Another Hardwood Floor Refinishing Question
What does everyone (or anyone – lol) do when they want to have all of the floors in every room refinished and there’s no place to store the furniture? I also need to find a place to stay. I do not have family in the area and the thought of crashing on someone’s couch for…
What does everyone (or anyone – lol) do when they want to have all of the floors in every room refinished and there’s no place to store the furniture? I also need to find a place to stay. I do not have family in the area and the thought of crashing on someone’s couch for a week does not thrill me. My friends happen to have very small apartments and live with their husbands or boyfriends. Is it feasible to look for an apartment to rent for a week. Any and all suggestions re how others have handled these issues would be much appreciated. Thanks. P.S. In a few days I’m adopting a very young kitten to boot!
Thank you all so much for the helpful advice, info and support. I truly appreciated all of the posts that followed the first response. Next week I will call the moving company suggested, speak to the flooring contractor, look on-line for a sublet and send a e-mail re the B&B when I have a better idea of exactly when the floors will be refinished and how many nights I will need to stay away from home. I received an extremely low quote and will post the name and number after the floors have been done and I am in a position to personally recommend this person. For 4 rooms (approximately 925+ sq. ft.) I was quoted $1300 for natural and $1600 for stained and he said he would move the furniture and do it in two sections as 9:38 suggested. After getting prices for moving furniture, storage and a place to stay I will decide which way to go. The floors have been covered by carpet for many years and are badly stained by paint. My friend recommended this guy and her floors were in just as bad shape and they came out beautiful. She had her floors done with oil based but because of my health condition I’m going to go with water based and hope for the best. Thanks again and hopefully I will be posting again soon with this person’s contact information and a recommendation.
Good blog and post! you seem to know alot of hardwood floors, im also in the business up in Toronto, look forward to see some of your other hardwood floor posts!
dugg article for you
Hardwood Solid Prefinished Flooring Toronto Canada
You know it will be expensive to move everything out of your house. Try asking the mover if they have two men who can help you move stuff inside your house. Pick one or two rooms and use them as your storage rooms. Yes it means additional time to finish the job but it will probably be a wash by the time you figure the time involved in moving, the risks of damage and loss,the costs, etc. You may save enough to book a room in a hotel while you wait. Also, I know that different people have different sensitivities, but when I had my floors done, the smell was minor — I slept in the house the same night (in another room, of course.) BTW, ditto on the ignorant ass. There are still some normals reading this blog but it’s getting harder all the time.
About all the hostility in posts. I think it says a great deal about the nature of the public and the emotional makeup of this city. It has been said that 1 in 4 people have emotional problems. People who post rants are enjoying venting hostility. If a comment is not constructive I simply skip over it and try not to waste my time.
There’s hostility all over NYC. Hostile people are usually the most agressive and the most successful (ie. folks who can pay lots of rent or buy million dollar townhouses).
That said, I’m trying to get a place in Southern California where I’ll hopefully live most of the year.
I’ve enjoyed Brownstoner since the early days and miss the days before all the real estate agents descended on it. I’m fairly certain most rude comments are from disgruntled real estate agents.
My friends have a Bed and Breakfast (but I think it is now just the bed part) which they rent out for short term. I love these people and I lived in the place while I was having my brownstone renovated. It is in Brooklyn Heights. I am not sure how they feel about the kitten but you could check. Please eamail me at faustaguzmanatyahoo dotcom.
There is such hostility on this board, sometimes you see the worst of human nature. Keep the faith. Regarding the furniture, you could get move the furniture from room to room, ask the floor guys what they suggest when they suggest, but that extends the amount of time you spend out of the place. It also depends on what kind of poly you use. Oil will stink for a week. Water based (some say not as sturdy but there is always a lively debate on the Forum) will smell for a couple of days. You should not try to stay in the apartment no matter what you use until the fumes clear out.
Getting floors done is like moving. Once I slept on my friends couch for a week when it was done in my place. Nobody can afford to get brain damaged doing floors.
Call Mark at ‘Movers Not Shakers’ — 718-243-0221 — they moved me and they’re very reasonably priced and they’re reasonable people so they could help you work through the logistics of a one-week move-out then move-back-in without breaking the bank or losing too much sleep. There was an article in the Times yesterday, Escapes section, about B&Bs in NYC including one on the UES that has a room with shared bath for only $75/night. Or try craigslist — I’ve seen very short sublets before as I was considering renting a room for a week once while dealing with plumbing repairs in my home.
Hey OP, I don’t have a suggestion for you but I agree about the obnoxious response from 11:24. I hardly ever visit Brownstoner anymore. It seems like the only people that respond to posts are the hostile mean spirited ones. I am thinking of starting my own web site/blog for brownstone owners. This site seems to cater to people looking for homes, not actual home owners with questions like yours; that could be cool if this Forum had appropriate discussions; it doesn’t so its time to move on. Good luck with your dilemma (when we bought our brownstone we had the floors done before moving in, I know this isn’t helpful now….)
11:24 – Thank you for your ignorant, arrogant response. Now if you could give me the name of a reasonable moving company and a storage place that rents space for one week in addition to the cost that might be helpful. I’m sorry but I did not know that you can rent space for only a week and happen to be concerned about costs at the moment. Thank goodness you’re not my neighbor or friend – if you even have any friends! lol
I’m dealing with health and financial issues right now and just thought I would receive a few helpful responses.
Most of the time I find this site to be very informative, friendly and helpful until frustrated, bored people with nothing better to do make posts like the one above.