I have a big flooring project coming up and need advice. I have never before done a real hardwood floor so I am a newby at this.
I have 2 rooms and a hallway to deal with - combined somewhere around 1000 SF. The original floor was made in 1927, 3/8" thick square edge (not T%G) nailed down. Many times refinished since then, down to 1/4" in thickness, visible gaps between boards, lifting up in some places and the previous owner even tried to nail it down all over again adding raws of ugly visible nails. I had 2 contractors look at it. One suggests tearing that floor out and replacing it completely, another thinks it is possible to drive nails down, plug and fix existing floor. Should I believe the second guy or is he just saying what I want to hear?
Presuming I need to replace the floor - I want to put a normal prefinished hardwood floor, no engineered products.
I can buy traditional oak 3/4" thick (around $4/sf in my area);
I can get some exotic hardwood floor like Brazilian rosewood surprisingly cheaper than oak ($3.3/sf);
I can get bamboo floor at Costco for $1.80/sf. The Bamboo floor is 5/8" thick, all others are 3/4".
Which floor do you think is better? I like exotic woods but the idea of pink floor is a bit scary.
Should I expect this project to be very hard? How much work should I expect on the subfloor based on the current condition of the floor and its age? Any experience? Any other advice?
I have 2 rooms and a hallway to deal with - combined somewhere around 1000 SF. The original floor was made in 1927, 3/8" thick square edge (not T%G) nailed down. Many times refinished since then, down to 1/4" in thickness, visible gaps between boards, lifting up in some places and the previous owner even tried to nail it down all over again adding raws of ugly visible nails. I had 2 contractors look at it. One suggests tearing that floor out and replacing it completely, another thinks it is possible to drive nails down, plug and fix existing floor. Should I believe the second guy or is he just saying what I want to hear?
Presuming I need to replace the floor - I want to put a normal prefinished hardwood floor, no engineered products.
I can buy traditional oak 3/4" thick (around $4/sf in my area);
I can get some exotic hardwood floor like Brazilian rosewood surprisingly cheaper than oak ($3.3/sf);
I can get bamboo floor at Costco for $1.80/sf. The Bamboo floor is 5/8" thick, all others are 3/4".
Which floor do you think is better? I like exotic woods but the idea of pink floor is a bit scary.
Should I expect this project to be very hard? How much work should I expect on the subfloor based on the current condition of the floor and its age? Any experience? Any other advice?
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