathrooms and bedrooms. But, we did try. Make sure you read the directions carefully. Let the wood sit in the house for a couple days to acclimate it. Follow their recommendations, etc. The next week we put in all the base boards and transition pieces. Lumber liquidators helped us pick the right transitions from room to room. They have different kinds depending on flooring. We had wood to vinyl (kitchen), wood to carpet (bedroom) and wood to laminate (boys bedrooms). They were very helpful. Remember to buy 10% more material to account for mistakes and overages. We spent about $1,100 and saved $1,500 in labor (or more) doing it ourselves. HTH and good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Rat Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 My Hoover Floormate gets out all the stuff between the cracks. It might help your floor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 My Hoover Floormate gets out all the stuff between the cracks. It might help your floor. by the time you get any vacuum, the water is already underneath the floor. and for major water spill's (pitcher/pot of water), you need a shop vac that can handle water. otherwise, yes, a vacuum will get most of the dust and dirt from the grooves. but leaks, (refridgerator/dishwasher) will be hopeless. I also hate how the finish feels to walk on vs my swedish floors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KAM Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 We did our kitchen/family room ourselves five years ago using the Armstrong prefinished planks. Very happy with them, they have held up great. We just had someone do our living room and den in the same flooring. There aren't any cracks between the planks, they are tongue and groove and fit right together. The install for the two rooms took four days (for the professionals, the part we did ourselves took way longer). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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