prefinished, solid hardwood floors..

[thatguy]

I have carpet in my office that we want to replace with hardwoods flooring.. Most of our house has solid hickory hardwoods (3.25", unfinished when put down - no stain), but since its only a 12x12 office/bedroom we want to go the prefinished route..

We dont need anything 'hand scraped' or anything else special..

What should I be looking for when comparing prefinished, solid flooring? most have similar 25yr warranties, with a few having 50 yr - but pricing really varies it seems..

Any recommended mfgs?

would i need hickory 'quarter round' or what other wood would look similar enough

What would you recommend putting down over the plywood subfloor? resin pape or other?

I am thinking I could install it myself (some friends have a nailer) - am i crazy for thinking this? I have access to different saws needed to make it fit

From looking online it appears the cost would be between $4 and $5.50/ft - depending on mfg and width

thanks for any ideas/suggestions

brian

 

[CinderSchnauzer]

One person's opinion:

Try to save the current baseboards (remove & reinstall) and forget the 1/4 round. Screw down the existing subfloor - every 6". Install it yourself. The only potentially tricky part will be making the transition from the office to the rest of the house at the doorway.

 

[thatguy]

One person's opinion:

Try to save the current baseboards (remove & reinstall) and forget the 1/4 round. Screw down the existing subfloor - every 6". Install it yourself. The only potentially tricky part will be making the transition from the office to the rest of the house at the doorway.

I wasnt planning on taking up the baseboards at all.. I 'thought' I could just pull up the carpet and padding... nail down the first one or two rows of hardwoods 1/4" to 1/2" from the baseboards (to allow for expansion/contraction) and continue on with the flooring... Then put down the quarter round to hide the gap..

Am i wrong in my thinking?? I can see me really tearing up the baseboards or wall trying to get them removed..

brian

 

[CinderSchnauzer]

Sure you can do it that way with the 1/4 round. The way I suggested just reflects my own personal taste as to how the finished job looks. Some jobs I've seen with the 1/4 round it doesn't match the floor or the baseboard either and doesn't look like a nice finished job.

If your friend has the nailer / compressor and you have the saws and are even half way handy the installation is pretty easy as a DIY job. Hint - the wider the board you use - the less nailing and fitting. I'm doing a project using 3/4" x 5" oak plank and it goes very quick. The first row is fairly critical, since once started everything else has to follow. Try not to have a 1/2" piece as you last board. Hardwood usually looks better if run the long way in a room, but you should really go perpendicular to the floor joists.

If this is your first try - take your time - measure twice - cut once.

 

[om21braz]

Although they don't show hickory being available, a company in your home state makes as good of solid hardwood flooring as anybody. The company is Ten Oaks located in Stuart, Va. I believe they were previously Stuart Flooring until the gent that started the company passed away and left it to 10 family members - hence the Ten Oaks. A quality product made entirely on site. A link is below.

Ten Oaks, LLC

 

[/pine]

FWIW...I prefer to use "shoe molding" rather than 1/4 round...I just think it looks better

 

[PILOON]

I have done quite a few floors over last couple of years as my main source of income.
Always used what we call grey felt paper as the under lay.
(And not roofing felt with a tar base.)
Theory is that it goes to dust as it wears and for sure it prevents squeaks.
In fact I learned from an old pro that a squeaky floor can be best cured by brushing talcum powder into all the joints.

You might also wish to add screws to the plywood underlay to assure that it is up tight to the joists. More squeeks originate from that source than any other.

It is also recommended that the flooring lay about in the room for a couple of days so as to even out the temp and balance the humidity in order to assure nice tight joints.

Staples (or flooring nails) should be about every 10-12 inches with no less than 2 per length of wood.
Never align joints with the last row of flooring for the best look.
Whatever you cut off at the end of a run is what you use for starting the next row.
Yes, perpendicular to the joists is best way to run flooring.
If your runs are perpendicular to the door frame, fit a length across the base of the door to act as a sill. Looks good.

Good luck, have fun; and it is not really a hard job, just hard on the back, you'll see.

 

[thatguy]

FWIW...I prefer to use "shoe molding" rather than 1/4 round...I just think it looks better

Our current wood floors have either shoe or 1/4 round - im too lazy to get out of the chair and get on my knees to look too hard right now LOL

thanks for all the advice

Brian

 

[/pine]

...too lazy to get out of the chair and get on my knees to look too hard right now LOL

Granted that 'run of the mill' shoe molding is not that much different than 1/4 round...but what I normally do is try to match the top profile of the existing baseboard on the shoemold...even if I have to run it through the shaper...a lot of times I will just make the shoe mold from stock...run it through the shaper and then rip it off on the table saw...repeat etc...etc..etc.

if it is getting painted MDF works really well if you don't mind working with just 8' lengths...

 

[ElDorado]

...Always used what we call grey felt paper as the under lay...

This is a new product for me. Do you get it at a lumber yard or a flooring supplier? Is there a "trade" name for the product? Is it hard to work with? By this I mean does it fall apart if you are not careful? I am real interested in this product and want to research it more.

