10-inch wide planks for 742 sq ft 1-bedroom condo?
This Versacore's LVP seems to be better quality than Coretec Plus, but my floor installer says it only comes in 10-inch wide planks. I've read differing opinions about how natural such wide planks (and really long lengths--82.5"!) appear in smaller spaces. My rental's living and dining areas
are relatively open, in an L-shape configuration; but I'm concerned about the wide-plank look in the bedroom. I don't trust my sense of style--what is the Houzz hive's opinion--which will be graciously and gratefully accepted.
Thanks in advance, Dana
Same bedroom, just Door to window wall orientation:
BEDROOM:
LIVING ROOM & HALL, leading to BR
LR, across from windows
LR with Dining area in foreground. Kitchen floor is actually light gray tile
Thanks again!
Comments (11)
PRO5 months agolast modified: 5 months agoDana Powell thanked Patricia Colwell ConsultingRelated Discussions
Wood flooring in 500 sq ft room on concrete subfloor? Help!
Comments (17)Engineered is real wood and if you look around, you can find unfinished engineered, so you can have it finished in place and not have the bevels if that is important to you. I didn't look at the videos provided so this might have been covered but here in Texas almost all houses are built with slabs at grade level and most of the new ones have wood on the ground floor.. There are several acceptable ways to do it: Plywood subfloor nailed to concrete and solid wood nailed to that (solid wood probably not as good in your case, these slabs all have vapor barriers under the slab, which you won't) or engineered glued to the plywood subfloor Engineered wood glued to slab (do a calcium chloride or other approved moisture test first) Vapor barrier and engineered wood floated over that. Many of the engineered woods allow floating installation, you have to glue the tongue and groove together. Different products are labeled for different types of installation, you have to be sure to check what they are labeled for. Find a reputable, knowledgeable NWFA installer, get them to do the moisture tests (the glue down a piece of plastic is not considered reliable) and then have them spell out your options. Now guess how I know all this? :-)...See More9ft or 10ft ceilings
Comments (29)Check with your builder to see what the difference is between 8', 9', and 10'. To stay proportional the windows and doors may need to be custom sized to fit. We had a 9' ceiling for 25 years. We just moved to an 8' ceiling house. I'm 6' and don't have a problem with the difference. With 9 or higher you will need a ladder to reach higher. With 8-ft I use a step stool. Heat does rise. In the winter this means you will want a fan to stir the warm air down with the cooler air. I used a table fan placed on the ground and aimed toward the ceiling. It makes a big difference. In the summer the same thing happens. I run the fan 24/7/365. Smoke rises, too. We had a house fire several years ago in the 9-ft house. It started in the kitchen where there were no smoke detectors. Smoke had to fill the kitchen ceiling down to the door frames before it poured into the dining room. Then it had to fill the dining room down to the door frames. Once it filled the dining room it had to fill the living room down to the door frames. Once it filled the living room it set off the smoke detector in the hallway. The fire burned for at least 30 minutes, and I was awake the entire time in a lower part of the house. So if you are wiring for wired smoke detectors, keep that in mind....See MoreHelp with flooring choices for DIY bedroom carpet replacement
Comments (7)Let's deal with the Elephant in the room: floating floors have a hollow feel = BAD subfloor preparation. I'm going to tell you a little secret about carpets. They HIDE the WORST SUBFLOORS in the building industry. I mean people have found cigarette butts, gum wrappers, saranwrap, drywall cuts, etc under their carpets. And that's just the stuff you can sweep up. Now for the 'never flat, never level' subfloor. These builders use lowest of the low/crappiest of the crappy materials under carpet and sheet vinyl (I doubt you have linoleum...I'm guessing sheet vinyl...but never mind). They use PARTICLE board or OSB - the nasty stuff. Now imagine trying to tile over top of that crap. New subfloor anyone? And the other issue, if you have wood joist/wood subfloors...the DEFLECTION RATING! The deflection rating is only good enough for CARPET...or a floating floor. It might not be enough for regular hardwood (it all depends on where the joists are and the thickness of the subfloor). Whomsoever you spoke to at LOWES is telling you the truth (wow...a dude at Lowe's knows what he's talking about??? never happens!). Imagine you have a deflection rating that is 1/2 of what you need...and you have crappy OSB as the subfloor. Cement backer board does NOT add to the stiffness rating of the subfloor. You need REAL plywood (subfloor grade thick enough to get you to the Deflection Rating of the tile = could be VERY thick...depending on your joist distance). That stuff is not cheap. You are looking at $1.00 - $1.75/sf. Plus all the SCREWS (no nails...you need to SCREW the new subfloor to the old one...that's fun in with a capital SUCKS!). The screw pattern is tattooed onto the wood. Which is every 6 inches on the edges and every 4 inches in the field! That's A LOT of GALVENIZED SCREWS. Your screws will cost $50. Now we move onto the ditra/schluter system. And the spacer system (as you already know) and the thinset and the grout and the tiles. So far you could be into the tile job for $3/sf...now you have the other $3-$5/sf for the tile/thinset/mortar. Sigh. Now lets look at laminate. How does $2/sf for a decent midrange plank sound? Not bad right. Good. Now imagine the cost of 6mm cork UNDERLAY. That's another $0.80/sf. Excellent. Now