Cheap Wood-Looking Flooring (1 Viewer)

[Reaper]

I got "Harmonics" Laminate from Costco listed for $1.69 a sq ft... With a coupon it was closer to $1.43..

There was nothing at Home Depot or LumberLiquidators that came close to that Price for what I thought was far superiour quality and thickness...

Got the pad Attatched as well since I was over concrete and liked the extra padding. (I also used a plastic breathable underlayment)

I looked for Laminates and alternatives for about a year and this Costco stuff was a no brainer compared to anything I saw.

Super Easy to put down. and looks great (for now)... Granted it's my basement so, I wanted to stick to a real tight budget in case of disaster and it's not going to get major traffic.

I have a similar product in my bedroom as do my parents in their "swanky" house. Yeah, it's a "cheaper" look and yeah it is cheaper. But, again, another low traffic area... It's been 5 years so far and is holding up fine - Maybe one day I rip it out and put hardwood but, for my budget at the time and the fact that I can lay this stuff down easily MYSELF, it was well worth it.

Costco sells a Bamboo product for $2.55 that IMO is killer. They use it in their own optical offices and it holds up prety well.

That said, My buddy has a beach house and put down vinyl and again, i get the negative critism BUT, damn, it looks good and I had to get down and really look at it to tell what it was and it works out extremely well for this application for him - wet, sandy, beach traffic.

Oh and no disrespect to Billy - just an opinion from someone who has used the laminates.. But, also if you don't do the labor youself, maybe the HW floor becomes a better option. The fact that I could lay down the laminate easily and didn't feel comfortable doing the HW made the Laminate a lot cheaper overall.

I used to be 100% against laminates but, I've warmed up to some useful applications assuming that at about 10 years I might be looking to replace it.

 

[glumpy]

I got "Harmonics" Laminate from Costco listed for $1.69 a sq ft... With a coupon it was closer to $1.43..There was nothing at Home Depot or LumberLiquidators that came close to that Price for what I thought was far superiour quality and thickness...Got the pad Attatched as well since I was over concrete and liked the extra padding. (I also used a plastic breathable underlayment)

Hows that work for moisture? I'll be doing the same thing over concrete, and looking for insulation as well.

 

[NutterButter]

Got this stuff throughout my house. Has to be the easiest stuff to install, holds up great (have 2 kids, 2 dogs and you guessed it 2 cats and looks good after 5 years) and its cheap. Have it over subfloor on the first floor and over a concrete in the basement. Its great in the basement b/c the floor is a little uneven, but it doesn't matter.

 

[Reaper]

I got "Harmonics" Laminate from Costco listed for $1.69 a sq ft... With a coupon it was closer to $1.43..

There was nothing at Home Depot or LumberLiquidators that came close to that Price for what I thought was far superiour quality and thickness...

Got the pad Attatched as well since I was over concrete and liked the extra padding. (I also used a plastic breathable underlayment)

Hows that work for moisture? I'll be doing the same thing over concrete, and looking for insulation as well.

I put THIS Stuff down over the concrete... Real nice guy and he shipped it.

Put it down in the winter so, I haven't gotten through a season of humidity yet. You can kinda see the floor in this Pic Basement Pic Before the trim and finish work was done (I mean, I'll get to it)

I researched for a while- I was going to use the stuff they sell at Lowes /HD that is basically plastic glued to interlocking wood but, I was worried about losing Ceiling height.

So, far, I have to say, it does Move a little and has bumps or waves - I didn't go crazy trying to level everything out, again, it's "just" my basement.

For the price and it's use, I couldn't be happier so far.

 

[Reaper]

Got this stuff throughout my house. Has to be the easiest stuff to install, holds up great (have 2 kids, 2 dogs and you guessed it 2 cats and looks good after 5 years) and its cheap. Have it over subfloor on the first floor and over a concrete in the basement. Its great in the basement b/c the floor is a little uneven, but it doesn't matter.

Link Shows a few products - Are you refering to the interlocking Vinyl?

I was going to go with that in the basement but, hoped the plastic "breathable" underlayment that they claim gives you 30% more warmth plus the padding plus laminate would keep me a little warmer.

I wound up spending less money as well...

 

[JerseyToughGuys]

Thoughts on Pergo?

 

[NutterButter]

Got this stuff throughout my house. Has to be the easiest stuff to install, holds up great (have 2 kids, 2 dogs and you guessed it 2 cats and looks good after 5 years) and its cheap. Have it over subfloor on the first floor and over a concrete in the basement. Its great in the basement b/c the floor is a little uneven, but it doesn't matter.

