I am planning to buy 1,000 sq ft of wood to install in my 3rd floor Condo.
I have 3/4" sub floors but have not seen the direction the joists lie.
I am getting 3/4" solid pre-finished wood. I was hoping for 5" wide planks but might have to settle for a smaller width due to cost ($5k shipped is my limit).
My questions are as follows:
1.) Is it alright to order from
www.lumberliquidators.com?
I have heard many horror stories about bad wood and quality customer service from them.
2.) Is Bellawood a good wood flooring? I read a couple places on the net that there wood might splint or not hold up as well as other woods that aren’t as advertised.
3.) I was hoping to get a nice wood like:
http://www.lumberliquidators.com/catalo ... egoryId=60
Is there a comparable wood for around $4.50 a sq ft?
4.) What is a good and reliable place to order my wood from? Some local installers recommend I buy from Lowes or HomeDepot so I can return my left over unused wood.
5.) I plan to find out what direction my joist are and install at a 90' angle to the joists. I heard it minimizes noise from walking on it. What other things can I do to minimize the noise from walking on the floor?
6.) Should I install extra subfloor? I will have 3/4" wood. Should I install an additional 3/8" tongue and groove (t&g)
wood subfloor or a cork/other underlayment to reduce the amount of sound passed to the people living below me and stop squeaks while
walking on the floor.
7.) A local installer told me not to worry about moisture on my floor because heat rises and I don’t live on the first floor.
He said that if I install a vapor and water repellant, it might be a problem because if someone spills water
then when it soaks into the wood it will just sit between the water/vapor repellant and my wood and cause it to buckle.
I should not worry about water coming from under my floor because the chance of something causing vapor/water to come
through the subfloor are slime. Is this guy right or did I just catch him at a bad time (maybe he just finished smoking something)?
Statements to answer possible questions you guys might have:
1.) I will not be installing wood in the kitchen so I don’t need to worry about raising the floor and checking clearances of appliances (dish washer).
2.) I will be installing 3/4" pre-finished wood in my condo everywhere except the bathrooms, kitchen, and small 3' x 4' entrance (which will be marble).
3.) Both bathrooms and the Kitchen will be tiled. I will go and measure how much the difference will be in the wood flooring and kitchen/bathroom
tile floor. Hopefully the height difference is minimal. Otherwise I will have to figure out how to hand a big difference in height due to making
sure my wood is properly installed (subfloor, etc).
4.) I will check to see how the joists are lined up. If subfloor is needed I will install it at a 90 degree angle to the joists.
Thanks again in advance,
Oren