My "rehab" house is coming along nicely and we're at the point of looking at
the flooring. I can use some feedback/advice/ideas from anyone who's had to
deal with it.
Background - The house is 116 years old. Considering how many years
(decades?) of neglect the "bones" are in pretty good shape. Yes, the
interior has had to be gutted and the plaster walls replaced with sheet rock
and blown-in insulation. The plaster was too poor to salvage. A couple of
doorways had to be moved and a little "redesigning" done (moving one short
wall and building another so there's a full bathroom on each floor). But
all-in-all the house still retains its original charm. So we're at the
flooring stage now. After pulling up three layers of linoleum, there's a
beautiful wood floor underneath. Both floors (two-story house) are stripped
down to the wood floors.
Plan A was to strip the wood floors, refinish and seal. Unfortunately,
there's so much paint and shellac and just plain crap on the floor that
trying to remove it was damaging the wood, not to mention that it'd take
forever. Abandon Plan A and move on.
Plan B - put down hardwood. Since I no longer have to worry about
preserving the original floor it can be nailed down. Found a hardwood I
like and arranged for the rooms to be measured for an estimate of the
installation. Complication - floors aren't level. One room I knew ahead
wasn't because I'm the one who took out the unsupported brick chimney which
was in it. Unsupported meaning no support underneath the chimney in the
basement. There are pole jacks underneath the low spot and it's slowly been
raised, but I can't go too much further (if at all) without the danger of
raising the joists off the foundation. Not a good thing. It's a 116 years
old. I honestly don't expect the floors to be perfectly level. The
flooring installer won't install unless the floors are level, which they
won't do. I have to hire someone else to do it. Extra expense.
Plan C - consider moving to LVP (luxury vinyl planking). From what I've
been reading online, although it's preferable the floors be level, it's not
quite so critical, especially with the adhesive strip planking as compared
to the click-lock type. However, I really have no experience with this type
of flooring. It is already in a very small room in this house which was a
bathroom and is now a pantry. Because of the moisture problems of it having
been a bathroom, that entire floor had to be replaced completely.
Plan D - put down sheet vinyl. No worried about level floors at all, most
likely the least expensive and quickest. But as you see, this is my "last
resort." Because of water "issues" there is already sheet vinyl in both
bathrooms and will be going into the laundry room (which is between the
kitchen and a guest bedroom).
Don't anyone suggest carpet. I hate carpet with a passion and will NOT put
it in. Period. End of story.
Confusion concern - There are no kitchen cabinets installed as yet. There
was no sense to put them in if I was able to go with Plan A. I've been
reading to have them already installed if I go with Plans C and D, but what
about Plan B? I'd thought to have the flooring down before the cabinets
with hardwood, but maybe not? I don't know.
So there's my situation at present. Any advice/ideas/feedback is
appreciated. I've got too much time and $ invested in this house to do a
crap job on the floors this close to being finished. Thanks in advice.
Sandaidh
sandaidh@atlanticbb.net
Posted by: "Sandaidh" <sandaidh@atlanticbb.net>
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