Link Shows a few products - Are you refering to the interlocking Vinyl?

I was going to go with that in the basement but, hoped the plastic "breathable" underlayment that they claim gives you 30% more warmth plus the padding plus laminate would keep me a little warmer.

I wound up spending less money as well...

Its the first one; Allure Ultra flooring

 

[GTBilly]

Thoughts on Pergo?

Crap. Next Question.

 

[GTBilly]

I got "Harmonics" Laminate from Costco listed for $1.69 a sq ft... With a coupon it was closer to $1.43..There was nothing at Home Depot or LumberLiquidators that came close to that Price for what I thought was far superiour quality and thickness...Got the pad Attatched as well since I was over concrete and liked the extra padding. (I also used a plastic breathable underlayment)I looked for Laminates and alternatives for about a year and this Costco stuff was a no brainer compared to anything I saw.Super Easy to put down. and looks great (for now)... Granted it's my basement so, I wanted to stick to a real tight budget in case of disaster and it's not going to get major traffic.I have a similar product in my bedroom as do my parents in their "swanky" house. Yeah, it's a "cheaper" look and yeah it is cheaper. But, again, another low traffic area... It's been 5 years so far and is holding up fine - Maybe one day I rip it out and put hardwood but, for my budget at the time and the fact that I can lay this stuff down easily MYSELF, it was well worth it.Costco sells a Bamboo product for $2.55 that IMO is killer. They use it in their own optical offices and it holds up prety well.That said, My buddy has a beach house and put down vinyl and again, i get the negative critism BUT, damn, it looks good and I had to get down and really look at it to tell what it was and it works out extremely well for this application for him - wet, sandy, beach traffic.Oh and no disrespect to Billy - just an opinion from someone who has used the laminates.. But, also if you don't do the labor youself, maybe the HW floor becomes a better option. The fact that I could lay down the laminate easily and didn't feel comfortable doing the HW made the Laminate a lot cheaper overall.I used to be 100% against laminates but, I've warmed up to some useful applications assuming that at about 10 years I might be looking to replace it.

Laminate is fine. The bad thing is the pad attached portion of the program.

 

[glumpy]

I got "Harmonics" Laminate from Costco listed for $1.69 a sq ft... With a coupon it was closer to $1.43..

There was nothing at Home Depot or LumberLiquidators that came close to that Price for what I thought was far superiour quality and thickness...

Got the pad Attatched as well since I was over concrete and liked the extra padding. (I also used a plastic breathable underlayment)

Hows that work for moisture? I'll be doing the same thing over concrete, and looking for insulation as well.

I put THIS Stuff down over the concrete... Real nice guy and he shipped it.

Put it down in the winter so, I haven't gotten through a season of humidity yet. You can kinda see the floor in this Pic Basement Pic Before the trim and finish work was done (I mean, I'll get to it)

I researched for a while- I was going to use the stuff they sell at Lowes /HD that is basically plastic glued to interlocking wood but, I was worried about losing Ceiling height.

So, far, I have to say, it does Move a little and has bumps or waves - I didn't go crazy trying to level everything out, again, it's "just" my basement.

For the price and it's use, I couldn't be happier so far.

That subfloor just might be the trick. I'll be flooring for a kitchen, LR and bedroom over the concrete and have been considering going total linoleum (higher end for finishes) but that gives some alternative choices. Have to keep the thickness in the LR to a minimum given the 7' ceiling height.

 

[Early_10]

Seems like a good place to ask...Billy, my desk chair has left a section of the hardwood floors worn looking and washed out. It's oak floors with a very light finish and the worn section is even lighter but dirty looking despite cleaning. Is there any quick fix I can put on it to restore the colour?

 

[GTBilly]

Seems like a good place to ask...Billy, my desk chair has left a section of the hardwood floors worn looking and washed out. It's oak floors with a very light finish and the worn section is even lighter but dirty looking despite cleaning. Is there any quick fix I can put on it to restore the colour?

No. The products the sell to do this are basically crap, haven't seen one yet that works. What I would do(If I was you) is go get an area rug to put over it. What I would do personally is take some of the leftover hardwood that I had, remove the crappy section and put new boards in. I would charge you bout $300 to do this so I would assume someone in your area would be about the same. If you don't have any leftover wood or don't know anyone who can do it then go back to plan A and by an area rug.

