Flooring - Day 1

[lotsadox]

Well, the day started with the flooring guys getting here at 9:00 and making a further disaster out of my house, by moving the rest of the dining room and bedroom furniture into the living room (which now looks like Sanford & Son live in it). Then they pulled up the carpet. Yuck! I went upstairs to do some work. An hour or two later they call me down to tell me that they can't put hardwood flooring down because the slab is so uneven. They had called a guy from the main office to come talk to me. An hour and a half later, we decide that we'll do laminate instead of hardwood because it will work on the uneven slab. This means that I have to go back to the showroom and pick out a color for the laminate. The installers float the slab and leave at 3:15. I can't walk on the floated floor for 35 minutes. Since my clothes are in the closet across the bedroom floor and I really don't want to go in my old shorts and t-shirt, I can't get dressed to leave until almost 4:00. By now there's a lot of traffic. I get to the store at 4:35 or so. I look at the laminates. There isn't one the same color as what I had. I can't decide for sure. I talk the guy into letting me sign the papers and take the samples home and I'll call him and let him know which one I decide on (so I don't have to make a trip back to the store and they can still start the installation today). It worked! It's a quarter to 9 and I haven't gotten a call saying they don't have the flooring in stock and won't be here so I'm hoping that means they will be here. Wish me luck! I may have new flooring yet.

Right now the dogs are very confused. They have no idea why we have no furniture and a weird floor and we're all sitting on a blanket on the floor while hoomom types on the computer. They also don't understand why we're upstairs all day and slept in the "little bed" upstairs last night. I told them (hopefully) it'll all be over Saturday. Of course, then it'll take me a month to get the house put back together.

[Me&DappledDuo]

Phew- what a day, huh?

I actually prefer laminate- it can be SO pretty. You don't see a whole lot of hardwood in FL ,though- so I guess I just never got used to the clunk clunk sound of walking across it.

I'm a little confused, though- doesn't laminate need to sit in the room for a few days before being installed? To let it expand or contract fully- so you don't end up with spaces between the boards? Maybe that's just something they do here in the hot and humid south (TX is too, right?)?

And well- from what I've heard and observed- laminate is SO easy to put in yourself! I'm sure it gets messy, and would probably take longer, though. I just hope these guys know what they're doing. :)

Here's some floor rayz: :rayz: :rayz: :rayz: :rayz: :rayz:

And here's a hug- so you and the pups make it through your floorless days! :bighug:

[lotsadox]

Hey, Chrissie! I don't think it makes any difference where the flooring sits to expand or contract and laminate is mostly man made materials so it probably won't expand or contract much. They boards lock together so you shouldn't end up with spaces. That may be something that happens when you do it yourself and don't exactly know what your doing.

Between my job at SNAP and doing the company books and my husband working 50-60 hours at week at our company, we decided we don't have time to do it ourselves. Besides, he makes a lot more by working than we're paying them and who has a clue how to correctly float a floor? That could have been the problem with the board separating, too.

[TessieMom]

OK.... I am a bit confused about why they can't put the wood down after they floated the floor to level it??? But then, my house is pier and beam and has oak floors. I have thought that laminate would be great too. I need to pull up carpet in the hall and see what I am dealing with because the carpet gets wet way too often! Plus, it is old. Sending floor rays!

[lotsadox]

They couldn't level the floors enough with the float. There were places the slab was off level by 1 1/2". They can't float that much. When they put in laminate floors, they put a pad under them that helps and also the laminate is slightly more forgiving than hardwood. The floor has to be no more than 3/16" off level for a wood floor. I'm not sure how level this is now, but not that close!

[Juneysmom]

What a day! I remember when I had tile put in every room except the kitchen. Everything that I owned was put into the kitchen! I'm glad I had a big kitchen. :)

The dogs and I ended up sleeping on the couch and my son slept on a foam camping mattress on top of the table. :)

After all the carpet was removed, and the tile put in, my son and I had no more problems with asthma and allergies, which is a plus. :cheer: :cheer:

It was also easier to clean up the "I'm the dominant dog....no, I'm the dominant dog" pee fights. :(

[Me&DappledDuo]

Hmm.... we were considering installing laminate in our living/dining areas next year- and I've done a LOT of reading on them. The manufacturers (Kronotex, Pergo, Mohawk) I was looking at all included a temperature conditioning step- laying the boxes out in a specific pattern and just letting them sit for a few days. How important this step is- I just don't know. On a search I JUST did- I did see a mfg who actually specified that you HAD to install them immediately, so that the temp of the boards DIDN'T change. So who knows? :dunno:

In any case- I HOPE we can squeeze a picture or two out of you, of the finished floor! I swear- I'm NEVER building a house with wall to wall carpet in a "pup area" again! I'm just really glad we didn't pay to upgrade ours. :banghead:

[babajay]

I agree about carpets in pet areas. My carpets are about 2 years old so I'm not about to pull them up now, but when I do I sure won't replace them with more carpet. It would be a lot less stressful with hardwood or tile. I'd love to see how the flooring looks when finished. Barbara:flower:

[Tammara]

Patrice,
Wow that's been a day (week) of flooring mess hasn't it. You'll be so thrilled when it's done and beautiful! It's hilarious to see the dogs run and play on that flooring!

