Adding hardwood foor to existing

Posted by The dude on August 27, 2008, 11:36 pm

I am buying a new house.
The main level and stairs are hardwood. Looks like the type that was
sanded and finished after installation.

At the top of the stairs is hardwood, but the bedrooms are carpet.

I want to remove the carpet and replace with hardwood.

I have a few options.
Remove the existing floor up to the top of the stairs, and lay down all
new floor on the stair landing and the rooms.
Then I can put pre-finished floor without worrying too much about matching.

Or I can put down unfinished and then refinish the entire upper floor.
Not sure about this one since it will be DIY.

Posted by aemeijers on August 27, 2008, 11:42 pm

The dude wrote:

> I am buying a new house.
> The main level and stairs are hardwood. Looks like the type that was
> sanded and finished after installation.
>
> At the top of the stairs is hardwood, but the bedrooms are carpet.
>
> I want to remove the carpet and replace with hardwood.
>
> I have a few options.
> Remove the existing floor up to the top of the stairs, and lay down all
> new floor on the stair landing and the rooms.
> Then I can put pre-finished floor without worrying too much about matching.
>
> Or I can put down unfinished and then refinish the entire upper floor.
> Not sure about this one since it will be DIY.

What is under the carpet in the bedrooms? What year was house built? If
there is forced-air heat, pull up a register and look around the edges
with a flashlight, to see the floor layers.

--
aem sends....

Posted by The dude on August 27, 2008, 11:51 pm

aemeijers wrote:

> The dude wrote:

>> I am buying a new house.
>> The main level and stairs are hardwood. Looks like the type that was
>> sanded and finished after installation.
>> At the top of the stairs is hardwood, but the bedrooms are carpet.
>> I want to remove the carpet and replace with hardwood.
>> I have a few options.
>> Remove the existing floor up to the top of the stairs, and lay down
>> all new floor on the stair landing and the rooms.
>> Then I can put pre-finished floor without worrying too much about
>> matching.
>> Or I can put down unfinished and then refinish the entire upper floor.
>> Not sure about this one since it will be DIY.

>
> What is under the carpet in the bedrooms? What year was house built? If
> there is forced-air heat, pull up a register and look around the edges
> with a flashlight, to see the floor layers.
>
> --
> aem sends....

There is nothing under the carpet, the hardwood floors and the carpet
was put in at the same time.

Posted by aemeijers on August 28, 2008, 2:54 am

The dude wrote:

> aemeijers wrote:

>> The dude wrote:

>>> I am buying a new house.
>>> The main level and stairs are hardwood. Looks like the type that was
>>> sanded and finished after installation.
>>> At the top of the stairs is hardwood, but the bedrooms are carpet.
>>> I want to remove the carpet and replace with hardwood.
>>> I have a few options.
>>> Remove the existing floor up to the top of the stairs, and lay down
>>> all new floor on the stair landing and the rooms.
>>> Then I can put pre-finished floor without worrying too much about
>>> matching.
>>> Or I can put down unfinished and then refinish the entire upper floor.
>>> Not sure about this one since it will be DIY.

>> What is under the carpet in the bedrooms? What year was house built?
>> If there is forced-air heat, pull up a register and look around the
>> edges with a flashlight, to see the floor layers.
>> --
>> aem sends....

>
> There is nothing under the carpet, the hardwood floors and the carpet
> was put in at the same time.

Carpet right over the plywood or OSB subfloor? Not even a layer of luan
or particle board? And when you say hardwood, is this real T&G hardwood,
or that engineered stuff with just a hardwood top layer?

I wouldn't lose sleep over making the rooms and landing match. Unless
the hardwood runs at right angles to the doorways and you were planning
on weaving the transition, you will end up with a strip under the door
where the eye will not find the slight color change shocking. Changing
the exact shade at the top of the stairs would likely be more noticable.
Can you track down who did the work in the first place, to determine
where the floor came from? (Brand or mill?) If it is within last few
years, odds are you can get real close on grain.

--
aem sends...

Posted by Edwin Pawlowski on August 28, 2008, 6:04 am

> I want to remove the carpet and replace with hardwood.
> I have a few options.
> Remove the existing floor up to the top of the stairs, and lay down all
> new floor on the stair landing and the rooms.
> Then I can put pre-finished floor without worrying too much about
> matching.
> Or I can put down unfinished and then refinish the entire upper floor.
> Not sure about this one since it will be DIY.

Not knowing your skill level, it is difficult to recommend DIY unfinished
hardwood. You can rent the tools or buy them and re-sell after the job is
done. It takes more finesse to sand the floors than many people have. I
recall my first experience and leaving a couple of valleys.

Pre-finished is simple with a few tools that you will want to have anyway.
That is the way I'd go.

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