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Thread: hardwood floors in living room or not?

  1. #1
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    hardwood floors in living room or not?

    hardwood flooring kitchen, entry and hall. now we are thinking about doing the living room as well. do any of you have hardwood flooring in the living room and regret it or happy?.

    what would you prefer?....jack

  2. #2
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    Jack,

    We have hardwood floor in the living room as well as the kitchen, entry hall and most of the rest of the house and we love it . We also had it in our previous house. I see no down side to it unless there are some specific weather or other conditions that creates a problem, go for it.

    Effie

  3. #3
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    you guys should have look on my wifes face after i got through using the nailer with the wall as a prop luckily im painting after the floors ....jack
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  4. #4
    I've installed a lot of hardwood flooring for myself and customers. I've got hardwood throughout the entire house except for the kitchen/laundry area which is tile. There is hardwood in the bedrooms but we put carpet in there just because it's a little quieter. But we may be going back to removing that carpet soon. Hardwood looks good and is MUCH easier to maintain than carpet.

    IMO, hardwood can go just about ANYWHERE in a house and work well.

    We love it !

    John

  5. #5
    I built our home in 1987 and at the time only put hardwood in the dining room. The living room was carpet and the best I could find at the time. A few years after our son was born we were told he had asthma and had quite a time for a while, I replaced the living room rug with hardwood, his bedroom and the second floor hallway, while we made a lot of other changes also, the hardwood made a big difference, IMO.

    If doing this over, I would have hardwood everywhere except the entrances and bathrooms where I would place Ceramic.

    Andy

  6. #6
    Our house is about 100 years old with hardwood floors throughout. But then, it's all covered with carpet! We're not far from tearing all the carpet out and sanding the house. I guess I'll have to buy a sheet of sandpaper.
    ~john
    "There's nothing wrong with Quiet" ` Jeremiah Johnson

  7. #7
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    well it sounds like hardwood floors throughout the living is the way to go. already got a blister from the mallet. putting the floor on a 45 is a chore but worth it along with a 6" border....thx jack
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  8. #8
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    At this point, I wouldn't have a house without wood floors. No carpet for me!! I have to qualify that ours are not hardwood...wide pumpkin pine for all but the MBR (narrow heart pine) and the kitchen...brick.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  9. #9
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    Hi Jack! I have 2-1/4" oak flooring in our living room, hallway, dining room and kitchen on the upper floor of our front-split, and love it. I put the floor down in the kitchen about a year and a half ago. It looks really good, is easy to maintain and even our two small grandsons have made no lasting impressions on it! I would never go back to carpet for these areas. The wood looks so much warmer and comfortable, and you don't have to remove stains like you do from the carpet when one of the kids knocks over your wine glass!
    Bryan in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada


    Look alive! Here comes a buzzard! -- Pogo, by Walt Kelly

    A child of five could understand this. Fetch me a child of five. -- Groucho Marx.


  10. #10
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    Jack

    We had oak hardwood flooring in the hall way when we bought the house and added hardwood flooring in the kit and family room and really love it. The only problem with hardwood flooring in the kit is things seem to be dropped more often imparing a few dents.

    I do think hardwood floors are easier to care for but I still like carpet in bedrooms. (no cold feet in the middle of the night during the winters)

  11. #11
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    Go for hardwood

    Only place we don't have hardwood is the bathrooms and kitchen - which are tile.

    Sorry to hijack, but I just noticed this is my 100th post. Does that make me a centurion?

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by jack duren
    putting the floor on a 45 is a chore but worth it along with a 6" border....
    Why did you decide on a 45 degree shift to the wood floor? Seem like it would be more difficult to install and would look different than the traditional house. Just curious.

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by John Hart
    Our house is about 100 years old with hardwood floors throughout. But then, it's all covered with carpet! We're not far from tearing all the carpet out and sanding the house. I guess I'll have to buy a sheet of sandpaper.
    Better get two: that stuff they're selling these days just doesn't hold up like the old stuff.

  14. #14
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    thx for all the replies.sounds like hardwoods in the living room.

    the interest in hardwoods through the major areas was based on one unforseen spills in the carpet that was pulled. i found that the kids are better at covering there friends spills from sllep overs than i am at fixing a mistake in wood .

    then there are the two cats. we buy leather furniture because of cats, hardwoods should offer good protection. more sanitary .

    Corvin we went with 45's because we intended to put a 6" walnut boarder around the perimeter. because the walnut price doubled since i talked to the distributor oak may be installed instead.

    second reason... these are called "ACES". only 12" to 13" long $1bd ft. if i go traditional the floor could look extremely busy. going at an angle with a perimeter border will distract from the "busy" of the ACES.

    hopefully everything turns out well. average harwood installed floor to a "builder" is around $6.75- $8.00 a board ft installed and finished.

    ill have $600-$700 in wood, $18 a gal for Miniwax stain, 2 gallons ZAR satin finish $42,$58 rental of floor sander.

    materials and rental roughly $850. otherwise in an occupied house by a flooring professional between $4k-$5k.

    tile alone installed is expensive. around $5 sq ft in new housing for basic floor. add a boder or tweak it anyway and $$$$$ . this does not include extra prep situations(occupied home) or tile,thinset or cbu. luckily ive become a pretty good tile man. saves a bundle ....rebel
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  15. #15
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    Only one word is needed: Wood

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