In order to participate in the GunBroker Member forums, you must be logged in with your GunBroker.com account. Click the sign-in button at the top right of the forums page to get connected.
Options
Wood flooring question,...........
Marc1301
Member Posts: 31,897 ✭✭✭
As usual I am thinking of another way to spend money.
Thinking of putting wood floors throughout my house short of the bathrooms and the master bedroom.
It will be quite a project, as about half of what I would be doing is tiled as of now, and that will have to be busted up.
I am on a typical monolithic concrete slab as found in Florida.
What is the best way to accomplish a wood floor?
I'm assuming a 'floating' architectural laminate floor would make the most sense. Obviously I can't nail it, and I have heard bad things about glued down floors in Florida.
If anyone has any input, and info on the best places to find the material at a good price,.......I would appreciate hearing from you![;)]
Thinking of putting wood floors throughout my house short of the bathrooms and the master bedroom.
It will be quite a project, as about half of what I would be doing is tiled as of now, and that will have to be busted up.
I am on a typical monolithic concrete slab as found in Florida.
What is the best way to accomplish a wood floor?
I'm assuming a 'floating' architectural laminate floor would make the most sense. Obviously I can't nail it, and I have heard bad things about glued down floors in Florida.
If anyone has any input, and info on the best places to find the material at a good price,.......I would appreciate hearing from you![;)]
"Beam me up Scotty, there's no intelligent life down here." - William Shatner
Comments
Tile over concrete is going to be time consuming removing it. Could you put laminate over the tile? Just wondering....
Home Depot has a whole house inlay for $400 going on but you have to have it ready for them. Bare floor, swept, baseboards up, ready. The bummer is what do you do with your stuff while they are in there.
Tile over concrete is going to be time consuming removing it. Could you put laminate over the tile? Just wondering....
Yes,.....you can, but I wouldn't want to do it personally. Too many variations in flooring height going from carpet, to wood, and back to tile again in the bathrooms.
I'm pretty particular.
I have taken up tile before, so I know what's involved,.....a chipping hammer and a huge mess basically.[:D]
I agree on what you do with all of your furnishings. I may try to tackle this myself with the help of a couple friends so we can do it a room at a time.
http://www.lumberliquidators.com/catalog/flooring.jsp?categoryId=1&Wt.ps_id=PS_google_1021&gclid=CISkk_u416wCFcV_5Qod1jirqw
http://www.builddirect.com/Hardwood-Flooring.aspx
As usual I am thinking of another way to spend money.
Thinking of putting wood floors throughout my house short of the bathrooms and the master bedroom.
It will be quite a project, as about half of what I would be doing is tiled as of now, and that will have to be busted up. Is it Ceramic tile?
I am on a typical monolithic concrete slab as found in Florida.
What is the best way to accomplish a wood floor?
I'm assuming a 'floating' architectural laminate floor would make the most sense. Obviously I can't nail it, and I have heard bad things about glued down floors in Florida.
If anyone has any input, and info on the best places to find the material at a good price,.......I would appreciate hearing from you![;)]
If the tile is ceramic then you might get lucky and start in a corner and bust up the first piece with a hammer. Then take a chisel and start on the other tile. Sometimes they will pop right up in one piece. I have a machine that has a blade on the front that vibrates. This will pop tile right up with no problems. As for the remainder of the thinset, i use a floor buffer with really rough grit sand paper on it. Something like 34 grit and simply sand the floor smooth.
If the tile won't come up easily you need to rent a small impact hammer with a wide chisel blade. Start in a corner and chisel the tile up. It actually comes up pretty fast either way.
Being in Florida I would go with the floating floor. For one they are almost indestructible and another the moisture from below won't harm the floor. Make certain you put down the foam cushion but before you do this you would be smart to seal the concrete first. I use Kilzs. The oil base paint. You can actually use most any oil base paint but the Kilzs is best.