We just added on two rooms, an extension of our great room, and a new master bath. We tiled both of them with a textured tile just so dog friendly. We saved almost enough money from our home equity to RIP OUT the living room carpet and replace with laminate. Yeah, we wanna see yours! I'm sure it beats carpet!

Our carpet is "construction grade" and although it held up okay for two adults for 6 years, it's not looking so good after a year of two dachshunds. We just had it cleaned, and the yellow is coming back. :mad: We will not be getting that third pup until the new flooring is in.

Maybe I won't tell the man how much of an inconvience it will be. He had such fits about the mess that was made with the addition (but he's smiling now.)

Take comfort in seeing it finished!

[Schnitzel's Mom]

I've always been a carpet person and it seems that Schnitzel is, too. Since we've moved to a new place (brand new carpet) she's been a very good girl. But, she hates the kitchen. She will not sit in it or lay on the vinyl tile. She will sit just outside the kitchen and watch me cook. She was the same way at the old apartment. I'm not sure if we ever decided to take out the carpet that she would accept it.

I love the look of wood floors, but I'd miss the warmth of carpet.

I send lots of :rayz: to a quick finish to the flooring. There's nothing like finally having what you want and having the construction part of it over!

[yolanda]

Patrice,

Oh boy do I symphatize with you. I have been there and done that also. When I replaced my kitchen, dinning area, the floor was not only warped but dry rotten by the french doors. It was a mess to straighten out and get the new floor laid.

I will say it was worth all of fustrations.

Here are some happy smiles for the rest of the installation to go better.

:flower: :flower: :flower:

[quavec]

Do not envy you! I lived w/carpet all my life and when we built our home, we chose carpet only for the bedrooms. And now are talking of ripping it out and laying more tile or wood. It sounds like such a headache though! Having it done during the build was stressfree. Cricket hates the tile floors and we have to have carpet scraps thrown around for him to lay on. BElla could care less. I've noticed that the tile helps w/the allergies. Since we moved in, my husband and daughter don't have as many sinus infections or sneezing fits. We wanted wood but just couldn't squeeze enough $$ out of the budget....spent every extra penny on "hubby's kitchen"....:D

[ShewShew]

Oh boy, I get to deal with that when I get back to kentucky. IF I get back that is...

[lotsadox]

Chrissie, I learned why some have to be laid out before hand. The installer told me Pergo was made outside the US and something about the lack of climate controls in the shipping and the way it's made, you have to lay it out. I got the Wilsonart that's made in the US and they don't have that problem. Wilsonart costs quite a bit more, but there were a lot of pluses. This was just one of them. I thought it looked a lot better than Pergo also. You might want to look into it. I don't know if they'll carry it at the Home Depot type stores. You may have to go to a flooring store. I'll try to get signed up with PhotoIsland or someone this weekend and post pictures. The puppers aren't sure about this weird stuff on the floors yet. There's a lot of click, click, click going on in our house.

[quavec]

Funniest thing about tile or wood floors is Cricket and Bella running around on it! They slip and slide and collide all of the time. I have to play referee to keep them from slamming into walls!

[Me&DappledDuo]

Oh, the Wilsonart is good stuff, too! We've used their laminates on a lot of our presentation furniture for trade shows and such. And yes- their instructions DO state that under normal room temperatures and humidity levels, you don't need to "acclimate" them.

I LOVE Lowes and Home Depot- but I'd never, ever buy flooring from them. Their selections are very limited- and they are WAY overpriced! There are some fantastic flooring websites out there now, too- though personally- I'd rather shop a brick and morter for something so important. :)

Thanks for asking your guy (and I'm glad he gave you a good answer)! I can't WAIT to see the pictures!!! :D

[Kim H.]

but we bought our floor tile from Lowe's - it is excellent quality and porcelain instead of ceramic glazed (so the pattern goes all the way through, and you could polish a scratch out... if you could manage to scratch it in the first place). It's great stuff, and we would recommend it!

Looking forward to seeing the pictures when the floor is finished and you and the pups are settled again.:)

[Heide]

What a mess to have to go through.
But the end result will be fantastic, I am sure.
I would love to replace our berber carpet in our bedroom. Its ruined from all the kids.
When we use to have their collars on with tags it got caught in the carpet and we have runs all over.
I dont know what kind of floor to put down. I know I will never ever have berber carpet and pets again.!!! To think when we were having the house built we insisted on berber. Dumb us.
I am not sure what kind of flooring there is available out there.
I dont like hardwood, too much up keep for me.
I would like to have it replaced next year.
Any ideas of other flooring for those that are knowledgable in the area?
Cannot wait to see pictures of the flooring
Is it about done?
Hugs to all of you for having to be uprooted for a while.

