Hardwood floor for dummy question, Any comments appreciated.

Posted by korjae@gmail.com on October 30, 2007, 6:45 pm

Hi, I live in Canada and have done virtually no home renovation work
in my life so far.

Our family house has carpet across both floors and unfininshed
basement.

While trying to sell the store, I noticed lot of people prefer
hardwood floor so I decided to look at option of hardwood flooring
just 1st floor which consists of below.
Living room : 4.60 m x 3.66 m
Dining room : 3.68 m x 3.66 m
Kitchen : 6.25 m x 4.88 m
Family room : 6.70 m x 5.18 m
Library : 3.96 m x 3.35 m

Kitchen and hallway is tile so we will exclude that from discussion.

Question1: Do you guys think it's worth hardwood flooring just 1st
floor (since 2nd floors are mainly bedrooms) or should it be all
Hardwood or nothing?

Rest of it converted to feet and then calculated for total Sq. footage
is 855 Sq. feet.

Question2: Some friend told me I should approximate total amount of
materia I buy should be 20% more than Sq. footage due to corners,
partly used materials, etc. Is 20% accurate approximation?

Question3: Wood I am considering is Oak, Maple, or Malaysian Chery.
Is any of those 3 good choice or is there different characteristics I
should consider aside from how it looks?

Question4: For both experience and accomplishment satisfaction
purpose, I wanted to try it out myself instead of hiring certain
flooring company at roughly $2.5 per sq foot.
What's my risk? Will I possibly screw up subflooring if I do bad? Or
is it gonna be relatively low risk even if I screw up? I was
thinking of hiring some flooring company ONCE I screw up not from the
get-go.

Question5: If I decide to do it myself, what specific tools do I need
to rent? What submaterial (ones that need to be placed below hardwood

floor -> I have no knowledge on this one) do I need to buy on top of

hardwood?

Question6: Can moldings be reused after hardwood or should it be
replaced?

Thanks so much.

Jae

Posted by marson on October 30, 2007, 8:09 pm

> Question1: Do you guys think it's worth hardwood flooring just 1st
> floor (since 2nd floors are mainly bedrooms) or should it be all
> Hardwood or nothing?

A lot of people prefer carpet in bedrooms (or will tolerate it more
than in living room). I'd go for it.

> Rest of it converted to feet and then calculated for total Sq. footage
> is 855 Sq. feet.
> Question2: Some friend told me I should approximate total amount of
> materia I buy should be 20% more than Sq. footage due to corners,
> partly used materials, etc. Is 20% accurate approximation?

That is far too high of a waste allowance for wood flooring. 5
percent would be plenty, or even less. Kind of depends on the quality
of the flooring, too. If you get it on sale at Home Depot for
example, you might find a lot of unusable pieces. I'd figure the
square footage, find out how much is in one bundle of the flooring you
are installing, and add maybe one bundle. It's going to depend on how
particular you are. Even if you cut 6" off the end of a board, that
6" piece could theoretically be used to start the next run. So there
is very little waste.

> Question3: Wood I am considering is Oak, Maple, or Malaysian Chery.
> Is any of those 3 good choice or is there different characteristics I
> should consider aside from how it looks?

Don't know about Malaysian Cherry. Oak is softer than hard maple, but
because of the grain, will hide imperfections and dirt more readily
than maple.

> Question4: For both experience and accomplishment satisfaction
> purpose, I wanted to try it out myself instead of hiring certain
> flooring company at roughly $2.5 per sq foot.
> What's my risk? Will I possibly screw up subflooring if I do bad? Or
> is it gonna be relatively low risk even if I screw up? I was
> thinking of hiring some flooring company ONCE I screw up not from the
> get-go.

Installing flooring is not difficult. Get some books on the subject.
I can't see how you could screw up your subfloor. Probably the worse
I have seen is a homeowner who did not get the gaps tight and it
shrunk from there, so looked pretty bad. Even that looked pretty good
in the end.

> Question5: If I decide to do it myself, what specific tools do I need
> to rent? What submaterial (ones that need to be placed below hardwood
> floor -> I have no knowledge on this one) do I need to buy on top of
> hardwood?