imagine LOOSE LAYING the cork sheets (do NOT purchase the role...you loose 10% to the inside curl) DIRECTLY to the subfloor. No glue. No nails. Nothing. It just sits there. Now that you have the spacers at the walls (your expansion gap spacers = 1/2") and your cork sheets are laid up to the spacers (give the cork the same amount of expansion as the laminate). Now click together your laminate floor. Excellent. You have eliminated the BOUNCE of laminate (due to the subfloors being uneven) and the HOLLOW sound of laminate ('cause cork eliminates that as well). With cork underlay you can make a sh!tty $0.79/sf laminate feel like solid hardwood. And vinyl does NOT like underpad. You have to get that subfloor STUPID FLAT (sanding/patching/floating self leveler if you have the right PLYWOOD on top). Hmm...laminate with cork underlay sounds might nice right now....See MoreCondo layout dilemma with balcony in bedroom instead of living room
Comments (35)think & kudz: I was attempting to give the owners the maximum view and balcony access by making the middle bedroom the master, leaving the larger master (which is quite far from the bath) to contain guest, office and media room furnishings with no balcony and possibly a less exciting view. Not sure which view sees the ESB, but assume it is the balcony area since the OP is focused on that. With the bed placed on the "west" wall of the room, the view may be enjoyed from there and chairs can be added near the opening and/or on the balcony in good weather. Perhaps the smaller closet in the room could be converted to a coffee/wine bar, turning the space into a self-contained a.m.or p.m. retreat. A door on the "north" end of the "east wall" could give easy access to the office. The main issue for me is the distance anyone has to go to reach a bathroom. If the foyer closet and LC could be moved forward that bath would at least feel more spacious and the shower enclosure could be larger. I also wonder if that front foyer WIC would be better if incorporated into a larger, more luxe master bath....See MoreRelated Professionals
Brighton General Contractors · Lincoln General Contractors · Rancho Cordova General Contractors · Stillwater General Contractors · Monrovia Flooring Contractors · The Crossings General Contractors · Alabaster General Contractors · Annandale General Contractors · Eau Claire General Contractors · Parkland Home Remodeling · River Edge Architects & Building Designers · Crofton Furniture & Accessories · Bryn Mawr-Skyway General Contractors · Highland City General Contractors · South Windsor General Contractors- 5 months agolast modified: 5 months ago
@Patricia Colwell Consulting, the original flooring red and white oak parquet tile that became water-damaged when the apt's convector failed. The installer sells both brands as well as Aqua Amour.
Versacore has 30 mill vs Coretec's Pro Plus 20 mill wear layer--although this is for an apartment with a 2-person occupancy and no-pet policy, so not particularly relevant. Some think that the higher the wear layer, the less sharp-looking the wood print--what do you think? With the samples I've viewed, Versacore's wood print looks more realistic to me than that of Coretec. Maybe that's b/c the former is EIR vs Coretec's Springfield Oak's brushed texture?
Versacore is 10 mm thick vs Coretec's 5 mm. I've read that Versacore's IPXE is more water-resistant and sound-deadening than Coretec's cork underlayment, although the latter is more comfortable.
In this photo, 3 Versacore's 10-inch sample boards and Coretec's 7 on the bottom right. The Versacore's bevels are more pronounced. I think I like that....This is a rental and I need to return to check how deep the bevel. My long-term tenant doesn't clean often, so maybe this isn't a good choice.
What color goes well with the light gray kitchen tile, that will remain? What do you, @JAN MOYER and others think of the 10-inch look? I did find out that 36-inches--and therefore 3 long 10-inch versacore tiles--would be visible in the hallway with the closets along one wall and the kitchen and bedroom entrances on the other. I think that would look okay, but I'm stylistically challenged.....
PRO5 months agolast modified: 5 months agoFrom above again....( I'm not known for changing my mind)
"I think 10" looks unnatural anywhere, but that is opinion of one. I find 7" looks good just about everywhere". Buy a box and test on your site.
Is there a better way? No.
Buy a box each. test, select and move on......
It . is. a. RENTAL.
There is risk with any rental. Take bigger security deposits and vet the tenant.
Most "forever" are below
Dana Powell thanked JAN MOYER- 5 months ago
@HU-350590897 I would love to replace just the damaged wood tile with the same 4-slat parquet tile, but since it isn't manufactured anymore, the floor installer would have to make them at an installation and refinishing cost of $14,700 The 7-inch Coretec Pro Plus' install is $10k and the 10-inch Versacore is $2200 more than the Coretec. Although I prefer the color and bevel of the Versacore to that of the Coretec, a $2500 savings between real wood and it doesn't seem worth it, even for a rental. Better to replace parquet than go with Versacore.
Do you or anyone else think that parquet is a dated look? The parquet is over 60 years old and can take a couple more refinishing.
I could install factory-finished engineered wood throughout the apartment at roughly the same cost as replacing the damaged parquet. But I keep thinking about the upkeep of either wood option--there are already scratches (though faint) in the parquet that was just refinished last year. Not sure if they are new scratches or were scratches that same floor contractor didn't sand out last year.
OH, AND THE DUST/CLEANUP, after installing either wood option--at a cost of $300-400 more. - 5 months ago
last month- last month
JAN MOYER