Does this seem like a decent cost ? 710 square feet of laminated flooring
of my choice at $3 a square foot. Installed on top of radiant heating
(concrete) at a cost of $4000 ? Everything is out of the way too..all
furniture and stuff is upstairs.

He recommends to leave the original baseboard trim where it is and not
remove it. When the wood goes up against the trim, he will use a molding to
connect the 2. Does that seem like a normal way of doing it ? I want a
tight seal since I have minor radon levels down there. Would it be possible
to have a better tight seal if the wood trim was removed ?

I appreciate any info, you guys have always been the best.

john

On Mar 9, 6:02 pm, "john" wrote:
Does this seem like a decent cost ? 710 square feet of laminated flooring
of my choice at $3 a square foot. Installed on top of radiant heating
(concrete) at a cost of $4000 ? Everything is out of the way too..all
furniture and stuff is upstairs.

He recommends to leave the original baseboard trim where it is and not
remove it. When the wood goes up against the trim, he will use a molding to
connect the 2. Does that seem like a normal way of doing it ? I want a
tight seal since I have minor radon levels down there. Would it be possible
to have a better tight seal if the wood trim was removed ?

I appreciate any info, you guys have always been the best.

john

I have had laminate installed at $1.50 - $2 per sf. Your install cost
seems pretty high, unless he has to deal with a dozen doorways.

JK

"john" wrote in message
...
Does this seem like a decent cost ? 710 square feet of laminated
flooring of my choice at $3 a square foot. Installed on top of radiant
heating (concrete) at a cost of $4000 ? Everything is out of the way
too..all furniture and stuff is upstairs.

He recommends to leave the original baseboard trim where it is and not
remove it. When the wood goes up against the trim, he will use a molding
to connect the 2. Does that seem like a normal way of doing it ? I
want a tight seal since I have minor radon levels down there. Would it be
possible to have a better tight seal if the wood trim was removed ?

I appreciate any info, you guys have always been the best.



I have seen a number of installations where the flooring goes to the
original baseboard and the installer throws on some quarter round after.
Quite frankly I don't like the way it looks. The original baseboard looks
smaller. I did one room in laminate and ripped off all of the existing
baseboard myself and ran the laminate closer to the wall as per the
manufacturer's specs using the spacers. In my case there was a small gap
between the drywall and the floor which gave me plenty of room for
expansion. I purchased all new baseboard and quarter round and primed and
painted it before I installed it.

They should put down some plastic sheeting under the floor which will take
care of the radon migration.

One thing I have seen many times is the installer arriving on the day of the
installation with the laminate. The manufacturers recommend that the
laminate be stored in the space that it will be installed in for a few days.
You might be better off buying the laminate yourself and just hire someone
for the installation. I have found that talking to small private showroom
people was better than a big box store. Unfortunately the way the system
works is that no floor covering chain will carry the same models of flooring
as the big box stores. The brands may be the same, but the models are not.
Make sure to get the manufacturer's name, the name of the line, and model
that you like at each place.

Don't forget to ask about the transition pieces from one room to another.
Some installers just cut their own from some oak. After a while it stands
out from the rest of the floor. I think it is better to get the transitions
that match your floor.

Get at least three quotes before making a decision.

On Sun, 9 Mar 2008 19:02:38 -0400, "john"
wrote:

Does this seem like a decent cost ? 710 square feet of laminated flooring
of my choice at $3 a square foot. Installed on top of radiant heating
(concrete) at a cost of $4000 ? Everything is out of the way too..all
furniture and stuff is upstairs.

He recommends to leave the original baseboard trim where it is and not
remove it. When the wood goes up against the trim, he will use a molding to
connect the 2. Does that seem like a normal way of doing it ? I want a
tight seal since I have minor radon levels down there. Would it be possible
to have a better tight seal if the wood trim was removed ?

I appreciate any info, you guys have always been the best.

john

Follow the installers advice. The flooring will expand and contract.
The quarter round moldings he plans(?) would be caulked and touched up
with paint.

