Calling all flooring experts.....

Starmusica

does anyone know anything about hardwood floors? Or Empire Today? My husband and I got a quote tonight and compared to another quote it seems amazing... I honestly don't want to spend money on floors but its been a dream of his to do in our home.....edit: I think its a stupid way to waste money personally but he's been pushing for this for nearly 3 years...

He's going to be getting more quotes this week and they have a fabulous BBB rating.. but I still worry over these things.

vegasgroom

Do you mean real hard wood or laminate flooring?  Real hardwood floors are the ones where wood planks are attached to the floor with some type of fastener, then the whole thing is sanded, lacquered, etc. and tends to be very expensive.  Laminate is the pergo-like stuff you can get for often less than carpet and it just snaps together, sometimes involving glue, etc.  If you're talking laminate and were surprised to find how inexpensive it is compared to carpet, that's normal.

shaydenise

All of our house is hardwood except the bedrooms.  For three bedrooms to have mahogany floors put down we were quote between $5,000-$6,000.

For the record I think they are completely worth it and if we decide to stay in our house long-term we will totally have them put in the bedrooms.  We have three dogs though so the wood floors are so easy to clean.

katiewhompus

We're getting the wonderful laminate click type flooring. They also have hardwood in that style that is much much cheaper than traditional hardwood.

We don't get Empire out here but one flooring person I talked to said to watch out for all the little fee's. A friend of my dad's said they were charged about $3k over the estimated price because of extra labor costs (they were going slowly), needing more tools, difficult cuts (going around a door), etc.

Starmusica

Nope this is prefinished hardwood- tongue and groove nailed to the floor. It's not a floating laminate. It's pre- sanded and finished and treated with scotch guard.

raynes

What do you want to know?  On top of material costs, my H says he'd charge anywhere from $2-$2.50/sq ft for installation.  Material can range anywhere from $2/sq ft to over $8/sq ft, depending on what you want.

My H installs flooring as his job, mostly the engineered click-in type flooring, but he does laminate and t&g hardwood too.  If you have any questions, I can ask!

MarriedInAFever

What is the thickness of the planks? Price? