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.
We are in the process of remodeling our house we just bought. It has 5/16" red oak solid hardwood in 3 bedrooms. However the living and family rooms are carpet, laminate respectively which we want to remove.
Regarding the hardwood, it looks in good condition. Our contractor says it will last for about 2 refinishes.
We are now deciding between 2 options:
1) Refinish old hardwood in bedrooms and install matching solid wood in living/family rooms. Will cost us $7000
2) Remove all flooring and install engineered wood throughout. Will set us back $9000.
Our contactor is pushing for option 2 since he thinks the current wood in the house is anyways not great quality to keep. But I believe solid hardwood might get some advantage during resale. How difficult is the maintainence of either with a small kid. Any help is appreciated.
The nummbers you have sound absolutely OUTRAGEOUS for the area that I suspect you have to cover.
Your contractor may be way off or spot on but I would get recommendation from other people that are unaware this estimate before I would consider moving forward.
I strongly prefer solid hardwood to engineered EXCEPT when dealing with situations were climate or foundation is a factor...
Quote:
Originally Posted by rachanaj
We are in the process of remodeling our house we just bought. It has 5/16" red oak solid hardwood in 3 bedrooms. However the living and family rooms are carpet, laminate respectively which we want to remove.
Regarding the hardwood, it looks in good condition. Our contractor says it will last for about 2 refinishes.
We are now deciding between 2 options:
1) Refinish old hardwood in bedrooms and install matching solid wood in living/family rooms. Will cost us $7000
2) Remove all flooring and install engineered wood throughout. Will set us back $9000.
Our contactor is pushing for option 2 since he thinks the current wood in the house is anyways not great quality to keep. But I believe solid hardwood might get some advantage during resale. How difficult is the maintainence of either with a small kid. Any help is appreciated.
Unless this is a really high end house, $7K on floor is outrageous. I doubt anyone buying an average $500K house in Fremont is going to care a whole lot whether the floors match perfectly. You didn't when you bought the place.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ohiogirl81
Why would you get rid of something that is in "good condition"?
Probably for the same reason most remodeling projects return little value. It's just personal preference. (Or some mild form of OCD, perhaps?) It doesn't make sense.
Why would you get rid of something that is in "good condition"?
Why would anyone get rid of decent hardwood to put in something artificial?
The hardwood is truly more beautiful even in fair condition, IMO. It has a depth to it that a fake wood can never have. (If "depth" is the word.) It feels good when you walk on it because it is resiliant while fake wood is like walking on concrete. It has a warmth to it that a fake wood can never have.
The fake wood floors always look cheap to me, as if the person couldn't afford real wood. I know lots of people can't afford the hardwood but if you can, I would definitely recommend keeping it. You won't be refinishing it, I don't think. I lived in many houses with hardwood floors and none of them were ever refinished. They'd have to be pretty filthy and blackened to warrant refinishing. You normally put an area rug or a throw rug over the part that gets walked on so they don't get worn out.
I wonder if your contractor is telling you the truth. Is he getting a kickback on the fake wood or something? Or can he charge more and do less? Hardwood floors should always be preserved when possible.
I just looked up some of the recent sales in OP's zip code. Those are some of the most tastelessly remodeled $400K-$600K homes I've ever seen. Holy cow. People there will drop $550K on a style disaster, don't fret over the floors!
I just looked up some of the recent sales in OP's zip code. Those are some of the most tastelessly remodeled $400K-$600K homes I've ever seen. Holy cow. People there will drop $550K on a style disaster...
Says your "personal taste".
$400-600k in SF is not the same in ATL, DAL, CHI, MIA, or SEA- making your statement pretty much useless.
$400-600k in SF is not the same in ATL, DAL, CHI, MIA, or SEA- making your statement pretty much useless.
You didn't look at the homes. Completely inconsistent remodeling projects with mixed styles/eras. The OP asked about whether a consistent style of flooring would help resale value, and it's a moot point if 90% of the homes sold are mishmash. Yes, the PPSF is slightly higher there - but only by a slim margin. There are plenty of older neighborhoods in Seattle and Bellevue that are priced similar for the vintage.
And I'm not sure why you bothered to mention ATL, DAL CHI or MIA - they're a lot cheaper than west coast cities.
Last edited by mkarch; 04-12-2013 at 11:37 PM..
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.
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.
Get more bids!!!
