Hardwood floors questions

[Jenn]

Have searched for prior threads- thanks all, and what pretty homes some of us have. Any advice on good online info on this subject? Will get to the library for some books but have a lot of questions before I take the plunge. If anyone wants to comment on these, great. Or site for online info besides Lowes or the ones selling- thanks.

Hardwood in the kitchen? Big or little mistake?

On stairs? How do you cut fall risk?

With dogs? Just keep refinishing or wait until they die? (I found the dog toenail dremel info and might do this)

And if I get prefinished 3/4" solid seems like I should still put a few coats of finish over it all to seal the seams to prevent my spills from soaking in on the sides of the boards if I don't get to them immediately?

[Farmfresh]

Our old house has hardwood everywhere and I personally LOVE LOVE LOVE it. So much easier to keep clean and in good shape than carpet.

If a real hardwood (not laminate) floor is finished properly it wears like iron. The pre-finished floors (Bellawood) are supposed to be equally good. To care for my floors I simply vacuum them well and occasionally mop with Murphey's Oil soap and a very well wrung out damp string mop.

I don't notice much problem with dog toenails, but care should be taken with dragging heavy objects and you should put an area rug under any rocking chairs.

Hardwood is pricey in the beginning but my house was built in 1928 and the floors are still going strong. Think how many carpets you would have buy in that time! Real hardwood can be refinished, if you ever need to, several times. Just remember the color you choose you are stuck with unless you pick a light wood and go darker in a future refinishing.

As for sealing the seams, I don't think it is necessary. Hardwood is just that HARD. Things don't soak into a finished floor very quickly.

I will never have carpet again. Just think how many times you have dropped a greasy something, split a drink or had a dog or cat upchuck in the middle of the floor. In this instances a carpet is usually permanently stained or completely ruined, with hardwood you just get out a damp sponge and you are as good as ever was!

[BlackWillowFarm]

Originally Posted by Jenn

Hardwood in the kitchen? Big or little mistake?

I have it in my kitchen, love it. Spills, water and cooking splatters are not a problem. I clean them up as they happen. We did have a laundry room overflow where water got onto the floors and caused some swelling. We thought we would have to replace that area, but it dried okay and you can't tell it happened.

Originally Posted by Jenn

On stairs? How do you cut fall risk?

They can get slippery if you wear socks, but not as bad as you might think. Don't wax or polish the stair steps.

Originally Posted by Jenn

With dogs? Just keep refinishing or wait until they die? (I found the dog toenail dremel info and might do this)

I have dogs, my floors are scratched! The humidity will lessen the scratches some, but you will see marks from the dogs.

Originally Posted by Jenn

And if I get prefinished 3/4" solid seems like I should still put a few coats of finish over it all to seal the seams to prevent my spills from soaking in on the sides of the boards if I don't get to them immediately?

Pre-finished, solid hardwood floors are the only way to go. The factory finish is way better than anything you could do yourself and will last much longer. I think ours was rated for something like 50 years or so. We've had it for six years with no sign of the finish wearing off.

We built a house six years ago and put hardwood flooring in most of it. We have carpet in the living room, dining room and two bedrooms. The kitchen, foyer, hallways, stairs and master bedroom are all solid hardwood.

If I had to do it over again, I'd do the same thing. Love my hardwood floors.

[Yvonne's hubby]

I have to say hardwood, the real stuff not the laminates, are really good floors. easy to care for and last a very long time. I have taken it out of houses that were well over a hundred fifty years old when the house was falling down, and that flooring was still in great shape.

[kendall j]

We put in oak flooring. It was assorted widths and lengths we got from craigslist. For enough to do basically 3/4 of our house I have to say the $500 price tag wasn't too bad.

Ours have worn well. Just make sure you wipe up spills as they happen and you will be fine.

[NCLee]

I pulled out the carpet and put down hardwood laminate in the living room and dinning room. Finish had a 20 year warranty, if memory serves. So, far, no problems with wear. Because the closest sidewalks are over 3 miles away, I keep a big rubber door mat at the front door and a small one just inside. Put a carpet runner between the living room and the den. Can't believe how much dirt we manage to track into the house.

The floor is easy to keep clean. Bought a dust mop with a terry cloth covering. Only takes a couple of minutes to get the dust bunnies that like to hide under the sofa. If my flooring was a little lighter, they wouldn't show up quite as badly when the sun comes in the windows on that side of the house. Tip: The lighter color the more easily dust blends in!! ;-)

Stairs - Are you talking about replacing the treads with solid hardwood ones? Or, covering existing with the same thing that goes on the floor? If the latter, you'll have a problem with trying to hide the edges. If the former, and you're concerned about slipping, put down a stair carpet runner down the middle. Not only will it resolve any slipping worry, it'll protect the finish on the stairs. That's a high traffic area and will probably show wear before anywhere else in your home.

