wood floors

Discussion in 'Horn Depot' started by orangebones, Sep 22, 2008.

  1. orangebones

    orangebones 500+ Posts

    We just bought our first house...a good little starter home, and we got a pretty good deal on it. Right now, it has ceramic tile everywhere except the bedrooms and living room (carpet). There's nothing wrong with the tile, but I'd prefer dark hardwood. I'd guess we're looking at re-flooring about 1200 square feet.

    I've done a little bit of looking, and I've seen 3/4" planks and engineered wood that would give me the look I want, for anywhere between $3.80 sq/ft to around $6 sq/ft. However, the more folks I talk to, the cost of ripping up tile is going take a significant chunk out of what I anticipated spending (which is hopefully no more than $10-12k).

    Any floor guys out there? I'm totally opposed to laminate...I think it looks and sounds bad. I'd like to get it done before we move in (which is pretty flexible, date-wise), but if I can't get the price down to a manageable level, I'm going to have to wait.

    1) What products should I be looking at?
    2) What products should I avoid?
    3) How much should I expect to spend (is $10-12k realistic)?

    Thanks! I'll probably have some follow-up questions on installation, etc, later on.
     
  2. Jellydonuts

    Jellydonuts 250+ Posts

    I am not a floor guy, but we recently had new wood floors put down and it was approximately the same sq footage you are looking at. We spent about $8k, but we did not have to tear up the existing floors; they were old wood floors that could just be sanded down. I would highly recommend getting this done before you move in, if at all possible. Between installation and having to let the floors settle, you are looking at being displaced for about two weeks (not to mention the hassle of moving out all of your furniture).
     
  3. orangebones

    orangebones 500+ Posts

    that's what i was thinking, with respect to installing before we move in. did y'all go with full planks or engineered wood? i've thought about laying the wood down right on top of the tile, but it would have to be the engineered stuff due to the level of the floor. also, i'd have to get some beveled transition pieces for where the wood meets the carpet, since the new level of the floor would be about a quarter inch higher.
     
  4. ousuxndallas

    ousuxndallas 500+ Posts

    Don't go with engineered wood. That's usually crappy wood glued together, with a veneer-type surface.

    Go with hardwood, and a good one. Wider planks are better looking IMO. We re-floored our entire main floor with 5" Brazilian Cherry (jatoba). Very nice looking with a rich red-brown color that darkens over time.

    3/4" planks look cheap to me, but to each his own. We floored about 1,200 SF for less than $8,000. Our demo was mostly wood flooring and carpet, though so I'm not sure what the demo on tile would be. They probably won't know for sure until they get into it, depending on how good the mastic was to adhere the tile to the floor.

    Oh, and make sure to replace the baseboards, they will most certainly be ripped to hell with the floor demo. And budget some $$ for quarter-round to hide gaps between baseboards and the floor.
     
  5. Jellydonuts

    Jellydonuts 250+ Posts

    "that's what i was thinking, with respect to installing before we move in. did y'all go with full planks or engineered wood"

    We went with planks, a white oak. Now that it is over, I glad we did it (it really looks great). But I would beg, borrow or steal to get the money to do this before you move in; otherwise, I would get used to the tile (at least for a while).
     
  6. Summerof79

    Summerof79 2,500+ Posts

    You are going to spend a bunch on labor to take up the old tile. I assume you are on a slab?

    You can rent a tool that is sort of a long sort of a pole like jack hammer that will help you take it up. OR you may just want to put 1/2 ply underlayment down over it and then go with traditional nail down hard wood. Get a couple estimates.

    Some of the engineered has a 1/32 surface ply and for some it's considerably thicker. It's stuff you could lay yourself if you were fairly handy and had a chop saw.
     
  7. orangebones

    orangebones 500+ Posts

    we are on a slab, and i'm pretty sure the tile is set right on it, with no slip sheet. i'd do it myself, but i think it would cost me more to take off work than it will to hire someone else. a homebuilder buddy of mine is going to come over today and give me his thoughts. he said he'd let me use his air chisel, if i did decide to do it on my own. it's a freaking lot of tile.

    the engineered wood i've looked at has the thicker veneer. of course, i'd rather go with the genuine article, but the demo costs have caused me to look at alternatives. i have seen some good prices for solid hickory (in the $4/sq ft range). any others i should look at? also, has anyone used lumber liquidators?
     
  8. pevodog

    pevodog 1,000+ Posts


     
  9. RichUT

    RichUT 250+ Posts

    Avoid engineered hardwood if you have dogs. Trust me on this one.
     
  10. pevodog

    pevodog 1,000+ Posts


     
  11. handcruser

    handcruser 25+ Posts

    i am on my 4th house....hardwood floors installed in all. i have never spent more than $5 per square foot installed. I always shop around, and you can get them installed for under $2 a square foot. Last time I got a guy to do it for less than $1 to install. He was not too happy.
    IN regards to pulling up the tile, it is freaking easy especially if it was professionally installed. A contractor will use as little cement/mastic/whatever as possible. Just go to lowes (or you can borrow mine) and get this big blade that you slide across the floor and take it up. If lots of adhesive was used just go to a rental place and for $100 you can get a sander to take it all up. Works like a charm on concrete.
    The important thing is to realize this is a starter home. You might only live her 3 years. Getting Brazilian jojo floors or whatever, while they are badass, is a stupid move. Most buying a starter home dont appreciate them. Cruise buy lumber liquidators once a week adn they will always have something on closeout. I bought 900sq. feet of dark plank hardwood, real nice quality, regular retail was 3.99, they had them for 2.99, and i got them for half off that. So $1`.50. I pulled up the tile and sanded myself (previous homeowner used a truckload of adhesive for the tile). Got the sander for free for a day.
    Dont spend more than 5K for this job, and you will get every penny back when you sell.

    FWIW, the best hardwood floors, the most durable, i ever had were parquet Bruce from Home Depot. I was single, had the house everyone came over to, left ice chests on the floors, and they looked brand new when i moved 3 years later. My parents, at the same time, got $9 square foot mannington, almost top of the line, and they need to be replaced. They're terrible.
     
  12. shorty

    shorty 250+ Posts

    You do realize after you tear up the ceramic tile you need to do two more prep steps before you install solid wood flooring.

    First you need to make sure you do not have a moisture problem with your slab foundation. If there is a problem with moisture, you need to correct that issue first.

    Second you need to install plywood on all the areas where you want to install solid wood flooring. You cannot glue down 3/4" solid wood planks. They must be nailed into a plywood subfloor.

    There will be people that tell you solid wood can be glued directly to the slab. You can do it but I see a buckled mess of a very expensive flooring in your future.
     

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