hardwood floors

By Sijbrich

My husband and I would like to install hardwood floors throughout parts of our house someday. We both like darker, earthy wood, but that's about all we know. Does anyone have any experience with installing hardwood floors that can give us some sort of starting point to our investigation into the subject matter? The more earth-friendly, the better.

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December 28, 2006

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Senseless

January 01, 2007

I put in 3/4 oak and finished it with clear urethane in the house i just built because I know it will hold up but also because it adds strength to the structure. It's nailed perpendicular to my floor joists over 3/4 inch plywood which give me an inch an a half of solid wood over the basement which makes a handy place to dodge the occasional hurricanes or tornadoes we get in Florida.

It's a lot easier to do a laminate floor for a remodel though since you most likely won't need to worry about doors clearing and stuff.

erinn

December 29, 2006

Bamboo is more earth friendly in some ways because it regrows very quickly once it is harvested, but check into the finishes that are used. Some bamboo floors use the same types of urethanes that are used on 3/4" hardwood floors with very high VOC contents. More recently, it is easier to find bamboo floor manufacturers that use lower VOC coatings that are still durable. All of this info is easily found on the web.

We have 3/4" oak in our first floor and upstairs hallway (installed by the previous owner). We decided to install the same floor in our two smaller upstairs bedrooms. I got instructions on exactly how to do it on the web. We invested some money into a wood floor nailer since we plan to also do our master bedroom this coming year. We plan on using bamboo in there for something different.

My back and knees were soar after doing the floors (rooms are each 12 x 11 approximately) but other than that I thought the hardwood was pretty easy and totally worth it. It just looks nice and it easy to clean with a Swiffer.

I am not totally keen on laminate because if you drop something on it, that' it. There's no sanding the bad stuff away like with hardwood. It will end up in a landfill eventually. Whereas hardwood...I do a lot of restoration of old houses for a living and routinely see wood floors that are 200 years old that just need a little sanding and a new coating. I like that.

Sijbrich

December 29, 2006

Our house is less than 10 years old, and we have carpeting and linoleum. I really doubt that we have hardwood hiding underneath, but it's a great suggestion!

vincechan

December 29, 2006

alex got it right. With the interlocking boards, you won't need to worry about glue or anything like that.

But you might want to look into cost before you decide on a set kind of wood. Bamboo is nice, but if I remember correctly, it was very expensive.

Another good place to start is by getting your tools in order. I would definitely recommend getting (or borrowing) a good miter saw with a new blade. For floors, you'll want to get a blade with a lot of teeth.

Also, what kind of floors do you have now? You might have hardwood floors and not even know it.

alexrussell

December 28, 2006

I like sparkie's comments about bamboo. That's what I'd suggest if you wanted to go green. And you really don't need to nail or glue down today's interlocking hardwood floors. Especially you're going to do it yourself. Nail in the baseboards or quarter round about the edges and call it good.

sparkie

December 28, 2006

Hi!

Did you want to float install it or more traditional nail or glue down. I like to float because it seems easier and not as permanent or more readily reversible. I also like bamboo as a hardwood tho it is techinically considered a grass! It is a "green" building material and renews itself in like 7 years, is harder than oak, among some of its benefits. Think I have seen it stained dark too.

hardwood floors

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