DIY Hardwood floors?

[jocoyn]

Say which brands / lines work best? I imagine that could help the OP.

I honestly am trying to figure out what to do in a walkout basement (slab on grade) though I am leaning towards honest to goodness linoleum (not vinyl).........

[Liesje]

Originally Posted by San

Hubby used to be a flooring specialist, he says for a newbie, "best to get a pre-finished, engineered wood, floating floor system with click-lock.

My dad, who has done various forms of sub-contracting and carpentry for decades and is from a long line of carpenters and contractors, did it this way when he did our kitchen. He installed pre-finished (oak I believe) over linoleum in our kitchen, some sort of tongue-and-groove that locked together. The only catch was since he installed it over the existing floor, we had to saw down the feet of the dishwasher to fit back under the counter. Since then it has been replaced. He also had to remove a shelf from the cabinets above the fridge and shorten them to accommodate the fraction of an inch extra height under the fridge (it was in so tight before, the cabinets were probably installed around it originally!). He did this probably at least ten years ago and the floor still looks new and shiny to me. There's one spot over by the range where it sort of makes a slight click if you stand on it and press down, the adhesive must've popped off the linoleum underneath.

[RocketDog]

I installed my own random width wide plank Southern Longleaf Heartpine flooring I had shipped from New Hampshire to Washington state. Some of those planks are 16 feet long; the shortest was six and the smallest width I believe is 4 inches. I used a pneumatic floor nailer, (my husband cut them when they needed it)--and I also used glue on the back. Obviously a special flooring glue. Then I stained them, and I put four coats of Tung oil on them, lightly sanding between each coat. They are my pride and joy. And the issues that I have had with them are very minimal and are not because of my install job. In fact we had a flood and we had to have a flooring company come out to do some work, and the flooring owner asked if I wanted to work for him.

I think they were the easiest part of all the remodeling we did.

[PatchonGSD]

I'm surprised (pleasantly) that the laminate has gotten such good reviews! I was only set on the "real" stuff because I thought that would hold up better. I'm glad I asked.

[NarysDad]

I do hardwood flooring for a living and unless a person was able to get their hands on the right equipment to refinish a floor it may cost you more after having a flooring company out to fix what was screwed up. Lot of rental companies don't have the powerful sanders that i or other flooring places have. You are welcome to private message me and I will answer all the questions you may have

[shepherdmom]

Originally Posted by PatchonGSD

Yes, I did consider it, but I was worried that it might scratch and scuff more easily. Am I wrong?

I've got real hardwood in part of my house but my kitchen is that click together fake laminate. It does not scratch and scuff at all. OTOH it sucks with dogs. They just flat slide across it and the tippy tap of the toes.... Oooh its enough to drive anyone batty. The biggest drawback was when Shadow got DM he could no longer walk on it without falling. I wound up covering it with a huge throw rug until he passed. The real hardwood has more character and is much less slippery.

[Liesje]

If my house had nice laminate to begin with I wouldn't tear it up but if I was going to do a major project myself (or pay someone big bucks) then I personally just want something that is real (that I can refinish later!)....hardwood or tile.

[breyer08]

We have laminate in our house on the first floor, and real wood on the second floor. Both have stood up very well to our puppy, and the laminate hasn't scratched at all!