Floor installation

[nct]

Hi there,
The same guy asking for “selling now or wait…” here. I are moving into a new house, which needs upgrade. We want to replace the carpet with hardwood and re-do kitchen’s tile.

Any good suggestion?

[spdrun]

Do it yourself or hire from in front of Home Depot. Cheaper than dotting/crossing the correct letters.

[BoomerAang]

Where do you live? I’ve been more than happy with Unique flooring in Oceanside. He’s done all sorts of flooring for me over the years.

[NotCranky]

If it’s on a slab make sure they seal it very well before putting the hardwood down. In fact, you might even want to look for a dedicated concrete sealing contractor to do that part. Also the tile may need a slip sheet installed over slab or parts of it.
The guys at HD are going to want to start throwing down wood and tile 5 minutes after you meet them and they WILL NOT bring these important things into consideration.

I can give you a referral if you want , but if the contractor you chose will address these things , and do them right, to the extent they are needed , you will be fine with that contractor.

[bearishgurl]

[quote=spdrun]Do it yourself or hire from in front of Home Depot. Cheaper than dotting/crossing the correct letters.[/quote]

I’m going to try my hand at this, spdrun. I have a friend who did her 1500 sf condo in floating wood floor (6″ wide planks) and it looks really nice. Her daughter helped. She’s been a seamstress all her life and had her long tables set up in the garage to lay it all out first and match it and make the cuts.

She’s offered to help me try my hand at it and I’m going to take her up on it with my study (a smallish bdrm) for starters and then I’ll go from there. (Due to furniture moving, etc, I can only do one room at a time.)

I priced JUST my living room in 2.5″ red oak about five years ago and the estimate (with installation) was over $4400! (It had to be nailed and then professionally finished.)

I have a 1.5″ red oak dining room and hallway which has been professionally finished and is still beautiful but those planks have long since been discontinued as they were used from about 1948 to 1952 (when the 2.5″ planks began to be used en masse). On the back of these original planks, it says “Hurtsboro” (a mill in Kentucky at the time).

I went to Lumber Liquidators in Nestor several years ago and found acceptable pre-finished 2.25″ planks (mfr Durawood) but at $3.49 sf, the cost for me would be ridiculously high with installation as they have to be nailed. I’ve been getting ads from them for small lots of same for .99 sf so if I bought enough from red oak end lots for 1-2 rooms at a time and did just those room(s), I don’t think the difference in color/pattern would show up that much from room to room but I’m not sure.

I could buy a new floor nailer for $170, which would be cheaper than renting it on several different occasions. I just don’t know how to use it or know all the tricks for nailing against the wall, etc. Thus my idea for the floating floor after seeing my friend’s. I just wonder how the 6″ planks would look butted up next to existing 1.5″ planks (which I’m not going to replace). I guess I could go to Lowes and get a sample to check.

Mine is a real dilemma but there is no way in h@ll I would spend $10K+ on wood flooring. I don’t know how handy you are, OP or if you’re willing to try DIY, but spdrun is correct in that it is MUCH CHEAPER to DIY flooring than have it done.

However, to lay tile, you would need to be very proficient at using a wet tile saw so as not to waste any (expensive) tile and they cost over $850 to buy, are expensive to rent and are dangerous. I’ve used a very good, efficient and reasonable licensed tile person in SD County for setting over 150 sf of a ceramic mosaic pattern. I don’t know where you’re located, but if you are interested in the referral, feel free to pm me.

[bearishgurl]

[quote=Blogstar]If it’s on a slab make sure they seal it very well before putting the hardwood down. In fact, you might even want to look for a dedicated concrete sealing contractor to do that part. Also the tile may need a slip sheet installed over slab or parts of it.
The guys at HD are going to want to start throwing down wood and tile 5 minutes after you meet them and they WILL NOT bring these important things into consideration.

I can give you a referral if you want , but if the contractor you chose will address these things , and do them right, to the extent they are needed , you will be fine with that contractor.[/quote]

Good advice, Rus. I have 1″ plywood subfloors but still used the old sheet vinyl with hardibacker nailed on top before laying tile in kitchens and bathrooms. This extensive prep work (plus sealing at least the grout afterwards) is necessary before laying your tile, no matter which kind of subfloor you have.

[NotCranky]

BG tile saws are the least dangerous of all circular saws. You can touch the blade with your finger, though I wouldn’t recommend getting it pinched between the table and the blade.

Some tile store will cut your tiles for a fee and /or a rental saw can be had to cut the pieces with just a few hours rental, once the main floor is installed. I know you probably don’t like those Ideas , but they can be used.

Less scrupulous people buy the tile saw and return it after the job is done!

[bearishgurl]

[quote=Blogstar]BG tile saws are the least dangerous of all circular saws. You can touch the blade with your finger, though I wouldn’t recommend getting it pinched between the table and the blade.

Some tile store will cut your tiles for a fee and /or a rental saw can be had to cut the pieces with just a few hours rental, once the main floor is installed. I know you probably don’t like those Ideas , but they can be used.

