We are in the midst of a larger project and are preparing to have a professional lay down hardwood floor in the dining room and kitchen (open concept, rectangular room). I would appreciate your insight/experience which underlayment to choose (paper only vs. cushion vs. vapor barrier/cushion) and if there are any specific materials or brands you can recommend (budget-friendly). I read a few posts and tried to gather as much information as possible. -- Installing 250 sq. ft. -- solid, pre-finished white oak - 4" blanks - standard tong and groove -- dining room and kitchen are above a garage (not heated) - insulation and fire-rated ceiling will be added in garage as part of the project -- floor joints run along the long side of the room -- sub-floor (?) runs across the room - wood is solid and dry, so we are not planning on changing it -- dining room has a large opening towards the living room with existing oak hardwood. The new floor is the same thickness as the existing one. -- steam heat and window air conditioning Our preference would be to lay the floors along the long side of the room to match the living room. Thank you in advance for your help!

"Recently walked through a rental house that had carpet atop a wood subfloor and it had kind of an icky hollow flimsy sound. Which made me wonder ... if you like that solid old-school-floor feel ... do you really need to go with thicker wood, like 3/4"? ..." You probably walked on a plywood floor covered with carpet. Putting 3/4 inch hardwoods down over plywood normally results in a very solid feeling floor (though not as stiff as concrete). It helps if the floor strips are perpendicular to the joists (but not reuired of the plywood is thick enough). The old farts who used diagonal plank sub floors new the hardwood strips could then go either way.

If I do convince my hubby that this is something that would work in our guest room it will most definitely be stained. We're both wood lovers. I being down right obsessive about it, so much so that I have folders of different wood species on my computer. The thought of covering any woodgrain (other than some knotty pines or low grain woods) up with paint brings me close to hyper ventilating and my eyes start to twitch. I'm a bit embrassed to write that, but it's true. If you could have only seen me recently when at a local thrift store I spotted a vintage Lane Acclaim cocktail table and student desk made from beautifully grained walnut (my favorite non exotic wood species) and ash, you'd know just what I'm talking about. (I'll started another thread when I get a chance to take some pictures for all of you that understand that feeling.) That being said, I don't mind anyone posting about the painted plywood floors on this thread, since others may very well be interested. Just didn't want anyone to feel hurt that I didn't rave about the ones they posted. You could very well feel the same way about stained wood that I do painted wood...though I can't imagine why. Just kidding. Kashmi, I love it when you can recycle materials from a reno into something else. I want to find a way to use the old stairs (2x10's) into something instead of just tossing them. Most likely rustic benches or tables for one of our porches. Pesky, I completely understand about life getting in the way. We've been in our "new" home for just just short of eight and a half years now and just two weeks ago finally got the construction grade stairway replace with beautiful solid oak floors. Still have finished touches left to do, but the stairs are in! YAY! We too have oak hardwood floors through much of the main level and hallway of our home. Which is why I'm not sure hubby will go for this. At least he didn't pooh pooh it when I mentioned it to him the other day. Jeane Gallo I'm not sure how those would work if there were doors in the room since they're so thick. You might have to cut off the bottom edge of the door so they'd open. Cindyloo123, if we do decide to go this way I'll be sure to share pictures. It will be awhile before we have time with the wedding and other summer activities though. You'll have to be patient. forboystoo, That's where I got the second picture from in my original post. I get that error message every single time I post to a thread I started. bluemoon, I think you'd need a moisture barrier of some sort. lauriedeee, here's a picture of screen molding...

^^^HA! Snap! Millworkman hits it on the head...AGAIN! Your 'dude' (sigh...I'm telling you the guy with 2 years of experience has yet to have a MASSIVE fail that costs him his HOUSE!) is not making allowances for the gap (vertical gap....between the old house and the new house = gap between the wood and the concrete). That gap is going to move. Actually it isn't the gap that moves...it is the WOODEN side of the house that moves. Wood expands and contracts in the presence of moisture. That means between the seasons that gap will expand (in the dry winter months) and contract (during the humid summer air). Tile is NOT happy with this type of expansion and contraction. There will be issues with tile in the breeze way. I guarantee it. I would get this in writing. It will say, "I, Joe Schmoe floor guy with 2 years of experience, hereby promise to remove and replace all flooring that fails because of my installation technique. I promise I will not leave the town, state or country upon notice of complaint. I will guarantee my work for five (5 years). After such time I will offer prorated discounted repair service for the next 10 years should this floor fail due to my installation techniques." I can guarantee the installer will not agree to this. Because several hundred square feet of failed tile work could bankrupt his little business. This only works if you FLOAT a wood over a FLOATING wooden subfloor like Dricore ($1.35/sf + $1.65/sf labour = $3/sf). This STILL REQUIRES the two floors to be leveled out. This is a MAJOR renovation to get your vision to work. Again, you've been given the limitations of your situation. What you 'want' is not something your budget NOR your installer can handle. Go ahead and get 3mm cork underlay over top of the wooden floor...now float a wood floor over the concrete and over the cork. You will have to leave drop in a T-moulding at the gap...and you are DONE. This is what the HOUSE is able to do. Just because you 'want it' doesn't mean it is feasible. You could spend $10/sf on this area. You could hire a TOP flooring pro - not a well meaning 2 year pro. You could also shrug your shoulders and say, "Nah. I'll just to it the way the HOUSE wants it done. It's easy and FULLY ACCEPTABLE in the world of design and flooring." Go ahead and ask your installer, point blank, if he can AFFORD to pay for a complete redo of your home's flooring WHEN his plan fails???? If he looks shocked and angry, you know the answer is "Hell Naw!" You can swim upstream against the current and curse it every time you have to paddle harder or you can float with it and end up on the other side without any physical (or financial) exertion at all...other than keeping your beer from falling off the inner tube! It's your call....but the house has spoken.