Hi
I’ve been pricing flooring options for a large downstairs remodel. I will be taking up red oak hardwood flooring in a dining room, linoleum and underlayment in the kitchen removing a wall between these two rooms, and then re-flooring that entire area. I’ll also be taking out walls between three rooms/closets in an addition and dealing with splicing and repairing the solid oak flooring between those rooms. The oak flooring that could be salvaged from the dining room can be used to do the splicing repairs once the walls in the addition are removed.
I will also be re-finishing the oak floors throughout the downstairs of the house as these floors are over 35 years old and have areas in need of attention.
The options I am looking at for new flooring in the kitchen and dining room are pre-finished 50 year warranty oak at $4.30 sq ft, unfinished oak at $2.40 sq ft, and unfinished cherry from an eBay supplier at $1.99 for natural to $2.69 for select. The eBay supplier can also supply wider planks (for example, $3.49 for 5 1/4″ flooring).
My kitchen cabinets will be cherry, natural finish, so I am thinking of going with select cherry for the flooring, and using a light stain finish to complement the natural cherry cabinets.
My questions are these:
1) How is solid cherry as a flooring? Issues with installation, finishing, and durability?
2) At these prices, does it seem like a good idea to go with unfinished flooring, given that I will be re-finishing the rest of the flooring during the same remodeling job?
3) Am I kidding myself that salvaging the oak flooring from the dining room and using it to do the splicing repairs under the other walls that I’m removing is a good idea? I have no problem doing the sweat equity work, but if the wood is difficult to salvage in the first place, should I just plan on ripping up the flooring in the addition and relaying all new flooring planks?
Thanks
Replies
I've had good luck salvaging and patching in across old wall lines. If you want a link to the process and results, HERE IT IS
A Great Place for Information, Comraderie, and a Sucker Punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/
I'd want to see examples of the "select" grade from the Ebay supplier.
In the furniture industry, "select grade" is a term with a very specific definition. And in general, Select (actually 'Fine and Select') is the best lumber available -- nice grain, no bark inclusions, no knots, no sapwood.
In the flooring industry, "select" seems to mean that somebody selected this stuff to see if it could be sold. It should also be noted that in the flooring industry, the term "Cherry" could have lots of different meanings that have nothing to do with the species of tree.
The prefinished products offered these days are usually excellent choices. The lumber is good stuff, and the finish is bulletproof.
willdogg
Your choice of woods is clearly your choice. You should however know this.. cherry isn't as hard as the oak you are replacing so if you have dogs or children you should realize that it will marr easier than oak..
Cherry is a wonderful, classic, wood. With a lot of natual beauty. I personnally love it.. Personally I would choose the wider planks because it looks less like a gymnasium and more elegant..
One question is the dark color of cherrysurrounded by other dark wood it might become too dark I would personally look at using a hard maple to contrast the beauty of the cherry and add a classic light dark contrast.
If you can get unfininshed hardwood strip flooring at that kind of price, you should jump on it, whatever species you finally decide to use. Real strip flooring that is sanded and finshed in place provides a much better final product than the factory finished stuff.
Unfortunately the pre-finished stuff has taken over so much of the market here that it is becoming very difficult to buy unfinished strip flooring. None of my local suppliers stock it so it is a special order and it usually winds up costing more than the pre-finished stuff. Completely ridiculous....
Dinosaur
How now, Mighty Sauron, that thou art not brought
low by this? For thine evil pales before that which
foolish men call Justice....
I think it must be a locality thing. I can still get all the unfinished 3/4" select red oak in huge quantity from my hardwood supplier, and HD has it by the pallet here, too. My oak guy can also get maple, ash, and cherry with a few days lead time as well.
Installed unfinished/ poly'd in place SHOULD cost more. It's better :)
Bing
Throw that 50 year warranty out the door. It doesn't exist. Marketing trick only. Cherry pricing sounds real low for select. Depends on the source. Hardwood guys know the source and can get it quicker. Ebay? If it's a reasonable amount of square footage and you're in New England try Jeff at hoskinghardwood.com.
What part of the country/world do you reside?
We have cherry in our kitchen, dining room, and living room, with a swedish finish on it. It does get dented easier then oak, but after a year or so, it has mellowed to a wonderful carmel color.
Do you have carpet on that floor by any chance? And if so, is the cherry floor a lighter shade now than the rest of the floor? Cherry is very susceptible to color change from exposure to light. The right type of finish can make a difference.
I think it's quite a beautiful furniture wood and nice for things like picture frames etc. It also shows off other woods really nicely. I haven't seen many floors in it, only in much higher end homes. Brazilian cherry is a big flooring wood now, but that's a different animal.
The salvaged oak should work fine for patching in your existing floors.
It's a matter of personal taste, but I agree with Frenchy, a contrasting wood with your cherry cabinets would be a better choice. To much of one wood tends to be overpowering in most rooms. Lighter color might be better, or consider a wood with some color variations.
For instance, ash or hickory are good flooring choices, and have a blend of color when finished. White oak is another choice I like. I installed cherry interior doors, casings, crown moldings, and cabinets throughout a house years ago with white oak floors in a natural finish.
It seemed to just highlight the cherry.
Also, as Frenchy mentioned, cherry is not as hard as some might think. I've installed it in both my own home and many others, and it marks up much easier than oak or maple.
I put down the 5" Brazilian cherry in my kitchen - $5 a sf unfinished -- it is very tough- see the table attached - Brazilian Cherry is almost twice as hard as white oak
We just fininshed a flooring job with Brazilian Cherry, but I don't recall the manufacturer. Beautiful stuff. It was special ordered from Switzerland? (I think). Either way, the homeowner paid six dollars a square for it fininshed, and the look was spectacular. The planks were very consistant, with just a few oddly sized or planed boards. I was thouroughly jealous, and if I didn't live on a slab or could find an economical way to build up a sub-floor, I'd put the same thing down in my house. I say go with the cherry. I will caution you, though. I've not done alot of wood floors (my first big job), but this stuff seemed very easily dented or scratched. I found that out the hard way when my boss let me run the flooring nailer. Lets just say that I spent the rest of the day as the cut-man.