Kitchen floor hell
I am in the process of having all the old pine floors in my Bed-Stuy brownstone sanded and polyurethaned. I decided to also do the kitchen, while I was at it. It was old pine planks, covered with 1/4″ plywood, and then glued down vinyl tiles.
I ripped up all the plywood and tiles (no small job!) only to discover a lot of (old) termite damage, as well as other holes in the floor needing repair. The floor guy (Buono) is quoting me $500 to do the repairs, but is strongly urging me to think about replacing it with a tongue and groove oak floor. He wants to charge me $1200 for this. And I think he still wants to finish it as well? (I’m not sure about this last part – his foreman gave me the info.)
In any event, If I go ahead with the new floor, he plans to lay the floor down on top of the damgaed floor.
So – Questions:
Should I just repair the damaged floor replacing planks as needed? I have the feeling this will not look so great.
Should I have the new floor laid installed? If so – is it better to buy unfinished or finished wood? What is a good one to get, if I don’t like his oak tongue and groove material. And – price per square foot – ball park?
I’m thinking that this may be an invitation to go in a totally different direction altogether, and do ceramic tiles on the floor. If so – should I rip out the old pine floor and put down a plywood subfloor? or just put the subflloor on top of the damgaed planks? What is it likely to cost me to put in a tile floor – assuming decent materials, but not overly fancy/expensive?
Thanks!