I like to put 30# felt under the floor. You could do the whole floor
with a cheap skilsaw (or even a handsaw if you are a masochist) (cut
ends are hidden under trim), though a chop saw is handier. Flooring
nailer (rent or buy and sell), tape, chalkline, etc. A finish nailer
is nice for the pieces next to walls, but even there you could drill
and hand nail. Depending on the layout of your floor, you may want
reversing splines. You also need to think about how to transition
onto other types of flooring, and also whether any stair nosings are
involved. Get a book or two.
Question6: Can moldings be reused after hardwood or should it be

> replaced? That is totally up to you. Depends on how they look when they are

put back.

> Thanks so much.
> Jae

Posted by PeterD on October 30, 2007, 8:17 pm

On Tue, 30 Oct 2007 15:45:18 -0700, "korjae@gmail.com"

>Hi, I live in Canada and have done virtually no home renovation work
>in my life so far.
>Our family house has carpet across both floors and unfininshed
>basement.
>While trying to sell the store, I noticed lot of people prefer
>hardwood floor so I decided to look at option of hardwood flooring
>just 1st floor which consists of below.
>Living room : 4.60 m x 3.66 m
>Dining room : 3.68 m x 3.66 m
>Kitchen : 6.25 m x 4.88 m
>Family room : 6.70 m x 5.18 m
>Library : 3.96 m x 3.35 m
>Kitchen and hallway is tile so we will exclude that from discussion.
>Question1: Do you guys think it's worth hardwood flooring just 1st
>floor (since 2nd floors are mainly bedrooms) or should it be all
>Hardwood or nothing?

DO the living areas. Skip the 2nd floor/bedrooms. Carpet is best there
(much more comfortable). Won't add greatly to the value of the house,
IMHO.

>Rest of it converted to feet and then calculated for total Sq. footage
>is 855 Sq. feet.
>Question2: Some friend told me I should approximate total amount of
>materia I buy should be 20% more than Sq. footage due to corners,
>partly used materials, etc. Is 20% accurate approximation?

I use 10%, but I can return unused boxes of flooring to the supplier
for refund/credit. I've very careful about waste, but you may not be
as fortunate as I am in keeping the waste to a minimum.

>Question3: Wood I am considering is Oak, Maple, or Malaysian Chery.
>Is any of those 3 good choice or is there different characteristics I
>should consider aside from how it looks?

Cost? Oak and Maple may be cheaper as they are more common.

You'll screw it up and waste a lot of money?

>Will I possibly screw up subflooring if I do bad?

Probably not. It's ply.

>Or
>is it gonna be relatively low risk even if I screw up?

Well, you can screw it up and not find out for a long time afterwards.
Make sure your perimitor gaps are right, etc. Make 100% sure the
sub-flooring is: clean, smooth and flat. And that it is nailed down
well. Now is the tiem to fix any squeaks if you can. I use sheetrock
screws to help hold down the sub floor as they are really strong and
won't pull out. Get teh carpet up, clean the floor, and look for high
spots. Fix these, either by screwing down to the joists, or whatever
it takes. Then spend an hour walking around, listening for squeaks,
groans, and other noises. Fix each one you find. Use a long straight
edge (I use an 8ft box section aluminum extrusion) to do a final check
for flatness and obstructions. Even a small thing will push up the
flooring boards and be visible when the job is done.

>I was
>thinking of hiring some flooring company ONCE I screw up not from the
>get-go.

That's is not a viable alternative. Trying that will cost you a lot
more than just hiring them from the onset. Fixing problems you created
will typically cost double what the base charge might be.

>Question5: If I decide to do it myself, what specific tools do I need
>to rent? What submaterial (ones that need to be placed below hardwood
>floor -> I have no knowledge on this one) do I need to buy on top of
>hardwood?

Depends on the type of flooring, but a flooring nailer is the main
tool. I recommend the old-fashioned hammer ones over the air-powered
versions. They seem to get teh boards down better, and as well, you've
always got that rubber mallet in your hand when you need it.

Setup an area where you can cut that is well away from your working
area. Sawdust between the subfloor and the hardwood isn't goign to

help things. <g>

>Question6: Can moldings be reused after hardwood or should it be
>replaced?

I generally reuse. You'll need to trim some to account for the higher
floor. You'll need a jamb saw, which I found to be a hard tool to
find.

