Flooring--any recommendations

[observer53]

You are posting in a four year old thread, by the way.

[Zippyman]

Originally Posted by sengle1013

Hey all, am considering similar deal with my floors. I thought laminate flooring was no more than $5 installed from home depot for example? The quote above, $19k is nearly $12/ft. Why the big discrepancy? They have a deal on the website that says whole house basic install is $397. Maybe doesn't include baseboards but unsure.

This forum has folks from all walks of life - those just starting out, and those that are very successful or retired.. many like to recite "you get what you pay for"..

I don't think you do "get what you pay for" anymore, and to me, $19k for 1600 sq feet of flooring is

just.
plain.
nuts.

Costco, the Depot and Lowes have many different grades of laminate - from $.75 per sq foot, to whatever you want to spend. There are multiple installers on Craigslist who will lay down laminate for about $1 per sq foot. I put down some of the $2~ish Costco laminate three years ago, and there's not a single nick, scratch or scuff on it, even with a big dog in the house. I put down ~350 sq feet in a couple of days, by myself, without breaking a sweat.

To make it easy on myself, I bought a laser / sliding miter saw at Harbor Freight for $150 for the cuts, FWIW, I used the same saw to install new *tall* baseboard moldings.

Sooo.. pay $.75 per sq foot, pay $12+ per sq foot, someone here *will* agree with you that you did the "right" thing..

[sengle1013]

Originally Posted by Zippyman

This forum has folks from all walks of life - those just starting out, and those that are very successful or retired.. many like to recite "you get what you pay for"..

I don't think you do "get what you pay for" anymore, and to me, $19k for 1600 sq feet of flooring is

just.
plain.
nuts.

Costco, the Depot and Lowes have many different grades of laminate - from $.75 per sq foot, to whatever you want to spend. There are multiple installers on Craigslist who will lay down laminate for about $1 per sq foot. I put down some of the $2~ish Costco laminate three years ago, and there's not a single nick, scratch or scuff on it, even with a big dog in the house. I put down ~350 sq feet in a couple of days, by myself, without breaking a sweat.

To make it easy on myself, I bought a laser / sliding miter saw at Harbor Freight for $150 for the cuts, FWIW, I used the same saw to install new *tall* baseboard moldings.

Sooo.. pay $.75 per sq foot, pay $12+ per sq foot, someone here *will* agree with you that you did the "right" thing..

Thought so. $5,000 vs $19,000 is just incredible.

[bguar]

Originally Posted by littledifficult

Hi,

I'm looking into getting laminate or hardwood floors installed in approx. 1200sq ft. I've been trying to price the materials at LOWE's and Home Depot does anyone have any recommendations for materials or installation vendors?

Thanks!

Call Arizona Hardwood. They will CRUSH whatever Home Depot or Lowes quotes you and it will be BETTER service, LOCAL, and HIGH quality. I had an AMAZING experience with them!

[bguar]

Originally Posted by Jms#1drummer

I have been quoted a price of $19,210 for materials and installation of 1600 square feet of Wilsonart laminate ($6.19/sq ft) in my home. Is this reasonable or way out of line? This is from a local flooring specialist in Birmingham, Al. Should I try to negotiate? I'm a true novice at this. I want a quality job, but don't want to overpay, especially with this large an investment. Any advise greatly appreciated.

That's insane -- sorry. I would never put laminate in my home for $6 a sq ft. You can get really THICK (i.e., you can get 3-4 refinishes) engineered hardwood that will glue down to a cement base for around that price. It'll look nicer, and last 20+ years.

[Voebe]

Given that Arizona is one of the two worst states for termites, I'd think twice about getting a hardwood floor.

[Zippyman]

Originally Posted by Voebe

Given that Arizona is one of the two worst states for termites, I'd think twice about getting a hardwood floor.

Actually, on the infestations I've seen, termites preferred things like drywall paper & fiberboard. They seem to burrow through "real" wood only on their way to the dust board & paper.

I don't know that we really are one of the "worst" states for termites.. Most of our termites come up from the ground, which is pretty easy to treat for. You have to ignore subterranean termites for a very long time before your house falls down.

The termites that start in the attic scare me a lot more.