Cabinets installed before site finished hardwood floors - opinion
Mom23Es
11 years ago
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auroraborelis
11 years agoRelated Discussions
Need installer to finish my hardwood flooring installation
Comments (10)ricewO, I had found someone from Angie's list on July 4th that sounded great but he had to be booked in advance and could not buy the BR-111 product at the same great price as from TrueHardwoods.com so told me to buy it and call him and he would see when he had time. He wanted me to order one extra box but he said if I was going to be picky on boards, then two extra boxes. I had ordered 8% extra and he felt that was not enough (he was right I see now). When I called him to tell him I think I made a mistake with the order and I should have ordered 2 T-Moldings and 2 Reducers and not 3 Reducers and no T-Moldings, he told me I needed 4 Reducers and 1 T-Molding. He was too far from me to do a quick stop over here to measure again. My current installer before hiring him, came by and pulled up the carpet to test which molding he brought with was the right one and also bought me a white foam pad with a big board to stand on (pulled the rug and padding up so the wood and pad would be on the cement floor)to let me make a decision on if I liked the feeling of a glued down floor or a floating floor. That is when I decided that I did not want 3 extra boxes of wood like my neighbor who ordered a different product from TrueHardwoods.com so I went with my current installer and also my current was able to begin right away. BUT I see now that I was wrong and my current is not doing a good job and I am afraid for him to cut new molding to install since all his cut boards are poorly done with various size spaces next to my wall. Also the installation itself was done wrong and I had to call the manufacturer of the FloorMuffler with Ultra Seal and put them on Speaker phone since the current installer did not believe the instructions and was not using the ULTRAseal tape (he had it tucked under the pad!) at all and was not gluing the pieces together and was not putting the pad up against the wall a bit. The manufacturer said to insulate and protect from moisture he was doing it wrong and I was right. Then my current installer did it right in front of me and then when I left the room and came back I saw he was doing it wrong again! He installed damaged boards and some of the boards are not enough distance form each other with the seams. I am unhappy with his installation but very happy now with the beautiful Brazilian Cherry floors and so glad I went with the 5" wide boards since the grain is gorgeous and the coloring is now the orange reddish color I felt it should be when first installed despite not looking like that in the box. I really would like someone to install the last row of boards when the new box comes in and cut the new baseboard trim to install it so the cuts and piecing together can be professional. If I have no one else, I would have to have the current installer complete the installation of the wood with me there the whole time since I do not trust him anymore. I almost did not hire the current installer when he did not return my phone calls when I found the 47 foot crack in the cement floor but he arrived Thursday morning without return my phone calls the prior night or the prior days and I wanted the floor done. He also ripped out two side corner moldings near my tiles (my brother took the molding off the walls everywhere else and did a good job) and metal is showing and he cracked two tiles. He installed the two T-Moldings and you can see nail heads and he scratched the molding and a tiny crack now from putting the nail in the molding. Now I see why he wanted to reuse the old trim since I do not feel his carpenter skills are that good. He was referred by a client of mine that used to sell the current installer insurance before he retired from the insurance business. I had a painter come in today to give me an estimate on just painting the walls and not the trim. I have another painter coming by at 2 PM to give me an estimate also. Thank you ricewO for the suggestion of Angie's list. I may call back the other installer as well as all the messages I left last night on Angie's list's carpenters, flooring installers and painters. Thank you for your nice offer. I wish you lived near me....See MoreHardwood floors - site-finished and pre-finished in adjoining rooms?
Comments (34)As JLC said, you have nicely finished doorways ... the only time you will see both floors is when you have a door open. And with the difference in lighting, you won't notice slight differences. Here's how I match or blend finishes: Bring home some samples of the prefinished you are thinking about and lay them in the hallway, parallel to the existing floors. Stand back 10 or so feet and pick the board or boards that you have the hardest time spotting. That's your match. Or, remove the boards that stand out ... what's left is the matching color. If you carefully pick the ONE board that is just inside the doorway to be as close a match to the older one in the hall it will make the blend almost invisible. Here, in an 1880s adobe ... the door stops where the pale wood is, and I picked new boards with the brownish tones of the old floor (upper part) to make the new flooring (running side to side) less conspicuous. (there was craptastical 1990s carpet and some wierd sill arrangement to deal with ... nothing in the house is square, plumb, or level). By matching size and rustic-ness in the new flooring we got a floor that blends with the old. Cleaning and refinishing the old floor (eventually) will make oit blend better....See MoreSite finished vs pre-finished hardwood floor
Comments (3)In theory the site-finished hardwood will have a slight edge on "water resistance" than factory finished. As Handy Mac points out, the finish will coat the entire floor in a single SHEET of finish. Now...that isn't to say it will be SUPER water resistant. It won't be. Most wood will have issues with large amounts of water allowed to sit on the floor. But the worry you have - water getting between the planks - is greatly reduced with a site-finish...again it is a large SHEET of finish that spans the boards = a thin layer of plastic = a little bit more water resistant than factory finished. Again...these numbers and 'time frames' are very similar. But there *should be a slight advantage for the site finished. That's why we require our cork floors in kitchens be site finished after installation - the polyurethane spans the joints making the floor resistant to surface spills (many hours of protection because cork itself doesn't care...but the fibre board in the middle does)....See MoreHardwood floor finishes and brands question and opinions
Comments (1)Wide plank wood (anything over 5" in engineered = wide plank) is MORE expensive to install. It must have glue assist or FULL GLUE for install. This adds as much as $3/sf MORE than a traditional install. Let's look at that cost: $9/sf (might not be enough for 7.5" wide) + $3/sf + $3/sf = $13/sf Do you have the budget for $13/sf for the ENTIRE project costs??? Wire brush is a nightmare to live with as it often shows oil stains (cooking oils, dropped meat balls, spilled olive oil). If they are not cleaned up within 15-30 minutes the stain is permanent. Very low gloss floors have issues with showing SKIN oils as being SHINIER than the floor. These are all known issues with wire brush + super low gloss. If I wanted to spend $13/sf on a floor project, I would pick a high grade solid wood in 4" planks site finished in the BEST finish possible. Something like this would be worth $13/sf....See MoreUser
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