Suggestions for a wood floor.

[DustyRusty]

My wife wants to remove the carpet in the bedroom and replace it with a wood floor. When I mention "a wood floor" to friends they immediately recommend the laminated flooring, which is something that I don't care for. If you have a true wooden floor could you please post a picture and tell how it is sealed? Thanks, DustyRusty

 

[jimh406]

Our floor is bamboo which isn't sealed in the normal manner. It comes finished. Home Depot and other places have samples which show the finish. Bamboo is very strong and resistant to scratches and is available as floating and nail varieties.

https://www.califloors.com/

 

[Runs With Scissors]

I have some experience refinishing "old school" wood flooring. In our first house I rented the sanders and did it myself.

The corners were the hardest part. You really have to keep them moving and its hard not to get 'swirls' in the grain.

I then used a "semi gloss' sealer. I don't recall the brand, but it was sold at Home Depot and was a water based poly.

I think I had to go over it 3 times to get good results, with a light sanding in-between each coat.


In our current joint, I installed some "pre finished" maple flooring in one room. This stuff is the same thickness and install method as "real wood" flooring, but it comes already finished with a slight bevel on each side. I presume the "ever so slight" bevel is there to act as "camoflague" for imperfections.

I was/am very happy with it. I have not had to refinish in it 23+ years, but we never let Gunnery Sergeant Carlos Hathcock in there either

I will post a pick when I get home.

The other bedrooms, and living room, eventually ended up getting laminate flooring. I am happy with those too.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

Mine is 1955 , 3rd grade maple( has LOTS of 'character), last refinishing was in 1986. Nails ready to show so can't sand it again. Sealed with REAL 'stinky' Varathene(sp), ONE coat.
Water based stuff NEEDS 3-4 coats, sand in between of course....
If you're going to sand, rent the 'square pad' sander NOT the drum !

 

[JRHill]

I suppose it depends on your level of pain and how you live. We have some laminate in low traffic areas. The main floor is high traffic in the extreme deep woods with 3 working dogs who are also family companions. Some day I will get 16x16 tile down. I always appreciate t&g oak. I would never do a laminate in the high traffic area.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

It would be cheaper and easier to get a new wife!

Good hardwood is expensive, and installation has a lot of issues over a finished floor.
with everything rising a minimum of 3/4 of and inch you will have transition issues.

If you do it, water based polyurethane for the sealer is safe, fast, and holds up extremely well.

 

[whatsupdoc]

If you are installing a real wood floor you should bring the material into the house and let it sit for a month to let it expand to the humidity level
in the house.

Even with that depending on the local environment you may still get
gaps between the planks.


The best sealer is gloss moisture cure polyurethane there is a satin
version but its not as durable and you better understand how to use it.

 

[mikester]

 

[Ping]

We went with pre-finished when we added on 18 years ago. Laying real hardwood is worse than a jigsaw puzzle as you need to be looking several rows ahead to keep your joints staggered. The first few rows are the most important to keep straight until you can get get the nailer to clear the wall. Sometimes, you have to get creative in how you handle transitions from room to room. Be prepared to make your own transitions.

Good luck if you choose to lay hardwood floor in your bedroom. I know from personal experience your back will hate you for the half bent over position your body is in while nailing it down!

 

[Speed25]

First question: What's underneath the carpet now?

Second Question: What flooring does the carpet currently adjoin? Thresholds/transitions can make or break flooring sometimes.

 

[jyoutz]

We have engineered wood floors, meaning the strips are basically plywood with Douglas-fir forming the base layers and the top layer is oak. The strips came finished with a polyurethane finish that is extremely tough. Twenty years later they still look as good as new.

 

[DustyRusty]

It would be cheaper and easier to get a new wife!

Good hardwood is expensive, and installation has a lot of issues over a finished floor.
with everything rising a minimum of 3/4 of and inch you will have transition issues.

If you do it, water based polyurethane for the sealer is safe, fast, and holds up extremely well.

I already considered that after her last accident. The body shop said to find another shop since they were tired of working on her car. The hospital said, "Just send us more money". The insurance company said, "Start looking for another insurance company."
We installed Hickory on the first floor, and I am thinking that something else would be nice for the second floor. There is no problem with transitions on the second floor. Presently there is 3/4" plywood under the carpet, and I want to remove that and put the boards that are cut for radiant heat in place of the plywood. There are two large bedrooms and two baths, so it will be too large of a project for me to tackle. Besides I am more of a framing/rough carpenter than a finish carpenter.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

I already considered that after her last accident. The body shop said to find another shop since they were tired of working on her car. The hospital said, "Just send us more money". The insurance company said, "Start looking for another insurance company."
We installed Hickory on the first floor, and I am thinking that something else would be nice for the second floor. There is no problem with transitions on the second floor. Presently there is 3/4" plywood under the carpet, and I want to remove that and put the boards that are cut for radiant heat in place of the plywood. There are two large bedrooms and two baths, so it will be too large of a project for me to tackle. Besides I am more of a framing/rough carpenter than a finish carpenter.

