Wood flooring questions

[Brian Elfert]

I edited my first post in this thread. I think this is the flooring I was impressed with in a hospital lab.

https://www.hursthardwoods.com/10-1-.../engfonat1034/

I find it hard to believe that a hospital lab would use wood flooring. It would be difficult to keep the floor clean to hospital standards with all the cracks between the boards. Even a sanded and finished in place hardwood floor will have the cracks open at least slightly. I seem to recall most labs have a seamless vinyl or rubber floor covering to make it easy to clean.

[Tom M King]

It looked like luxury vinyl plank. I took a picture of it, and that link was the closest thing I found for it with a google picture match when we came back home. It was not a regular wood floor. All the planks were wide, but the surface was like a LVP floor. There were no cracks as you would expect from wood, but just like a LVP waterproof floor like we have in lake rental houses.

It was a hospital lab in Emporia, Virginia. My Mom was living in Assisted Living near there then.

[Cameron Wood]

I agree with Paul F Franklin in post #5 above-

especially for a smaller space, prefinished for more durable, less mess, & faster turn around.

I have the same subfloor in my house, & it originally had cork tiles and carpet over 3/8" plywood underlayment. The cork was trashed so I replaced with new plywood,

and eventually put down vinyl plank. It won't win the design awards, but it looks fine, and has performed great so far (~5 years), works excellent in the kitchen, and avoids the lumpy

transition between 5/16" and 3/4" wood floors.

[Derek Meyer]

We re-did our living room, dining room and kitchen about 18 months ago. We used a laminate flooring called Audacity. It is waterproof, comes in a bunch of different finishes, and has no bevel or gap between planks. Click-lock installation. If I remember right it retailed for about $4.25 a square foot when I bought it.

The planks have a texture to them that makes them feel more like real wood. We did have one plank get scratched a couple of weeks ago, but if I didn't know exactly where it was I'd be hard pressed to tell just looking over the floor. I'm very pleased with it.

[Brian Runau]

This is what I have learned in this process. Unfinished hardwood flooring has standard grades across the industry. Easy to compare. Prefinished hardwood flooring does not. Each manufacturer sets their own standards. One calls their mill run spec, it has grade 1 grade 2 and character(read crap) in it. Character has large knots splits etc...they are filled,but This is fine, personal preference/budget, but this supplier tried to tell me it was something it wasn't until I pinned them down. Almost impossible to get a clear face grade in a prefinished Floor. Can't afford rift saw or quartesawn product, but found a a couple manufacturers that sell prefinished maple in grade 1 & 2, so small knots, they tell me dime size or less, no splits etc... I plan to purchase a single box of the final choice before going forward with the job so I can see what a box includes, vs the small samples in the showrooms. Thanks for all the input. Brian

[Cameron Wood]

IME, the top grades, especially of maple, can be too uniform and stark, & lower grades have color and figure variation that makes a better looking floor.

[Brian Runau]

IME, the top grades, especially of maple, can be too uniform and stark, & lower grades have color and figure variation that makes a better looking floor.

Kind of personal preference and what someone wants. We actually are going for boring . Thanks brian

[Ron Selzer]

Kind of personal preference and what someone wants. We actually are going for boring . Thanks brian

Good way to say it. My wife wants lots of character, (knots, splits, etc) I prefer midway between that and the high grade (boring)
All comes down to who has to live with it

Ron

[Carol Schnell]

I live in a house built in the 40's. I decided to get rid of the carpet in a bedroom so I could glue down engineered flooring. Under the carpet I found ¾ " diagonal plank yellow pine wood with gaps between the boards. There is a crawl space under the house with high quality plastic as a moisture barrier over the dirt. Should I remove the plank and replace it with 3/4" plywood? If I add plywood over the plank, the floor will be considerably higher than the adjacent wood at the doorway. The floor is relatively flat and would need minimal leveling. Is Ardex cement-based underlayment the best product for that? Do I need an underlayment paper or felt over the plywood? Do I need to silicone the cracks between the plywood? As you can see, I need lots of advice. I appreciate any help you can provide.

[Jerome Stanek]

I live in a house built in the 40's. I decided to get rid of the carpet in a bedroom so I could glue down engineered flooring. Under the carpet I found ¾ " diagonal plank yellow pine wood with gaps between the boards. There is a crawl space under the house with high quality plastic as a moisture barrier over the dirt. Should I remove the plank and replace it with 3/4" plywood? If I add plywood over the plank, the floor will be considerably higher than the adjacent wood at the doorway. The floor is relatively flat and would need minimal leveling. Is Ardex cement-based underlayment the best product for that? Do I need an underlayment paper or felt over the plywood? Do I need to silicone the cracks between the plywood? As you can see, I need lots of advice. I appreciate any help you can provide.

I would pull the pine and insulate then put down plywood

[jack duren]

For unfinished flooring you’ll need a nailer. I use Powernail. Once done you’ll have to rent a belt sander.After I used the rented belt sander I used a PC 505 and finished it. Stained and put a coat of poly on the floor. Floor is lost 20 years old. I’ll probably be recoating it in the next couple of years.

I ran mine diagonally with a 6” border.