Thanks

 

[thatguy]

This is a new product for me. Do you get it at a lumber yard or a flooring supplier? Is there a "trade" name for the product? Is it hard to work with? By this I mean does it fall apart if you are not careful? I am real interested in this product and want to research it more.

Thanks

I did a google search and from about 4 or 5 different forums i found that talked about using the roofing felt paper - just referred to it as 15# or 30# roofing paper.. a couple posts said to but the 30# otherwise you get a bulge under the wood

Here are a couple posts i found

15 Lb or 30 Lb Black Felt Paper Under Hardwood? - Flooring Forum - GardenWeb

Rosin paper or roofing felt? - Contractor Talk - Professional Construction and Remodeling Forum

Here are some vendors selling the 15# stuff - (notice its lumber liquidators is selling the first one so obviously they would use to for flooring)

Amazon.com: Lumber Liquidators 15LB Felt Paper: Home Improvement: Reviews, Prices & more

Amazon.com: American Saturated Felt Felt Roofing Paper (#15): Home Improvement

Hope this helps.. I am forever broadening my knowledge base from this forum...

thanks everyone


brian

 

[bdeboer]

I have carpet in my office that we want to replace with hardwoods flooring.. Most of our house has solid hickory hardwoods (3.25", unfinished when put down - no stain), but since its only a 12x12 office/bedroom we want to go the prefinished route..

We dont need anything 'hand scraped' or anything else special..

What should I be looking for when comparing prefinished, solid flooring? most have similar 25yr warranties, with a few having 50 yr - but pricing really varies it seems..

Any recommended mfgs?

would i need hickory 'quarter round' or what other wood would look similar enough

What would you recommend putting down over the plywood subfloor? resin pape or other?

I am thinking I could install it myself (some friends have a nailer) - am i crazy for thinking this? I have access to different saws needed to make it fit

From looking online it appears the cost would be between $4 and $5.50/ft - depending on mfg and width

thanks for any ideas/suggestions

brian

I have the Lumber Liquidators Bellawood (was Husky in 2003) 4" natural Hickory in my Family room and home office since 2003. It seems to scratch easier and had more scrap than some other brands like Bruce and Mullican that I have used other places. I would shop the local flooring stores and see who they like and you will probably find a better price. A friend of mine also has this same flooring and his looks great after 5 years, also he does not have kids.

 

[clemsonfor]

i just used 10 oaks unfinesed and then finished my self. i think 10 oaks or either my brother in law used it and i had stewart or something? got from the same place though

 

[PILOON]

When I install the felt paper, I unroll a strip and using a hammer stapler, tack it down every foot or so.
I prefer to butt the paper rows but over laps do not cause a problem as the flooring just rides over te paper and sort of averages itself out.( really, you won't see any bumps)
Now if you find that you have a dip in the subfloor (generally caused by a crowned or dipped joist) you can build up the shallow with layers of underlay paper by adding sheets in diminishing area sizes.
Big dips I have cured using cedar shingles fanned out and covered with the felt paper.
That was before the advent of self leveling epoxy based floor cements.

In the old days many carpenters simply filled the voids with newspaper as required.

I always used my 6 ft level, kinda sweeping in circular motion to find any highs or lows that needed correcting.

Want a real challange?
Do a large area, say 40 x 40, with a fireplace dead center!
You lay flooring all the way up one side and hope to he** the other side will end up aligned with the first!

OR; the client has a large piece of furniture hiding a serious dip in the sub floor that you only discover later. And naturally that was on a fixed price job. (that's where I used the cedar shingle routine). Never showed on the finished job.

 

[thatguy]

BUMP to the top -

Originally I was looking at the Lumber Liquidators Bellawood or Builders Pride (dura-wood) prefinished hickory flooring.. But after doing more reseach I am growing a little leary of those brands..

I found some negative comments on Bellawood and I cant seem to find any reviews for Builders Pride (except on the LL website)..

Im now looking for recommendations for manufacturers.. Any body care to recommend one that has 3" Hickory, solid flooring?

Brian

 

[om21braz]

It's not cheap, but Timberknee is one I'd take a good look at - check out their sale flyer at the top of the page.

Wide Plank Flooring and Custom Milling in Vermont, Wood Flooring, Plank Flooring, Wood Plank Flooring - Timberknee

 

[thatguy]

It's not cheap, but Timberknee is one I'd take a good look at - check out their sale flyer at the top of the page.

Wide Plank Flooring and Custom Milling in Vermont, Wood Flooring, Plank Flooring, Wood Plank Flooring - Timberknee

The flooring looked great, but I am pretty certain it was unfinished..

I am wondering if their 'sale brochure' is old though.. "order by June/july" for the advertised pricing, a 7mth sale is a little long LOL

Brian

 

[om21braz]

The flooring looked great, but I am pretty certain it was unfinished.

Oops, sorry I forgot about the prefinished requirement and I'm fresh out of suggetions. The prefinished-type unfortunately thins the marketplace.

 

[thatguy]

Oops, sorry I forgot about the prefinished requirement and I'm fresh out of suggetions. The prefinished-type unfortunately thins the marketplace.

You are right, there are only so many players in that prefinished market - and trying to buy locally (so no shipping charges) in a smallish town makes it even less players..

thanks anyway

brian