Forum: Floors
May 28, 2009
Hardwood flooring
I want to put in a flooring over the planks in my parlour level.
Does any one do parquet these day ? ideas on cost and/or installers?
May 24, 2009
New Floors for Rental Apt.
I’ve been living in the same rental apartment for 10 years now, and when I moved in, everything was brand new. The living room and bedroom are carpeted, but as you can imagine, after 10 years the carpet needs to go. Besides the look of it, I have severe allergies and asthma (and a shedding cat). I want to convince my landlord that it's time to change out the flooring, particularly to a solid surface floor. Because he is so nice and my rent is so low, I'd like to approach him with some super low-cost options and maybe even some options I could install myself. I’ve been looking online at vinyl planks that have the look of hardwood. Vinyl was my first choice simply because the subfloor in my apartment is EXTREMELY uneven. In the bedroom when walking towards the bed, it actually feels like you are going uphill! The living room isn’t as bad as that, but it’s definitely not level. It was my understanding that vinyl peel and stick planks can be placed on an unlevel floor without using a leveling compound (and maybe just using a self leveling underlayment.) Am I wrong? I’ve read up on a product called Novalis and it seems to get great reviews on gardenweb (picture of Novalis planks seen here - http://tinyurl.com/oodqcy). It’s cheap and would suit my purposes. My living room is about 8’10”x11’2” and the bedroom is about 9’6”x18’. So, figuring that I’d need about 280 square feet of flooring (to be safe), it will cost just over $300. Do you think that flooring would work on an uneven floor? Or will it just peel up on me? I’m super handy so I think I could install it myself. If necessary, how hard is it to level out a floor? Could I do that myself? (the subfloor appears to be plywood planks.) Is there any other super cheap product I could suggest to the landlord besides more carpet?
May 21, 2009
Oil versus Water Based Finish
Hi, I have seen earlier posts on this but am wondering if anyone has had recent experience with a water based floor finish for hardwood. We are just finishing a renovation on a garden and parlor floor and have oak on one floor and pine on the parlor - but that need sanding and finishing. I don't have much free time anymore to do the work or much research and just got quotes from the two wood guys across from Lowes. Both recommended traditional oil poly. We have a two month old and are a bit concerned, even though we can stay out of the apartment for at least a few days or even a week from when the finishing will be done (though we will be two floors up in our rental unit). So I think we can avoid the cure fumes but now there is a lot of literature on the more long lasting "off gassing" and it's enough to give me ...gas. The wood guys say that even the best water based finishes need to be redone in about two years which of course is not what the products' manufacturers claim. Another supposed benefit of the water finish is that it doesn't amber over time but I actually like that look and don't see that as a plus. So - any thouhgts on whether long term off gassing is really a threat and/or recent experience with a water finish?
Thank you!
May 20, 2009
floor rec
has anyone used ken from pro painting and scraping to re-finish floors?
recommend?
May 16, 2009
Verrazano Flooring
Just wanted to give my 2 cents on Verrazano. They just refinished my wood floors and did an OUTSTANDING job at a very reasonable price. Their quote came in lower than a few others and they completed the job exactly on time.
The guys who came were very conscientious about keeping my superintendent happy - they took amazing precautions with the dust and odors. Also, they called me midway through to come look at some stained areas they were concerned wouldn't be up to par when finished.
Finally, the owner of the company stopped by to offer his advice about the stains and made another unrelated suggestion to me that, while somewhat costly right then and there, ended up saving me HUGE amounts of grief and money in the long run.
VERY happy with this company. Extremely professional and excellent quality work. My floors are GORGEOUS!!! YAY!
Contact info: (718) 369-9663
http://www.verrazanoflooring.com/verrazano/asp/default.asp
Linoleum Repost
Hi All-
So we're still struggling with renovating our common brownstone hallway. Marmoleum is out of our price range. We'd like a material that will last, but can't seem to find anywhere in NYC to buy commercial grade linoleum in a roll (only tiles). Has anyone done a similar renovation? Any suggestions? Many thanks!
May 13, 2009
anyone used Sandfree?
Has anyone used the services of Sandfree to refinish wood flooring?
Any info would be much appreciated!
May 6, 2009
need one salvaged floor board
Hi,
I'm looking to install an extra-wide shelf in the pass through window in our kitchen. I've had a hard time finding anything wider than 11.5", and I wonder whether anyone has a piece of salvaged floorboard that I could get my hands on. Looking for something 14.5" wide (or more), and at least 42" long.
May 4, 2009
pine wide plank subfloor needed
I've been ripping up decades of linoleum to expose the subfloor in our south slope wood frame. Now I need a few pieces of pine wide-plank flooring (9.5" wide) to patch some janky areas. Any body know where to get it?