Flooring ROI (townhouse, luxury, tile)

[VADude]

Originally Posted by slim04

I agree and both counts, especially K&K. They are the #1 rated flooring company in Angies, but I had a terrible experience with them. They are a huge advertiser with Angies in their website and magazine, so I suspect they are shielded from negative reviews. The one time I made a negative review for a company that advertised a lot, Angies sent me two emails and a phone call trying to resolve my issue and get me to withdraw my negative review.

I had two positive experiences with them. First they redid the floor to the kitchen, they I had them to the living room and dining room to match. This was probably six years or so ago. They may have gone downhill since then.

[homebeyer2013]

Just give your buyer a carpet allowance and let them pick something they can live with.

[7 VII 7]

Originally Posted by VADude

I had two positive experiences with them. First they redid the floor to the kitchen, they I had them to the living room and dining room to match. This was probably six years or so ago. They may have gone downhill since then.

I think they know how to lay hardwood/carpet, but the prep work is horrible. Did not do moisture tests on our concrete slab and did not know to notify us if the old floor had asbestos or not. ANYWAYS.

[TextileWolf]

Originally Posted by homebeyer2013

Just give your buyer a carpet allowance and let them pick something they can live with.

This might be a good idea. We'd like to change it for our enjoyment too, but considering we have been here this long. Our fear is it would turn people off as the carpet is in rough shape.

[smarterguy]

Any house I look at to buy that has laminate get knocked down a few notches. The worst part is that if I did buy the house, I'd probably tear it up since I hate the look of it and just walking on it, and since the owner probably just paid money to put it in, they'll want a high price of it. Eh. I would just leave it as is and just put in very cheap carpet before you list your house so it shows well.

[DMom]

Long term ROI go with hardwood, easy to maintain, repair and looks.

[slim04]

Originally Posted by 7 VII 7

I think they know how to lay hardwood/carpet, but the prep work is horrible. Did not do moisture tests on our concrete slab and did not know to notify us if the old floor had asbestos or not. ANYWAYS.

I had a similar issue, but I luckily found out and didn't use them. They pretty much said laying hardwood or ceramic tile over a conceret slab was OK after measuring and looking at our floor. They drew up the contracts and it was reasonably priced. Every other contractor I brought in said hardwood or tile won't work because the floor is too uneven. Flattening the floor would be required but it may be too expensive because the Ardex might not adhere and they would have to do asbethos remediation if it didn't. Everyone counseled me to just paint the floor or get carpeting. If I had put in the hardwood or tile, it would likely warp or crack over time. K&K's estimator then said the tile would work and those other people and concrete contractors don't know that they doing, as he was a general contractor and knows best. He then said he'd come by to relook at the floor to check the unevenness, but never showed up to the appointment. We never bothered rescheduling.Another disturbing thing was the other flooring companies and the concrete vendor said that if I put carpeting in that I just needed good padding. They specifically told me not to use a vapor barrier, as the slight moisture from the floor would wick through the padding and carpet into the air. K&K insisted a vapor barrier was needed otherwise the carpet would always be wet, but the other contractors said that would likely trap in moisture and develop mold underneath the vapor barrier. We ended up putting in carpet without the vapor barrier and the carpet has never felt wet.

[7 VII 7]

Originally Posted by slim04

I had a similar issue, but I luckily found out and didn't use them. They pretty much said laying hardwood or ceramic tile over a conceret slab was OK after measuring and looking at our floor. They drew up the contracts and it was reasonably priced. Every other contractor I brought in said hardwood or tile won't work because the floor is too uneven. Flattening the floor would be required but it may be too expensive because the Ardex might not adhere and they would have to do asbethos remediation if it didn't. Everyone counseled me to just paint the floor or get carpeting. If I had put in the hardwood or tile, it would likely warp or crack over time. K&K's estimator then said the tile would work and those other people and concrete contractors don't know that they doing, as he was a general contractor and knows best. He then said he'd come by to relook at the floor to check the unevenness, but never showed up to the appointment. We never bothered rescheduling.Another disturbing thing was the other flooring companies and the concrete vendor said that if I put carpeting in that I just needed good padding. They specifically told me not to use a vapor barrier, as the slight moisture from the floor would wick through the padding and carpet into the air. K&K insisted a vapor barrier was needed otherwise the carpet would always be wet, but the other contractors said that would likely trap in moisture and develop mold underneath the vapor barrier. We ended up putting in carpet without the vapor barrier and the carpet has never felt wet.

It might not feel wet but it might have mold. You want a pad or barrier that is mold resistant. We laid VersaShield on the concrete slab (expensive product) then laid Floormuffler, then our engineered wood. I had to tell the companies what I wanted because they just wanted to throw 6-mil poly down, then pad then wood down. the 6-mil poly was probably good... but for how long. Versashield is 10 year warranty and about $1000 for a 700sqft roll. I rather spend $1000 rather than $300 vs 6-mil poly to have more quality moisture barrier. Versashield wont contract mold, unlike a vapor barrier.

[Fredesch]

I like hardwood floors but don't consider them DIY. I can't imagine living in a house while new hardwood floors are put in, once the floor is laid, sanding will create lots of very fine dust, and each layer of finish will take a day to dry. I can't remember if the undercoats are lightly sanded and create another type of dust. Hardwood floors are not a quick, inexpensive DIY project.

[South Jersey Styx]

Since you plan to sell in the near future, ask a realtor.a realtor should know the price points of houses like yours and provide advice on what is the best material for your ROI.