I need some opinions. I currently have about 1700+ square feet of
carpet to replace with Hardwood floors. There are several options I
am considering.

My goal is something: 1) Cost effective 2) Low Maintenaance 3) Looks
half way decent.

Option 1) Get a professional to install prefinished hardwood floors
priced from $8.50-$10.00 a square feet. Final cost $17-20K

2) Get a professional to install unfinished floors that will need
sanding, staining, etc (the old fashioned way) End up costing about
the same $17-20K

3) Get the materials myself and have a contractor do it the old
fashioned way. $12-15K

4) Get the prefinished materials myself and have contractor install it
$9-10K

5) Do it all my self Materials 6K

Lastly, Does any one have experience with working with imported wood
from China? It cost about 30-40% less than domestic but how is the
quality and any potential issues/ concerns? Any help would be
appreciated.

Tim

One thing, buy yourself a good Moisture Meter, you dont want that floor
instaled to wet or it will shrink.

"Tim" wrote in message
om...
I need some opinions. I currently have about 1700+ square feet of
carpet to replace with Hardwood floors. There are several options I
am considering.

My goal is something: 1) Cost effective 2) Low Maintenaance 3) Looks
half way decent.

Option 1) Get a professional to install prefinished hardwood floors
priced from $8.50-$10.00 a square feet. Final cost $17-20K

2) Get a professional to install unfinished floors that will need
sanding, staining, etc (the old fashioned way) End up costing about
the same $17-20K

3) Get the materials myself and have a contractor do it the old
fashioned way. $12-15K

4) Get the prefinished materials myself and have contractor install it
$9-10K

5) Do it all my self Materials 6K

Lastly, Does any one have experience with working with imported wood
from China? It cost about 30-40% less than domestic but how is the
quality and any potential issues/ concerns? Any help would be
appreciated.

Tim

My own experience with hardwood floors is that if you have any children or
especially any pets with claws, then I wouldn't consider hardwood floors
very ideal. That might violate your goals of "low maintenance" (because you
may have to refinish them with some frequency) and "looks half way decent"
(scratches and dents WILL occur). If you only have mature people in the
house that walk around barefoot or in socks, then you'll be fine for a long
time with hardwood floors.

PJ

"Tim" wrote in message
4) Get the prefinished materials myself and have contractor install it
$9-10K


Not knowing your skills or pocket book I can't say for sure what is best.
Option 4 is a good method though. I've done it and anyone with a tiny bit
of skill to measure and cut can do a good job. Minimal tools are needed.
Knee pads are a must, hammer, tape measure, saw (power miter saw is good),
tools to remove the existing baseboards, saw to cut in the door casings.
Ed

If it makes any difference to you, find out what species of wood you'd be
getting from China. That country has a reputation for putting environmental
concerns about 50 years behind business development. In other words, they
don't give a damn.

As far as hardwood in general, be prepared for squeaks which are louder than
normal conversational speech, chilliness, and quite possibly very sore feet.
On the plus side, the squeaks make an excellent security system. If you're
100% sure that everyone's in bed and the downstairs floor is squeaking, it's
time to load the shotgun.

On the flip side we have a lot of heated conversations about who is going to
the bathroom at night and can't they use wings or something....

My dog (an aussie) can't make the corners after we wax the floor and usually
ends up gliding out of control on her back. 45 lb goes into the wall at 15
mph.... One of these days I will get it on camera.

I have just received some samples of bamboo flooring from China. Bamboo
grows so fast that I am not worried about environmental impact of my
purchase. It looks quite decent and it is claimed to be harder than red oak.
Does anybody have any experience with it?
--
EJ

"Doug Kanter" wrote in message
...
If it makes any difference to you, find out what species of wood you'd be
getting from China. That country has a reputation for putting
environmental
concerns about 50 years behind business development. In other words, they
don't give a damn.

As far as hardwood in general, be prepared for squeaks which are louder
than
normal conversational speech, chilliness, and quite possibly very sore
feet.
On the plus side, the squeaks make an excellent security system. If you're
100% sure that everyone's in bed and the downstairs floor is squeaking,
it's
time to load the shotgun.

EJ wrote:

I have just received some samples of bamboo flooring from China. Bamboo
grows so fast that I am not worried about environmental impact of my
purchase. It looks quite decent and it is claimed to be harder than red oak.
Does anybody have any experience with it?

No, but it looks really attractive to me, too -- harder and more
waterproof and durable than regular wood -- and I would dearly
appreciate it if you could keep the NG posted on your decision so I can
learn from it.

--
I know God will not give me anything I can't handle.
I just wish that He didn't trust me so much. - Mother Teresa

On 1 Apr 2004 10:36:38 -0800, (Tim) wrote:

I need some opinions.

Someone, here I think, mentioned bamboo flooring. It seemed pretty silly
at first, but I looked into it, and it might be an acceptable
alternative to hardwood. Although red oak is harder, "plyboo" is more
than twice as stable--whatever that really means.
http://www.plyboo.com/floor.html

Michael
A day without recoil is like a day without sunshine!

On Thu, 01 Apr 2004 20:45:00 GMT, B a r r y
wrote:

On Thu, 1 Apr 2004 13:27:48 -0700, "PJ"
wrote:

My own experience with hardwood floors is that if you have any children or
especially any pets with claws, then I wouldn't consider hardwood floors
very ideal.

While claws can definitely damage HW floors, cat puke is much easier
to clean up off wood than carpet. G

Here, here! My life is a LOT easier now that I've ripped up the nasty
carpet and had the hardwood floors refinished. A quck swipe with a
paper towell does the trick!

Lauri in WA

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