@Chispa - that’s exactly why we’re trapping them. Hopefully we’ll work our way through the local population.

I want that little gray one ... the cat, not the pig! Look at those eyes and expression. You'll have to keep posting photos of this cutie! 🙂

How great that they ended up at the right property with the perfect family who will take care of them.

@Keepthefaith MIGirl things are looking great, I know you'll be glad to get the CO.

also, nice choice on your table for the dining area, it looks familiar somehow..... oh yeah, here's ours

@Buzz Solo in northeast MI, I love those pendants! Your kitchen layout looks very similar to ours. We have a pendant coming for over the sink, and the island is in the same location and will have two pendants. I think our cabinets will be installed long before the lighting arrives, though! You can see our kitchen area from the great room in the photo below.

One thing I'm considering as an upgrade for after move-in is a couple of Solatubes for the kitchen ceiling, as you can see how dark it is. The back porch roof keeps a lot of light from getting in, and since it is west facing, it will be darkest in the morning, just when it would be pleasant to have some natural light. There are plenty of can lights, but I really crave natural light. In hindsight now, I would rather have had a double-width window over the sink area and lost out on an upper cabinet! Oh well....

By the way, the builder now says that the black marks are burn marks from the planer and should sand out. I sure hope he's right!

Below is what we are suppose to be moving into on Wednesday. I am not happy, and have asked DH to put the move off a day. We got into an argument. He called the mover this morning to delay a day. 😃🙏 I also put off blind installation for a week. Which means we will be using sheets over our bathroom and bedroom windows for a few days.

Yes, that's part of our pantry sitting all the way on the other side of the family room. 😲 No cabinet doors in built-ins. A second coat of paint needed on the family room walls and trim, but the ceilings are finished! The pantry will have to be painted so that I can put things on the shelves. Nothing has been cleaned!!!

Two doors out of 5 have been primed.

@nhb22, OMG, I would not move in! Your house looks beautiful but clearly unfinished. If it were me, I would wait a week or even two. I do not plan to move into our house until it is done, cleaned, and the paint dry! Moving is stressful enough as it is without moving into an unfinished home.

@Emily bummer about the light in your kitchen! My last kitchen was dark, too. We had an east facing window in the kitchen & dining room, and got OK light in the morning, but we were in the city and had another house 15 feet away so our direct sun only lasted 30 minutes, and then it was dark the rest of the day. We picked a south facing back with lots of windows in this house for precisely that reason (I'm tired of the dark).

@nhb22 what's the rush to move? I would also not want to move into that unless absolutely necessary...what a bummer!

@anj_p, Smart of you! I honestly didn't realize how much darker the porch roof would make the kitchen, but it's huge. In our last build, our kitchen faced south and had a big double window -- and no porch right outside -- so it was always bright, and I only had to turn the lights on at night. I should have realized, since the new house is laid out just like my mother's kitchen (porch outside), and she always has to have a light on in the kitchen to use it. Fortunately, since our house is a single story, Solatubes are an option. We wouldn't do a full skylight since the ceiling is peppered with can lights, but I think a couple of Solatubes could make a big difference. We decided to contract those out ourselves to avoid paying our builder's 20% markup, as I doubt he'd get any discount from the installers.

@nhb22 oh goodness they do still have a lot to do, but I guess if you have to be out of your current place, you don't have much choice.

I'd be cautious if they are just painting the pantry shelves and not immediately put things on them, or they are going to get marked up. They really do need a good week to cure before putting items on them.

Everything will be beautiful when it's all finished though, but I can imagine how hard it will be living there and having all those workers finishing up so many odds and ends. But you'll be home for Christmas and that's exciting!!

@nhb22, I think our painters are related! The work is good, but so so slow. The one guy there today was filling in the seams in the beams which still need to be stained ... the kitchen window hasn't even been primed or painted, so not sure why he has moved onto something else? The beams could be stained later on, but I need the closets and pantry walls painted now.

