I need to have hardwood flooring installed in my house because of my severe
allergies to dust.. I already have 4 seperate Hepa Airfilters in the house
and thats not even enough. I need to get arid of the carpets..

I was thinking about doing this myself. Even if it takes me 2 months to do..
i will take my time and do it slowly. I would just like to ask if it is a
difficult task to do? I really havent read much on it yet.. If anyone knows
any good online links or has experience about this, that would be
appreciated... Even if you can recommend any alternatives to hardwood
flooring, that would be great too... as im not 100% convinced yet that is
the route i want to go.

thx and happy holidays to all here,

Mike

On Thu, 22 Dec 2005 17:04:34 -0500, "mike"
wrote:

I need to have hardwood flooring installed in my house because of my severe
allergies to dust.. I already have 4 seperate Hepa Airfilters in the house
and thats not even enough. I need to get arid of the carpets..

I was thinking about doing this myself. Even if it takes me 2 months to do..
i will take my time and do it slowly. I would just like to ask if it is a
difficult task to do? I really havent read much on it yet.. If anyone knows
any good online links or has experience about this, that would be
appreciated... Even if you can recommend any alternatives to hardwood
flooring, that would be great too... as im not 100% convinced yet that is
the route i want to go.

thx and happy holidays to all here,

Mike


Check with your doctor.....

Oh, Merry Christmas!

Oren
"My doctor says I have a malformed public-duty gland
and a natural deficiency in moral fiber, and that I am therefore
excused from saving Universes."

If i needed medical advice, i would of posted elsewhere. I already know
everything about my allergies..and carpets are the worst.

i forgot to mention.. Im looking to install the cheaper kind of hardwood
floors.. the ones that are bigger in size. I think its called imitation
hardwood flooring. the type that alot of hospitals have.

"mike" wrote in message
...
I need to have hardwood flooring installed in my house because of my
severe
allergies to dust.. I already have 4 seperate Hepa Airfilters in the
house
and thats not even enough. I need to get arid of the carpets..

I was thinking about doing this myself. Even if it takes me 2 months
to do..
i will take my time and do it slowly. I would just like to ask if
it is a
difficult task to do? I really havent read much on it yet.. If
anyone knows
any good online links or has experience about this, that would be
appreciated... Even if you can recommend any alternatives to
hardwood
flooring, that would be great too... as im not 100% convinced yet
that is
the route i want to go.

thx and happy holidays to all here,

Mike


Probably could do it, but are you also allergic to sawdust? You're
going to make plenty of it cutting and sanding...

"Rick" wrote in message
nk.net...

"mike" wrote in message
...
I need to have hardwood flooring installed in my house because of
my
severe
allergies to dust.. I already have 4 seperate Hepa Airfilters in
the
house
and thats not even enough. I need to get arid of the carpets..

I was thinking about doing this myself. Even if it takes me 2
months
to do..
i will take my time and do it slowly. I would just like to ask if
it is a
difficult task to do? I really havent read much on it yet.. If
anyone knows
any good online links or has experience about this, that would be
appreciated... Even if you can recommend any alternatives to
hardwood
flooring, that would be great too... as im not 100% convinced yet
that is
the route i want to go.

thx and happy holidays to all here,

Mike


Probably could do it, but are you also allergic to sawdust? You're
going to make plenty of it cutting and sanding...


Ooop-didn't see you last post until I had sent mine...

On Thu, 22 Dec 2005 17:12:35 -0500, "mike"
wrote:

If i needed medical advice, i would of posted elsewhere. I already know
everything about my allergies..and carpets are the worst.

You didn't get medical advice... doctors can recommend better advice
given the allergies you have - but you already know everything about
them.

Oren
"My doctor says I have a malformed public-duty gland
and a natural deficiency in moral fiber, and that I am therefore
excused from saving Universes."

Mike,

No, it is not a difficult task in that it isn't complicated. But it is
a lot of work and will be hard on your back and knees. You'll want to
rent a power nailer and miter saw. You can cut the wood outside if you
have to and use a dust mask.

If you still have carpeting on your floors pulling it up and cutting it
into sections you can haul out to the curb will create dust. So unless
you just don't have the money or you enjoy doing this sort of thing,
hiring a professional makes sense.

I met a couple at a party recently who refinished their own floors.
The new random orbit floor sanders are nearly dust free. And this
couple even used a natural finish instead of the standard polyurethane
(in case the poly would bother your allergies). You can also get
pre-finished flooring that you just nail in place and you're done.

Mike

Here's a link to installing a wood floor:
http://hammerzone.com/archives/floor...1/subfloor.htm

Mike

"mike" wrote in message
...
I need to have hardwood flooring installed in my house because of my
severe
allergies to dust.. I already have 4 seperate Hepa Airfilters in the house
and thats not even enough. I need to get arid of the carpets..

I was thinking about doing this myself. Even if it takes me 2 months to
do..
i will take my time and do it slowly. I would just like to ask if it is a
difficult task to do? I really havent read much on it yet.. If anyone
knows
any good online links or has experience about this, that would be
appreciated... Even if you can recommend any alternatives to hardwood
flooring, that would be great too... as im not 100% convinced yet that is
the route i want to go.

thx and happy holidays to all here,

Mike

I did wood floor with an el-cheapo table saw. A good one would have helped
a lot. I put down about 1200 sqft, everything but 3 of the 4 bedrooms.
Wear a GOOD full face mask when you remove the carpet. Also pay up for the
semi hepa filter on the shop vac your going to be using.

