In conjunction with my Pool thread, I'm going to put new hardwood floors in the house I'm buying. I'd like some advice. I've put hardwood in once and laminate in twice. The hardwood was old, unstained replacement boards, which I then sanded down with the rest of the floor and re stained, then sealed with polyurethane. The laminate was a floating floor, which took no time at all. So I've seen both ends of the spectrum as far as difficulty. I'm leaning towards engineered hardwood- which has a hardwood top layer, then a layer of plywood. It's cheaper and supposedly more durable. I'd also like to float it since my previous experience with floating was so simple. Also, it will be on a concrete floor, which means either a layer of plywood if I was nailing or glue, which I don't even want to get into. I'm really interested in a more exotic wood for the striking & different appearance. I like brazillian koa, also called Tigerwood because it resembles Tiger's Eye gems. So does anyone have any experience with Tigerwood or any other exotic flooring? How about engineered flooring? I can get this stuff for $3.45/sqft, which is pretty affordable.
I've been considering hardwoods. I'd like to know what you decide and where you're getting the hardwoods at that price.
As someone who was in the flooring business for a while, I like your choice in wood. Tigerwood is one of my favorites. If you can install this yourself, you will save a boatload of money (anywhere from 2-3$/ft based on where you buy from). Tigerwood is sold by many manufacturers, but finding it at $3.50/ft might be a bit difficult. I have not been working in the industry for a couple of years now, so I can't confirm the prices without making a few calls. IIRC, a good Tigerwood would cost around $4.50/ft at least. Again, I have not kept up with the prices for 2 years now, so I could be wrong. $3.45 does sound like a great deal though. I would just double check that it is not second quality or anything like that.
Thanks for the response, Samar. To reiterate: This is engineered, not solid. Hence the discount. I found 6 1/4 inch planks on ifloor.com. The manufacturer is BR-111. I also found a gallery of this stuff in action: link. I like the larger planks because it's a different layout than most people have and I can also float them. If you could tell me what you think of the engineered wood vs solid, and the manufacturer, I would greatly appreciate it.
Don't listen to this guy. The reason he's not working in the industry anymore is because he was sued for malpractice. Multiple times.
So...he was a wood...doctor? If he's out of the business, he has nothing to lose or gain by telling me what he thinks.
My only experience with exotic hardwood was when I bought a few test samples of Ipe a couple of years ago. The pieces I had were amazing. I tried to drill it and it was like drilling into a concrete block. It probably isn't quite as pretty as your choice, but it does have a nice, dark mahogany type hue and as I stated it is pretty much indestructible. I plan to use it to re-do my porch if I ever get around to it.
To me, nothing beats a nice broken-in hardwood floor with a thick sealant on it. It reminds me of old buildings you would see in Galveston or somewhere on the east-coast. But there's nothing wrong with these new synthetic woods your looking at. They can really turn a room around. Alot of people these days are starting to opt for hardwood floors over carpet. I think the coolest thing about it is you can piece them together really easily, almost like legos lol.
Owning a Victorian-era house in Galveston is where I fell in love with hardwood flooring. I refinished the entire house by myself...which is why I don't ever want to do that again. To this day, using that sander was the hardest labor I've ever done, and I remodeled that house top to bottom. Conversely, the floating floors I've put in were the easiest, quickest and most rewarding remodeling-type work I've ever done.
$3.45/sq ft is a damn good price. Are you buying a full pallet of it? Cheapest I have seen is around $4.50/sq ft. Looks like you are buying it for around cost. Are you buying it at retail or with some special discount? If you are buying retail, then you can price match with some leading floor sellers who price match 110%.
I have hardwood floors in my home and the only downside to them is the costs to get them repaired. It's going to cost $1200-1500 just to repair my floors.
Hardwood floors are so much better than carpet.. Better air circulation, easier to clean up, less dust, moles and looks very exquisite...
What happened to make you have to repair it? Is hardwood easier to take care than carpet or harder? I know carpet is very dirty but we don't pamper ours.
We bought a foreclosure property and it is pretty obvious the people did not care when moving their belongings out but then again why should they? Hardwood floors are scratched to hell, there are dings in the walls that will need to be fixed, etc. We'll get it fixed eventually but right now it's nothing we cannot live with. Hardwood or even laminate is a lot easier to care for than carpet. Sweep and wipe and you are done. If you spill something there is no rush to get it up before the stain sets in. Especially better if you have pets. I could probably go on and on. The only downside is the cost.
I have a house that is carpet and tile. The carpet is crappy and I would like to replace it soon. If I replaced the carpet w/ wood and then there would be areas where wood would be meeting tile. Would that look stupid?