>Thanks so much.
>Jae

Posted by Steve on October 30, 2007, 8:28 pm

alt.building.construction:

> Hi, I live in Canada and have done virtually no home renovation work
> in my life so far.
>
> Our family house has carpet across both floors and unfininshed
> basement.
>
> While trying to sell the store, I noticed lot of people prefer
> hardwood floor so I decided to look at option of hardwood flooring
> just 1st floor which consists of below.
> Living room : 4.60 m x 3.66 m
> Dining room : 3.68 m x 3.66 m
> Kitchen : 6.25 m x 4.88 m
> Family room : 6.70 m x 5.18 m
> Library : 3.96 m x 3.35 m
>
> Kitchen and hallway is tile so we will exclude that from discussion.
>
> Question1: Do you guys think it's worth hardwood flooring just 1st
> floor (since 2nd floors are mainly bedrooms) or should it be all
> Hardwood or nothing?

Do just a part if you want. I see plenty of houses that are part hard
flooring and part carpet. If you want to know about sellability, ask a
real estate agent,

> Rest of it converted to feet and then calculated for total Sq. footage
> is 855 Sq. feet.
>
> Question2: Some friend told me I should approximate total amount of
> materia I buy should be 20% more than Sq. footage due to corners,
> partly used materials, etc. Is 20% accurate approximation?

The person selling the wood is your best resource here. Different room
shape/species/manufacturer/hardwood/engineered have different
requirements. If you are REALLY careful, you can get away with 5-10%
waste. But if you don't buy enough extra, you might not be able to match
to color again.

> Question3: Wood I am considering is Oak, Maple, or Malaysian Chery.
> Is any of those 3 good choice or is there different characteristics I
> should consider aside from how it looks?

Those are very different looks. Maple is very pale, uniform, and has
little grain. Oak is medium dark, very variable, and has lots of grain.
Malaysian cherry is very dark and red, and looks to have medium grain
(I've never seen this one in person). You can also get them in different
grades which have different amounts of grain and knots.

My personal favorite for light floors is medium-grade hickory. It has
just enough grain, and it's hard as a rock. For dark floors, I like
mesquite. It's REALLY hard and REALLY dark.

You have to prepare the subfloor first. It has to be flat and secure to
the supports below. If not, your floor will squeak. You probably won't
hurt the subfloor by nailing or glueing the finish floor on. You might
hurt it by trying to level it.

> Question5: If I decide to do it myself, what specific tools do I need
> to rent?

· floor nailer for solid floor (get an air-assisted one that uses a
compressor -- your back will thank you)
· appropriate notched trowel for glue-down floor
· table saw to make boards narrower for around the edges
· miter saw to make boards shorter and cut off bad spots - also to cut
quarter-round to cover up the edges
· saber saw to cut odd-shaped pieces to fit around corners
· jamb saw to cut off the bottoms of door jambs (a hand saw laid on a
scrap piece of the flooring works, too)
· masonry jamb saw to undercut fireplaces or stone walls
· standard hammer
· drill and bits
· nail sets
· wood putty

What submaterial (ones that need to be placed below hardwood

> floor -> I have no knowledge on this one) do I need to buy on top of
> hardwood?

Different products require different subfloors. Check the package
instructions. I'd want at least 1" of plywood so there's no deflection
when you bounce up and down.

> Question6: Can moldings be reused after hardwood or should it be
> replaced?

It depends on how careful you are removing them. Another option is to
leave the baseboard and add quarter-round or shoemold to cover the gap
you'll have at the edges.

--
Steve B.
New Life Home Improvement

Posted by CWatters on October 31, 2007, 4:47 am

> Question1: Do you guys think it's worth hardwood flooring just 1st
> floor (since 2nd floors are mainly bedrooms) or should it be all
> Hardwood or nothing?

We built our own house. Went for stone in kitchen, living room and
bathrooms, oak in dining room, hall and office, carpet in the bedrooms. I
wouldn't put wood floors in rooms that might get wet or dirty (eg not
bathrooms or utility rooms).

> Question2: Some friend told me I should approximate total amount of
> materia I buy should be 20% more than Sq. footage due to corners,
> partly used materials, etc. Is 20% accurate approximation?

We went for 10% and that worked fine. Save a non critical room until last
then if you need to order more it doesn't matter if it's not an exact match.
The issue then is the delivery charge.

> Question3: Wood I am considering is Oak, Maple, or Malaysian Chery.
> Is any of those 3 good choice or is there different characteristics I
> should consider aside from how it looks?

We went for engineered oak because we have UFH. This is 5 or 6mm of oak on
12mm of good plywood. Has the same wear life as T&G oak but is more stable.
It's actually more expensive than solid wood (in may part of the world) but
it allows you to have wider boards with less risk of cupping.

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