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Old 02-12-2008, 10:04 PM
Boomer Boomer is offline
Soaring Parsley
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Default Re: Tile Floor - DIY

(I am trying to insert quotes from this thread in order to respond to your questions, but I am having no luck - or patience. The preview keeps showing them in the same size print as the reply. --so I will just proceed with my dissertation on hardwood floors. :dontknow: )

Hardwood is my favorite flooring. In the house we downsized from, we had sanded and finished on-the-job floors in some of the rooms. That was several years ago and we hired it done. --that's another story, with several chapters.

This time, when Mr. BB did the install, we used the prefinished boards. It is not laminate. It is 3/4 inch, 5 inch wide boards. The finish that comes on the flooring now is pretty amazing. It should be around long after we are. We laugh sometimes about how somebody, someday, will buy this house and say, "Oh, how hideous." -and will cover the floor up with - oh - who knows? -orange shag or something.

This hardwood was not the kind that is glued. Mr. BB has something called a pneumatic nailer in his treasure trove of tools. And I remember it being all about the subfloor before he started the install.

Someone in this thread mentioned Florida humidity. I am not sure what that would mean either. I know with the floor we have, there is a purposeful gap between the floor and the wall. That gap is covered with the baseboard and the quarter-round - or whatever that little piece is called. Anyway, that's where the wood gets its expansion room. I realize that Florida homeowners are probably more aware than most of us of the need to control the humidity in their homes. But I bet it's not easy to do when you are not there all year round. At this time of year, we are adding humidity up here.

I remember when the flooring was delivered and stacked high in the dining room. The wood had to become acclimated to the house. Mr. BB was always poking representative boards with some kind of little pronged moisture meter.

When the first board went down, it involved some kind of laser thing. Can you imagine what a whole house of hardwood could look like if the first board was not absolutely perfect. I am certain that anybody who installs hardwood would never start with a board that was off. - but it is interesting to think about.

To answer the question about why no hardwood in TV: We are likely to buy a patio villa and use it as a second home for awhile. Hardwood is usually a bigger investment in a property and we want to keep second home costs down.

And re. the question about Mr. BB being for hire: He is not. We have laughed about that, too. This guy could probably be working all the time in TV. When he took off that tie that he never put back on, he had a great time with this stuff. Hey, you can see what you have accomplished at the end of a day. But there is nowhere to keep all those tools in a patio villa. I think that may be why we are keeping this house up north, too.

Well, if you have managed to read this far, you must be having as boring a day as I am. - or perhaps you have come to the conclusion that Mr. BB and I are, in fact, quite insane. (See why I had to publically wrestle my vinyl siding angst in that other thread long ago.)
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