I’ll quickly give you some brief background info in the hopes that it might aid you in your suggestions/answers and to give you an idea of what I’m working with. I have purchased a unit that was originally built in the late 1930s and was the second floor of a house, an addition was built around the house (~1958) which added 8 suites and converted the complex into an apartment building (the main floor became on unit, the second story became a second unit which is the unit that I am renovating and moving in to. I am trying to figure out which of the various different options & products available would be best suited to my needs. At first I was quite sure that I was going to refinish the original flooring which has been covered with carpet for the past 25+ years, however I am quickly finding out that this may not be as quick and easy as I had hoped and that refinishing is much more expensive than I thought. Although I love the look of the 1.5” slats it is an old floor with squeaks, some cracking in a couple areas and staple/nail holes all over but also that the flooring is maple and thus quite hard to properly refinish in a darker stain.


As I mentioned I am trying to figure out which of the various different options & products available would be best suited to my needs, and how to install whichever product I choose. There seem to be so many opinions on not only the different products but also how best to install the flooring – some have told me that I don’t need to do anything to the existing floor, others say it needs to be ripped out while others say I need to install a new sub floor (either by replacing the existing or on top).


I plan to live here for the next 3-5 years, after that I plan to rent the apartment as an investment property as it’s in a great downtown location and less than 3 blocks from a College; however as the property will eventually become a rental property I need to balance my own needs and style with durability, function and reliability (I don’t want to have to spend significant money down the road refinishing or repairing the flooring).

For starters I’ve been told that laminate is the “best” choice as it is carefree and very durable but to be honest I normally don’t like all that much – as I find I can always pick out a laminate floor by the way it looks and feels, maybe I haven’t seen enough laminate or maybe there are newer options that really look and feel like real hardwood. The second option I’ve looked at is pre-finished hardwood which I really like, however I’ve been told to expect to have to refinish it especially in a rental which seems to be a lot of money (based on the quotes I’ve seen for my existing floor. Secondly I’ve received numerous directions of what I need in order to install the product, everything from “it must be professionally installed” to simply needing an underlay or new sub floor and in between (most say it needs to be nailed to eliminate the current squeaks). The third and final option that I know the least about is “Engineered hardwood” – initially I was told this was the least durable alternative and that once it’s scratched or damaged that there isn’t much one can do about it since it’s essentially a thin wood veneer that is glued onto an mdf or similar board but see that your product can actually be refinished, so basically I’m thoroughly confused.


Sorry for the long winded post & many thanks in advance for your suggestions, advise and help.

Every product you mentioned has it's pros and cons. However, IMO, one of the least costly would be to repair and refinish what you have, assuming it is in good enough condition to do so. Most pros around the USA will do a good sand and finish job for $2.50 to $4.00 a foot, depending on various factors. And that's without you lifting a finger except to move the furniture. If you replace the floor, you still have to move furniture, buy new flooring, then get it installed. Well, inexpensive, decent laminates will cost at least $2.00 a foot PLUS all the trims and pad, bring the cost to at least $3.00 a foot. Then there's the issue of baseboards; remove, repaint, re-install. Or base shoe. And then there's the labor factor. You could do it yourself but it ALWAYS takes more energy and time than most DIYers figure. Plus the specific tools you'll need. Might as well hire a pro to install it as well. You can usually get bids for $2.00 a foot for click laminates, labor only. Plus you'll pay for any necessary extras that may be needed. So, dollar for dollar, your existing floor being refinished could be the least expensive option. Choose a licensed, experienced pro with great references. The best don't always charge the most but always charge more than the lowest bid. Use a quality floor finish like BONA Traffic. A maple floor can be stained but not easily. More steps are needed to make it take the stain well. Don't expect maple to look like Santos Mahogany though. It usually looks best with a natural oil sealer and 2-3 coats of Traffic. It will cost to maintain the floor because every 5 years or so, you'll want a refresher coat. It will get dents and scratches. ALL wood floors do. But if you got a cheap laminate, you'll be replacing it every 6-7 yrs. or so anyway. So, if you want hard surface floors, the refinish is probably the least expensive and longest lasting ( outside of a complete replacement ). That would cost at least 2 to 3 times as much, depending on product selection.

If none of these options appeal to you, then you're a carpet guy.

Gary thanks for your advice. After having another company give me a quote to refinish the existing hardwood I'm leaning towards replacing the floors since all my quotes have been between $5.50 and $6.00 per square foot. I'd say that I'm relatively handy being that most of the renovations that I'm doing will be done on my own (so far gutting the washroom, albeit not much skill required there, framing a couple new walls, drywalling, mudding & taping, painting etc.) and although I agree that all of the DIY takes a lot of energy and time doing one more thing myself doesn't really worry me too much and since there aren't any appliances, furniture or other things in the way that should make life a little easier for me I hope.

Am I being unrealistic in terms of what I should expect to pay to have the floors refinished? It seems high to me. If anyone was to suggest a second best alternative to refinishing the existing floors which would you recommend between a laminate, prefinished hardwood and engineered hardwood (as I mentioned the engineered hardwood is the one I know least about).

Matt

Are you saying you are getting quotes of $5.50 a sq.ft. to tear out the old flooring, supply new flooring, install it, then sand and finish it? If so, where do you live?

