Need recommendation for floor refinishing plus linoleum installation
Can we please have Jose Zambrano’s contact info – how do we find him?
redasch
in About Brooklyn 10 years and 5 months ago
11
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11 replies
catbk | 11 years and 6 months ago
Hi. We’re finally thinking about re-finishing floors, after a many-years hippie-style one-project-at-a-time renovation. (I don’t recommend it!). In addition, we’d like to install linoleum (actual linoleum, not vinyl inlay) in our kitchen. I wonder if any of you has a recommendation for a firm/person who could do both? Also, regarding cost, an article in Houzz recently http://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/23787753/list/What-to-Know-Before-Refinishing-Your-Floors claims “Plan on spending anywhere between $2.50 and $5.25 per square foot for sanding, staining and three coats of finish”. Considering my Brooklyn grocery bill is usually double what my sister pays elsewhere in the country, I tend to think this estimate is low. Anyone have current ballpark estimations? Wood refinishing woul include: fourth floor Brownstone landing, third floor landing, second floor landing and front parlor, ground floor hall and dining-room/pantry area. The second floor back parlor might be a candidate for screening but not total refinishing. The linoleum would be installed in our kitchen on the ground floor. Thanks, all ideas, suggestions and recommendations welcome.
xchx | 11 years and 6 months ago
I think I paid $2/$3 a square foot in Brooklyn last year.
daveinbedstuy | 11 years and 6 months ago
I second Jose.
catbk | 11 years and 6 months ago
Thanks for the price info. It’s hard to tell.
Arkady | 11 years and 6 months ago
Lino is expensive & not readily available.
catbk | 11 years and 6 months ago
Arkady, we’ve sourced the linoleum and have samples, although we haven’t looked for a retail vendor. Most flooring of that type seems to be a dealer who installs, so we might be up the creek. That’s why I am looking for a contractor/worker who has done it before.
cate | 11 years and 6 months ago
I paid $1.50 per square foot in 2009 for expert floor refinishing and staining but the job was the whole house — 2700 square feet (minus kitchens and baths, plus stairs) — and a big job means lower per square foot costs. We installed Marmoleum in two kitchens and vinyl in two baths. People who refinish floors are not the same people who install Marmoleum — or, usually, even vinyl. Pretty much anyone can install vinyl but you need experienced people for Marmoleum. The subfloor (they will lay down plywood) needs to be quite smooth (seams and nails) because anything will show. Plus it shrinks, drapes and handles differently than vinyl. I would go with someone certified by Marmoleum. When we did it, there were only two in Brooklyn (and one in Manhattan) and they are all dealers. I interviewed all three. The two in Brooklyn were cheaper, so I went with the one of those I liked the most (can’t recommend since I work for Brownstoner). Just call Marmoleum for the names. Marmoleum — materials and installation — is quite expensive. Refinishing the subfloor in the kitchen would have been much cheaper and probably look more stylish. However, it would be impossible to keep clean, not to mention scratches from chairs. I recommend you go with a medium-dark color (shows the least dirt), and use the white liquid stuff they give you to finish it with. Also they automatically use quarter round molding on top, which I think looks terrible. We used a very simple flat molding about an inch and a quarter high (?) and it looks much better. As part of a bigger job, the kitchen cost about $1400 for materials and labor. Our kitchen is very large — about 11×15 feet or so. I vaguely recall the upstairs galley kitchen was $800\. Or was it $1100? That floor was a different color and the layout determines how many rolls you order, which affects the cost. I could complain that our installation is not perfect (a bubble that shows in the summer when it’s humid, a nail or two that show ever so slightly, etc.) but it’s near perfect, and the flaws are probably due to our incredibly uneven floor (it dips about three inches on one side!). The installation in the galley kitchen, which is flat, is perfect. I really like the Marmoleum and would use it again. I would also use the same installer. Good luck!
nalusurf | 11 years and 6 months ago
Hands down Jose Zambrano for your wood floors! In fact, he is coming back this Monday for the second round of work which will include our parlor floor parquet floors.
catbk | 11 years and 6 months ago
Wow, thanks Cate. We know about covering the sub-floor. Ours is super-soft wide pine, but it’s scabbed (is that the right term?) in a couple of places with biggish pieces of plywood in one area, and a patch of pine sub-flooring running in the opposite direction in another. We think there may have been a small fire or some other damage at one time very long ago. We have vinyl on there now and it’s possible the plywood beneath it now will still be ok. Might be masonite, though. I forget. In either case, we’re prepared for new plywood sub-flooring if we need it. There’s no way the original sub floor would be suitable though. Also, thanks for the color tips. While we like a light color we know from long experience that a dark one will work best.
slopegirl | 11 years and 6 months ago
We used bay ridge carpet for linoleum for our rental kitchen. That kitchen is tiny so we were able to use a linoleum (marmoleum?) scrap and got a good price. You want to talk to Richie who runs it. They also did a lovely job with some wool carpet at my mom’s. Good solid business. Found on this forum a few years back.
cate | 11 years and 6 months ago
The thin plywood goes on top of whatever is there. We have the soft pine subfloor too, and ours also has a pretty huge hole in it with sturdy thicker plywood patching. (In addition, there was also vinyl with its own subfloor from years ago — but ew, filthy). Whoever you hire will remove whatever needs to be removed, put thin plywood on top of all this, and supply and install the baseboard molding to go on top — you specify what style you want. This is all included in the total cost. Someone even offered us a vapor membrane, which at the time I thought was silly, but now I wonder, given the humidity of our basement. Perhaps would alleviate that bubble, which I’m sure no one except me has ever noticed.