Engineered hardwood and tiling cost estimates/installation and other 'upgrades'

[jeromedawg]

Hey all,

Our upstairs neighbor just sold their place in 5 days here in OC, which isn't uncommon. But that is a bit fast above the average I *think* - the place shows really well and was remodeled about 7 years ago very nicely (although with some plumbing side-effects that we had to experience). Anyway, hardwood flooring seems to be a popular option and I like the way they did theirs - I'm actually not quite sure *what* they did but I think it might just be hardwood.

My wife and I are thinking it's closer to the time that we should consider ripping some carpet out and laying down something else. I have a few questions though:

1) Between laminate, hardwood, and engineered hardwood, is engineered hardwood the way to go longer-term? I'm not sure how much longer we'll be here and if the intention is to sell, I wonder how worth it it would be *if* the margin on engineered hardwood is high compared to laminate at least. What might I expect to see in terms of $/sq ft between the three?

2) We have tile in the entry-way, kitchen, laundry room, and bathrooms. The entryway, kitchen, laundry room, and one of the bathrooms would be directly connected to where we are thinking we would put the new flooring down - is it better to run the same flooring throughout our place? I *think* that might only make sense if we want to do engineered hardwood (because isn't there something with it to where it doesn't warp from water leakage/spillage/etc)? Or would we be better off just redoing/upgrading the floor tiling in those respective spaces? At the very least, I would think we could eliminate the tiling in the entryway

3) The fireplace also has tiling that matches the scheme of the kitchen and bathrooms but the tiles are about half the size. It's very dated-looking and it would be nice to replace the tiling around that area too - not sure if this would be as easy either because some of the tiling is surrounding front of the fireplace as well. There's also this really weird pop-out trim of drywall the builders did as part of the design or something - not sure if this is something we can pry off or what but it would be nice to make it flush. As far as the tiling, would we need to look for fire-retardant/proof grade tiling or something like that since these would be in close proximity? What I'd really love to do is just get rid of the fireplace all-together! But that doesn't seem like a trivial thing to do. Here's a pic of the corner fireplace which includes that trim I was referring to: https://photos.app.goo.gl/tfIi7t7EcloUUFI43

4) For the bedrooms, we lean towards keeping those carpeted but may want to install new carpet as well. The carpet is actually in fairly decent shape in the bedrooms though but ever since I walked on Burberry carpet for the first time, it was hard not liking it. It would be nice to change up the carpet either way.

5) What's the most difficult part about installing the flooring? An old coworker of mine said laying the flooring wasn't too bad - it was fitting the pieces and gaps near the edges/walls that was more of a pain. Because of this he left his project sitting there for weeks while he had carpet rolled back in his house. And then he didn't get around to installing baseboard because he didn't have a nailgun, etc. I guess my question, being that so many people say it's super easy, is what seemingly or actually complicated roadblocks are there that could arise from starting a project like this?


Other undertakings I'm considering after looking at a few other listings in our neighborhood:
1) Replacing the blinds either with nicer ones or curtains
2) Staining and refinishing our cabinets or possibly installing new doors and facing
3) Adding backsplash to a portion of the kitchen area - probably just around the stove but maybe the sink
4) Replace ceiling fan in kitchen
5) Replacing the tiling around the bathtubs in both bathrooms
6) New faucet fixtures in all bathrooms
7) New SS kitchen sink
8) replace doorknobs on doors

My intention with all this is to put some money in (being frugal not by buying cheap stuff or omitting things but by not rushing to buy and buying only on sale) so that it will sell faster and for more when the time comes. All the while, we can enjoy the 'fruits of our labor' - of course, who knows how much of it we'll *actually* end up DIYing but I'd like to think that most of these things should be pretty DIYable.

Things I'm not sure I should DIY or even do at all that have crossed my mind:
1) recessed lighting installation in a condo situation when we're on the lower floor AND there are fire sprinklers and AC duct runs sandwiched closer between our ceiling and our neighbor's
2) Installing a new vent hood
3) Seal garage [concrete] floor
4) Remove the decking in our small patio/yard and either fill with concrete or pavers (we'd likely just hire someone for this)

[pbkmaine]

Could you post a photo of the tile? One person’s “dated” is another person’s “original feature”.

