We have carpet that we want to rip up. We want to have the floors
sanded and finished.
It's strip floorimg - about 45 years old and seems to be in good
condition judging from the
corners of the carpet I lifted up.

It's about 800 square feet to be done. I've had a few people in to
give estimates.

Person 1 wants to put down an alcohol-based sealer and then 2 coats of
oil based polyurethane.
He'll put a third coat of poly if I want him to (another 30 cents per
SF) but says it's not necessary.

Person 2 wants to put down three coats of oil-based poly and doesn't
use a sealer. He says he used to use it
and stopped because's he's learned over the years that the problem
with a sealer is that over time, it dries up and crystallizes and
causes the polyurethane to flake off the floor.

Both people came highly recommended and both do nice work. Prices are
very similar so there's not much differene there.

Which method is better? Which is more durable? Does anyone have
experience with the sealer after say 10 to 15 years? Does it really
flake? Also, is 2 coats of poly over a sealer as good as three coats
of poly with no sealer?

If it makes a difference, I'm on Long Island (NY) about 3 miles from
the Atlantic Ocean.

Thanks!

On Sep 25, 12:14*pm, ftres wrote:
We have carpet that we want to rip up. *We want to have the floors
sanded and finished.
It's strip floorimg - about 45 years old and seems to be in good
condition judging from the
corners of the carpet I lifted up.

It's about 800 square feet to be done. *I've had a few people in to
give estimates.

Person 1 wants to put down an alcohol-based sealer and then 2 coats of
oil based polyurethane.
He'll put a third coat of poly if I want him to (another 30 cents per
SF) but says it's not necessary.

Person 2 wants to put down three coats of oil-based poly and doesn't
use a sealer. *He says he used to use it
and stopped because's he's learned over the years that the problem
with a sealer is that over time, it dries up and crystallizes and
causes the polyurethane to flake off the floor.

Both people came highly recommended and both do nice work. *Prices are
very similar so there's not much differene there.

Which method is better? *Which is more durable? *Does anyone have
experience with the sealer after say 10 to 15 years? *Does it really
flake? *Also, is 2 coats of poly over a sealer as good as three coats
of poly with no sealer?

If it makes a difference, I'm on Long Island (NY) about 3 miles from
the Atlantic Ocean.

Thanks!

do oyu know the specific products proposed to be used?

does the first guy have any local customers with 15+ years old jobs?

cheers
Bob

In article
,
ftres wrote:

We have carpet that we want to rip up. We want to have the floors
sanded and finished.
It's strip floorimg - about 45 years old and seems to be in good
condition judging from the
corners of the carpet I lifted up.

It's about 800 square feet to be done. I've had a few people in to
give estimates.


Um, if you had two people give you estimates on refinishing a floor that
they haven't seen, those are the first two people to cross off the list.

"Smitty Two" wrote in message
news
In article
,
ftres wrote:

We have carpet that we want to rip up. We want to have the floors
sanded and finished.
It's strip floorimg - about 45 years old and seems to be in good
condition judging from the
corners of the carpet I lifted up.

It's about 800 square feet to be done. I've had a few people in to
give estimates.


Um, if you had two people give you estimates on refinishing a floor that
they haven't seen, those are the first two people to cross off the list.

Why would you do that ???? They are probably the ones with the most
experience....It's not hard to bid a floor..X number of dollars a square
foot times 800 square feet..LOL...When you've done hundreds of jobs over
MANY years , you don't need to see it...A quick description and you get a
pretty clear picture.....I routinely give drywall quotes over the phone on
small jobs....LOL....Large or complicated jobs are a different story ,
however...They merit the time and gas for a look - see....

In article ,
"benick" wrote:

"Smitty Two" wrote in message
news
In article
,
ftres wrote:

We have carpet that we want to rip up. We want to have the floors
sanded and finished.
It's strip floorimg - about 45 years old and seems to be in good
condition judging from the
corners of the carpet I lifted up.

It's about 800 square feet to be done. I've had a few people in to
give estimates.


Um, if you had two people give you estimates on refinishing a floor that
they haven't seen, those are the first two people to cross off the list.

Why would you do that ???? They are probably the ones with the most
experience....It's not hard to bid a floor..X number of dollars a square
foot times 800 square feet..LOL...When you've done hundreds of jobs over
MANY years , you don't need to see it...A quick description and you get a
pretty clear picture.....I routinely give drywall quotes over the phone on
small jobs....LOL....Large or complicated jobs are a different story ,
however...They merit the time and gas for a look - see....

Yeah, LOL, LOL. The floor is covered with CARPETING. The OP and the
potential contractors have NO IDEA what the floor actually looks like
under that carpet. LOL.

ftres wrote:
We have carpet that we want to rip up. We want to have the floors
sanded and finished.
It's strip floorimg - about 45 years old and seems to be in good
condition judging from the
corners of the carpet I lifted up.

It's about 800 square feet to be done. I've had a few people in to
give estimates.