Do not install the flooring tight to the walls. Leave 1/4" at least from the walls. Do not install the base board or shoe mold tight to the floor. This floating floor expands and contracts and will buckle if it has no room to expand. The cheapest I have found floating floor except from my distributors is Lowes or Home Depot.
In your door ways you will need to under cut the door jambs and trim. They make a jamb saw for this but you can use a simple hand saw to do this. First take a piece of the flooring and a piece of the foam backing and lay it next to your jambs. Scribe a line but you want this line to be about 1/8" higher for that expansion and contraction I mentioned earlier.
Good luck. If you wasn't so far I would come on over with my equipment and help.
As for a good place to buy, I think Lumber liquidator has some good quality flooring, or another place to try would be a surplus builder's auction.
If you go with the auction method, make sure you know how much you'll need for sure and count on a few mistakes (it may be hard to find more material to match)
Good Luck!
After you get the tile up, duck tape a plastic bag to the floor about 18 inches by 18 inches and leave it there for a day or two. See if the concrete looks wet or darker under the plastic than the rest of the floor. If so there is likely too much moisture from the humidity in florida to put down a floating floor. The planks will warp and separate over time.
As for a good place to buy, I think Lumber liquidator has some good quality flooring, or another place to try would be a surplus builder's auction.
If you go with the auction method, make sure you know how much you'll need for sure and count on a few mistakes (it may be hard to find more material to match)
Good Luck!
If the concrete is sealed then there will not be any problems from moisture. I have installed hundreds of floating floors with no problems but only after the concrete is sealed.
Almost forgot, another produce you can use to seal the concrete is Red Guard. Lowes and HD sell this. It is like painting a red rubber coating all over the concrete. Red Guard will not let any moisture penetrate the floor.
My tile is porcelain BTW.
You know how tough that stuff is I'm sure.
Everything you said falls in line with what I already know, short of the base boards and door jambs. I know you leave .25" around the perimeter, but I didn't know you spaced the baseboard an eight high as well.
I guess you just leave that visible gap?
Also I have heard pros and cons of sealing the slab on the living space side. I have heard that if you do this, that moisture can't wick up through the slab as in carpet or tile, and results in mold, or bubbling of the coating under the floating floor.
I guess it might be wise to get a moisture reading of my raw slab before I do this,.....is that right?
Thanks again![:)]
quote:Originally posted by Marc1301
As usual I am thinking of another way to spend money.
Thinking of putting wood floors throughout my house short of the bathrooms and the master bedroom.
It will be quite a project, as about half of what I would be doing is tiled as of now, and that will have to be busted up. Is it Ceramic tile?
I am on a typical monolithic concrete slab as found in Florida.
What is the best way to accomplish a wood floor?
I'm assuming a 'floating' architectural laminate floor would make the most sense. Obviously I can't nail it, and I have heard bad things about glued down floors in Florida.
If anyone has any input, and info on the best places to find the material at a good price,.......I would appreciate hearing from you![;)]
If the tile is ceramic then you might get lucky and start in a corner and bust up the first piece with a hammer. Then take a chisel and start on the other tile. Sometimes they will pop right up in one piece. I have a machine that has a blade on the front that vibrates. This will pop tile right up with no problems. As for the remainder of the thinset, i use a floor buffer with really rough grit sand paper on it. Something like 34 grit and simply sand the floor smooth.
If the tile won't come up easily you need to rent a small impact hammer with a wide chisel blade. Start in a corner and chisel the tile up. It actually comes up pretty fast either way.
Being in Florida I would go with the floating floor. For one they are almost indestructible and another the moisture from below won't harm the floor. Make certain you put down the foam cushion but before you do this you would be smart to seal the concrete first. I use Kilzs. The oil base paint. You can actually use most any oil base paint but the Kilzs is best.
Do not install the flooring tight to the walls. Leave 1/4" at least from the walls. Do not install the base board or shoe mold tight to the floor. This floating floor expands and contracts and will buckle if it has no room to expand. The cheapest I have found floating floor except from my distributors is Lowes or Home Depot.