Not sure about the cost...

john wrote:
Does this seem like a decent cost ? 710 square feet of laminated
flooring of my choice at $3 a square foot. Installed on top of
radiant heating (concrete) at a cost of $4000 ? Everything is out
of the way too..all furniture and stuff is upstairs.

He recommends to leave the original baseboard trim where it is and not
remove it. When the wood goes up against the trim, he will use a
molding to connect the 2. Does that seem like a normal way of
doing it ? I want a tight seal since I have minor radon levels down
there. Would it be possible to have a better tight seal if the wood
trim was removed ?
I appreciate any info, you guys have always been the best.


The flooring expands and contracts with temperature and humidity (laminates,
not so much with humidity). There must be gaps surrounding the floor so the
material can move. If you did get a "tight" seal - say through the use of
glues or sealant - the wood would rip the sealant asunder as the flooring
expands. The floor WILL leak (at least) around the edges.

BUT, laminate is impermeable and that's probably better than what you've
got.

Back to the original issue: The floor will look better if the floorboards
are removed and reset atop the laminate.

Also, you can do the job yourself for less than $1000. You'll need less than
100 curse-words.

"john" wrote in message
...
Does this seem like a decent cost ? 710 square feet of laminated
flooring of my choice at $3 a square foot. Installed on top of radiant
heating (concrete) at a cost of $4000 ? Everything is out of the way
too..all furniture and stuff is upstairs.

He recommends to leave the original baseboard trim where it is and not
remove it. When the wood goes up against the trim, he will use a molding
to connect the 2.

He is a hack. That is the cheap way to do it and it will look like crap. A
real pro will remove the baseboard and replace it when done and you can
re-finish it in the garage at the time the floor is going down.

710 feet times $3 is not $4000. If that is just installation, he should be
supplying your choice of KY or Vaseline too.

Before you go another step, stop and re-think things. Look at installing
engineered hardwood instead of laminate. It is real wood, not some fake
looking stuff. Unless you have physical limitations, consider doing the job
yourself. It is really not very hard and required minimal tools. A $99
miter saw is good to have for the cuts, otherwise, a few hand tools and glue
are all that is needed.

Does that seem like a normal way of doing it ? I want a
tight seal since I have minor radon levels down there. Would it be
possible to have a better tight seal if the wood trim was removed ?

There is a barrier that has to go down first. That may help with the radon,
but it is not a perfect seal on the ends. I imagine the baseboard will
help, but I'm not an expert on radon.

Having just done one room and working on another with Laminate, I've
imbedded some comments:

Edwin Pawlowski wrote:

He is a hack. That is the cheap way to do it and it will look like
crap. A real pro will remove the baseboard and replace it when done
and you can re-finish it in the garage at the time the floor is
going down.

DO NOT remove the nails. Clip them off with dykes from the back side. It you
pound them out, they'll create gouges in the surface that you'll have to go
back and re-fill with plastic wood. Before replacing the baseboard, mark the
floor with a pencil showing the location of the studs. That's where you'll
be putting the nails.



710 feet times $3 is not $4000. If that is just installation, he
should be supplying your choice of KY or Vaseline too.

I did 400 feet with economy laminate from Lumber Liquidators at $0.78/sq ft.
Plus a bit for the vapor barrier material. All told, less than $1.00/ft


Before you go another step, stop and re-think things. Look at
installing engineered hardwood instead of laminate. It is real wood,
not some fake looking stuff.

I agree. For four grand he could get engineered wood. In my application -
couple of spare bedrooms with worn-out carpets - the laminate was more than
ample.

Unless you have physical limitations,
consider doing the job yourself. It is really not very hard and
required minimal tools. A $99 miter saw is good to have for the
cuts, otherwise, a few hand tools and glue are all that is needed.

You can easily cut laminate with a miter saw. SOME engineered woods
(parquet) have wire in them which doesn't work so well with a rotary saw
(need a jig saw). This stuff goes together like a big, two-dimensional, Lego
set.