|
|
Post by shabbychick on Aug 31, 2014 8:32:56 GMT -8
I'm finally going to bite the bullet and replace the upstairs ratty carpet with laminate flooring, and I have a question. How much of a design sin is it to put an entirely different color and finish of laminate upstairs than downstairs? My downstairs laminate is an oak finish, not particularly shiny. I found a laminate at Home Depot that I fell in love with which is a reddish-brown high gloss. It looks like cherry to me. I really like it. It's on sale for $1.55 per square foot right now. They're also having a special where they offer whole house installation for something like $450 if you buy something that's more than $1.50 a square foot.
I kind of hate the idea of pulling up all the downstairs laminate just because it's still in good shape even though I hate the color. I also hate the idea of moving everything out of the downstairs to pull up flooring. If I thought it would greatly increase the home's value, I might be willing to go to the extra expense and hassle since I'll have to pay the whole house price anyway just for the upstairs rooms. If the downstairs is roughly the size of the upstairs, it wouldn't be too cost prohibitive to pay for that flooring. But if nobody would mind a lighter floor downstairs and a darker one upstairs (because I'll be staining the stair treads to match the upstairs and installing the new flooring on the downstairs landing, so there will be an abrupt transition at the stairs), I'd be tempted to just leave it as it is.
What do you all think?
Shabbychick
|
|
|
|
Post by Vintage Girl on Sept 4, 2014 14:27:30 GMT -8
I think that with the whole house installation at such a good price, I would go for it and have the whole house done. But that depends on your budget also. If it turns out to be too expensive, than I say just do the upstairs and the downstairs landing. You may want to bring home a strip of the new laminate and lay it next to your old laminate downstairs to see how the transition will look. I have no problems with two colors, even right next to each other, as long as they blend well. Wow I wish I had the funds to do flooring right now, as that is a great price for installation. I just saw a beautiful tile that looks like whitewashed wood at Lowes, that I just fell in love with. We tore out all of the carpet in our entire house a few years back and put in laminate ourselves. I got it at Home Depot also on clearance. It is a herringbone pattern and I love it, but wish I had gone with something lighter. Whatever you decide, I can't wait to see the pics. The flooring sounds beautiful:)
|
|
|
|
Post by shabbychick on Sept 8, 2014 4:53:46 GMT -8
It turns out that the installation price has some hidden costs. They charge you to move furniture, and they charge you by the linear foot to install baseboards along with the basic floor. Then there is the cost of the underlayment. I had flooring and installation costs for the whole house estimated at about $1500. When they estimated it for me at the store, it was about $4800. I've decided to go with a color that matches the downstairs and only do the upstairs and the downstairs landing. I may go ahead and do the installation myself except for the downstairs landing. That's trickier because each landing is a triangle shape and also has to be glued down. I may go ahead and pay the extra price to buy laminate that already has the pad attached so I don't have to move everything twice to lay it down. It's less expensive to buy a table saw to cut the flooring than to pay someone else to do it, so I guess that's what I'll do. I'll probably be coming back for advice on installation, so it's good to hear you've already got some experience doing that, VG.  |
|
|
|
Post by Vintage Girl on Sept 8, 2014 16:41:25 GMT -8
I thought that installation sounded too good to be true! Ours was glue down. It was a lot of work, but once you get going it is not that hard. I prefer glue down to floating floors. My floor was parquet, so it is squares rather than planks. We had to start in the center of the room and work out for parquet, but for planks you start at the edge and work across. Very important to let the floor "cure" for a few days before you install it. I would definately pay the bit more and get the underlayment attached. Will save you a lot of work. Good luck and let me know if you have any questions? |
|
|
|
Post by shabbychick on Sept 14, 2014 18:24:03 GMT -8
I have the flooring now. I decided to go to Lumber Liquidators. They had laminate that was an even closer match to my downstairs laminate, already had the pad attached, and was on sale. In addition, they weren't charging sales tax, so I saved quite a bit of money. I then paid $150 for a portable flooring saw that can be used indoors. It's only 25 pounds, so I can carry it up the stairs and use it in the room I'm laying the flooring in. It has a dust collection system, and it does cross cuts, rips, and mitering,so it'll be perfect. And I won't have to be running up and down the stairs to cut flooring, which will save wear and tear on my aging body. When I get my forever house, I'll be able to use that saw to put in almost any kind of flooring I want. Now I have to find the time to pull out the carpeting that is already upstairs, get it to the dump, and prepare the subfloor for the laminate. I figure laying the laminate will take me a few weekends because I'm bound to be slow, and I won't have any help, but if everyone else and their brother can figure it out, I expect I can, too. I may hire someone to do the downstairs landings because of their unusual shape, but the rest I'm going to do myself. Then I can stain the stairs, paint the risers, and I'll be done!
|
|
|
|
Post by Rose-mary on Sept 18, 2014 15:15:52 GMT -8
Can't wait to see your new floor, shabby!
|
|
|
|
Post by shabbychick on Sept 21, 2014 19:26:17 GMT -8
It'll be awhile, Rosemary. I still have to rip out the carpet up there and dispose of it, and that's going to take some time and quite a bit of maneuvering of furniture and other stuff. I don't have the time or energy to do it at the moment, but maybe when the rainy season starts I'll be able to get to it. At least I've got all the flooring here for when I get around to it.
|
|
|
|
Post by Rose-mary on Sept 22, 2014 10:47:42 GMT -8
Well, it will be nice that everything is already there for you when you finally get started. It always takes us a long time to do any project around our house. Most people hire someone to come in and get it done, but we are do-it-yourselfers and fairly slow at anything, LOL! But I'm sure it will be worth all the hard work, once you are finished.
|
|
|
|
Post by Mac78 on Sept 23, 2014 15:17:48 GMT -8
Sounds like a great deal. Our house is no longer consistent in flooring. Kitchen has good quality laminate, dining room and family room have laminate from Menards and it is junk and I have no idea what the 30 year warranty covered.I totally regret putting laminate in my dining and family rooms. If I ever change out flooring again, I will put the same of something in the kitchen and dining room and the same of something in the family room and living room.
I like the vinyl laminate style flooring that clicks together that is 100% waterproof. Will be looking forward to seeing it when you are done.
|
|
|
|
Post by jeanmilburn on Feb 17, 2021 3:56:18 GMT -8
Will furniture on castors be used and if so, where?
|
|
|
|
Post by jeanmilburn on Mar 5, 2021 5:47:50 GMT -8
How to Choose Flooring?
|
|