 

[SuperAwesomeDude]

http://www.lumberliquidators.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=14543&WT.mc_id=CSE_NT_07

Went with this engineered hardwood

 

[SuperAwesomeDude]

http://www.lumberliquidators.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=14543&WT.mc_id=CSE_NT_07Went with this engineered hardwood

got her at $2.79

 

[texasheat]

the stuff they sell at Costco is very good.

 

[SuperAwesomeDude]

installation.... i will be installing above grade. guy at lumber liquidators said i only need to lay down some roofing paper on the subfloor. planning on floating these. any tips/tricks? my friend has installed wood flooring before, but i am new to this.

again, here is what we went w/ mayflower sundance birch engineered hw

 

[mr roboto]

installation.... i will be installing above grade. guy at lumber liquidators said i only need to lay down some roofing paper on the subfloor. planning on floating these. any tips/tricks? my friend has installed wood flooring before, but i am new to this.

again, here is what we went w/ mayflower sundance birch engineered hw

Why are you floating it? Concrete subfloor?Floating feels very 'unsolid'. If you have wood subfloor, please nail down. Or glue if concrete, but then you have to seal it first if it's slab on grade.

I did a click-lock engineered bamboo on slab-on-grade and it felt hollow in spots, even though we used a self-leveling compound beforehand.

If slab on grade, you can actually build a subfloor of wood first. I think 1x1 furring strips and then plywood. But your transitions are going to be very high.

 

[SuperAwesomeDude]

installation.... i will be installing above grade. guy at lumber liquidators said i only need to lay down some roofing paper on the subfloor. planning on floating these. any tips/tricks? my friend has installed wood flooring before, but i am new to this.

again, here is what we went w/ mayflower sundance birch engineered hw

Why are you floating it? Concrete subfloor?Floating feels very 'unsolid'. If you have wood subfloor, please nail down. Or glue if concrete, but then you have to seal it first if it's slab on grade.

I did a click-lock engineered bamboo on slab-on-grade and it felt hollow in spots, even though we used a self-leveling compound beforehand.

If slab on grade, you can actually build a subfloor of wood first. I think 1x1 furring strips and then plywood. But your transitions are going to be very high.

above grade. wood subfloor.

 

[mr roboto]

installation.... i will be installing above grade. guy at lumber liquidators said i only need to lay down some roofing paper on the subfloor. planning on floating these. any tips/tricks? my friend has installed wood flooring before, but i am new to this.

again, here is what we went w/ mayflower sundance birch engineered hw

Why are you floating it? Concrete subfloor?Floating feels very 'unsolid'. If you have wood subfloor, please nail down. Or glue if concrete, but then you have to seal it first if it's slab on grade.

I did a click-lock engineered bamboo on slab-on-grade and it felt hollow in spots, even though we used a self-leveling compound beforehand.

If slab on grade, you can actually build a subfloor of wood first. I think 1x1 furring strips and then plywood. But your transitions are going to be very high.

above grade. wood subfloor.

If at ALL POSSIBLE nail it down.

 

[gmbacm]

On a budget. Hopefully less than $1.50 a square foot. first time home-owner trying to get the woman off my back about the floors.

http://www.lumberliquidators.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=14543&WT.mc_id=CSE_NT_07Went with this engineered hardwood

got her at $2.79

At least you held her to less then twice your budget.

 

[SuperAwesomeDude]

On a budget. Hopefully less than $1.50 a square foot. first time home-owner trying to get the woman off my back about the floors.

http://www.lumberliquidators.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=14543&WT.mc_id=CSE_NT_07Went with this engineered hardwood

got her at $2.79

At least you held her to less then twice your budget.

slap it high

 

[GTBilly]

Staple it down. Thank us all later.

ETA: and I don't mean to be mean/rude but as rookies(Folks be wary about the friend that put down a floor once and is now an expert)you guys will probably butcher the glue together floating floor.

When you ignore the advice of stapling this floor down make sure to use lots and lots of painters tape and strap clamps if you can get a hold of a set. If you are asking what those items are for STAPLE THE FLOOR DOWN.

 

[BRONG]

Bumping this sucker.

I'm about to put down some Allure flooring from Home Depot in a kitchen and bath of an apartment. Hardwood is not an option.

Whadya say, Billy?

 

[Otis]

Slight Highjack sorry...GTB, I have a 1890's Victorian, Hardwoods throughout, that need sanded and refinished. Is this something I should attempt myself or should i leave it to the experts. Also if i hire someone what i'm i looking at cost wise?