LOL, chispa! We joke that we will be like the show, Murphy Brown, where her painter lives with her for years. In our case, I thin it will be the finishing carpenters. On our visit last night, they were working away...on that same pantry piece. They had, however, moved it across the room toward the banquette area. 🤣 I have to laugh because this is all so comical.

Kat - Very good point about waiting for the paint to dry. The same should go for the built-ins. At least I can put boxes on the floor in the pantry. I have already told DH that we will be eating out for quite a while!

anj_p - Try asking my husband that question. After 16 months, he is ready to move on, so taking a "no" to moving in is not an option. Hope that made sense. It is almost 6:00am here, and I have been up since 4:00am after not getting to sleep until after midnight! Anyway, the movers have been rescheduled so many times, that we had to take this slot before their really busy season. The landlord wants to move back into our rental (we think he has been living in a hotel for the last 6 weeks.)

Emily - We did not plan to move until our house was completely finished. I mentioned this to DH again last night and he started to get angry at me again. 😏 I am trying to make the best of it, but it surely is a downer.

Good news is that more was done to the house yesterday. The stair railings and front door got their first coats of stain. The railing needs another coat, and then poly. The front door looks good. The electrician was back and did a few more things. Hung my new dining room sconces, but did not get the ones on the built-ins. I guess because they were still being painted. More doors were hung, and hardware put on. Closets are finished.

Bulbs are too bright. We have major bulb and can light intensity adjustments to do all over the house. These are so bright that you cannot see the actual fixture. So pretty!

I don't know why this wall looks so blue. Gosh that's awful... Don't be scared, Emily!

Bad news is that the pine doors are not going to take the stain well. One was tested on the back porch, and it looks like a leopard! I did not take a photo! So we will need to paint those exteriors. I am really fine painting them. The plan is to paint the screened porch French door sets white (trim and doors). The porch will truly look like my inspirational photo of the white doors and blue ceiling. That leaves the front side porch door. I know we have had this discussion before about what to do there, nut would like opinions again, please..

DH and I are leaning towards painting the door to match the shutters and doing the trim in white to match the windows. Or vise versa! Or all white, or all green. This is the door unfinished. There will not be stain. So sorry to post these photos again!

Our first day of the moving process went well. 😉 Packers were here for most of the day. Today they will pack some more (most of our things were still packed from last move. What was unpacked had been mostly packed (or will be) by us.) and then start loading the truck. That will take another day (Wednesday) and then we are set to move into the house in Thursday and Friday.

@nhb22, I was up just before 6 am too because I couldn't sleep thinking about stuff that needs to be done.

The counter fabricators were at the house yesterday installing sinks and backsplash pieces. None of the sinks got installed with straps as I had asked ... I had even bought straps. No point going crazy about it now. I have written communication that they had agreed to use straps, if we have any issues down the road. They still have work left to do.

Someone "installed" the steam oven, coffee machine and MW drawer. They just got placed in their spots, but not connected. I'm assuming my builder did it to get the boxes out of the family room.

My Vent-a-Hood hood. Might be regretting not doing the contrasting straps, but they added quite a bit to an already pricey hood. It is 42" wide.

7 am now ... time to text the front door guy!

Thinking of you @nhb22 I think there comes a point when a husband is done with the whole process and can not tolerate it anymore! We werent planning to move into our house until our appliances were installed (because of Covid shutting everything down) but a week before Sears could get here my DH said we are moving today and he just started loading stuff into the truck and moving in!!! I was in the middle of a Zoom end of the year teacher meeting.... I guess he was worried he wouldnt be able to move a week later because of haying season. I hardly see him once haying starts. It all worked out though 😊

chispa - That's some hood!!!

K H - Thanks! I remember you having to do that.

@nhb22 I love the green of your shutters. I'd paint the trim to match the window trim and the door the green of the shutters.

I also feel your pain on moving in before it's all done. DH and I actually plan to move in before finishing just to get out of this rental, plus he really, really wants to be there. He has promised that remaining projects like molding will not be put off despite past track records! We shall see.

