I am going to lay a DIY engineered wood floor. This floor will go over a concrete slab and encompass the entry foyer, hall, den and dining room. This is approx 700 square feet in total. Being a novice, I have elected to put down a floating, click-together floor. My upper limit is $5000. Anything less gives me money to spend elsewhere i.e., beer, casino. My choice at this point is the Kahrs Woodloc. Now for the questions:

1. Should I consider something other than Kahrs Woodloc or is this my best choice?

2. I have a dark colored, brick fireplace/hearth in the den(20x20). It's approx 10 feet wide and runs from the floor to the ceiling. The hearth rises 18 inches from the floor and has rounded corners. What color wood would look best with the brick? Then, what color would you paint the walls?

3. How should I handle laying the floor along the hearth? I can't figure out how to best finish this out.

4. The hall runs between the den and dining room. Do I T-mold as I transition from room to hall to room?

Thanks for your advice.

Joe

You should hire someone to undercut the hearth. It will save you a lot of grief. You might be able to rent a jamb saw, but you are liable to screw it up if you have never done it before. Hell, you might consider hiring someone to undercut everything. I would charge about 200 dollars for something like that. It would be money well spent for a DIYer.

Kahrs has no equal. They have been doing what they do for over 50 years.

As far as wood color against brick, it does not matter. It is a good idea to have a stark contrast between the floor and the walls. It winds up looking elegant. Light floors and light walls look like an operating room. Dark floors and dark walls look like a dungeon.