Unless the floors are in great shape and are necessary to the look and feel of the house rip it out and put in new(My personal taste). I would charge $1 to remove the old floor and $2 to install new so $3/ft labor plus the price of the floor. I could make it look awesome for 6/ft cash all in.If you must have it refinished then make sure you get someone to do it and make sure you see at least photos of their work or if possible somewhere that they have refinished it. This is definitely one of those things that any donkey thinks they can do but it takes practice and skill to do well. The company that our shop uses charges us $4/ft to do our refinishing so I would assume they charge somewhere between 4 and 5 to the public.So in my part of the world $6/ft brand spanking new or $5 refinished.

This seems awesome. $6/ft for brand new hardwood floors throughout?? I've got about 1800-2000 sqft of wood floors throughout the house. It's a 1920 colonial that is set on a hill, and the house has settled A LOT. As a result, floors are very uneven in some places. Also the floors creak pretty badly throughout. I would eventually like to have all the floors completely redone, and was hoping they could figure out a way to do something with the subfloor to take out the unevenness. Can they do that? Also, will the new wood flooring fix the creaking? My stairs are especially creaky, and I'd love to have those redone at the right time as well.I always assumed this was going to cost us an absolute mountainload. I'm sure prices here will be obscenely higher than $6/sqft (I'm in Long Island, NY). Any advice appreciated. And I'll be super stoked if we can really redo all these at or around those prices.

 

[Otis]

read that like you were driving by in a car

 

[glumpy]

Cheap Hardwood is better than Cheap Laminate. Looks far better. If you are planning on staying in the house do not go to a Big Box store and buy their .69/ft laminate you will regret it. I will sit back and watch as everyone completely disagrees with the flooring guy. Specific questions will once again be answered in this thread but be warned as with all things FBG everyone here is an expert and only what they say means anything, all other opinions are moot. Ask away...

/thread

 

[glumpy]

Bumping this sucker.I'm about to put down some Allure flooring from Home Depot in a kitchen and bath of an apartment. Hardwood is not an option.Whadya say, Billy?

OH! Didn't catch the bump. Sorry I'm not familiar with that flooring to speak to it myself. Right now doing some sheet vinyl in a bath myself.

 

[VA703]

+1 for lumberliquidators

you might even be able to either install it yourself or find cheaper labor on craigslist

 

[Battles]

Slight Highjack sorry...GTB, I have a 1890's Victorian, Hardwoods throughout, that need sanded and refinished. Is this something I should attempt myself or should i leave it to the experts. Also if i hire someone what i'm i looking at cost wise?

Unless the floors are in great shape and are necessary to the look and feel of the house rip it out and put in new(My personal taste). I would charge $1 to remove the old floor and $2 to install new so $3/ft labor plus the price of the floor. I could make it look awesome for 6/ft cash all in.If you must have it refinished then make sure you get someone to do it and make sure you see at least photos of their work or if possible somewhere that they have refinished it. This is definitely one of those things that any donkey thinks they can do but it takes practice and skill to do well. The company that our shop uses charges us $4/ft to do our refinishing so I would assume they charge somewhere between 4 and 5 to the public.So in my part of the world $6/ft brand spanking new or $5 refinished.

This seems awesome. $6/ft for brand new hardwood floors throughout?? I've got about 1800-2000 sqft of wood floors throughout the house. It's a 1920 colonial that is set on a hill, and the house has settled A LOT. As a result, floors are very uneven in some places. Also the floors creak pretty badly throughout. I would eventually like to have all the floors completely redone, and was hoping they could figure out a way to do something with the subfloor to take out the unevenness. Can they do that? Also, will the new wood flooring fix the creaking? My stairs are especially creaky, and I'd love to have those redone at the right time as well.I always assumed this was going to cost us an absolute mountainload. I'm sure prices here will be obscenely higher than $6/sqft (I'm in Long Island, NY). Any advice appreciated. And I'll be super stoked if we can really redo all these at or around those prices.

Pier and beam foundation? Masonry? Concrete?You might need to address some foundation issues to level the floor first and then take the rest of the uneven areas out by shimming the subfloor. Leveling everything using the subfloor might just be putting lipstick on the pig. Note: You probably don't have a subfloor right now. It's probably just flooring on top of the joists. You'd have to put down 3/4" hardwoods to return to that. Or you could do subfloor with engineered hardwood. Depends on the thickness of everything and your baseboards, but if you add too much, you have to undercut the baseboards. In older houses the new floor will significantly reduce the creaking if it's installed correctly, but can come back a little bit due to more settling.

 

[GTBilly]

the stuff they sell at Costco is very good.