Less scrupulous people buy the tile saw and return it after the job is done![/quote]

Yes, I’ve watched several people use their own tile saws (mounted on the tailgate of their pickups) and it seems that that many cuts need to be made and also adjusted on the fly (as the tile is being laid). Ex: around the toilet flange, around pocket-door mouldings, etc. I don’t think it would be easy to “pre-plan” all those cuts before the job unless you installed the slipsheet/hardibacker first and at least removed the toilets one or more days prior to the tile being laid so you could lay out all the tile and look at it. I guess it would depend upon the complexity of the tile pattern, how expensive the tile was and how long the homeowner can live without one bathroom. Then if those cuts turn out to be a little off and the tile needs to be shaved some more to fit, someone needs to get in the car in the middle of the job (while the glue is down?) and go get the tile cut some more.

Having a wet tile saw on the premises all during your tile job is the best way to go. And if HD is taking those (expensive) saws back after they have been used, they need to seriously revisit their refund policy because they are clearly being taken advantage of by “customers.”

I have also found that those mechanical tile scorers (they resemble a 3-hole punch for paper) don’t work very well, can’t do anything but a straight cut and often crack the tile being scored.

[bearishgurl]

Oh, and btw, Rus, I just learned how to use a Sawzall! I got both long and short blades for pruning and WOW, it is so much easier and faster than the manual way I was pruning all these years! The 10 amp model I recently scored for <$50 is a little heavy (I have to wrap both wrists to use it) but it is SUCH a worksaver for me! I've watched several neighbors actually use it with a long blade to remove bermudagrass (w/18" roots) from their front yards (instead of using $250 worth of Roundup, like I did, and STILL had to dig a lot out). That's what got me interested enough to wait for a sale and buy one for myself and I highly recommend them for landscaping purposes, although I'm sure they would be great for other jobs as well, if you had the right blade.

[nct]

Thank you BoomerAang.

I will call.
[quote=BoomerAang]Where do you live? I’ve been more than happy with Unique flooring in Oceanside. He’s done all sorts of flooring for me over the years.[/quote]

[nct]

Please share more your known contractors.

Thanks,

[FlyerInHi]

BG, you can do it.

I recently tiled a 1200sf condo, all by myself. I dare say that I’m pretty good at it because I don’t rush it. I have an MK tile saw that I bought for about $700.

Since, I’ve been DIY remodeling, I look at the fit and finish everywhere I go. Nothing escapes my trained eyes anymore.

One thing about DIY, I don’t need to go to the gym as much.

[bearishgurl]

[quote=FlyerInHi]BG, you can do it.

I recently tiled a 1200sf condo, all by myself. I dare say that I’m pretty good at it because I don’t rush it. I have an MK tile saw that I bought for about $700.

Since, I’ve been DIY remodeling, I look at the fit and finish everywhere I go. Nothing escapes my trained eyes anymore.

One thing about DIY, I don’t need to go to the gym as much.[/quote]

LOL, I’ve been spending even MORE time at the gym (over and above my 3-4x wk) lately, just to be somewhere with A/C!

It’s great that you mastered the tile saw, brian. Yeah, DIY is good exercise but I prefer working out with weights and yoga/pilates classes. I’ve been slowly getting power tools as my confidence builds up (have five so far). Having been a desk jockey most of my life, I just never really learned to use them but usually did all the “grunt work” in my “off-hrs” (picking up debris/shop vaccing, etc) while someone else used them.

I don’t need any more tile. My large kitchen and 2 large baths are all done in mosaic and they are gorgeous floors (but a bit high-maintenance, with pets). I need hardwood floor to replace older carpeting. My friend has 3 folding tables and I have one that we can use in the garage to lay out the pieces first in sections so they look good together on the floor. I already know how to rip out carpeting, pad and tack strips and I have one more free pass for this year left for the Otay landfill and a pickup I could borrow to go there. I think I can get the hang of a laying a floating floor but its going to be challenging moving heavy furniture around.

And no, I don’t want “engineered laminate” such as Pergo, etc. I know a lot of the flippers use it but much of my competition around here has real hardwood floors (all original if the home has never been remodeled). Thus a prospective buyer around here would expect that in a ~65 yo ‘hood.

I just can’t imagine paying $10K++ to have it installed! I figured I have about 1400 sf to do, (total) but if I DIY, I won’t do it all one time.

[FlyerInHi]

BG, I have never done it but I think nailing is easier/faster than floating or gluing.
You can buy a nailer and practice. If other people can do it, so can you.
The key to a nice job is fine motor skills. If a husky guy can do it, then a slender woman can do I better.

I agree with you. Home improvement is expensive. Better to save money.

[bearishgurl]

[quote=FlyerInHi]BG, I have never done it but I think nailing is easier/faster than floating or gluing.
You can buy a nailer and practice. If other people can do it, so can you.
The key to a nice job is fine motor skills. If a husky guy can do it, then a slender woman can do I better.

I agree with you. Home improvement is expensive. Better to save money.[/quote]

Well, I would prefer the 2.5″ red oak (which is nailed) to the 6″ wide plank (which is typically floated/glued). It appears that the floor nailer is a somewhat stationary tool, so even though it may weight 20 lbs+, I wouldn’t have to hold it too much (I have a bit of carpal tunnel syndrome, especially in my right wrist). If I can do my own nailing, room by room (however slow), I’m pretty sure I could save $5K to $7K, depending on the deal I can get on the flooring (whether all in one purchase or several). For that savings, it would be totally worth it to me if I could get the hang of it and not send nails flying everywhere. Of course, I’m going to have to wear safety glasses and close pets off to where I am working.

I think I’ll look at some utube videos of floor nailing before deciding whether or not to try DIY ….

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