Hello everyone. First off, please allow me to say that I am impressed with the types of responses that I see people giving concerning their hardwood topics. I have already learned quite a bit.

So, here's my scenario.. I am buying a 6 year old home in Austin, Texas. It currently has a mix of carpet and linolium on top of a concrete slab. I plan to sell it in about 5 years and I thought a good way to add value in the short term is to lay down some quality hardwood over most of the house (i.e. around 1500-1600 ft2).

I bought a book on flooring and read numerous websites. My goal is to add the most value to my home with the least amount of $$ investment (and get some nice hardwood floors at the same time).

I have been considering Studio B from Bruce pretty seriously because I like the fact that it can be sanded up to three times. I don't, however, plan to sand my floors in the next five years so perhaps that is unwise. After looking at the cost of some of the engineered hardwood, it isn't too much more expensive (perhaps cheaper) to simply have a subfloor installed and use solid wood. I am prepared to DIM (do it myself), but I'm not sure I have the experience to properly prepare a concrete floor for a glue-down installation. Floating is another option, but I haven't explored that too much.

So, I guess I just need some advice. Based on what I said about the house, I'm curious what is the best way to add value at the least expense to me.

Thank you in advance for your help.

-Brian

If given the choice I prefer to float a hardwood floor over cement rather than glue it as glue/cement can give over time and repairs can be a little more complicated. Many engineered hardwoods are recommended for floating installation - check around. Buy from someone reputable and who you trust. One of my favourites is Muskoka hardwood who make a great engineered product 9/16" thick.

Art

Austin Texas... Small world

Floor prep is the most important part of any job.
I do floor prep by the hour + materials, if you just need someone to do the prep part of the job.

Have you been to the NOFMA website and looked at what is involved in a subfloor, over concrete?

That is why engineered was made.

I don't see floating a Studio B in the Bruce specs, only gluedown.

You also need to be able to recapture your investment in the floor at resale. If you over improve for the neighborhood, you will lose money on the deal. Check with your realtor to see if other homes in your "hood" have wood floors throughout. Putting down a 3/4" CDX plywood subfloor and installing solid wood is WAY more money than gluing or floating an engineered floor. I get $25.00 a sq.ft. for a vapor barrier, 3/4" CDX glued and nailed, 2&1/4" red oak strip, installed, sanded and finished. Granted, alot of that is labor. If I were in your shoes, I'd get a Kahrs floating floor with a upgraded pad to cut down on the sound some floaters make. It can be recoated or resanded when the time comes to sell AND it will look good and install easily without costing a fortune.

FloorGuy,
I'd love to talk to you about your pricing to prep the floor. Based on what everyone has said, however, I think I'm going to go with a DIY floating floor. Since I haven't done a lot of research in that area, I don't know how much floor prep is involved. Here is my email address if you would like to contact me about floor prep. (ringwraith@tol-lamfirith.org) Honestly, I don't have a big budget for this project ($10-12k).

I have been looking very closely at Kahrs. Not only are their floors cheaper than Studio B, but they are beautiful. Now I just have to pick one. What is the best sound absorption pad and vapor barrier to use? I keep reading about the "Pergo effect" with floating floors. I'd like to eliminate that if I can.

By the way, thanks for your help.


Gary,
Thanks for the advice. I viewed lots of houses in the area. Most have hardwood; few have hardwood throughout. Fortunately I got the house well under market, so I can afford to put about $20k into it. This will be a big chunk.

-Brian

Floor prep for a floater is the same for a gluedown.

The substrate must meet the 1/8" in 6' up to 3/16" in 10 " Or the floor will flex too much and eventually come apart.

Hmm.. I wasn't aware that floating and glue down had the same floor preparation requirements. What is the disadvantage of floating? Based on what I have heard, why would anyone do gluedown directly to concrete?

Also, hardwoodinstaller doesn't say much about floor moldings with floating floor installations. I had previously planned on removing them, repainting, and then reinstalling after the floors are down. Is this unwise?

FloorGuy,
Do you do all the measurements required by the hardwood vendor in addition to floor flattening? How much do you think you would charge? I plan to pull up all the linolium and carpet and clean the slab myself.

Thanks,
Brian

Brian, you have mail.