Actually the stuff they sell at Costco is crap.

 

[GTBilly]

Bumping this sucker.

I'm about to put down some Allure flooring from Home Depot in a kitchen and bath of an apartment. Hardwood is not an option.

Whadya say, Billy?

If it is the Allure Laminate then DON'T DO IT.(Honestly can't remember if Allure makes Laminate but 99% of HD Laminates are crap. I'm sure that many of you will say "I put in HD laminate and it looks and wears great" but in my professional opinion this stuff is crap)

This Stuff on the other Hand

That stuff is great. I was one of the first people to play with this stuff in Canada and I've installed miles of it. Apparently now they have ceramic looks as well. When it first came out in Canada HD had a 16ish month exclusive license but now my shop carries this stuff as well. It's easy to work with as well.

PRO TIP: After you have installed this make sure to get a vinyl roller and roll the whole floor.

 

[BRONG]

I was deciding between THIS. And THIS.

I don't have the luxury of installing whatever I want, btw, I am not the landlord. And he is tight. Actually, his wife is paying for this behind his back.

ETA the kitchen walls are pine. The bath, cedar. NO CLUE what floor would look "good" with that, but figured I needed to lighten it up. Thoughts?

Also, this is over a wood floor...like plywood, haha.

 

[GTBilly]

Slight Highjack sorry...GTB, I have a 1890's Victorian, Hardwoods throughout, that need sanded and refinished. Is this something I should attempt myself or should i leave it to the experts. Also if i hire someone what i'm i looking at cost wise?

Unless the floors are in great shape and are necessary to the look and feel of the house rip it out and put in new(My personal taste). I would charge $1 to remove the old floor and $2 to install new so $3/ft labor plus the price of the floor. I could make it look awesome for 6/ft cash all in.If you must have it refinished then make sure you get someone to do it and make sure you see at least photos of their work or if possible somewhere that they have refinished it. This is definitely one of those things that any donkey thinks they can do but it takes practice and skill to do well. The company that our shop uses charges us $4/ft to do our refinishing so I would assume they charge somewhere between 4 and 5 to the public.So in my part of the world $6/ft brand spanking new or $5 refinished.

This seems awesome. $6/ft for brand new hardwood floors throughout?? I've got about 1800-2000 sqft of wood floors throughout the house. It's a 1920 colonial that is set on a hill, and the house has settled A LOT. As a result, floors are very uneven in some places. Also the floors creak pretty badly throughout. I would eventually like to have all the floors completely redone, and was hoping they could figure out a way to do something with the subfloor to take out the unevenness. Can they do that? Also, will the new wood flooring fix the creaking? My stairs are especially creaky, and I'd love to have those redone at the right time as well.I always assumed this was going to cost us an absolute mountainload. I'm sure prices here will be obscenely higher than $6/sqft (I'm in Long Island, NY). Any advice appreciated. And I'll be super stoked if we can really redo all these at or around those prices.

Pier and beam foundation? Masonry? Concrete?You might need to address some foundation issues to level the floor first and then take the rest of the uneven areas out by shimming the subfloor. Leveling everything using the subfloor might just be putting lipstick on the pig. Note: You probably don't have a subfloor right now. It's probably just flooring on top of the joists. You'd have to put down 3/4" hardwoods to return to that. Or you could do subfloor with engineered hardwood. Depends on the thickness of everything and your baseboards, but if you add too much, you have to undercut the baseboards. In older houses the new floor will significantly reduce the creaking if it's installed correctly, but can come back a little bit due to more settling.

There are 40 ways to fix your issues. My suggestion would be to get a pro look at it. Off the top of my head I would rip it down to the joists and put down at least a 5/8" plywood and start from there. Screw and glue the ply down. Without looking at it though I can't give you much more.

 

[GTBilly]

I was deciding between THIS. And THIS.

I don't have the luxury of installing whatever I want, btw, I am not the landlord. And he is tight. Actually, his wife is paying for this behind his back.

ETA the kitchen walls are pine. The bath, cedar. NO CLUE what floor would look "good" with that, but figured I needed to lighten it up. Thoughts?

Go with whichever you like they are both installed the same. It's the same floor and it's the one I mentioned so yer all good with that. Basically there is a 1" strip on 2 sides that have a sticky side that faces up and the other two sides have sticky down, you overlap the stickies and she's installed. REMEMBER TO ROLL IT WITH A VINYL ROLLER. I'm lazy so I use a roller that is about 75 lbs and let it do the work. The hand held jobbies require you to apply pressure.