Yesterday I started filling in too wide joints and feathering any bad ridges in the OSB subfloor. This was caused by swelling from being out of in rainy weather too long. I sanded down the worst spots first. We replaced the very bad ones but didn't notice a couple.

Also we're on track to being able to spend a night or two in here before the end of the year. Dh installed the guest bath sconce and the toilet temporarily!

Once the bedroom carpet goes in Thursday we'll set up the queen bed frame. We're just missing the new mattress set, which I was told was hen I bought it in October takes about 2 weeks...they'll get back to me today.

Anyway, exciting day, cabinets are supposed to arrive! Been up since 6:30, thanks, puppy, waiting for the phone call.

ETA: Tomorrow is December, if anyone would like to start a new thread, I'd appreciate it.

@K H, I think you're right about the DH's perspective! Mine is basically letting me do all the builder interactions (calls, texts, emails) and make most of the decisions now, and I'll be the only one doing site visits, as someone has to stay here to take care of our elderly dog, since round-trip is now five hours, excluding any time spent on site. I haven't been once since we had to move here on Nov. 1 but will be going this week. DH is just over it all and past ready to be in.

@nhb22, No worries, I know that paint can look much darker in low-light photos, and I still think the color is beautiful! I'm committed to it! 😁. Best wishes for a smooth move for you!

@nhb22 Your home looks beautiful!

@chispa That hood will be stunning!

@Buzz Solo in northeast MI How exciting for cabinets to arrive! How is Ember?

My garage floor was poured yesterday. I was happy to see that go in. The backfill is done everywhere around the house except the front porch (waiting for gravel - hopefully this week) and the back. The 12'+ high dirt pile in front of my home is no more. I took advantage of Black Friday sale pricing and ordered two fixtures from Bicycle Glass Lighting for the guest bath vanity and landing at the bottom of my stairway - I hope they're as beautiful as the photos I've seen.

@nhb22, I agree with Buzz...I'd go with the door green with the same trim color as your windows. Just seems more cohesive, plus that green is so pretty. I think I voted for this combo the first time you put it to a vote!

Ember is doing great, she didn't pee indoors yesterday, of course she spent 6 hours with the big dogs in the barn/run yesterday, too. Right now she's chewing on Kaylee's ears.

@Buzz Solo in northeast MI, Great that you have some doggie sitters for the puppy! They learn a lot at that age from the older dogs.

@nhb22 another vote for door to be the shutter color and the trim the window trim color. I LOL over your Murphy Brown painter scenario. That was such a funny story line they had for the duration of her show.

@K H are you a teacher, or was it a parent/ teacher meeting?

@chispa lovely hood.

@Buzz Solo in northeast MI I'd be up too if it was cabinet day. One of the most anticipated days of a build I think.

I've spent too many early morning(my kids say I get up in the middle of the night..haha) worrying about things for our house this past year. All you early risers today must have been what allowed me to sleep for the first time in months until DH's alarm went off:-)

To my surprise they actually did start drywalling last Friday and also worked Saturday. Only the ceilings were done when we went over Sunday to have a look. By the time they were gone for the day yesterday it was too dark to bother going in.

They also started working on our porch ceilings and wrapped our posts last Wednesday which lead us to request a builder meeting on Friday before they continued to discuss the column wrap seams, that I had previously mentioned I wanted to avoid, as well as the type of seams they are doing on the porch ceilings. I feel they have over emphasized the joins on the ceiling instead of disguising them, but I didn't even get to ask any questions because the meeting quickly went south.

It has been obvious the past month or two that our builder is annoyed over a few different things. He decided to continue to let me know by insinuating I was the only client ever to care about seams on porch column wraps. At that point I asked him to just clear the air, as I do not like passive aggresive behavior. If you have a problem then say what it is, so we can hopefully move on to a better working relationship.

Instead this is where the meeting went in to completley unprofessional territory as he brought up supposed conversations he's had with his vendors. I did what I hate most and got voice cracking teary (thankful for sunglasses) so soon stopped talking.