I had put tile down in the bathrooms so there were transition issues with
the wood. I ended up making my own transitions. That took a couple of
weekends per door. Mostly cause I was in a hurry and rushed the product.
lesson learned.

I got conned into the wood by the SO. She decided to leave and I was left
with finishing the wood. I had dogs so I would do an area, then poly it just
to be sure that it was sealed. Never could keep the floors nice and clean.
I live in Arizona, Phoenix which is the pits for dirt in the air. The
kitchen sink leaked and I ended up replacing all of the wood in the kitchen
cause of the leak. Thank god I did not glue that part. Came out ~fairly
well. Near the dog door there were nail marks from the dogs. Through the
poly even. I ended up with a rug there so the dogs did not do any more
damage. Just what I needed was another rug.

I bought a home last spring and before I move in I removed all of the
carpet. I found some ceramic tile that was less than a buck a sqft (12"
square). As soon as I get done with the kitchen issues I am going to start
laying the tile. I bought a Harbor freight table tile saw for about $90.00.

Tile is so much easier to keep looking clean, my opinion. I will never have
a home that is not tile from now on.

If have the tools and the patience. Wood can be done. I just hated the fact
that every paw, or foot print showed. Your home your choice. I suggest
you get a storage unit and move half of your possessions out. It helps a lot
with the production.

----- Original Message -----
From: "mike"
Newsgroups: alt.home.repair
Sent: Thursday, December 22, 2005 5:19 PM
Subject: installing hardwood flooring..


i forgot to mention.. Im looking to install the cheaper kind of hardwood
floors.. the ones that are bigger in size. I think its called imitation
hardwood flooring. the type that alot of hospitals have.


OK different scenario than hardwood. Yes, you can do it with a few tools
and some time. What you want is either laminate flooring or engineered wood
flooring. IMO, the wood is better in appearance but the laminate may be
cheaper. Price varies according to brands and qualities. Both are very
durable in the better brands.

I my lower level I put in Mannington wood. In a couple of other areas, I
put in Wilson Art laminate. Both still look good but when I did the
laminate, the wood was not available yet.

You will find a lot of information at www.mannington.com and
www.wilsonart.com Mannington also has laminate.

Tools you will need:
Miter saw with a carbide blade. Even a cheap $99 saw will do. If you use
laminate, it is tough on blades!
Hammer
Knee pads (they help a lot)
Installation kit consisting of a hammering block and puller bar (you can
borrow them from the dealer)
Dovetail saw with offset blade to cut under the door trim so the wood will
fit under it
Tape measure
Cat's paw and small pry bar to remove the baseboards (they can be put back
in place after the floor is done)
Ed
http://pages.cthome.net/edhome/

Mike, go with a no glue micro lock laminate flooring with an underlay. Snap
a chalk line on one side of a room, you can start with a full piece in the
corner. Make sure you leave the flooring at least 1/4 to 1/2'' slack all the
way around the room- cover after with baseboard molding. This stuff needs
room to expand and contract. A good chop saw is all that is needed, you may
have to run several pieces thru a table saw along one wall. Thresholds/door
entrances are available with the flooring. you may not even need them
depending on which way you run the flooring. I've seen several do-it
yourselfer's do a decent job with this stuff, the trick is keeping it
straight.

"mike" wrote in message
...
I need to have hardwood flooring installed in my house because of my severe
allergies to dust.. I already have 4 seperate Hepa Airfilters in the house
and thats not even enough. I need to get arid of the carpets..

I was thinking about doing this myself. Even if it takes me 2 months to
do.. i will take my time and do it slowly. I would just like to ask if it
is a difficult task to do? I really havent read much on it yet.. If
anyone knows any good online links or has experience about this, that
would be appreciated... Even if you can recommend any alternatives to
hardwood flooring, that would be great too... as im not 100% convinced yet
that is the route i want to go.

thx and happy holidays to all here,

Mike

mike wrote:
I need to have hardwood flooring installed in my house because of my
severe allergies to dust.. I already have 4 seperate Hepa Airfilters
in the house and thats not even enough. I need to get arid of the
carpets..
I was thinking about doing this myself. Even if it takes me 2 months
to do.. i will take my time and do it slowly. I would just like to
ask if it is a difficult task to do? I really havent read much on it
yet.. If anyone knows any good online links or has experience about
this, that would be appreciated... Even if you can recommend any
alternatives to hardwood flooring, that would be great too... as im
not 100% convinced yet that is the route i want to go.

thx and happy holidays to all here,

If you're talking about laminate floors, no it's not hard. It's much the
same as laying vinyl tile only the pieces are bigger and harder to cut. But,
you don't need glue. You do, however, need a jig saw - you can't cut the
pieces with a circular saw because they have wire in them (or at least the
parquet ones do).

You'll also have to take up the baseboards and undercut the doorframes. The
laminate pieces have to fit under the baseboards and not flush inasmuch as
the floor expands and contracts. If fit flush, you'll have either gaps or
buckling.

See when your big box store is having a demo / class on the subject. The
manufacturers probably have videos, too.

Alternatives include, obviously, painting the concrete or tile (vinyl,
ceramic, etc.).

What is the floor under the carpet. ? You may just need to remove the
carpet and have the floor sanded and finished.

Otherwise I would look at the laminated flooring. You would need a
cheap circular saw with good blade. You might need to trim the doors if
the laminate is thicker than the carpet.