ETA: Get a girl or a gay guy to pick for you and if you don't want to do that I would go with the first one.

 

[BRONG]

I was deciding between THIS. And THIS.

I don't have the luxury of installing whatever I want, btw, I am not the landlord. And he is tight. Actually, his wife is paying for this behind his back.

ETA the kitchen walls are pine. The bath, cedar. NO CLUE what floor would look "good" with that, but figured I needed to lighten it up. Thoughts?

Go with whichever you like they are both installed the same. It's the same floor and it's the one I mentioned so yer all good with that. Basically there is a 1" strip on 2 sides that have a sticky side that faces up and the other two sides have sticky down, you overlap the stickies and she's installed. REMEMBER TO ROLL IT WITH A VINYL ROLLER. I'm lazy so I use a roller that is about 75 lbs and let it do the work. The hand held jobbies require you to apply pressure.

ETA: Get a girl or a gay guy to pick for you and if you don't want to do that I would go with the first one.

Very well, thanks. Home Depot quoted $1300 for the job, btw. $700 of it for labor, lol. We will do it ourselves. Any other tips? The guy that's helping me has done this floor only once before.And any idea what will go better with the woods I mentioned? I've no clue. Bamboo or Corfu (which looks like marble, I guess)?

Thanks.

ETA nevermind, I see your reply. I'll go try and find a gay.

KIDDING.

 

[El Floppo]

Slight Highjack sorry...

GTB, I have a 1890's Victorian, Hardwoods throughout, that need sanded and refinished. Is this something I should attempt myself or should i leave it to the experts. Also if i hire someone what i'm i looking at cost wise?

Unless the floors are in great shape and are necessary to the look and feel of the house rip it out and put in new(My personal taste). I would charge $1 to remove the old floor and $2 to install new so $3/ft labor plus the price of the floor. I could make it look awesome for 6/ft cash all in.If you must have it refinished then make sure you get someone to do it and make sure you see at least photos of their work or if possible somewhere that they have refinished it. This is definitely one of those things that any donkey thinks they can do but it takes practice and skill to do well. The company that our shop uses charges us $4/ft to do our refinishing so I would assume they charge somewhere between 4 and 5 to the public.

So in my part of the world $6/ft brand spanking new or $5 refinished.

This seems awesome. $6/ft for brand new hardwood floors throughout?? I've got about 1800-2000 sqft of wood floors throughout the house. It's a 1920 colonial that is set on a hill, and the house has settled A LOT. As a result, floors are very uneven in some places. Also the floors creak pretty badly throughout. I would eventually like to have all the floors completely redone, and was hoping they could figure out a way to do something with the subfloor to take out the unevenness. Can they do that? Also, will the new wood flooring fix the creaking? My stairs are especially creaky, and I'd love to have those redone at the right time as well.

I always assumed this was going to cost us an absolute mountainload. I'm sure prices here will be obscenely higher than $6/sqft (I'm in Long Island, NY).

Any advice appreciated. And I'll be super stoked if we can really redo all these at or around those prices.

Pier and beam foundation? Masonry? Concrete?You might need to address some foundation issues to level the floor first and then take the rest of the uneven areas out by shimming the subfloor. Leveling everything using the subfloor might just be putting lipstick on the pig. Note: You probably don't have a subfloor right now. It's probably just flooring on top of the joists. You'd have to put down 3/4" hardwoods to return to that. Or you could do subfloor with engineered hardwood. Depends on the thickness of everything and your baseboards, but if you add too much, you have to undercut the baseboards.

In older houses the new floor will significantly reduce the creaking if it's installed correctly, but can come back a little bit due to more settling.

There are 40 ways to fix your issues. My suggestion would be to get a pro look at it. Off the top of my head I would rip it down to the joists and put down at least a 5/8" plywood and start from there. Screw and glue the ply down. Without looking at it though I can't give you much more.

at worst, sister some joists in there to level everything out (if things are really bad).

I'd want somebody to shoot a laser level in there though- if the floors are that bad, leveling them out might create some issues with cabinets/walls/trim/transitions or saddles/etc not to mentions plumbing as you move across a room and into other rooms. Those are worst-case scenarios (outside of foundations being ####ed)- which hopefully you don't have to deal with.

and I'm sure it was answered- but that $/sf price Billy mentioned is for replacing flooring only, not shimming it up level. Right, Billy? I'd figure the labor costs would rise with leveling.

 

[Disco Stu]

Thoughts on Pergo?

Crap. Next Question.