[jeromedawg]

Could you post a photo of the tile? One person’s “dated” is another person’s “original feature”.

[pbkmaine]

I am not able to see the photo.

[jeromedawg]

I am not able to see the photo.

I just updated it - I think it works now. Let me know if not

[bacchi]

1) I'd go with engineered hardwood or real hardwood. The disadvantage of engineered is that you might be able to refinish it once; real hardwood is for long term longevity (think decades). Besides cost, an advantage is that the pieces are uniform.

Although there are some really nice looking laminates out there now.

2) I'd replace the entryway tile but then I hate 12"x12" tile. Removing it might be the hardest part of the entire job.

5) Yes, cutting around corners is somewhat hard. Do you have access to a circular and/or jig saw? If your trim is wide enough (3/4"), which it probably will be, there's plenty of room for error and sloppiness on the edge cuts.

If your new flooring is T&G (or "click and lock"), it's super easy to install with a pull bar (and, like a puzzle, it's kinda fun).

The nail gun died on my current flooring project and I'm just tapping in the finish nails with a hammer and nail set. It's a pita but I don't have a lot of trim.

[jeromedawg]

1) I'd go with engineered hardwood or real hardwood. The disadvantage of engineered is that you might be able to refinish it once; real hardwood is for long term longevity (think decades). Besides cost, an advantage is that the pieces are uniform.

Although there are some really nice looking laminates out there now.

2) I'd replace the entryway tile but then I hate 12"x12" tile. Removing it might be the hardest part of the entire job.

5) Yes, cutting around corners is somewhat hard. Do you have access to a circular and/or jig saw? If your trim is wide enough (3/4"), which it probably will be, there's plenty of room for error and sloppiness on the edge cuts.

If your new flooring is T&G (or "click and lock"), it's super easy to install with a pull bar (and, like a puzzle, it's kinda fun).

The nail gun died on my current flooring project and I'm just tapping in the finish nails with a hammer and nail set. It's a pita but I don't have a lot of trim.

Yea, after reading around a little, while engineered hardwood is better for dealing with moisture/water you can only sand it once or twice? I guess the big question is though: how often are you even supposed to sand your wood floors?

How much more expensive is hardwood vs engineered hardwood?
I have a circular saw and jig saw but am mostly unfamiliar with using either (my dad gave/got them for me).


Do you guys think it's better keeping the same flooring throughout all rooms where you want the wood flooring? Or is that kind of weird? I guess it depends on the layout - from our living/dining area to kitchen there's a doorway and I was thinking about doing a continuous flooring into the kitchen. But I sort of think it might be better just to update the tile in the kitchen instead. We're thinking a greyish colored flooring for the major areas. If we retiled the kitchen and bathroom floors instead of making it continuous we'd probably keep a similar color scheme and rectangular offset or roman opus

[bacchi]

Yea, after reading around a little, while engineered hardwood is better for dealing with moisture/water you can only sand it once or twice? I guess the big question is though: how often are you even supposed to sand your wood floors?

I've seen 15 year old engineered hardwoods look like shit from an office chair rolling on them 8 hours/day but the non-office floor looked fine. A simple carpet or chair mat would've prevented that.

I have a circular saw and jig saw but am mostly unfamiliar with using either (my dad gave/got them for me).

With a pencil, straight edge, and eye protection, you're set. :-) Maybe ear plugs. Really, as mentioned, because the edge sits under the base trim, the cuts don't have to be 100% perfect.

How many corners and bump outs do you have? The bump outs are tricky because you have to make 3 cuts (cutting a 'U' notch out of a board). You'll have to measure carefully. I would cut a notch out of a board, try to fit it, go back to the saw and cut more, and repeat until it fit.

You'll also need a moisture barrier and underlayment. I used cork for the latter.