On Jun 16, 9:45�pm, Kyle wrote:
On Jun 16, 11:38�am, "BetaB4" wrote:





I am near the end of having a 2 BR apartment remodeled in a building that I
own.
[snip]
What I am now left with is 2 bedrooms and a living room with old red oak
hardwood floors in mediocre shape -- there are paint splatters and
oversprays on the floor, some pieces would have to be replaced or filled in
with hardwood (where closet walls were, etc), and there are some gaps
between some of the existing hardwood boards.

So, I am thinking my choices a

1) wall-to-wall carpeting throughout;
2) new laminate/Pergo-style flooring throughout;
3) replace the missing pieces and fix the existing hardwood floor, then sand
and refinish it;
4) add all new unfinished red oak (or similar) hardwood flooring throughout,
on top of the existing hardwood flooring, then sand and apply finish coats
of polyurethane, etc.;
5) add all new pre-finished red oak (or similar) hardwood flooring
throughout, on top of the existing �hardwood flooring, and then maybe add a
coat of polyurethane to seal the cracks between the pieces.

As someone who is a landlord and deals with tenants, let me share
thoughts on your options. My wife and I pulled up the carpet in the
house we rent out because it was 30 years old; we elected not to
replace it but leave the hardwood floors because we knew they would be
more durable than carpet. What we didn't realize at the time is that
prospective tenants see hardwood floors as a luxury addition to a
rental, and are willing to pay a bit more in rent as a result.

Carpet may be the most cost-effective option up front because you
don't have to worry about matching or replacing the oak flooring, but
you'll end up paying more over the long-term (10 years or more) as you
replace worn carpeting. And it could end up costing you depending on
your tenants: if they have lots of parties and alcohol is repeatedly
spilled, or maybe a tenant leaves their wet SCUBA gear (had a roommate
like that and the hall stank for a year after he moved out) or oily,
greasy parts from their car's engine on the carpet, or if you allow
people to have pets you have no guarantee the pet(s) won't pee on the
carpet.

STAY AWAY FROM LAMINATE! Laminate floors, including the Trafficmaster
Allure recommended by /benick/, are simply a paper or vinyl image of
wood over particle board or some such, and will NOT handle being
scuffed, scratched or dinged. They're fine for light traffic areas
like in your own home where you can care for them, but you have no
control over how your tenant(s) take care of the floors. The same can
be said for some engineered flooring, which is a thin-thin-thin layer
of the real wood over particle or fiber board and any damage cannot
simply be filled in or buffed out.

"Hardwood" flooring is your best option because it will withstand
abuse better and light wear or damages can be dealt with easier. I put
hardwood in quotes because, in my experience, dollar-for-dollar bamboo
is a better investment than oak flooring, simply because it is harder
(20-100% harder than red oak on the Janka scale -http://www.buildinggreentv.com/4861)
and therefore wear better.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Hardwood can be noisey, if the apartment your reding nhas tenants
below stick with carpet to minimize noise.

my wife wanted hardwood, so we pulled up the carpet its very noisey, i
want to go back to carpet