Remodeling and wood flooring.

At the time of this writing homes are not selling to well because the big banks are not lending money like they used to. How ever even with that being said many people are still in a good position to buy a home and now would be that time. So as someone selling a home you may want to add hardwood floors to your home to help raise the price of your home to make as much money from it as you can.

Darker woods seem to be gaining popularity in today’s world. The washed out colors are seeming to fade well hand scraped distressed and character grade woods sells seem to be stable. Natural color woods are always a great choice to.

Pre-finished woods have a better warranty along with faster completion times, since on sight finished floors you’ll have to wait time for the finish to cure before they can be used. Completion times on jobs are very important when flipping homes since mortgage payments do cut into your profit. When looking at the warranty make sure to read it, yes it might be nice to see 25-50 years of warranty but what does that cover, in most cases only “Actual wear of the finish”, So please read the fine print.

Also research what type of wood flooring you should be using, if your doing a smaller room try wider plank flooring since they tend to make the room look bigger then what it really is.

What rooms to install hardwood flooring

Some of the most popular area’s in a home to have wood flooring would be; Dining rooms,foyers,dens,home offices,hallways, and libraries. With kitchens and powder rooms falling in behind them. Yeah I said kitchens if maintained with lay rugs near area’s where water can be found they are a good choice. But myself would rather prefer ceramic tile or stone.

What type of flooring should you use?

That’s really up to you, again research them and decide whats best fits your budget and your job type. How ever I will let you know that 3/4 inch flooring is by far the top choice if you have a wood sub floor and with the interlocking wood floors pretty easy to install yourself.

If you have a concrete sub floor your going want to consider engineered hardwoods, either in a glue down method or a floating installation.

Remember depending on where you leave you may need to rule out certain types of wood flooring, if you live in a area with will cause a lot of constriction and expansion in wood floors that will effect what type of woods to use. Key here is researching the properties of the hard wood floors and how they react to your climate. Then decide on types and styles.

Builder/re-modeler says it has to go next week

Contractors have a hard time figuring out when to install hardwood flooring, they tend to like to rush things since they want everyone to get done about the same time to avoid having to come back to finish up. One big reason for them wanting to rush is because they want their trim and painting subcontractors done at the same time.

IF they do install the hardwood flooring before other things are done speak up and tell them you want them protecting, its ashamed how often wood floors are damaged before the job is even done. Have them place 1/8″ Masonite board over your floors and to duct tape the seams and not to the floor itself. That just defeats the purpose of protecting them.

Depending what else is being dune debris still may get under the board so ask them to left it up and check each day and give the floor a sweep. Its your money and they are working for you, so you have to speak up.

Now if your doing a on site finished floor you may not be able to cover them since the finish will need time to cure, talk to the person doing the floor to find out how you can protect them if work still needs done.

Decorator says…

Sometimes these people like to experiment and when they do your left paying for it and looking at it. As a consumer you have to have some type of grasp on design and colors you want, and don’t let the decorator lead you, but you should lead their idea’s. Don’t let them place 5-6 different types and color floors merging together that will through the flow of the rooms off and may look great in the room with the door closed but if your hall way is on type of wood and color and you have 4-5 rooms coming off it with all different types of flooring it may become an eye sore.

Live near a beach?

Research the finishes of the type of flooring you want some may have durable finishes then other these will with scratches but not prevent them, maintenance is your best weapon against sand, but just remember the floor will get scratched at some point.

Water and hardwood floors

Mostly wide plank floors are easier damaged by water but not all, if your not sure what to use and plan on the floors being around water, such as an entrance into the dining room from the pool, try using engineered hardwoods.

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