I completely understand there is a difference between having high standards and unreasonable standards in both quality of work and in customer service. I try very hard to be mindful of the difference. I don't think wanting to understand why something can't be done a certain way when you'd previously requested it is unreasonable. I also think it's easy to label a client's high standards as unreasonable if you want to cover for errors, poor work or protect vendors who seem to be incapable of providing quality customer service, which in my opinion at least two of them have failed to provide.

The cabinet rep/desinger was rude and seemed very uninterested in her work from the very first time we met her, so her complaining doesn't surprise me at all, while the other guy, although pleasant enough and always courteous, has seemed a bit overwhelmed. Maybe it's the influx of pandemic builds or maybe he is just distracted by something personal. I've tried to be patient, why can't they also be?

I'm not here to be anybody's best friend or favorite client. I have always tried to be pleasant, I respond very quickly to requests, and I thank people for their time, and try to be understanding when they play a part in making it more difficult for everybody than it has to be. All I want is the same in return.

It just feels now like this is going to remain an unpleasant experience throughout, which is upsetting and stressing me out. You know because as if building a home during a pandemic, with continually rising costs and multiple material shortages wasn't already stressful enough.

Aw, @Kat, I am so sorry to hear about your meeting with your builder. I found myself inwardly nodding my head at everything you said. If it's any comfort at all, I sometimes think our builder also finds me to be overly picky and concerned with things I shouldn't be. He got very defensive when I asked about the black streaks on our maple flooring, and when I apologized (via email), he replied "No apology needed", so I don't know if he was just having a bad moment or some such. He also wondered why I was so concerned about the moisture content of the flooring before it was installed, but then later, I felt vindicated since his installers ended up sharing my concern! Just little things like that. Yes, I (and you) have high standards, but there can't be anything wrong with that; after all, it is our house we're going to be living in for a long time, hopefully, so we want to get it as right as possible. Overall I do have a good relationship with him, but it really is almost like a marriage in some ways, where there are the occasional disagreements and uncomfortable moments.

I hope that things will be better from here on out. You can't possibly be the first person who has ever been concerned about seams -- just maybe to that particular builder.

And BTW, that's great that things are progressing on your build. You're ahead of us in one area: our permanent porch columns haven't even been placed yet, much less wrapped. We are still waiting on the stone caps that they will be placed on! Our foundation is also still raw concrete block, no stone veneer yet. I hope the mason will be coming out soon, but he is in very high demand and very busy. The veneer could wait until after we move in, but not the caps and columns!

@Kat, that sucks, sorry your builder isn't being professional.

I'm not going to say anything to the fabricator that didn't use straps for any of the sinks, as he had agreed to. It is done now and although I'm not one for writing reviews, he will certainly get one written in as many places as I can find. If he had said he didn't know how or didn't like them, I could have hired someone else to install the sinks. Instead he agreed to do it and wrote it in the quote.

@Emily yes it's so nice to have some interior progress. It was five months ago we started framing, so it is definitely time to see drywall. Our HOA has a stipulation that our exterior is suppossed to be done at 6 months. That probably isn't reasonable with the Covid shortages and delays, so they are being good about it so far, but we really do need to get the majority of the outside finished up so we don't run into issues there.

I think all the trades are in high demand and probably why our drywaller worked Saturday. I feel for these guys. Where would we be without these people willing to do tradesman type work?

I saw somebody caulking our exterior when I drove by this morning, so I'm hoping painting is coming next week.

@chispa that's definitely frustrating that he didn't do what you asked for. Reviews can definitely be a powerful tool. People today do read them.

Huge hugs to everyone who is getting near the end but it is coming too slowly.

@nhb22 sending you good wishes for a uneventful move and everything to be wrapped up quick.

@Emily My husband wants solar tubes, I am afraid to ask my builder about them. I fear the cost add.

I hear you about the husbands. Mine is sick of the project already and we haven't broker ground yet.