In your door ways you will need to under cut the door jambs and trim. They make a jamb saw for this but you can use a simple hand saw to do this. First take a piece of the flooring and a piece of the foam backing and lay it next to your jambs. Scribe a line but you want this line to be about 1/8" higher for that expansion and contraction I mentioned earlier.
Good luck. If you wasn't so far I would come on over with my equipment and help.
I have always found that the kerf of the jam saw teeth left a perfect space.As long as you use a piece of flooring and the padding.
With tile,I always simulate the thin set with a piece of the box, that the tile came in.
Good luck getting that thinset up,hopefully it'll be terrazo under it and pop right up.[;)]
Thanks for the info Johnny,....heck, if you were close I would have you do the whole job after seeing some of your work!
My tile is porcelain BTW.
You know how tough that stuff is I'm sure.
Everything you said falls in line with what I already know, short of the base boards and door jambs. I know you leave .25" around the perimeter, but I didn't know you spaced the baseboard an eight high as well.
I guess you just leave that visible gap?
Also I have heard pros and cons of sealing the slab on the living space side. I have heard that if you do this, that moisture can't wick up through the slab as in carpet or tile, and results in mold, or bubbling of the coating under the floating floor.
I guess it might be wise to get a moisture reading of my raw slab before I do this,.....is that right?
Thanks again![:)]
Forgot to mention the 1/8 gap you can caulk with latex caulk. The caulk will move with the floor.
If the moisture does not get to the living area then you will not have mold. If the moisture gets to your carpet and pad then you will have mold. The Kilz is a anti microbial and will help prevent any mold.
quote:Originally posted by Marc1301
Thanks for the info Johnny,....heck, if you were close I would have you do the whole job after seeing some of your work!
My tile is porcelain BTW.
You know how tough that stuff is I'm sure.
Everything you said falls in line with what I already know, short of the base boards and door jambs. I know you leave .25" around the perimeter, but I didn't know you spaced the baseboard an eight high as well.
I guess you just leave that visible gap?
Also I have heard pros and cons of sealing the slab on the living space side. I have heard that if you do this, that moisture can't wick up through the slab as in carpet or tile, and results in mold, or bubbling of the coating under the floating floor.
I guess it might be wise to get a moisture reading of my raw slab before I do this,.....is that right?
Thanks again![:)]
Forgot to mention the 1/8 gap you can caulk with latex caulk. The caulk will move with the floor.
If the moisture does not get to the living area then you will not have mold. If the moisture gets to your carpet and pad then you will have mold. The Kilz is a anti microbial and will help prevent any mold.
I doubt I have any issue then.
When I pulled up the carpet where I tiled in early 2001, the slab and pad looked fine.
I still have a lot of the original almost 20 year old carpet that is an 'off-white' color, or a light sand if you wish. It has no signs of mold coming through it at all.
The best thing is my home is on high ground. Everything flows away from the house. Also I am on sandy soil,......good for drainage, bad for a nice lawn![:D]
Back in 2004 when we had all of those hurricanes come through, a lot of folks out here had standing water for days to weeks in cases. I had none, as my home and the one next to me are on the highest points.
GET ALL THE DUST UP
2 coats MINWAX poly.
lnstall new base boards/shoe molding
Nail new base/shoe to the walls. NOT the floor
Leave a gap of 1/2" between floor/walls
Hire a real PRO to do transitional thresholds at bath/bedroom doors
they have a list of close out laminates and real wood they sell at a huge discount. trick is finding what you want with enough square feet available.
i got 1600 square feet of oak laminate at 1/2 the price of home depot.
there's a laminate floor cutter that works like an office paper cutter. a lot faster than than running back and forth to the radial mitre saw!
tom
btw, invest in a good set of knee pads! that's not meant to be a joke[;)]
someone already mentioned lumber liquidators as a source.
they have a list of close out laminates and real wood they sell at a huge discount. trick is finding what you want with enough square feet available.
i got 1600 square feet of oak laminate at 1/2 the price of home depot.
there's a laminate floor cutter that works like an office paper cutter. a lot faster than than running back and forth to the radial mitre saw!
tom
btw, invest in a good set of knee pads! that's not meant to be a joke[;)]
I'm covered on that front.[;)]
Most likely looking in the area of 1800 to 2000 square feet to do in wood flooring the way I am thinking at the moment.
