HELP! Questions about Hardwood Flooring for new Kitchen
5 months ago
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- 5 months ago
- 5 months agolast modified: 5 months ago
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Questions about my new engineered hardwoods
Comments (43)Your floors are beautiful! The installer should not have used quarter-round in front of the doors. You need to contact them about that rather than dealing with it yourself. We've used both felt and rubber on furniture. Definitely put something on all furniture as soon as possible. Felt seems to hold on to dust, etc. Several mentioned that in another recent thread and I agree. I'm not understanding the need for all the different mops. I have a "dust mop" - looks like a swiffer but larger head. Folds flat to go under furniture. I have terry cloth and microfiber covers that go over the head. WASHABLE. The mop came with a couple of terry cloth covers but I've found them sold alone and microfiber also. Got the mop at Home Depot or Lowes. I can dust mop or use the BONA cleaner with the same mop. I don't use a swiffer or swiffer mop because I don't understand buying and throwing away all those cloths/pads. I would also be careful of using swiffer cleaner (in the pads) on wood floors. I have a steam mop (which you could get for less $$$ than a steam cleaner). Although I do have a hand-held steam cleaner but it does not have a mop/floor attachment. Some do. I use a microfiber cloth on my steam mop. (Can you tell we believe in recycling???) You don't need to go to the expense of all those pads, etc. I use dust mop to dust and clean wood floors and the steam mop on tile. I also like the Bona cleaner in a spray bottle. Would not like it in a mop. Congrats on getting your beautiful floors - they really look great!...See Morehelp with new hardwood floor installation for matching some old floors
Comments (11)Those "gaps" are mild. They are normal. They are expected. They tell the story that they are original. They are meant to be there. The new floors will eventually do that too...which means they will match (eventually). It might take a decade...but it will happen. And don't forget that once everything is sanded down, you will be VERY surprised at how those "gaps" seem to go away (visually). Why, you ask? Because some of that is dirt. Once the floor has been sanded down (1-2mm of wood is taken off with the sanding), the dark material between the planks gets shaved off as well. And voila...they look cleaner (because they are). Relax about the absolutely normal spacing between planks. Unless you have museum quality climate control, this LITTLE bit of shrinkage is normal and to be expected with every floor (especially if it is 30 years old)....See MoreNew Hardwood floors, questions about installation pricing.
Comments (9)You need to ask for a separate quote for each line item. Here's some charges you may not have thought of: 1. Floor material by the sf (plus 10% extra) (I'd check the calculations, also). 2. Transition strips or other specialized molding (stairs?); sometimes has to be stained to match, depending on the product line. 3. Baseboard (you gonna keep what you have or choose something new while you have the chance?) 4. Glue (it's very expensive, and must be the exact type recommended by the manufacturer of the wood floors. Read your specs carefully and inspect the glue product when they bring it. 5. Demo of old flooring. Where I live, that was, as I recall, $2/sf for wood/tile demo and $1/sf for carpet demo. And disposal--better make sure about that. 6. Costs to move your furniture. Make a plan for that. 7. Lastly, floor prep. You won't get an estimate for this, because they can't see what's under your floors until you pull them up. It could be minimal, it could be....maximal.... and this "floor prep" line item was where I ran to Yelp and the BBB and the contractors' state licensing board, and anywhere else out on the internet to find out just how satisfied were all the prior customers. With whom are you entering into a contract ? I chose a local, family-owned independent retailer, in same location for 25 years, with about 100 stellar 4.5-5 star Yelp reviews. I read them all. I did my research because floor is a big-ticket item. I asked a lot of questions about which crew would be my installers, and I specified in the contract which ones would do my install. (The "A-Team" as I called them). I asked for things like: no quarter round (flooring cut more precisely so that the baseboard itself covered the gap; no transition strips in between the flooring and the 2 different types of tile that abuts the floors (this required some artistic ramping up of the wood floors (undetectable); picture frame details around the hearth. In the end, I recall install costing $5.50/sf plus glue ($2000), plus the cost of materials. Maybe it was more than that. It's been awhile. Lastly, you likely haven't thought through installing a floor on top of old floor. How will it meet up with abutting flooring? You will still have to removal all your baseboards and reinstall. That costs as I recall, maybe $1.50/linear foot (plus materials). Probably you will negate any warranty on the flooring. If you are installing near cabinets/kitchen, you won't be able to slide out your appliances....See MoreQuestion about refinishing painted hardwood floors
Comments (13)When I hear someone recount something that makes no sense, I generally figure that someone misspoke or didn't hear correctly. Whenever I see huge variations (3x) in price quotes, I generally figure someone made a mistake. Maybe the third quote will clear things up. Whether wood can be refinished depends on the type of floor and condition. Since you're selling, and already having work done in the house, I'd be inclined to have all the floors redone unless the finisher can match it 90%. If there's any doubt, do it all. This assumes you know what prospective buyers are going to want. I usually recommend the opposite when people are living in the house. Colors and preferences here are all over the place. Usually it seems foolish to upend residents and spend their money when there's a good likelihood the next person won't like their choice, but your situation sounds different since you're already having work done. The only warnings I have about sanding painted floors are that you may find some cosmetic damage and you may end up with paint residual in some cracks....See MoreRelated Professionals
Golden Glades Flooring Contractors · Land O' Lakes Flooring Contractors · Dover General Contractors · Sheboygan General Contractors · Wheeling General Contractors · Anchorage Architects & Building Designers · Wauconda Architects & Building Designers · Ballenger Creek Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · Zionsville Furniture & Accessories · Athens General Contractors · Linton Hall General Contractors · West Whittier-Los Nietos General Contractors · Hybla Valley Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · Toledo Kitchen & Bathroom Remodelers · Walnut Creek Kitchen & Bathroom Remodelers- 5 months ago
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