If anyone has any prayers or good vibes to give tonight, we would appreciate it. We have the continuation of our meeting with the conservation commission. Let's hope they make up their mind about what crazy hoops we have to jump through next and let us get started with our building. It is all over what they want planted on the site, and nothing is being planted in MA anytime soon.

@nhb22 It's coming along! The staircase looks very nice! For the french / glazed door, I would paint it the trim (white) color instead of the accent (green). I equate glazed doors with windows. And, since your windows are trim color, to keep the continuity, that seems the logic action to me. Just my opinion, though.

@Kat So sorry to hear about your frustrating interactions. You're right there's a big difference between high standards and unreasonable... and it doesn't sound like you're being unreasonable.

@Buzz Solo in northeast MI Thanks for the Ember photos. So so so cute!

@KM, Sending good vibes your way for the meeting with the conservation folks. It really doesn't make a lot of sense to plant this time of year except in the deep south! I hope things end up going your way.

If you do end up pricing the solatubes, please post here what you are quoted, because I have no idea how much they do cost. I know it will be dependent on how long the runs through the roof are, what size the opening in the ceiling is, etc., but I'd still be curious, since I don't even have a ballpark idea of the cost to get them installed. Thanks!

@tendrac, That makes sense, to treat the glazed door more like a window. That would look nice too. I actually think either way would work fine.

@Kat, Our hardwood flooring installers actually worked all day on Thanksgiving so they could have the long weekend after off. I assume they were Mexicans, so T-giving isn't really a thing for them, but I still thought it was interesting! We've had some trades working on the weekend as well, now that we've gotten to this stage. Earlier on, seems like none of the subs worked on the weekend.

I got SolaTube prices a few months ago. I looked at another company too, but liked the SolaTube product better. I mentioned wanting to do a few to my builder, but he didn't seem to be interested! The SolaTube distributors are good at what they do, so no issues doing it later on when you have lived in the house for a few months and see which areas need more natural light. If I remember correctly (I never got a written quote) it was in the $600 - 800 range for a basic installation.

I haven’t checked in this past week; wow, everyone’s project is moving right along. @nhb22, hope you get most things finished before having to move in.

@chispa - what are sink straps used for? Never heard of that.

I’m with all the husbands, in that I’m Over this daily stress and stomach churn.

I’ve a few mistakes (choosing pretty paint and then chickening out and going all white), not insisting on installing a window between the shower and hallway for natural light, and now possibly countertops.

I made the mistake of having DH read about the difference between granite, quartzite, quartz, soapstone and marble. His reaction was that we’re getting soapstone. I was between quartz and soapstone, so chose a pretty soapstone, which I planned to Pair with SW Pure white kitchen snd bath cabinets. Now DH thinks there’s too much white in the flat and wants painted colored cabinets like a pale to medium gray blue. I love the look of painted cabinets with marble looking counters, but not as much with black/dark gray ones. Wanted light bath counters, but when there’s enough left over from kitchen to do bath, it makes a tough discussion when we are at the top of our budget already.

I’m considering changing to light quartz/quartzite if he pushes the colored cabinets thing. I am horrible at making creative decisions. Not even sure if my fabricator will allow me to change counter materials at this stage.

Our appliances are being delivered tomorrow and our cabinets are still being made. DH decided not to make the kitchen cabinets but is 3/4 done with my bathroom vanity.

Final grading of yard is later this week. We should get power turned on in a week which will be nice.

@chispa, Thank you re. Solatube pricing. I have heard good things about that company. That's all they do so they do it right, ensuring no roof leaks, etc. That is so important. The prices you were quoted are actually a little less than I'd expected. I was thinking more like $1000 each. If I could get two for less than that, I'd consider it money well spent. I do think it makes sense to live in the house for a bit to figure out the best spots for them, as the light changes during the day. So hard to judge if you're only visiting the site occasionally, like I am now, living over 2 hours away. Thanks!