Of course tomorrow that might change![:)]
About 3 years ago we pulled up all of our wall to wall carpet, ( about 2400 sq. ft. ) and had lumber liquidators install new hardwood floors. First they tested the moisture in the concrete then recommended a rubber membrane be put down to seal the concrete. It came in 5 gal. buckets from lumber liquidators and they installed it. That was the only way to get the 25 year warrantee on the wood and instalation. It wasn't that expensive. Next they glued down the engineered hardwood. They did all the furniture moving and cleaning and they were insured. I would highly recommend lumber liquidators as this is the second house I have used them in and both times it was a perfect job before they wanted any money. Come down and look at ours before you do yours.
Gary
Mark,
About 3 years ago we pulled up all of our wall to wall carpet, ( about 2400 sq. ft. ) and had lumber liquidators install new hardwood floors. First they tested the moisture in the concrete then recommended a rubber membrane be put down to seal the concrete. It came in 5 gal. buckets from lumber liquidators and they installed it. That was the only way to get the 25 year warrantee on the wood and instalation. It wasn't that expensive. Next they glued down the engineered hardwood. They did all the furniture moving and cleaning and they were insured. I would highly recommend lumber liquidators as this is the second house I have used them in and both times it was a perfect job before they wanted any money. Come down and look at ours before you do yours.
Gary
Thanks for the offer Gary,.....just might take you up on it after the first of the year.[:)]
What did they do with your baseboard?
Tear it off, or butt up to it and add a quarter round?
And fiery auto crashes
Some will die in hot pursuit
While sifting through my ashes
Some will fall in love with life
And drink it from a fountain
That is pouring like an avalanche
Coming down the mountain
If you have it there, I would leave tile in the kitchen.
Yes,......the existing tile goes through my kitchen of course.
You would have to see my home to understand how that could be difficult.
It is a very 'open' type house short of the bedrooms/bathrooms.
I have issues with seeing too many flooring types at once if you know what I mean.
Believe it or not, I have never dropped a pot, or flooded the kitchen![:D]
I doubt wood floors there would be an issue for me.
I'm one of those neat freak types. I wipe up any drops of water from the counters when I am done using the sink. And if any splashed on the floor, I wipe that up as well.
quote:Originally posted by gjshaw
Mark,
About 3 years ago we pulled up all of our wall to wall carpet, ( about 2400 sq. ft. ) and had lumber liquidators install new hardwood floors. First they tested the moisture in the concrete then recommended a rubber membrane be put down to seal the concrete. It came in 5 gal. buckets from lumber liquidators and they installed it. That was the only way to get the 25 year warrantee on the wood and instalation. It wasn't that expensive. Next they glued down the engineered hardwood. They did all the furniture moving and cleaning and they were insured. I would highly recommend lumber liquidators as this is the second house I have used them in and both times it was a perfect job before they wanted any money. Come down and look at ours before you do yours.
Gary
Thanks for the offer Gary,.....just might take you up on it after the first of the year.[:)]
What did they do with your baseboard?
Tear it off, or butt up to it and add a quarter round?
They left my baseboard and added the shoe molding as they finished an area. That all was included in the price of instalation. Also included in the installation was the removal of any flooring that was in place which meant that they removed all the carpeting that we had. They have all the tools so if you had to have them remove any tile it would be included in the installation price.
What's next repaving the road in front of your house? [8D]
OK so you've cut down an oak tree, reroofed the house, now wood flooring to replace the ceramic tile that nothings wrong with.
What's next repaving the road in front of your house? [8D]
Glad to see you are still around old man,.....I actually kind of missed your smartazz remarks for awhile.