Re: Sealing the cracks - Natural hardwood expands and contracts with changes in humidity. If you put anything in the cracks, over time expansion of the boards will force it out. If applied when humidity is high, when the boards shrink with lower humidity, you'll still have cracks. Be sure to check with the manufacturer if you buy pre-finished flooring as to their recommendation on appling any type of sealer. Making sure that what you use is compatable with the original finish is IMPORTANT.

I'm still undecided about what I want to do in the kitchen. I like the look of wooden floors. Especially old growth southern pine. But, when I'm canning, and such, I tend to drip water a lot. Over the years I've had to replace the kitchen facuet twice when pin hole leaks sprung from the copper fittings. And, I've had a flood when the dishwasher drain hose failed. Another time, the refrigerator drain for the self-defrost failed and I had a slow leak that I didn't discover for a while.

So, I'm probably going with sheet vinyl or vinyl that looks like imitation (sigh) wood planks. Don't like ceramic tile. It's bad on these old feet/knees and if I drop something it WILL break. Neighbors put it in a couple of years ago. They wish they'd kept their real hardwood floor in the kitchen and had it refinished instead.

Hope these thoughts are helpful.

Lee

[Alice In TX/MO]

I have a hardwood floor question, too. My son installed hardwood in his house in Austin. When we are there, I'm ALWAYS COLD.

Are wood floors inherently cold?

[NCLee]

In a sense, yes.

It's the same as sheets. Think about going to bed when it's cold and comparing the difference between regular sheets and flannel sheets.

I hate shoes in the house and go barefooted a lot. This morning I haven't turned up the heat yet. I'm in the den right now with carpet on the floor. My feet know it when I go to the kitchen to get a cup of coffee. They're glad to get back to the den. LOL

Seriously, I suspect it's the thermostat setting in his home. Once I turn up the heat I don't notice a lot of difference between the rooms with carpet and those with wood or vinyl floor covering.

Lee

[Ken Scharabok]

Sister and BIL are rehabbing a 16' x 80' mobile home. They went with a thick carpet in the master bedroom since they spend a lot of time there reading and wanted a nice warm floor. They will leave the old asphalt in the kitchen for now. In the laundry room and master bath they put down the 12" x 12" press and stick tiles. Front room, which is her scrapbooking room, they put down the laminate and are very pleased with it so far. As they get further along they will also put down the same laminate in the small bedroom and living room.

They priced out a carpet comparison and found the entire process installed was about the same price as a medium-to-high grade of carpeting. As noted, it will likely outlast several carpets.

On laminates it is important to put it down according to manufacturers specifications. For example, a thin pad underneigh and expansion and contraction space at the edges.

[solidwoods]

No problem in kitchen bathroom
Use water based finish- 2 coats in a day, no oil smell, quick to refinish (we have many dogs).
Stairs can have stick on abrasive strips if you fear a fall.
Adding finish to a prefinish- get a sample board and do a sample finish first.
Nothing wrong with White Pine (very soft) also. Just pre distress it, topcoat, wipe on darker color, topcoat and it's Faux antique (my 1890 home has some original white pine floors)

Check out Wormy Maple also called Ambrosia Maple its inexpensive and unique.

If you install it, follow all the basic rules for installation, don't try to cut a corner to save $. Each basic installation rule has a big reason.

I sawmill/kiln dry and make T/G from customers logs for $1.25sf or from customers lumber for $1.05sf or from our inventory.
Since 1982
jim

[Jenn]

Thanks Solidwoods. Sure wish I could give you some business- do you travel as far as Fort Rucker? HT poster and retired Army are good recommendations. Oh, I guess you do lumber not floors. Any recommendations in my area for floor installers? I may get the flooring from Lowes.

[solidwoods]

You could check around for a company that will make flooring from your lumber. Lumber from a sawmill is cheap. Mid grade Oaks are about $.50sf. Kiln drying is from $.20 - $70sf.
Maybe start with portable sawmillers (they know that field), a lumber dry kiln, or woodworking shops.
Also ask at
http://www.forestryforum.com/board/index.php (sawmilling or processing forum area).
For installer bids
http://www.flooringinstaller.com/forum

I don't go portable to mill.
Being a retired Chinook pilot I would love another visit to Mother Rucker though.
jim

[travlnusa]

We put hardwood in our kitchen and love it.

Make sure you use a good thick vapor barrier, and you will be fine.

[Joshie]

Our neighbors used car siding in their house. It looks very nice. It's wide flooring and is warm and inviting. It's certainly much more rustic than oak flooring but it's beautiful. An added benefit is that it is much cheaper than typical wood flooring.