Hi all. I am in need of your help / advice.

My wife and I recently started construction on a new house in Houston TX. We are looking to install some hardwood flooring in a few areas of the house (http://www.morrisonhomes.com/imhotep/ImhotepXMLIntercept/InterfloorLanding.aspx?offering_type=P&offering_id=7301&language=en putting hardwood in the dining room, game room, Bedroom 4 (office), stairway and upstairs hallway) This totals to about 850 square feet (not including stairway). The builder had a wood that we liked (dark hickory, prefinished with bevelled corners) offered to do this for us for a little over $25,000. Now, in doing a little research that seems exorbitant...

We've determined the best plan as putting down the 'comes with the house' carpeting without tack strips, ripping it up and putting the floor down after closing. I have a few questions that I could really use some advice on:

1) We have 2 dogs, a husky and a beagle. We keep their nails trimmed, but is there any recommendation about a special coating or sealant that we should use to keep the floor from getting the ever loving bejeezus scratched out of it?

2) If someone spills a drink on the hardwood floor, are bevelled corners an issue? When the floor is installed, is there a sealant that should be applied to make sure that the floor doesn't get ruined because someone dropped their drink?

3) Who is a good supplier to purchase prefinished wood from? We are looking now to an exotic wood like Santos Mahogany (because it's so pretty). We would like to go with prefinished to eliminate the dust and time that a finished on-site entails.

4) Because there is an element of both upstairs (on a plywood subfloor) and downstairs (on the concrete slab) we will probably need to mix engineered (downstairs) with solid (stairs and upstairs)

5) What are some good questions to ask installers to insure a quality install? What questions should I be able to answer to make their job easier (and not look like an idiot)?

Thanks much for your help.[/url]

Hello,

That would be $29.40 per foot!!! I think he meant to say $2500 extra or $2.95 per foot. I would ask him to clarify this for you.

KRV

Oh, believe me. I clarified, but that was the honest to God price that the builder gave me...

30 a foot? I will fly there first class, and have a first class ticket for each and every one of my tools and still wouldnt be 30 a foot LOL.

Double post

Then your builder isn't an honest builder. Someone made a mistake....either him or whoever he got his quote from.

Generally, when you buy a new home, the basic carpet is included in the price. From there you can upgrade to wood/tile and the difference would fall into the $2.50-$4.00 per foot range. There is NO way that your floor would ever cost $29.50 per foot above the cost of the included carpet.

How long has this builder been in business? It sounds like this is a small builder who is winging it. JMHO.

Morrison homes is the builder, they're very prominent around here... Regardless, We have decided to forsake the builder's hardwood floor. Any insight on the questions? Since we're not using the builder, I want to make sure that we get a good product for a decent price...

1. The dogs will scratch your floors. One reason Oak is so popular is that it hides the scratches very well in the grain/patterns. A distressed flooring would be the best choice but really goes best with farmhouse/country styling. Stay away from uniform wood like Maple And avoid all color stains (go with natural). I'll let others talk about Santos.

2. If you clean up the spill fast, then you shouldn't have a problem. If your dogs urinate on the floor and it sits for a while, watch out! Beveled edges or square edges on prefinished floors won't make any difference as regards to spills. Site-finished floors should be sealed. If you get a prefinished, you will want a micro-bevel to hide any differences between board height.

3. Br-111 specializes in exotic solids. Mirage would be top shelf. Kahrs makes some great engineered flooring.

4. In my opinion, you may just want to go with all engineered throughout your home. One product would be the most uniform look. Your guests won't know the difference if you purchase a top of the line product with a thick wear layer. If you have to go with solids, then there is one company out there that uses the "clip system" to float a solid. I can't vouch for them but maybe you will find someone who can. I can't give you the name of the manufacturer per website rules.

5. Get references! If they don't want to furnish them, go with someone else. Ask to see examples of their past work.

Good Luck!!!

Good to know. Would Santos be good? Bad? The small grains really attracted me to it. Wood a walnut or hickory work a little better? Can you recommend something (other than oak, I don't like the giant grains, tbqh)?


I really like the look of bevelled flooring (and I don't mind the feeling on the feet), so this is good. Question - Is there a way to seal prefinished hardwood to make it more resistant?