I have changed my mind![}:)][:o)][;)]
BTW DS,.....if you would use your reading comprehension, you would have seen above that I do not have ceramic tile. It's porcelain.
What would a pot of hot water do to laminate flooring?
Undoubtedly it would ruin a section of it.
I have since spoken to several flooring contractors.
As I should have figured,....divided in their opinions on glued vs floating.
My thinking, for what it's worth, says the floating route is best.
There is no such thing as a perfect monolithic slab, especially in Florida. They ALL crack at one point or the other, and I'm not talking about something serious like a sinkhole.
My many years of being in peoples homes doing HVAC work, has exposed me to plenty of homes with cracked tiles, and grout lines. I have 2 places myself where my grout has cracked, but you can barely see it.
Once you get a hairline slab crack, even when it stays perfectly level on each side,.....there is still movement from expansion and contraction that takes place from the seasonal temperature changes, and moisture content.
I'm afraid a glued down installation would eventually show itself over a slab crack, where a floating install should not be affected at all.
Hoping that Johnny, or others in the biz will see this and confirm if I am correct or not.
I know this sounds crazy to go to all this work, but I am sick of the tile to be honest. I like wood floors, and I could shoot myself for not doing it when I put in all the tile.
At that time, I was tired of having carpet almost everywhere, and a friend of mine that lays tile found a great deal for me on some very nice porcelain tile. The tile was dirt cheap, and that's what pushed me over the edge unfortunately.
Seems I have written another novel![:D]
And you got mail.[:D]
As usual I am thinking of another way to spend money.
Thinking of putting wood floors throughout my house short of the bathrooms and the master bedroom.
It will be quite a project, as about half of what I would be doing is tiled as of now, and that will have to be busted up.
I am on a typical monolithic concrete slab as found in Florida.
What is the best way to accomplish a wood floor?
I'm assuming a 'floating' architectural laminate floor would make the most sense. Obviously I can't nail it, and I have heard bad things about glued down floors in Florida.
If anyone has any input, and info on the best places to find the material at a good price,.......I would appreciate hearing from you![;)]
Marc... For Overlay on a concrete floor... Your best bet is either the Architectural Laminate as you described or...
You can put down a floating "sub-floor" and then nail the standard Oak Flooring into that...
Either way... Be sure to put down a good moisture barrier first... Or they'll suck up moisture in the concrete and warp...
Good luck and I'd be real interested in seeing the results... I LOVE Wood Floors...
Glue down flooring looks better than the floating but as you pointed out the slab is already cracking. If it was mine I would go with the floating floor. If you are going with any tile make certain you put crack suppressant over any cracks in the slab. It is like a liquid rubber that you paint on or trowel on depending on the product.
And you got mail.[:D]
Got your mail Johnny,....thanks, as I may have to ask a few questions.
I would rather glue it down myself, but I'm afraid that any crack that could cause a cracked grout line, could most likely cause the glue to come loose, so to speak. Then you would have a non-attached piece of flooring, that might squeak or have a hollow feel when you step on it.
BTW,....when I put down all that tile, we did use some trowel on crack suppressant over the couple of hairline cracks we saw. All I know is it was made by Mapei, same as the grout.
The tile guy I used to know that helped me, said that all it would do is to keep the actual tile from cracking,.....not the grout line.
Seems he was correct. Should have used a total isolation membrane I guess, but he said it wasn't necessary.
If you wanted to use traditional hardwood floor that is nailed, you would have to glue / screw 3/4" plywood down first, then lay your hardwood floor to that.
Yea,.....I initially thought about that, or the floating sub-floor idea.
By the time you do all that, and add traditional hardwood on top,......well, I would have some pretty radical transition points.
IF I was doing the entire house, that would be ok, but I'm not. I will have transitions from wood to tile in the bathrooms, and carpet in at least my master bedroom. Might do the other bedrooms in wood, but I have always liked carpet where I sleep.