@Karen, Soapstone is so pretty, but our builder cautioned against it because it scratches so easily. That would bother me. We're going with white quartz. I do like the idea of light painted cabinets, though, and think they would look pretty with many different countertops. Generally the rule is dark countertops/light cabinets and vice versa, but I have seen this rule broken many times with good results, and we are breaking it with white cabs and white countertops (but a blue/green backsplash). Best wishes in your decision!

My kitchen cabinets were delivered this morning. The very last cabinet to carry in was the custom oven wall cabinet which they then dropped. Big horizontal crack on the left bottom edge which they could have strengthened as it would be hidden by other cabinets. but the face frame is cracked straight up the right side a good 10 inches. So, They've ordered a new one and incredibly it ought to arrive in December. We shall see, I am not holding my breath. I have been remarkably calm about the whole thing, I think I am just "over it", too though I can't be as DH and I are the builders.

But today DH installed more lighting while I ran to town to get electrical parts and then returned to install more outlets.

walk in closet light by Progress Lighting, Lassiter collection.

Master bath light, Progress Lighting, Lassiter.

The only opened box so far, my rustic hickory Lazy Susan. Shiloh, inset, New Haven door style.

Flash washed it out a little but we really love it. Have to unbox all the others to check on them soon.

@Emily - I understand the hesitation over soapstone; I've heard the same thing with regards to scratches, but also heard that scratches come out with light sandpaper or steel wool.

I'm more concerned about being penned in with regard to design choices.

I can't recall who on here is putting soapstone in her house and loves them. Would love to hear her pointy of view.

I vascilate between fear of guest house company putting a hot pan on quartz and being locked into dark counters.

@Buzz Solo -- love your cabinet! So pretty. Sorry the oven cabinet is cracked. Can't wait to see yourc while kitchen come together.

I thought of you last week when I realized that the electricians installed the old fashioned outlets instead of the Decora rectangle ones. I read out contract, and there it was "Leviton Decora switches and standard recepticles.". Grr. So, I will be googling how to install a light switch and replacing them one at a time myself. DH is out GC too, but I've not done anything in comparison to you.

@Buzz Solo in northeast MI beautiful cabinet color. I'm sorry about the oven but kudos for staying calm. Hopefully they deliver on the date promised.

@Karen, the soapstone looks so pretty. If you want the look but are worried about the scratches what about a black granite leathered. We visited our fabricator last week to pick out laundry room and grill area counters and he had a black granite that was leathered and it actually reminded me of soapstone. He strongly recommended it for the grill area, as he says it will hold up well, but we are using red brick for our grill and I wanted something lighter.

@kat - afraid I agree on the lighter part.

@Karen, the sink straps are a way to attach/support the sink. The usual method is to use clips to hold the sink in place. You need to drill into the countertop to be able to attach the clip to the counter.

The straps have brackets that go over the cabinet frame and take the weight of the sink. Nothing is drilled into the counters. See diagrams below to understand how it gets installed.

https://media.granquartz.com/pearlman-production/pdf/Instructions_448014.pdf

I'm no expert, just what I learned here over the years!

@Chispa, Thanks. I suspect your installer never heard of them either. Have you used them previously?

@buzz solo the cabinets are going to look so nice! Such a bummer about the broken one. :(

We're waiting to get on the carpet installers schedule.. hopefully soon. Cabinets installing hopefully next week... And hopefully DH gets some more tile done, though Lowe's forgot to deliver the screws with the Duroc. (2 hrs away means wait for next delivery) But one bath is ready for toilet and sink cabinet and there's still the entry tile (black slate) and the railings....(wrought iron and wood posts)we won't run out of things to do anytime soon. Still no covers and switches from Menards though... Hope they come this week. ...and I forgot to order a toilet. 

@buzz please let me know how you like Patriot lights- I need a few more and they seem like a solid inexpensive choice. 

This baby will be here in a month and I was hoping we'd be moved in before then but it looks like a solid nope.

@chispa that's annoying! I think we'll be using a strap for the kitchen sink with soundproofing as it's copper. The rest are already attached so nothing to do there.