We really like the wide plank look (5" is ideal), and Mirage didn't look like it had much, if anything that wide...


I wouldn't have a problem with installing engineered hardwood throughout the home, but can you have engineered hardwood stairs? The goal would be that the dining room and the stairs are seperated by 8 feet of tile, so as long as the two were 'close' it wouldn't be an issue because they would look similar. But if we could do it all engineered, that would be snazz-tastic


Yeah, I work as a supply chain manager, and that's the first rule for a new supplier, ALWAYS GET THEIR REFERENCES. We made the mistake of being serial #1 ONCE.

Just take the floors offered with the house.

It is the common practice to overcharge for upgrades. It's just what is done.
The retailer takes a little extra and the builder gets a little extra.................... it is the nature of the business.


The "base grades" offered with the homes are often at retailer cost, even below cost, in order to "WIN THE BID" for the housing project. They make up the difference when the homebuyers UP-Grade.

I would, but as stated above, $30/sqft? I'm pretty sure I could get 2 good quality hardwood floors for that.... That, my friend, is more than a little here and a little there.

Anyway... the big question on my mind is: Is there a way to seal prefinished hardwood floors to make them more resistant to spills and stuff? Anyone have any recommendations?

The builders really do kill you with "upgrades". Yes, it really costs that much!! Morrison is a respectable builder. My brother just built a house in Houston, and he just finished pulling out the flooring and put in tile and built a deck out back. They also put in their own ceiling fans and surround sound, etc.... I think they saved about $30K by doing a bunch of stuff themselves. He just closed on the house a week and a half ago! LOL I know in the house we are in currently that the builder charged some astronomical amount to go from carpet to tile in the bathrooms, which is why the owners chose carpet (house was built in 1997 by Drees -- excellent builder). We're ripping up to put down tile, though. Carpet in a bathroom with kids is a nightmare!

Definitely do the wood yourself. You will get exactly what you want that way, and you'll save a ton of money. I could never build because of the nickel and diming. Even if you don't actually lay the floor yourself (which is what we are in the process of doing), you will save money. The builder's labor costs are just so high. We are putting in our floors for less than $4.50/sf, which includes all our materials, renting equipment, and our own hard labor! LOL

I'm pretty sure you can put engineered wood on stairs, though I'm not really sure how. I think some friends of ours did it. I'm no expert, though, so I'm sure someone on here will answer that question. Just ask the flooring store when you go shopping.

Good luck! You are definitely doing the right thing!

Kelli

Kelli, when your done, post back and let us know if wood installers, really earn their money. Tell us how many blisters you get, how many band-aids you use, and how many Advils(iBprophen), it took!!!

....Don't forget to ask Kelli about personal satisfaction after completing a project like this on their own home.

Some things to consider when wanting to upgrade the flooring in a new home you are buying.
Ray is correct that most often, the standard/stock flooring that is included in the price of the house is being provided by the flooring subcontractor at his cost or even it may cost him a little. To be able to afford to do this, the flooring subcontractor and the builder enter into a agreement that this particular flooring subcontractor will be the ONLY flooring contractor working in the subdivision. And all upgrades must be purchased through him via the "design center". Now when choosing the upgrades, the salesperson gets their commission, the builder gets a piece of the action and the flooring subcontractor gets a premium to not only pay for the upgrades but also to compensate him/her for taking a loss on the homes that do not upgrade. This is standard procedure in all track housing and has been this way for decades. So it is common to find that the cost for the upgraded flooring to be 50 to 100% higher than standard retail pricing. But also consider this. The buyer gets to finance the upgrade into the mortgage which may only cost the buyer 25 to 50 bucks a month more with no out of pocket costs and the fact that when they move in, they do not have to tear the house apart to redo the floors. Of course, over the life of the loan, the buyer would pay even more for those expensive upgrades. But folks generally do not live in their homes for the life of the mortgage anyway. So, you can roll the expensive upgrades into the loan amount for very little extra per month and move right in OR buy the house with the standard flooring, move in, rip out the flooring, find the flooring you want, pay for it now and arrange for the installation (either hire a pro or DIY). Neither is ideal. If you want ideal, do not buy a new home. Buy a home that needs cosmetic work and get it a reduced price. Then rehab it the way you want it. That is the most economical way to go about it, IMO.