[babajay]

I have porcelein tile in the foyer, kitchen, and dining areas. I love it, but probably wouldn't like it in bedrooms. They make some gorgeous inlaid vinyl flooring now. It comes in so many patterns. It's also quieter and a bit warmer than tile. I wish I could re-do everything at once so I wouldn't have something different in each room. That's called planning and I guess I just didn't do that! Barbara:flower:

[lotsadox]

The flooring is done and looks wonderful. The kids aren't too sure about it though. They liked the soft, stinky carpet. Things are getting back to normal though. I'm going to finish putting everything back this weekend.

Heide-I'd consider some type of ceramic or porcelain tile. They have some great ones that look just like real stone at a fraction of the price of stone and no upkeep. I'm planning to do the living room and entry in some that looks like African slate. I have tile in the kitchen and bathrooms and it's great. Easy to clean which is a must with the "kids". The laminates aren't hard to keep up either. Just use a dust mop on them and occasionally damp mop. Even the new hardwoods don't require the waxing and buffing that the old ones did so they're not bad either.

[Me&DappledDuo]

I'm sure it looks amazing!! Laminate flooring is amazing stuff- it's easy to install (some types don't even involve glue application anymore- just snap!), easy to care for, and when properly installed- can even be used in wet areas. Dishes won't break on it, it's very hard to scratch, and puddles just wipe up. It comes in ANY shade of "wood"- and the patterns are so good these days that you honestly could have a hard time telling laminate from wood. And their are some great "tile" patterns, too!

Hardwood still involves upkeep- though not as much as in the past. You can refinish it many times- and there's probably nothing more beautiful. Definitely expensive, though. :)

Tile is still the hard and messy to install. Lowes has a click-and-lock brand out, but it's gotten AWFUL reviews. Tile needs a very flat surface- and cracks if you haven't prepared the under support right. You drop a dish on it- and you're likely to shatter the dish AND crack the floor. But there are so many varieties, colors, and a huge variation in expense.

I love carpet under my feet- but I hate the dust, vacuuming, mess, and staining. The solution? Area rugs! Wall to wall stinks. :)_

[lotsadox]

I agree about wall to wall, Chrissie. I just love rugs. I just got home from buying one to go in the study under my desk (it's really an antique writing table) and some small ones for next to the bed. In a couple of weeks, I'm going to buy a large one for the dining room. I already have rugs in the living room on top of the carpet (told you I love rugs) so when I tile in there, I'm set.

[Heide]

bathrooms and kitchen.
I know what ever we put down in our bedroom will have to be able to withstand all the doggies on it and I will definetly want some throw rugs down.

Patrice
I cant wait to see pictures of the floor.
It sounds beautiful.:bounce: :bounce: :flower:

[kpm_tex]

Congrats on you new flooring! :bounce: You'll love it. Laminates are great but do get some rubber pads for all your furniture legs as it will scratch no matter what they tell you. Though the dogs don't seem to bother it. I love it when Merry gets the zoomies.. if she starts off on the laminate she runs for about 4 seconds in place like a cartoon character.. too funny!! I had berber and switched the living room and hall ways over to laminates a few months before I got Merry. Berber ought to be out lawed. I got it because I had always heard it was durable.. NOT! It runs like crazy. One of these day's I'll probably get rid of all the carpet.

http://mediaservice.photoisland.com/auction/Aug/2004878286670833545726.jpg

[ShewShew]

Shhh! Piper just made a run in the carpet last week when she was eating her bone! It's berber, too. I hate it, it's NOT stain resistant, that's for sure! What a load of bull!

[Juneysmom]

What I remember when we first put in tile is the echoing. I immediately went out and bought some washable throw-rugs. If you do buy rugs, make sure you can fit it into the washer or at least the big giant washer at the laundry places. Your pups will still have accidents on the rugs if they had accidents before. :(

[lotsadox]

The echoing and the clicking toenails. That's why I got the cotton throw rugs, Faye. I have one large cotton rug in the bathroom that I take to the wash and fold place to be washed and the others fit in my washer. The one I bought for the study is a cheap area rug. I figure when it gets stained and stinky I'll just throw it out and buy another.

[TessieMom]

I plan to clean and reseal this afternoon... have to bring the ex-pen in. I have hardwood in the kitchen and family room and ceramic tile in the sun room and bathrooms... some day the rest of the carpet comes up. I use a Hoover hard floor cleaner on the tile and the hardwood. Then I use a sponge mop to apply a cleaner and sealer and let it dry... really easy and looks great. The tile also has a sealer, but it needs a bit of polishing.

I just survived the re-roofing project and everyone was confined in the house for up to 12 hours over 3 days... cleaned up lots of accidents, so I figure it is time for a thorough cleaning before I loan the ex-pen out to someone with a new puppy!

[quavec]

IMO, down here in the south tile is the way to go. After I cut the grass, I run inside and flop down right on the tile and it provides instant cool! ahhhhh......we have the vaulted ceilings w/open portal type things throughout the house and that combined w/the tile makes for LOTS of echos....area rugs are great! And much more inexpensive if you decide to "redecorate".