@Ash M They're Progress not Patriot. So far they seem sturdy and well made, the glass is nice, too. Benn buying them from Home Depot, often as a special buy of the day.

Not sure what to do. DH is on board to put flooring in our walkout basement. I‘m ready for something warm because the concrete is so cold down there. I originally wanted to do carpet but worry about moisture even though we have a dry basement and a sump pump backup. Also thought about engineered hardwood but that would be more expensive then carpet. I found this SPC plank that is really pretty and affordable but I’m not sure if it will be warm and if I will like the sound it makes underfoot. Ive never had a vinyl plank. I have had a vinyl sheet and thought that was warm underfoot but I havent found a pattern I like in it.

Votes or info for any of these in a basement would be appreciated:

carpet

spc vinyl plank

engineered wood

vinyl sheet

Here is the spc.

Here is the engineered

And a sheet vinyl

@K H Have you looked into cork? It has great properties and I loved having it in our basement. I have seen it for prices as low as $3.00 sq.ft. Also, we've had carpet in the basement. It's definitely not something that I would recommend. Though our basement was "dry," we had water infiltration occur due to a broken sprinkler (chipmunks were chipmunking!). Because it was hidden for quite a bit of time, we didn't notice any problem until small spots of mold showed up in a closet. When we pulled up the carpet in that area, it was a horrible, moldy, soggy mess! After that, we replaced all of the carpet in the basement with floating vinyl floors. If we had not been on a budget and, also, preparing to sale, we would have gone with cork instead. For our current build, we plan on using Marmoleum. But, cork will always be high on my list for basement flooring--especially with loud and wild kiddos!

ETA: if cork is not an option, the floating vinyl is more appealing due to noise absorption and the "softer" feel underfoot. But, because of some of the inherent issues with vinyl, I would probably take the risk with engineered wood if the basement is dry. Ultimately, rugs would help warm of the space, help with sound reduction, and soften the feeling.

Thank you @tendrac I have not heard of cork for a flooring. DH wants a pool table downstairs eventually too. The vinyl plank was priced at 3.25 and the engineered wood is pricing at 5.25. Not sure on installation costs yet. But a couple dollars more might be worth it.

@K H we were going to do ( LVP) vinyl plank floors because we are at the coast and people are putting it in here now for all level of homes, but I really prefer wood. We can only do engineered because of the moisture risk.

My daughter who lives just off our island just put in LVP to her home on a slab. There is no clicking at all. The clicking was more often found with the old boards that didn't have the backing on the individual board, but was instead a separate underlayment.

Some companies may encourage you to still put down another underlayment, but I would caution and ask questions because of the clicking risk. Her floors are lovely to look at and could pass for wood on casual glance, but still basically feel like you are walking on concrete.

There are different qualties of course with different wear pad layers, but ultimately they are still fairly thin compared to many of the engineered woods.

@K H most everyone here (MN) does carpet in their basements. My sister just finished her basement and they did carpet in the living space & LVP in the bar/rec space. I guess the good thing about carpet is that if your sump ever does fail you can replace it fairly inexpensively. Bottom line, I think you get what you want and don't worry about the catastrophic event of a sump pump failing, because if you get that much water in your basement it would likely require redoing whatever flooring you have anyway.

I remember as an older teen coming back home late with some friends and going to hang out in the basement ... my last step landed in a squishy carpet with 3" of water! Had to wake up everyone in the house to take care of the problem! Clogged sump pump. Luckily the carpet was just laid on the cement and not tacked in, so we were able to raise it up off the floor to get it dried out.

Goodbye November 2021 ... hello December 2021 ... good luck to all the builds 🙂

Thank you everyone for commenting on basement flooring. This helps a ton!

@kat- I agree on LVP. I installed it in our guest house, and while I’m quite happy with the look, it is like walking on concrete. If budget and fear of water damage in a place that will be empty much of the time, I would have site finished engineered wood over 3/4 plywood for softness on my feet.

It looks like @doc5md started a December thread.

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/6205148/december-2021-build-thread#n=5