Hardwood Floors??

We are going to be redoing the floors in our new house. It's an older home and 1050 square feet. We would be redoing almost all of that square footage with hardwood, or whatever type of flooring. We are looking for something that is inexpensive and relatively easy to DIY. I've always figured hardwood flooring would be costly and require a pro, is this true? We might go for laminate, but don't think it will go with the feel of the house. Any suggestions?

Public Comments

1. You'd be surprised if you take a look at what laminate has to offer. We just installed laminate flooring in our dining room and living room and unless I tell people it's not real hardwood they can't tell. If you have dogs laminate doesn't scratch as easily as hardwood. You can even go to a hardware store and look at their samples to see for yourself...try to gouge the hardwood with your nail and see how easy it scratches. Also, if you get easy-install flooring that 'floats' (the stores will know what this is) and something happens to one plank on your floor you can just pop them out from the wall and replace the damaged plank. Real hardwood would more than likely require professional installation but you can do the laminate yourself!
2. Hardwood floors are done by people with two hands, so you probably qualify. It does have more steps and more work than other floors, but the difference is obvious. The floating of a laminate floor means it pushes in a little when you step, and the difference is sound is obvious. I would suggest you go to a flooring store and ask about the steps you'll be facing with hardwood. As an alternative I installed a floor of engineered wood in a house I owned. It is real wood, with most of the wood different than the hardwood veneer on top. It was already finished with polyurethane so the sanding, and staining, and varnishing steps were eliminated. It was tongue and grooved like hardwood flooring, and it glued down easily. Good luck with whatever you decide.
3. I would say it is possible to do the " hardwood floors" but if you're not a pro it will be time consuming. If that is not an issue then I'd say proceed. First, you'll want to remove4 all nails ect. Next, you will want to remove the baseboards and molding ( to get closer to the walls) but be careful so it can be replaced. Rent a floor sander and sand the entire floor with about 100 grit paper then move to about 180 grit. You will want to get an edge scraper for those areas the sander cannot get to, and you'll need to sand them by hand after you're down to bare wood. After it is all done you may even want to run over it all with an orbital sander using a 220 grit paper, this is not necessary but will make it a bit nicer in the end. Now, take your time ..as in a lot of time to get all the dust up. Use tact cloth if needed, use lots of water and sponges, and change that water often, after wringing sponge out three times in water. Come back to the floor three times cleaning dust up even more if you decide to but get as much of that dust up as you can. It will make a difference .... Do not be in any hurry to begin finishing the floor ...take your time with all of the above. You will then proceed to applying the Polyeurathane..this is your finish. You should give it two days to dry and allow it to be untouched by anyone or anything.... Then sand very lightly with 220 grit paper, get that dust up and again take your time doing it. Apply a second coat and repeat. It is common to apply three coats and not sand prior to the last coat. Most will say one day to dry, I prefer the two days to be certain, unless time is an issue.
4. I can be done if you are familiar with basic woodworking. I prefer the actual hardwood because it is stiffer and feels more solid on a sub-floor. My wife and I put down around 900 sq feet in our townhouse. I wrote up my notes online at http://www.sawbee.com/rwmProjects/woodFloor1.shtml My biggest regret was that I didn't buy the nailgun, but rented it several times. For what I paid in rental I could have bought a new one then sold it on ebay when I was done. Don't be afraid to try. There was one board in a doorway that I cut and trimmed with a router 4 times to get it right. It just takes patience. good luck. randy
5. I would recommend a prefinished hardwood. It comes in many varieties and colors, and many different price points. Prefinished wood is real wood, it's just that the difficult process of sanding, staining, and finishing the wood is done at the factory. So there is less mess involved than the old fashioned way. Bruce, Anderson, Applachian, Columbia all make nice products with a good price range. As long as you're a handy DIYer...you'll have no problems installing. You can either glue directly to the subfloor, or if on plywood subfloor nail down.