I'm a huge hickory fan, we don't get a lot of anything hickory here in the PNW, almost everyone wants to go with Alder for cabinets and Bamboo or knotty Pine for the floors.
I have huge butcher block slabs of hickory that will hopefully become my kitchen island this year.

Go with engineered and not solid, it handles temp and humidity swings way better.
And yes most good flooring will be pre finished.

For the radiant heat, get good thermostats / controllers for it, makes the world of difference in the performance and feel.er
Our entire house is Hydronics heat, love it!
Our floors are HVLP because we get better conductivity for the heat, and it's wear / waterproof, and with as many dogs, wolves, and cats as we have running around that was real important!

 

[Geezer3d]

I did my floors in wide hickory boards. The boards are 12 inches wide and have tongue and groove. If I were to do it over I would use narrow boards because the wide boards shrink in the winter and leave gaps between the boards. Narrow boards would still do this, but the gaps would be much smaller. Typical 'strip' hardwood floor boards are narrow enough that you don't notice the seasonal shrinkage.

Anyway, I rented a large square vibrating floor sander rather than the typical belt floor sander and it did a good job on the new wood. I used a hand belt sander to sand the edges where the big sander would not fit. Sanding requires sealing the room off from the rest of the house so you don't get dust throughout the house. And you'll need a good shop vac to clean up the dust before applying finish.

And, I finished it with Street Shoe semi gloss. I used two coats of primer followed by two coats of finish. It was very easy to apply, looks good, and is durable.

I also have hydronic radiant heat under the floor. It is very comfortable, but be careful not to connect the heating lines (PEX) directly to the bottom of the wood floor because it can cause stripes to show in the wood. I clipped my pex to the joists a couple of inches below the floor.

 

[whatsupdoc]

I personally like unfinished flooring if your going with solid wood, it does not apply with engineered wood.
Pre-finnished wood flooring typically has rounded edges vs unfinished that has sharp edges. If you look at a properly installed wood floor that is sanded smooth and then finished it looks better, in my opinion.

 

[Runs With Scissors]

I personally like unfinished flooring if your going with solid wood, it does not apply with engineered wood.
Pre-finnished wood flooring typically has beveled edges vs unfinished that has sharp edges. If you look at a properly installed wood floor that is sanded smooth and then finished it looks better, in my opinion.

I agree 100%. The "look" of a "properly laid real solid wood floor buy a pro", can't be beat!!!

They look awesome, no question.

However, my laminates look 93% as good, are 1/4 the price, and are 1,200% easier to install.......

I know, I know......I'm a hypocrite........sorry.

Tough decision for sure......Lots of variables.

 

[Tarmy]

There is a spectacular home a few doors down. it is a vacation home for the owner…and he has to heat it year round. Evidentially they had apricot hardwood floors installed in most of it….it is beautiful. The problem is that particular wood, evidentially, will disform, cup and do all kinds of bad things if they let it freeze in there. Spends close to 20K a year to heat cool it to save that floor.

Not sure about your place OP…but get a suitable hardwood properly installed.

 

[DustyRusty]

This is our present hickory floor that was installed about 6 years ago. It is finished with Waterlox's original satin finish. They put 3 coats on when it was originally done. It is a mixture of 2", 3", & 4" boards. It took the installer about 3 days to install the floor, then a day to sand and apply the finish. He coated the floor 3 times allowing a day to dry in between. Because of the fumes, we had to be out of the house while the finish was being applied.

 

[NorthwoodsLife]

Go laminate. Hardwood floors are great if built into a brand new house. But respectfully, hardwood floors added on later to an carpet/plywood floored house is just silly. The laminate flooring available today is excellent. It actually blows away hardwood as far as durability and maintenance is concerned.

They are quick and easy and cheap and low maintenance compared to real hardwood.

But if money isn't an issue. Then the choice is yours. Throw money at it if you can afford it and the keep wife happy.

But in the end, I'd guess,; That she would love a high quality laminate and you would not know the difference between it and hardwood.

Edit: When your kids inherit the house they'll cover it in carpet anyway.

 

[DustyRusty]

Go laminate. Hardwood floors are great if built into a brand new house. But respectfully, hardwood floors added on later to an carpet/plywood floored house is just silly. The laminate flooring available today is excellent. It actually blows away hardwood as far as durability and maintenance is concerned.

They are quick and easy and cheap and low maintenance compared to real hardwood.

But if money isn't an issue. Then the choice is yours. Throw money at it if you can afford it and the keep wife happy.

But in the end, I'd guess,; That she would love a high quality laminate and you would not know the difference between it and hardwood.

Edit: When your kids inherit the house they'll cover it in carpet anyway.

That is an absolute impossibility since we have none.