Is this cherry flooring worth it?

[mozar]

The second hand store has all this cherry wood flooring. It should be enough for my 77ft kitchen. I think it was 30 dollars for 20 ft. I think no one wants it because it's narrow and would take a long time to install. I have time to install it, but I'm wondering if I would be cutting off more than I could chew. I would have to rent a uhaul to get it. I plan on buying a jigsaw next week other than that I have a drill. I've never laid floor before. I believe that there is a plywood subfloor. But I have to have my floor fixed and I'll look at it then. No kids or pets or plans for them. I'm also open to other flooring suggestions. It seems like there are pros and cons to all of them.

[Papa bear]

Typically, for a solid hardwood floor, you would use a pneumatic flooring nail gun.  This would require a compressor as well.  Hard to tel from the pictures, but you say these are thin.  It’s probably 2 1/4” strips, which is pretty standard in hardwoods. These are tongue and grove, where one end slips into the other. The flooring nailer lines up to place the nail or staple into the tongue of a board, and then you place the next board over that.

Now, people have been installed hardwood floors for a very long time, and fancy nail guns and compressors haven’t alway existed.  If you really want to go with this with very basic tools, you will either need to pre-drill through the tongue and hammer in finish nails, and then use a nail set to drive them all the way in.  Or, you can face nail (right through the top) with finish nails, nailset them in, and then put some wood putty back on. 

With this being a kitchen, 3/4” hardwood is usually installed under your cabinets. Adding 3/4” to your existing floor and butting them up to the toe kick and other appliances can cause issues, especially with dishwashers.  They will be damn near impossible to remove if there is a problem.

There will probably also be doors and floor trim to be handled.  You really should undercut the door jamb and pull the base molding off before you lay the floor. Hackjob slap it together jobs don’t do this and it looks like shit. 

This is all very doable.  You have a small space, and given enough time, you can complete this with minimal tools.  Basically a handsaw and a hammer and you should, in theory, be able to complete this.

BUT!!!! Because you posted this and would be open to other options, I would HIGHLY recommend you go with a lock and click floor.  I much prefer vinyl to laminate.  They call it LVT or LVP. Vinyl is easy to cut, easy to install, won’t have the height issues, it’s a floating floor so you don’t need to get them under your cabinets, and you are more likely to get away with caulking and trimming out with shoe molding. 

It sounds like you don’t have a lot of DIY or building experience.  Start with lock and click flooring, it is geared towards DIY at home type installs. 


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[Papa bear]

Ahh, mozar, I’ve commented on quite a few of your DIY threads. How are the other projects coming?

Since you seem to have a lot of interest in fixing up your place, i would recommend going to some of the free classes that the big box stores put on.  Anything that gets you experience is going to help. 

Or find one of your handy friends and work alongside them on a job or project.  Maybe a landlord friend that has repairs to do.  Or ask them to come help with your own project and buy them some pizza, beer, and a gift card or something. 

Either way, you need some hands on experience!


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[mozar]

Thanks @PapaBear for replying to my past posts and any future ones! All the lower cabinets and appliances will be taken out to fix the floor so raising the appliances that much is a concern.
I have a toilet installation class coming up and vinyl flooring installation class the weekend after. I don't have any handy friends or anyone irl to talk to about diy.
I did find the screws in my cabinets. Fortunately there was only one or two right under the countertop. Once I chipped off the bullnose I could see that one of the cabinets was glued to the countertop with caulking. I cut through that and lifted off the countertop. The other countertops weren't glued at all.
I decided to get a butcher block countertop from lowes next week. And I'll get a jigsaw, hard wood blades, and sawhorses to cut out the sink. I used to be a theatre carpenter so I have a lot of experience with a jigsaw.
For putting in a bathroom I was never able to get in contact with a plumber anyway but I decided eventually i will put the washer and dryer under the stairs and install a toilet and sink in the laundry room. I will hire an architect to do the plans for that. I think that's all the projects posted here recently. If you can believe it there are other diy projects too.
I will do another post about kitchen sinks soon.

[Papa bear]

If you’re pulling the cabinets, i would go for the hardwood. It’s a small space, it will take awhile, but you can hand nail the entire thing.  Hand nailing through the tongue is a common way to finish a job when near a wall. There are probably a bunch of YouTube videos.

You might be able to use trim screws through the tongue as well, but I’ve never done that. 

You mentioned renting a Uhaul? What vehicle do you have?  77sf is like 4 bundles which should be no problem in any passenger vehicle.  Hell, I got 900sf of hardwood in a minivan!


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[lthenderson]

I like Papa Bear's advice though I would add that I would much rather buy a crosscut saw than use a jigsaw for all your cuts. It makes better quality cuts (though if you pull the baseboard first, you will never see this) and is much faster to use. Also, when undercutting door jams, using a oscillating saw is just the cat's pajamas compared to using a small hand saw. Just take a piece of scrap flooring, lay it up against the jam and within a couple seconds, you will have a perfectly trimmed jam that will allow your flooring to slip right under.

The jigsaw still has a place in my tool chest but the crosscut saw and oscillating saw get a lot more use in home remodeling projects than the jigsaw.

[mozar]

I don't own a car. My roommate has a tiny hatchback.

[aasdfadsf]

I am no expert on flooring, but I have a cherry-wood floor on my main level. I am not a fan. It dents like crazy. Cats, dogs, kids, whatever will leave scratches and marks. The wood grain is beautiful, but I wouldn't do it unless you know it's going to be safe from humans and animals and other actual use.

[dragoncar]

I am no expert on flooring, but I have a cherry-wood floor on my main level. I am not a fan. It dents like crazy. Cats, dogs, kids, whatever will leave scratches and marks. The wood grain is beautiful, but I wouldn't do it unless you know it's going to be safe from humans and animals and other actual use.

Same here.  I don't have much to compare it to, but the dog and kid have done quite a number on it.  Part of the problem is that it had a very smooth finish.  A rustic flooring would have been less troublesome in my case.

Would you be finishing this in place or is it prefinished?  I briefly thought about refinishing my floors but after looking into it... just no.

[Papa bear]

If you are going to install these by hand and have to refinish, do NOT face nail the boards.   You will use all your sanding pads making the nails looks shiny.  That is unless you’re going to set the nail heads in 1/8”, fill, and then sand. But at that point, spend the time going through the tongue!




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[mozar]

I don't know what prefinished means but I'm leaning toward lvp.

[Papa bear]

Prefinished wood floors have the stain and finish (poly, shellac, etc) already on them. Typically it’s aluminum oxide for prefinished floors.  If you put a drop of water on it, the water should bead up, not soak into the wood.

If you have to finish them yourself, or refinish by sanding off the old stuff and redoing, I suggest going with a polyurethane.

LVP, luxury vinyl planks, are very easy to install.  It’s a good choice.  But since it is floating, you do not want to install until after your cabinets are back in.




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[mozar]

Hey @PapaBear ! What do you recommend I put under the cabinets and appliances if I go with lvp? Should they just sit on the plywood?

[Papa bear]

If you put down 1/4” plywood before the LVP, I would put that under. But if you just get the stuff that has an underlayment built in, put your cabinets on the plywood subfloor.


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[mozar]

Okay dokey.