Is engineered HW still the way to go? Planning to stay here indefinitely, so I want something that will last.

Currently carpet over concrete, except for the ugly 6'x5' tile entryway. Kitchen tile is good and will stay. Would also like to make the stairs HW instead of carpet.

I have no desire/tools/skill to do this myself. How much should I expect to pay for labor?

 

[Battles]

Thoughts on Pergo?

Crap. Next Question.

Is engineered HW still the way to go? Planning to stay here indefinitely, so I want something that will last.

Currently carpet over concrete, except for the ugly 6'x5' tile entryway. Kitchen tile is good and will stay. Would also like to make the stairs HW instead of carpet.

I have no desire/tools/skill to do this myself. How much should I expect to pay for labor?

Around $3/sf in Austin for floor. Plus or minus $.50-$1 depending on all the dependings. Dependings are demo, condition of concrete, install type, etc.

Stairs would be a separate charge most likely. Can be hard/impossible to do with engineered because of exposed edges.

 

[HERBERT THE HIPPO]

Thoughts on Pergo?

Crap. Next Question.

Is engineered HW still the way to go? Planning to stay here indefinitely, so I want something that will last.

Currently carpet over concrete, except for the ugly 6'x5' tile entryway. Kitchen tile is good and will stay. Would also like to make the stairs HW instead of carpet.

I have no desire/tools/skill to do this myself. How much should I expect to pay for labor?

Around $3/sf in Austin for floor. Plus or minus $.50-$1 depending on all the dependings. Dependings are demo, condition of concrete, install type, etc.

Stairs would be a separate charge most likely. Can be hard/impossible to do with engineered because of exposed edges.

Linoleum is the way to go.......

 

[Disco Stu]

Thoughts on Pergo?

Crap. Next Question.

Is engineered HW still the way to go? Planning to stay here indefinitely, so I want something that will last.

Currently carpet over concrete, except for the ugly 6'x5' tile entryway. Kitchen tile is good and will stay. Would also like to make the stairs HW instead of carpet.

I have no desire/tools/skill to do this myself. How much should I expect to pay for labor?

Around $3/sf in Austin for floor. Plus or minus $.50-$1 depending on all the dependings. Dependings are demo, condition of concrete, install type, etc.

Stairs would be a separate charge most likely. Can be hard/impossible to do with engineered because of exposed edges.

Linoleum is the way to go.......

Linoleum stairs?

 

[GTBilly]

Thoughts on Pergo?

Crap. Next Question.

Is engineered HW still the way to go? Planning to stay here indefinitely, so I want something that will last.

Currently carpet over concrete, except for the ugly 6'x5' tile entryway. Kitchen tile is good and will stay. Would also like to make the stairs HW instead of carpet.

I have no desire/tools/skill to do this myself. How much should I expect to pay for labor?

Yes engineered is better than solid. My shop would charge 0.25/ft to remove and dispose carpet, 3.00/ft to remove the tile, 3.00/ft to install glue down hardwood over concrete(pretty much has to be engineered because most companies won't warranty their solid glued down on concrete) Our carpenter charges about 6000 to make a set of hardwood stairs. If they are simple box or open sided square steps it's 100/step plus 15/picket to remove and re install. Those are all just labour except the 6000 which includes material. Also hardwood glue is expensive as hell if they use the right stuff.

 

[Disco Stu]

Thoughts on Pergo?

Crap. Next Question.

Is engineered HW still the way to go? Planning to stay here indefinitely, so I want something that will last.

Currently carpet over concrete, except for the ugly 6'x5' tile entryway. Kitchen tile is good and will stay. Would also like to make the stairs HW instead of carpet.

I have no desire/tools/skill to do this myself. How much should I expect to pay for labor?

Yes engineered is better than solid. My shop would charge 0.25/ft to remove and dispose carpet, 3.00/ft to remove the tile, 3.00/ft to install glue down hardwood over concrete(pretty much has to be engineered because most companies won't warranty their solid glued down on concrete) Our carpenter charges about 6000 to make a set of hardwood stairs. If they are simple box or open sided square steps it's 100/step plus 15/picket to remove and re install. Those are all just labour except the 6000 which includes material. Also hardwood glue is expensive as hell if they use the right stuff.

Thanks. May need to stick with carpeted stairs for now to keep the total price reasonable.

Thoughts on doing everything (including installation) through Lumber Liquidators? Or is it better to find your own contractor instead of using theirs?

We want it glued down, not floating on a pad or whatever right? Also, I see a thickness range on the engr HW. Is thicker better?

