hardwood, engineered hardwood and pergo.

[RootSkier]

Agreed - but Jesus fucking Christ - do it yourself man!!!!

I'm down and I've done it, multiple times. But I usually pay someone else to do the sanding. But come on, this bunch of dentists can hardly even tie their shoes.

[Tippster]

Why the fuck would I do that shit myself? My time is more valuable to me than the cost of paying an installer. I'm also just OCD enough to see the difference between my faking it and having a pro do the job.

I don't paint, either. Fuck that.

[iceman]

well maybe you just need to find your happy place with the painting:

[Tippster]

BURN THE HAPPY FUCKING TREE

[Hugh Conway]

I'm down and I've done it, multiple times. But I usually pay someone else to do the sanding. But come on, this bunch of dentists can hardly even tie their shoes.

well, most couldn't, and they are the ones who'll rip out the interior (or flip the home to someone who will). that's right follow the dirtpimps advice, plow more money into the useless asset that is a home! woohoo!

[IVplay]

well, most couldn't, and they are the ones who'll rip out the interior (or flip the home to someone who will). that's right follow the dirtpimps advice, plow more money into the useless asset that is a home! woohoo!

At least in canadiana your home is the most valuable asset, esp. if you live in Vancouver or Toronto.

[Hugh Conway]

At least in canadiana your home is the most valuable asset, esp. if you live in Vancouver or Toronto.

Who wouldn't want to live in Toronto after all?

[IVplay]

Can't load the pic but knowing tgr it's prob bashing Toronto

But honestly Toronto is a dump, only a financial centre, boring as hell here.

[cramer]

well, this decision fucking sucks.
@root, im on a slab, hardwood is going to require me putting in a bunch of plywood isnt it? So thus why i was looking at the engineered.

I was comparing the 2 today and im leaning toward the engineered. You'd hardly be able to tell the difference between that and hardwood unless you had a trained eye. Even then, it looks just as good. Doesn't look cheap at all. Its also cheaper to install. I should mention that money is a big factor here too. With that said, now im like fuck, maybe i need to put it off another year and put in hardwood. Gawd forbid i get laid off or better yet, i get a better job and need to sell the house, its quite obvious people want to see hardwood. I have carpet and my thought was ANYTHING is better. Now you guys are having me drain the bank account and to it right.

[Vt-Freeheel]

Use THIS to glue your wood directly to the slab. Clean the slab with water and a stiff push broom and wet vac to remove dirt and dust. Let it dry a couple of days and set your starter course making sure it is dead nuts straight.
Let it set overnight and install the rest. Keep clean rags and some mineral spirits to clean any glue that gets on the surface off before it dries or you will be cursing as you try to get it off.
If you are not firmly set on wood species look for odd lot closeouts for good deals.
I have a job in a couple of weeks that is 800 sqft of engineered over radiant, 2 species, one type was bought as an odd lot closeout for short money.Don't forget your kneepads.

[pepperdawg]

I'm down and I've done it, multiple times. But I usually pay someone else to do the sanding. But come on, this bunch of dentists can hardly even tie their shoes.

Word up - Sorry to come off sounding like douche....I actually enjoyed it and seeing the outcome......

Tippster - Yah agreed painting sucks the big one...

[RootSkier]

well, this decision fucking sucks.
@root, im on a slab, hardwood is going to require me putting in a bunch of plywood isnt it? So thus why i was looking at the engineered.

If it's on a slab, then engineered is fine. I missed that part.

[cramer]

If it's on a slab, then engineered is fine. I missed that part.

i didnt know i had to rule hardwood out till yesterday. Thanks all for the responses and pm's. Engineered it is. i'm going with a dark one, well because it looks sweet. Scratches will show, but if you saw my carpet i have now, a scratched up engineered hardwood is awesome. I was also informed this is turning into more money. My installer told me the baseboards will be lower, so there will be a line. Hello new paint job. What fucking sucks about that is im doing the entire house besides kitchen and bathrooms. FML. Luckily i have a buddy who paints on the side. (use to be painter, now in IT) That and i helped him do someones decks last summer free of charge. And im talking some serious decks. A big ass front one half the size of her house. A nice sized back one. Then a boat dock. So no labor costs thank gawd. He's got a sprayer, But still a pain in the ass. The good news is, my wife will be happy and leave me alone for a month. New floors and hardware on the cabinets. The last chore for me is the back yard. Once again, FML. After that, she's funding any further projects. I'm done.

[iceman]

[mcsquared]

i didnt know i had to rule hardwood out till yesterday. Thanks all for the responses and pm's. Engineered it is. i'm going with a dark one, well because it looks sweet. Scratches will show, but if you saw my carpet i have now, a scratched up engineered hardwood is awesome. I was also informed this is turning into more money. My installer told me the baseboards will be lower, so there will be a line. Hello new paint job. What fucking sucks about that is im doing the entire house besides kitchen and bathrooms. FML. Luckily i have a buddy who paints on the side. (use to be painter, now in IT) That and i helped him do someones decks last summer free of charge. And im talking some serious decks. A big ass front one half the size of her house. A nice sized back one. Then a boat dock. So no labor costs thank gawd. He's got a sprayer, But still a pain in the ass. The good news is, my wife will be happy and leave me alone for a month. New floors and hardware on the cabinets. The last chore for me is the back yard. Once again, FML. After that, she's funding any further projects. I'm done.