Sorry I should have made that easier to read; the quotes that I'm getting that are ~$5.50 are to resand, repair (where needed they say they need to replace a maximum of 10 sq. ft along two of the walls where the wood has started to crack) and refinish the existing maple flooring which to me sounds expensive which is why I got a couple of quotes, but does this sound high to you? I live in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. At $5.50/sq. ft. they are still reluctant to stain the floor and have advised that I should leave it in it's original color for best results.

Perhaps I'm just not well versed in flooring however I think I could get a decent new floor in a color more to my style that would be in the ballpark of $5.50 plus my own sweat equity to install, what do you think?

I have a personal friend, also in the flooring business, located in Calgary. He says he gets 5 bucks a foot every day of the week for refinishing. When you add in the fact that your quotes at $5.50 seem to include repairs its not all that out of line for your market area.
It IS high though, compared to most other areas of Canada. Perhaps you should stop hoarding all the oil and holding us poor Ontarians at ransome. (just joking)
In Toronto the average rate for top quality refinishing of Maple is about $3.00 for natural finish. I automatically double it if its going to be stained, and I want the money up front since the client generally wont believe how bad a stain on maple is going to turn out.
All too often today, with people's exposure to prefinished flooring, the consumer convince's themself that we can duplicate that look on-site, and its just not so. Prefinished floor is generally done with a surface dye which dries before it has a chance to penetrate (unevenly) and create that blotchy appearance.
However, you CAN pick up top quality floors for the same price range. If you pay yourself out very poorly, you will gain a brand new floor with none of the drawbacks you have with the existing floor, for little extra cash outlay.
ADD:
1: removal labour and cost of disposal
2: refastening of existing sub-floor
3: leveling (flattening) of existing sub-floor and cost of materials required
4: labour to install the new floor
5: labour and material costs for new base trim
6: two weeks vacation time when project is complete

Haha thanks Dennis, I have a few extra barrels of oil sitting on my front lawn what's your address I'll ship them down to you - there's just so much of it that I don't know what to do with it, it's not like you can use it to refinish your floors or anything like that . On a side note I wonder (and almost dare to wager) as to how much cheaper gas is at the pumps in Ontario than here... does it make any sense... nope, but none of us understand it either. When I was on my way to work regular gas was at 95.9 cents/liter.

But I digress. I've seen a stained (on site) maple floor and although there was variation in the color I have to say that the patina was quite nice and added charm, although I can see that if one didn't do a first rate job on it or if there were some complications etc. that it could turn out for the worst. I've done all of the things you mentioned before and have a trash container on site right now so disposal wouldn't be too much of an issue. The one thing I forgot to add is that I have an awesome extended family and great friends who have offered their weekends up to me over then next month - so that helps with all of the stuff that takes a long time and is just plain tedious and my aunt and uncle both enjoy woodworking and have done it fairly extensively - now that I think about it all of their kitchen cabinetry was built from scratch so the tools and knowledge and work force is there should I decide to replace the flooring (I just need to provide on-site lunches and dinners which is fine by me) although we all may not want to see each other until well after Christmas if we're in close quarters for the next few weeks. My dilemma now is which direction to head in, and if I decide to go towards replacing the flooring what products should I consider... again any suggestions, opinions, stories or otherwise would be appreciated.

Cheers,
Matt

I will take that wager, gas was 1.02.9 this morning, on average.
Anyway, given that you have the tooling, manpower, and desire to do a good job, my vote is for replacement. Take a look at the MIRAGE line, you should find something to your liking there, and it is a fault free product (usually, nobody is infallable). Dont know about the cost out there though.

Thanks for your help, I'll check the Mirage line out - do they do all three (laminate, engineered & pre-finished hardwood)? What's your take on one vs. the other, especially considering my application.
Matt

Well, they dont do a "laminate" in the new sense of the word.
They have 3/4 inch solid, 3/8th inch engineered, and 1/2 inch float.
Largest variety of colour is available in the same order, solid has the biggest selection.
I believe, given that your house is conventional (for here) construction, i.e. wood sub-floor, I would choose the 3/4 solid as the best application.

Well, no where in the states does anyone get $5.50 a foot to refinish except in a few, very upscale communities. Why Alberta is higher I have no idea. Less competition?

It sounds as if you could get a new, good quality prefinished floor for perhaps a buck or so a ft. more than refinishing. As Dennis said you would need to provide ALL the labor and tools. There are a few specialty tools required to install a 3/4" nailed down floor.

1) a flooring nailer, manual or pneumatic. Most use pneumatic but that will require a compressor and hoses as well.
2) a pneumatic finish nailer is not required but very helpful. I prefer 15 gauge DA nails.
3) a saw that will cut the flooring to length. You could use a hand saw or a powered circular saw but again, most use a powered miter saw. This would come in real handy installing the new baseboards.
4) a table saw for ripping
5) a jig saw for odd cuts
6) a string chalk line. you must have this.
7) tape measure. duh!
8/ a hand saw that can undercut door jambs and casings OR, a Crain SuperSaw or Fein Multi-Saw or similar.

Since Dennis knows the Canadian market much better than many of us, he could guide you to a good source for the flooring purchase.

The ONLY downside to prefinished flooring, IMO, is the micro/mini bevels between the boards. This is common with every brand of solid 3/4" flooring. While most do not mind or even notice, the "look" is quite different then that of a sanded in place hardwood floor.