Low cost finish floor

[BitChin1]

Pine is great floor if you are "ok" (or love) the worn look it will develop over time. I usually do pine with a Linseed Oil finish with or without stain - this can be touched up as needed including small spots or whole floor - i fall into the "love" category. That said you will be hard pressed to get it for less than $2.00/sqft.
The pine will go down quickly and be a forever floor - it may need refinishing/touch up every so often but any of the floating/engineered floors will require replacement if it gets damaged! Very few have any option to redo the "wear layer" - if this flooring will get heavy/rough traffic (I think you suggested that to be the case early in this thread) then you will likely be replacing any of the cheap options sooner than your boss would desire.

 

[paulharvey]

Utility grade solid wood (3/4") wood flooring in either oak or SYP will do what you want for $1-1.50/Sq ft. It takes a good deal more work to put down because of small pieces, and it can come pre-finished or raw.

 

[DFB]

How about I suggest a pallet wood floor...we got lots of them lol!

Might take a little time though

 

[roadhunter]

I did a closet with 1/2" thick rough sawn spruce. I laid it green and when it shrunk up I grouted the whole thing. Put a couple coats of thinned spar urethane and it turned out looking pretty nice. Pardon the dog hair.



I used great stuff subfloor adhesive and a framing nailer to lay it down. Some pieces had a big crack from a lightning strike so I left them because I thought that was cool. Grout filled them in.

I like the idea of a pallet floor.

 

[BitChin1]

What type of grout did you use? How long has the floor been in use? Is it holding up well?

 

[roadhunter]

What type of grout did you use? How long has the floor been in use? Is it holding up well?

I just bought a bag of colored tile grout at menards.
http://www.menards.com/main/floorin...-sanded-grout-650-25-lbs/p-2229883-c-6582.htm

Been using it about 6 months. I noticed the spruce was soft so I thinned down the spar urethane so it would soak in deep for the first coat. I laid it on heavy. It seemed to make it much more impact resistant. I've used spar urethane on exterior marine applications so for a closet I suspect it will hold up pretty well.

 

[LD1]

I agree with others about trying to avoid this job as he is being too picky.

Three ways to do this

Fast
Cheap
Good

But only pick two.

Not sure what shiplap is, but it sounds like your boss wants wood. So thats either going to be softwood, or hardwood. Softwood is cheap and not as durable, Hardwood is pricey but will hold up well.

Tongue and groove pine boards and a sealer makes a decent floor. Not sure just how much traffic its going to get. They wouldnt last long if in a setting like the entry way to a Walmart. But lighter traffic, and they will be fine.

 

[DFB]

Good advice LD1...I still don't quite know where this job is going yet!

Shiplap is just a simple rabbet cut along the edges as opposed to a T&G joint.

Its used with siding more often than flooring.

 

[EddieWalker]

Sounds like you work for the guy already, so you can't pick and chose what you will or wont do for him. It might be to your advantage to play ignorant on what to use so it doesn't come back to bite you if he doesn't like it, but then what fun is that?

I do not like any laminates. The engineered ones with plywood and real wood on top are OK, but at $7 to $8 a square foot for the better named brands, it still doesn't wear very well and the cost is prohibitive. The lower end, picture of wood on compressed paper are all junk. The paper will eventually get moisture in it from the air, or spills or your feet. Once this happens, the edges start to rise. It's not a question of if it will happen, it's a question of when. Eventually they all do this and when the light is right, it's very obvious. Then the next step is chipping at the corners.

Bamboo is a grass, it is fast growing and cheap to manufacture, but it is also soft and easily damaged. If there is a lot of traffic, it shows a wear patter very quickly.

Trafficmaster Allure at Home Depot is the latest generation of vinyl flooring that has really impressed me. I prefer tile over everything else, bug for an affordable flooring that is super easy to install for less then $2 a square foot, total, you can't beat it. I've done a couple dozen floors with it now and everyone is very happy with it. Most common areas are walk out basements at the lake, enclosed porches and even a dining room. Once installed, nobody can tell its not wood. It does not care if it gets wet, and dogs don't scratch it. The only negative I've come across is that sometimes the glue will fail on in a corner somewhere. They come pre glued with a contact cement that you just lay them down and go. When that happens, it's a simple thing to just put some more glue in there and weight it down for a day.

Eddie

 

[DFB]

Thanks for weighing in here Eddie with your experiences. That Allure seems to be more what he needs. Dang he does have a dog and wet feet are always part of the job. I will have make a trip to HD maybe I can get a sample to show him