Forum: Floors
March 15, 2010
Carpet Cleaner Recommendation?
I'm looking for recommendations for a really good, but reasonably priced carpet cleaning company. I have two rooms that need shampooing. One large, one small. Who have you used? What was the cost? Were they good/great/horrific? Who charges extra for the actual use of cleaning fluids and just includes water in their base price? If possible, I would like someone who will come in and move the furniture out of the way and put it back as well. So, I guess that also necessitates a quick-drying process.
March 12, 2010
Wool Runner For Sale - $250
Brand New Wool Rug Runner 4'x11'
Never been used. Too wide for our hallway.
Check out the pic and send me your best offer. btortolani@gmail.com
Stuy Heights vicinity
March 10, 2010
Basement Floor Epoxy Advice
We have a raw cement floor in our basement that we need to seal so we can have our home office down there. The cement wasn't ground down after application so it's rough though relatively level with some hairline cracks and a little chipping in places. The color is very ununiform too, so we need something that will opaquely cover the whole thing. We've been looking into self-leveling epoxies but have no experience with these, and can't find advice on any other options. Ultimately, we'd like a floor that looks nice but don't need it to be showroom perfect since rugs will go down in some places.
Anyone ever worked with epoxy or another solution? And is this something we can do ourselves or should we pay someone with experience to do it?
March 9, 2010
Someone to Touch Up Cork Tiles?
We had cork tiles put down in our 7x9 kitchen about 5 years ago (bought from someone on craigslist who had leftover from his reno so not sure where they originated) and need to have them re-sealed. We had our contractor originally only put half the recommended coats on top because we didn't want a shiny finish and it looked so good with a more matte finish. But as we were warned would happen, the finish has started to wear off and the tiles are now showing some wear - lighter spots around the seams, especially in front of the sink, where we obviously stand a lot - as shown in the pic.
Can anyone recommend someone for coating/sealing the existing tiles and possibly staining the small areas that are showing wear? We can't replace the worn tiles since it would be hard to match without knowing the original source, but I'm guessing there's a way to at least make them look better than they currently do.
March 5, 2010
Uneven Concrete fl (+moisture)
Hi, I'm wondering if you guys can help with suggestions on what to do with our rather crooked concrete (sub)floor. It's on the garden level of a small frame house with no basement. We removed the tiles and the exposed concrete subfloor is sloped and uneven (a few inches difference over 50 ft front to back).
In addition, with all the snow past couple of weeks and the old tiles gone, we now see three moisture spots on the perimeters of the extension (contained within the last 5 ft of the kitchen that we're also redoing). Plan is to dig and put gravel or pour concrete around the extension, but this has to wait till the weather's warmer. And until we know how effective this remedy will be, we can't decide which type of flooring can be installed.
Since this ground floor will be our main living space (living, dining, and kitchen), we eventually want a floor covering that's softer and warmer underfoot than concrete or tiles (Although our contractor recommends tiles). Bamboo would be ideal, but we also like cork and linoleum. But for now, our budget is limited and we probably want a temporary solution that's cheap(er) and easier to replace/cover up.
Another problem we have is that the ceiling is low (under 7' in some areas), so we want to avoid raising the existing floor level.
What do people recommend as to:
1) Do we live with finished concrete for now, or should we put in tiles or some other moisture-proof flooring before the kitchen cabinets go in?
2) If we go with concrete, how should we prep the surface, so we can install a real floor later? Is griding down thinset/concrete a good option, as opposed to self-leveler?
3) If we put in flooring now, are there options other than tiles (taking into account the moisture issue)?
4) Can we install flooring later without removing the kitchen cabinets (IKEA Akurum) and appliances?
5) Is there some genius solution out there that we aren't aware of?
This is a lot to think about for us and we have a week to make the decision. If anyone has had similar experience and/or willing to share your ideas, I'd much much appreciate it. TIA.
March 2, 2010
Hex Tile for Pattern Source
Am looking to create a pattern of 4 colors for approx 84sq ft. of floor in 1" hexagonal tiles in a pattern similar to one pictured here:
http://www.restorationtile.com/hexagon.html
and would love to source this locally any recommendations?
Many thanks!
February 28, 2010
Herringbone Floors?
We just moved into a new apartment on the parlor floor of a 1901 brownstone. The place had wall to wall carpet, laid over several layers of linoleum. No antique parquet floors underneath.
We are left with thin plank strip subfloors which are squeaky, creaky and thin.
A close friend of mine, married for 10 years to a decorator, took one look at our place and said "go herringbone."
But I'm afraid it might be crazy expensive.
does anyone have any experience with installing herringbone floors? Do they cost a fortune to put in?
verazzano gave us a price of $4k for plain oak floors... I think the space is about 750 sq feet. We can't afford to spend much more than that.
February 23, 2010
Sources for Hardwood Flooring
Can anyone looking for recommendations for sources for hardwood flooring? Also, I am overwhelmed by all the choices: prefinished vs. unfinished and then all the different kinds of wood. Would love to hear what you like and why.
Thanks so much!
February 19, 2010
Last Call for Pine Flooring
Hi. I posted here a week or two ago looking for some reclaimed pine flooring of the type that is found as the subfloor in many of the older homes here. I found a source (Urbanminers.com, which by the way is a very cool site), but before I truck up to CT and shell out the dough, I thought I would try here once more. Anyone have something close to 1 by 5 tongue and groove old pine planks that they would like to see repurposed? Happy to pay. Even happier to be eternally grateful or barter. I have a lovely apron front right hand tub and some fretwork and various doors that I could trade. thanks!
PTF
February 15, 2010
sharing my sanding/finishing exp
Hey All,
I just wanted to share my recent experience having my floors re-done since everyone was so helpful with suggestions and having read others' experiences.
I have a 1200 sq ft apartment and all the floors had been pickled white- probably looked good when it had been originally done, but looked pretty beat up now with lots of wide gaps between the boards. We wanted to take it back to the natural wood color and give it a satin finish, no stain.
I had about 5 of the most BStone recommended floor people come in for estimates- a couple of them quoted me around 2-2500 and a couple as high as 3k- and then one told me 1500. I know to stay away from the low bid, esp when it's this low, but I liked the rep and so I went with them. Looking at the floors now, I just can't imagine what I would've been paying an extra 1500 for- the floors look amazing, it looks as if they filled almost every gap with filler and they knocked it out in 2 days. These guys worked hard! I won't mention the names of all the higher bids, but Unique Flooring did the job. (I will mention Verrazano wanted an extra 800 for "removal of white stain" for the extra sanding work- none of the others even mentioned it as an issue).
I put their info below to those interested- we are 1st timers, but we're pretty pleased with the result and the price. FYI- it was a satin finish and 2 coats of oil-poly.
Unique Wood Floor & Supplies
135-34 Rockaway Blvd
South Ozone Park, NY 11420
Main: (718) 738-8400
718 641-2878