You might not need to dick around with the baseboards and paint. Every house I have ever ripped up carpet to put down engineered, the baseboards are right around 3/8" of the floor and the engineered slides right under. I pull the base on one side of the room, lay the floor and then put the base back in with a pin nailer. Usually I don't even need to touch up the base. You might have to flush cut any door casing as that usually goes to the floor. More importantly, what will Zillow think of all this?

[RootSkier]

You can also just add a shoe molding instead of ripping out and reinstalling all the base.

[XXX-er]

I just heard of an unusual flooring problem, a buddy of mine re-did the floors in his house which he had owned for years went a little more upscale & spent some coin. He did not mention his wife having problems with sensitivity BUT the off gassing of glue/new material/whatever/yadyada made his wife so sick the smartest option was to sell and move to a newer 13yr old house that didn't need any upgrades, kind of unusual but it does happen and buddy had no choice but to move

[cramer]

You can also just add a shoe molding instead of ripping out and reinstalling all the base.

had to google that. That looks pretty clean. ill have them price that out. i plan on painting anyways, i just wasnt looking to do the entire fricking house at this point.

[cramer]

You might not need to dick around with the baseboards and paint. Every house I have ever ripped up carpet to put down engineered, the baseboards are right around 3/8" of the floor and the engineered slides right under. I pull the base on one side of the room, lay the floor and then put the base back in with a pin nailer. Usually I don't even need to touch up the base. You might have to flush cut any door casing as that usually goes to the floor. More importantly, what will Zillow think of all this?

ya, i just went and checked one of the doors, it does goto the floor. Also, im doing my kitchen. are they going to need to yank my appliances out to put floor down there? Or does it stop at front of appliance?I was going to wait and put tile down, but ive got linoleum in there now and the previous owners kid took some kind of marker to it. I can't afford to do the tile for awhile. And there is no way i'm doing the whole house and leaving that fricking linoleum in there. It would look ridiculous. I can always yank the floor up when i tile my entryways, bathrooms and fireplace. (fireplace has same tile as entryway, so i'll have to do it).

Ya, im curious on what the zillow gods say it adds to the value of the house. My neighbor has his house done, but not the whole thing. He also doesnt have granite and has pretty standard cabinets.

[Jethro]

You can also just add a shoe molding instead of ripping out and reinstalling all the base.

If you are painting it, this is the simplest option. If you want a stained finish on the base, it can be hard to match. In that case, new baseboard which is a little bit higher than the old base is easy to put in and you might not need to paint the walls.

[cramer]

disregard the appliance question. its quite clear im going to have to yank them. I have gas. is there usually a turn off valve right behind the oven?

[Vt-Freeheel]

disregard the appliance question. its quite clear im going to have to yank them. I have gas. is there usually a turn off valve right behind the oven?

Yes, usually a shutoff and you can usually unscrew the handle and reinstall it so the gas valve cannot be bumped open.

[Buke]

im doing my kitchen. are they going to need to yank my appliances out to put floor down there? Or does it stop at front of appliance?

I put hardwood floors in my place. There were original wood floors that were not repairable and the cheapest option was to lay new hardwoods over the top of the old. The problem was that the counter was too low to fit a dishwasher in if the new wood floor went underneath the dishwasher. Of course, stopping the wood flooring in front of the dishwasher meant that replacing the dishwasher would mean lifting the counter. I figured we'd be ready for new cabinets and counter by the time the dishwasher went out. As I'm sure you've guessed, we were in no position to remodel the kitchen when the dishwasher broke and getting a new one in was a major hassle.

[warthog]

Slab- you need to go engineered, especially if it is a high moisture area. Get a moisture test done on the concrete. There is a glue/ moisture barrier that is very expensive, but needed for high moisture areas. It essentially doubles the cost of the project. Our floors were put down right over this barrier on the slab.

We went with a Spanish Hickory engineered- it is a faux hand scraped. Had it put in 4 years ago, and it looks new. I have dropped knives on it in the kitchen, heels have stomped it, dogs have slid across it, etc. Looks like it did the day we got it. The hand scraped look already has blemishes built in, so you don't really notice a scratch or dent. They are everywhere already.

Edit- I jusy went back and saw that you already knew all this. Seriously though, look at the hand scraped stuff before you decide.

[Foggy_Goggles]

If your cabs are set on the lino directly you = kinda fucked. As said, the DW won't fit. Why they don't make some type of remod. DW or a different design of the leg/valance is beyond be. I install floors for a living (among other things) and this comes up constantly. Tile should be cheaper than HW so I don't get the whole wood now tile later argument. Honestly, save up until you can do it right the first time.