Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Virginia > Northern Virginia
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
 
Old 06-08-2009, 02:43 PM
 
Location: Sterling, VA
1,059 posts, read 2,961,642 times
Reputation: 633

Advertisements

I want to have hardwood floors installed in my living room, dining room and hallway, will keep the carpet in bedrooms. We are on the fourth floor of an elevator (condo) building in Sterling, Va (Lowes Island). I want hardwood, not laminate. Does anyone have a recommendation? I need them to remove the carpet and dispose of it. I prefer to keep the business local, if possible. Thanks in advance.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 06-08-2009, 02:48 PM
 
428 posts, read 1,114,484 times
Reputation: 263
Have you checked with ProSource to find out which installers they recommend? We used one of their recommended installers for our recent carpet replacement and are beyond happy with the work he and his crew did. You'd get a great price on the hardwood itself from ProSource, too, and since you're a Realtor, you might as well take advantage of it.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-08-2009, 02:59 PM
 
385 posts, read 1,260,138 times
Reputation: 86
Prepare for about 8 USD per square foot. You many want to consider removing the old; yourself, and using HOA dumpster. That way you can properly clean up any funk, or loose nails, or splinters, under there before the new is installed. A carpet pad can look pretty strange after 20 years or so. You will save money, and get a better install. Make sure you aren't turning your condo into an echo chamber, also. I've got an upstairs condo and it says in the HOA rules that carpet must be replaced with carpet in the upstairs units. Do you have a poured floor, or a particle board floor? It can make a huge difference.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-08-2009, 06:51 PM
 
Location: Springfield
2,765 posts, read 8,325,339 times
Reputation: 1114
Margery I highly recommend you installing a humidifier unit on your A/C so the dry air in the winter does not damage your wood floors. I should have done that before because now they're starting to separate. In addition don't get the high glossy finish on the floor because you will see every water stain and crumb. Also, the sunlight will fade the floors finish so make sure the curtains are always closed.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-08-2009, 07:38 PM
 
385 posts, read 1,260,138 times
Reputation: 86
Quote:
Originally Posted by VRE332 View Post
Margery I highly recommend you installing a humidifier unit on your A/C so the dry air in the winter does not damage your wood floors. I should have done that before because now they're starting to separate. In addition don't get the high glossy finish on the floor because you will see every water stain and crumb. Also, the sunlight will fade the floors finish so make sure the curtains are always closed.
That's good advice. That's why the hardwoods are not real popular in Arizona--difficult to keep the sun off all of it.

Footprints are the big enemy of the lighter colors. Some of these floors were designed for people with real cheap help to mop it twice per day. Nothing like some bland sheet vinyl to hide the wear.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-08-2009, 07:51 PM
 
4,709 posts, read 12,669,699 times
Reputation: 3814
Elevator building? Better find out what's under that carpet...if it's concrete, only certain types of hardwood flooring can be installed. It's usually a veneer (plywood type stuff) product that is either glued down or "floats" like laminate flooring.

If the subfloor is wood...then you can put down real hardwood floors.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-09-2009, 06:55 AM
 
Location: Sterling, VA
1,059 posts, read 2,961,642 times
Reputation: 633
Thanks for all the good advice. The subfloors are wood and we already have a humidifier installed on our air handler, which has been a big help reducing dryness when the heat is on. I will check out Prosource, there is so much on the web it is hard to sort through it all. As far as removing the old carpet, we are not physically able to do that ourselves. This is a 55+ building and we more that meet that criteria.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-09-2009, 07:34 AM
 
Location: TX
3,041 posts, read 11,883,491 times
Reputation: 1397
Quote:
it's concrete, only certain types of hardwood flooring can be installed. It's usually a veneer (plywood type stuff) product that is either glued down or "floats" like laminate flooring.
NOT true. The installer will lay a plywood subfloor over the concrete. We just had floors put in in Texas last year 90% of the homes built here are on slab foundations.

Margery...
1) Check you HOA it may a noise issue on upper floors esp in a +55 building.
If it's all AOK...

2) Then get 3 quotes... go to a flooring showroom and talk to someone (even if they aren't who you choose) about the finishes plank size etc....
HOW long the process will take...waht each step requires etc...

we put in hand scrapped random wide planked floors....I love them no maintence, no scratching (with dogs and kids etc...) Had them sealed with BONATraffic seal...awesome!

3)BE prepared to be out of your house for awhile....(our took longer becasue 2 days of hand scraping)
but I wasn't prepared how long the entire process took. (ours was around 3 weeks) But we left the house completely for only....the staining phase (fumes were pretty bad)

The wood should be delived and sit in the house for at least 48 hours to aclimate to the humidity levels.
Then a vapor barrier will be installed over the sub floor (kinda like tar paper)
Then the hardwood will be laid...(we had 1000sqft and it took two days)
Then the hardwood needs to aclimate again...ours sat for 1 week. now during this time you can move furniture back in etc...(this is when we choose to paint walls etc because the floors will be sanded etc)
NOw stain time...have 3-4 shades you like and have them stain a patch in good light(about 2ftsq) so you can see how the colors look in your home etc...
Then comes the ...sand, stain, sand, stain, and varnish phase...every layer of stain will take 1 day.

Also when getting quotes remember that you will probably need to have new baseboards installed, and painted and new transtions into the other rooms since REAL hardwood is thickjer than carpet, laminate etc...

GOOD luck...I love my floors!!!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-09-2009, 08:19 AM
 
385 posts, read 1,260,138 times
Reputation: 86
My mom had a guest room done in oak strip, solid wood. It was done in one day and matched the existing kitchen floor very well. The inconvenience was minimal, and there was no staining.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-09-2009, 10:25 AM
 
4,709 posts, read 12,669,699 times
Reputation: 3814
Quote:
Originally Posted by 5stones View Post
NOT true. The installer will lay a plywood subfloor over the concrete. We just had floors put in in Texas last year 90% of the homes built here are on slab foundations....

I suppose where there's a will there's a way...at least for a while.

For there to be any hope of the nails holding, the subfloor would have to be at least 3/4 inch, which would entail cutting off doors and casings....raising baseboards. The best holding nail-holding power is when the flooring nail passes all the way through the subfloor, something it can't do with concrete underneath.

But, I'll keep your method in mind....I flip houses for a hobby and sometimes find amazing deals on solid oak T&G flooring. The nails should hold until the check clears and I'm out of sight....LOL
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Virginia > Northern Virginia

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top