 

[avoiding injuries]

Nice bump.

GT, I'm finishing a basement and have a little over 850 sq ft that I'm putting non-carpeted flooring down. It is going to be over concrete. My research has shown that I need an engineered product for this below grade installation.

I'm looking at going with this: http://www.woodfloorsplus.com/products/?pnum=WOD09B003S

It's engineered bamboo, $2.79 ft and has an underlayment attached. What are your thoughts?

 

[Disco Stu]

Thoughts on Pergo?

Crap. Next Question.

Is engineered HW still the way to go? Planning to stay here indefinitely, so I want something that will last.

Currently carpet over concrete, except for the ugly 6'x5' tile entryway. Kitchen tile is good and will stay. Would also like to make the stairs HW instead of carpet.

I have no desire/tools/skill to do this myself. How much should I expect to pay for labor?

Yes engineered is better than solid. My shop would charge 0.25/ft to remove and dispose carpet, 3.00/ft to remove the tile, 3.00/ft to install glue down hardwood over concrete(pretty much has to be engineered because most companies won't warranty their solid glued down on concrete) Our carpenter charges about 6000 to make a set of hardwood stairs. If they are simple box or open sided square steps it's 100/step plus 15/picket to remove and re install. Those are all just labour except the 6000 which includes material. Also hardwood glue is expensive as hell if they use the right stuff.

Thanks. May need to stick with carpeted stairs for now to keep the total price reasonable.

Thoughts on doing everything (including installation) through Lumber Liquidators? Or is it better to find your own contractor instead of using theirs?

We want it glued down, not floating on a pad or whatever right? Also, I see a thickness range on the engr HW. Is thicker better?

Update: We went to Lumber Liquidators last night. Looks like we're going with this Schon Engr HW. It was cheaper in store ($2.79/sq ft).

Answering my own thickness question in case anyone else has it later... check the wear layer (easy to see looking at the edge of a sample in person). The wear layer on this 3/8" was twice as thick as on a 5/16" we were considering. 6mm vs 3mm IIRC.

 

[Annyong]

When I got my engineered HW at Lumber Liquidators I asked the kid at checkout if they could do any better and he knocked off 20 cents a sq ft to give me the contractors price.

 

[Disco Stu]

When I got my engineered HW at Lumber Liquidators I asked the kid at checkout if they could do any better and he knocked off 20 cents a sq ft to give me the contractors price.

Good to know. The one we picked was already at a clearance price, but it's worth a shot. Or I might try to get the glue price down instead. That #### is expensive.

 

[Quez]

I did my home in a laminate flooring from Lowes. The brand is Allan Roth, and it was a little thicker than the Pergo. I had them come and estimate the materials, but the cost of installation was pretty high, so I had another installer do it. Turns out they over-estimated by about 500sqft and included 4 bags of planing pitch that weren't even needed. Pretty sure these installers scam Lowes by over-estimating & keeping materials.

 

[Annyong]

When I got my engineered HW at Lumber Liquidators I asked the kid at checkout if they could do any better and he knocked off 20 cents a sq ft to give me the contractors price.

Good to know. The one we picked was already at a clearance price, but it's worth a shot. Or I might try to get the glue price down instead. That #### is expensive.

I heard gluing was a nightmare. I rented a nailgun from Home Depot and nailed her down nice and good.

 

[Disco Stu]

When I got my engineered HW at Lumber Liquidators I asked the kid at checkout if they could do any better and he knocked off 20 cents a sq ft to give me the contractors price.

Good to know. The one we picked was already at a clearance price, but it's worth a shot. Or I might try to get the glue price down instead. That #### is expensive.

I heard gluing was a nightmare. I rented a nailgun from Home Depot and nailed her down nice and good.

Can't nail to concrete. It does look like a PIA though, so I'll leave it to the professionals.

 

[GTBilly]

Nice bump.

GT, I'm finishing a basement and have a little over 850 sq ft that I'm putting non-carpeted flooring down. It is going to be over concrete. My research has shown that I need an engineered product for this below grade installation.

I'm looking at going with this: http://www.woodfloorsplus.com/products/?pnum=WOD09B003S

It's engineered bamboo, $2.79 ft and has an underlayment attached. What are your thoughts?

Sorry didn't catch this bump. I know I always harp against big box products but HD up here carries Terragren Bamboo and I've put it in a bunch of places. It is a decent product and I'd look at that first.

I detest the attached pad idea, pad isn't centered on the back and it can jam in the seams.