Person 1 wants to put down an alcohol-based sealer and then 2 coats of
oil based polyurethane.
He'll put a third coat of poly if I want him to (another 30 cents per
SF) but says it's not necessary.

Person 2 wants to put down three coats of oil-based poly and doesn't
use a sealer. He says he used to use it
and stopped because's he's learned over the years that the problem
with a sealer is that over time, it dries up and crystallizes and
causes the polyurethane to flake off the floor.

Both people came highly recommended and both do nice work. Prices are
very similar so there's not much differene there.

Which method is better? Which is more durable? Does anyone have
experience with the sealer after say 10 to 15 years? Does it really
flake? Also, is 2 coats of poly over a sealer as good as three coats
of poly with no sealer?

I'd choose the #2 guy. I have no idea if a sealer (shellac?) dries up after
15 years but - unless the floor was previously finished with something
else - a sealer shouldn't be needed. If it was previously finished the best
thing is to sand it; next best thing is a coat of shellac as a barrier coat
if the old finish is incompatible with poly.

I like 3-4 coats of poly. Durablity - "wearability" - increases with the
number of coats.

--

dadiOH
____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.06...
....a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico

"Smitty Two" wrote in message
news
In article ,
"benick" wrote:

"Smitty Two" wrote in message
news
In article
,
ftres wrote:

We have carpet that we want to rip up. We want to have the floors
sanded and finished.
It's strip floorimg - about 45 years old and seems to be in good
condition judging from the
corners of the carpet I lifted up.

It's about 800 square feet to be done. I've had a few people in to
give estimates.


Um, if you had two people give you estimates on refinishing a floor
that
they haven't seen, those are the first two people to cross off the
list.

Why would you do that ???? They are probably the ones with the most
experience....It's not hard to bid a floor..X number of dollars a square
foot times 800 square feet..LOL...When you've done hundreds of jobs over
MANY years , you don't need to see it...A quick description and you get a
pretty clear picture.....I routinely give drywall quotes over the phone
on
small jobs....LOL....Large or complicated jobs are a different story ,
however...They merit the time and gas for a look - see....

Yeah, LOL, LOL. The floor is covered with CARPETING. The OP and the
potential contractors have NO IDEA what the floor actually looks like
under that carpet. LOL.

I guess I should have been a little clearer....A price on sanding and
finishing the floor is JUST that..The OP said it looked to be in GOOD
condition.....If there are pieces of flooring that have to be replaced ,
moving furniture or tearing up old carpet is whats called an
extra..$$$$$$..The verble contract was for sanding and finishing the floor
ONLY....Get it now ???? Even driving over to look at it would be pointless
as the room is full of furniture and the carpet is still down....Which is
kinda strange...Most would have peeled the carpet up BEFORE contacting
potential contractors....But hey...You just go with the flow and do the best
that you can...LOL....

"benick" wrote
"Smitty Two" wrote

I guess I should have been a little clearer....A price on sanding and
finishing the floor is JUST that..The OP said it looked to be in GOOD
condition.....If there are pieces of flooring that have to be replaced ,
moving furniture or tearing up old carpet is whats called an
extra..$$$$$$..The verble contract was for sanding and finishing the floor
ONLY....Get it now ???? Even driving over to look at it would be pointless
as the room is full of furniture and the carpet is still down....Which is
kinda strange...Most would have peeled the carpet up BEFORE contacting
potential contractors....But hey...You just go with the flow and do the
best that you can...LOL....

Grin, agreed. Most of us would peel up the carpet and check it, but if the
contract also lists replacement costs for any that are bad once uncovered,
it's workable.

Ghod, I havent thought about that house in Atlanta in years. Solid wood
plank floors, 150 years old. Lovely stuff but the topping I used then, was
stuff of the early 70's so dont know what you'd use today.

Smitty Two wrote:
In article ,
"benick" wrote:

"Smitty Two" wrote in message
news
In article
,
ftres wrote:

We have carpet that we want to rip up. We want to have the floors
sanded and finished.
It's strip floorimg - about 45 years old and seems to be in good
condition judging from the
corners of the carpet I lifted up.

It's about 800 square feet to be done. I've had a few people in to
give estimates.

Um, if you had two people give you estimates on refinishing a floor that
they haven't seen, those are the first two people to cross off the list.
Why would you do that ???? They are probably the ones with the most
experience....It's not hard to bid a floor..X number of dollars a square
foot times 800 square feet..LOL...When you've done hundreds of jobs over
MANY years , you don't need to see it...A quick description and you get a
pretty clear picture.....I routinely give drywall quotes over the phone on
small jobs....LOL....Large or complicated jobs are a different story ,
however...They merit the time and gas for a look - see....

Yeah, LOL, LOL. The floor is covered with CARPETING. The OP and the
potential contractors have NO IDEA what the floor actually looks like
under that carpet. LOL.

I've seen a number of homes over the years that had hardwood only around
the perimeter, with plain planks in the center that were originally
covered with area rugs. Best to look at the whole floor before making
final agreements.