My new h/w floor

[radhak]

As you know, I completed the flooring for the mbr last week. This is how the new floor looks...

It got sticky for two reasons : found out the floor needed some leveling mid-way thru - boy, that was frustrating! Used a ready-made mix ('Jason' something) from HD and also another ready-to-mix from Lowes (Henry 547) that needed just water. Both are ready for use within an hour, thankfully .

Also, I had decided to flow thru whole area of the mbr and closets without any transitions - needed some detailed calculations and alignment... But it worked out in the end, and I got the look I wanted : a sense of a larger-than-before room, because now the closets are sorta part of the mbr itself.

Anyway, it looks good now, if i say so myself.

The pics are before all the baseboard, trim and closet doors went back in.

The master bedroom from the door :



The walk-in closet (her's):


same closet, lower angle :


the non-walk-in closet (mine ) :


looking from the closet to the mbr :

[BadeMillsap]

That looks GREAT!!!

I just recently "had" the upstairs done in solid oak .. so I KNOW how much work was involved on your end ... and I admire your fortitude! I wouldn't have tackled the project myself .. it took the pros 12 days to rip out the carpet and lay 1100 sqft including 16 steps of stairs ... so kudos to you and you saved a bundle of money to boot!!!

[Alex Franke]

Wow -- it looks GREAT! Good job!

I just realized that I forgot to post pics of the hardwood install we recently did! Guess I better go back and do that!

[SHADOWFOX]

The floors look great. Great job!! I can appreciate all the hard work you put in on this because I completed mine a year ago and that was some project. Thank you for sharing!

[footprintsinconc]

awesome job! that is a lot of corners to go around. did you make the flooring yourself or did you buy it?

[Pappy]

That looks fantastic!

[radhak]

Thanks everybody!

Yes, those corners were almost deal-killers. But the floors were all pre-finished, so saved myself that trouble!

With this project earned enough points with LOML to trade for shop-time later....

[lrr]

Thanks everybody!

Yes, those corners were almost deal-killers. But the floors were all pre-finished, so saved myself that trouble!

With this project earned enough points with LOML to trade for shop-time later....

Very nice! Can you tell me brand of flooring? We are ready to rip out carpet in family room, and I want to do hardwood floor. We want a darker floor like yours, to match existing doors and trim.

[crokett]

Very very nice work indeed. I'd love to see a before picture.

[jovani]

Floor

Beautiful job. I had a bedroom done a few years back and they did a terrible job. They had a fancy web-site, it turn out they move their business around.

Jut now, I was measuring our living room, is a straight room 22.2x 13.4.
322 sf. I am trying to decide what type of enginered flooring to get. Our floor is a cement slab.

I was looking a Lumber liquidators. I like the gunstock color. Any preference of brands?

I like to get someone to install it. What would be average instlation cost per sf? I am east of Los Angeles, so the cost may be different here.

[ragswl4]

As you know, I completed the flooring for the mbr last week. This is how the new floor looks...

It got sticky for two reasons : found out the floor needed some leveling mid-way thru - boy, that was frustrating! Used a ready-made mix ('Jason' something) from HD and also another ready-to-mix from Lowes (Henry 547) that needed just water. Both are ready for use within an hour, thankfully .

Also, I had decided to flow thru whole area of the mbr and closets without any transitions - needed some detailed calculations and alignment... But it worked out in the end, and I got the look I wanted : a sense of a larger-than-before room, because now the closets are sorta part of the mbr itself.

Anyway, it looks good now, if i say so myself.

The pics are before all the baseboard, trim and closet doors went back in.

It looks fantastic! and a great job. What kind of flooring is it, solid wood, engineered wood or laminate and what species? I really like the look. We are trying to decide what type of wood (or laminate) to put in our new house. We have a little dog with lots of toenails so we are skeptical about using real wood. By the way you did such a great job I think you deserve a vacation. I would recommend Southern California and since I am in that area you could stop by and help me with installing 2500 sq ft of flooring. Maybe take just a weekend. (LOL).

[radhak]

That's why I like being around here : get a swollen head pretty fast, and it feels nice... Thanks for that feeling...

The floor is Trafficmaster from HD. Engineered wood, 9/16" thick, 7" wide planks, 42" avg length, "Brazilian Cherry". Generally sold at $2.99/sq.ft, I got it at $2.28 because the HD closed down to move across the street. They also had the Bruce (brand-name) engineered wood discounted at $2.97 (from $3.99), but despite it's better look I went with Trafficmaster because this one has the uniclic locking mechanism which the other did not.

The locking thing works out pretty nice, if strenuous - the first row is a bear, gets easier further away, but note - never as easy as laying laminate. Laminates are generally much thinner and the locking is much easier. This one, you really have to use muscle-power. Bothersome at first, but after two days of back-bending you realize that the floor is there to stay . Used QuietWalk 3-in-1 underlayment - $50 at LL, but $42 shipped from iFloors.com. The subfloor was concrete.

When you go shopping for engineered, keep your eyes open for the thickness - the most found is the 7/16" and even 5/16" thick. 9/16" is real good, and that's what I recommend. My earlier smaller bedroom had the Kaahrs from LL, which was 5/8" thick, but thats nowhere to be found now. The locking in that one was even better - the tongue-and-groove were 1" long, and had even better grip.


And yes, HD has Trafficmaster laminates too, so read the labels.

Funny thing is, I got the feeling HD is unable to get rid of Trafficmaster's brazilian cherry - too many discounts on it recently. And i think the reason is that the packaging has a picture of much darker wood, almost like walnut, which might deter many. The actual color is sorta rich, golden cherry. Love it.

I had asked about installation costs - the lowest (for this particular brand) quote was $3.99/sq ft. So I save a nice bundle .

I think I could have made it easier for myself if I had been more meticulous measuring the level-ness of the floor. I recommend you clear off the room during the week, and check for level very, very carefully. Leave yourself enough time to do a good job with some nice cement mix (if you have concrete sub). The actual flooring would be smooth as butter.

And when I saw Alex's pictures I realized I should have had pictures before, or during, the process. would have given more perspective.

edit : rags, for that sort of vacation, i need to take permission; else, LOML says I'd be forever on vacation, seeing how much I loved doing it

[jovani]

floor

Thanks so much for the information. Hey there is a lot's of work here in So California, especially for people who take pride in their work. Congratulations again.