How many square feet are you planning to have done for that price? Being that it is a soup to nuts quote and you've found someone who will provide a full service job, consider yourself lucky.

The only other question I have is...why are you not going to sand it all up at once? Matching new to old in a weave-in situation is very difficult indeed.

Thank you for your reply, glennsfc. Although i don't have the exact dimensions in front of me, i'd say it's in the 350 square feet ballpark. And i was also impressed he'd take care of moldings an everything, although the others would as well. Oddly, all the quotes were pretty much in the same neighborhood. I was expecting more of a range ...

This fellow got to me more because of his demeanor. Isn't that silly? And he took his shoes off at the door without my even having to ask him! That always gets me, when people do that ... :)

I don't know how to answer your question about the sanding. I'm not really clear on the sequence of events, but i know he was planning to sand the whole floor to give it a uniform sheen (and also effectively "repair" some little dinged, scratched and separated areas).

Thanks again for your response. I'm glad to know the quote didn't set off any particular "expert" alarms ...

Cheers!

hi estreya

where do you live?? and i am also think its better to sand all the floor and match to color...

"Apply shellac sealer to cat-affected areas of subfloor." If your goal is to remove the odor, shellac won't make it go away. You need to replace the subfloor underlayment in that area (which they can do) just as you are going to replace the damage baseboards. Cats CAN smell any of those spray odors that you are trying to cover it up. If it's soaked into your drywall underneath the baseboards, you will need to replace that drywall also.

Wood flooring installation prices in our area run $2/sf to install, $2/sf to sand, $2/sf to stain (if needed) and $2/sf to finish. So about $6/sf. BUT this is in our area of the country, the Mid-South. If you live out east or out west, I would think those prices would be higher. Others can chime in... Our flooring contractor charged me an extra $20/room to install the new baseboard (which I had painted and all ready to go.)

Removing carpeting and padding is really easy to do if you have one or two people to help you. That can save you some $$. Roll it up and take it out to the curb (or call the city to come pick it up - some will.) WHen we took up our old carpeting, some of the padding stuck to the subfloor so I had to scrape it off. But a $6 scraper from HD did the job and I did it myself with ease. (female)

If your hearth boarder is the same wood as the rest of the flooring, there shouldn't be any extra charge for that.

My last comment is to be careful about filling in gaps in your wood flooring. We are coming off the heating season which causes wood to contract a bit. Come summer and higher humidity, it will expand. If you fill in the gaps now and it expands this summer, you will have cupping or possibly the floor may buckle. A flooring pro might be better able to explain this. Wood floors move - that's just the nature of wood.

The carpentry work along the wall and subfloor would be extra and replacing drywall is not a difficult job, nor is sanding,priming,or painting it.

And I wouldn't pay any contractor for anything except materials until the job is finished. What kind of warranty does he provide on his work? You don't pay for half of your house before it's built so why would you need to give him half of his money before he's even started the job? I would not hire any contractor that insisted on pre-payment except for materials.

So looking at your quote and figuring what I would be charged here for all of that, it does seem a bit high especially since you might be able to do some of that work yourself.

Does that quote include the cost of the hardwood flooring??? That will make a big difference. And if it were me, I would go buy that flooring myself so that I knew I was getting good quality wood and not some LL rejects. Is there any specification as to the grade of wood he is going to use in the quote? If you have any leftover pieces of your old flooring, you should be able to match it up easily - just take it along to the flooring place or lumber co.

Do some test pieces without any stain - just the finish. You may not need to stain your flooring. It doesn't look like it has any stain on it.

Good luck - hope that helps!

Thank you so much for posting such a well considered reply, sippimom! Yes, the quote included the flooring, and it's supposedly a higher quality grade of white oak (though beyond that, i don't know the details). I'm going to try to contact the original installer to see if i can get more information. And you have a very good eye - there was no color put on the floors at the time of installation. That slight "yellow" tint is from age and sun. :)

1. Sealing pet damage by coating with a film such as shellac can work in the short term, but the corrosive nature of the urine can eat through most anything over time.

2. Any contractor who does not take deposit money on a job up to the limit allowed by law is a fool.

3. Selecting a contractor based on the person's 'demeanor' is not silly. I do the same thing with my customers. If I sense that any prospective client is not going to treat me with respect, I decline the work.

Thank you, glennsfc. I've told him he's got the job. :)

As for the shellac, once the carpets are up (some of which i'm doing myself), we'll see what the extent of the damage is. If it's really bad, maybe it would be better to have that portion of the sub floor replaced? The shellac, as i understand it, is what they use in cases of fire restoration, where the smell of smoke is nearly as pungent and difficult to deal with. But i think it's a "brain scrambler," and i'm pretty eager to go as "green" as possible (oak notwithstanding).

Shellac or one of the shellac-type paint sealers should work OK in areas where the cat urine is not very bad. You and your contractor will have to decide what course of action to take with the pet damage once you see what you're dealing with.

The vehicle in most shellac products is denatured alcohol and it flashes off very quickly. Open windows to allow the fumes to escape and in about 1 hour it should all be gone.

Thank you, glennsfc. Hopefully, it will fall into the "not very bad" category. :) We'll see!

A tip about the carpet: don't pay someone to take it out, and don't take it to the dump. Post it on freecycle as "free if you remove it." We've done that with 5 rooms worth of carpet, as we've redone our house, and had multiple takers each time. One man's trash is definitely another man's treasure, and there are people out there who would really appreciate some free used carpet. And you'll save some money in the process.

Don't be telling them that. ;) ) I get paid more to tear carpet out than carpet guys get paid to install it. True statement.

I would also have to recommend replacing a small section of the subfloor. They may spend more time trying to clean it and seal than just cut it out and get rid of it. I've dealt with this pet odor situation and urine can really damage wood floors. Would hate for you to get a beautiful wood and have your cat still attracted to the odor. Your house is really beautiful, btw.

I wish to add also that you have a gorgeous home.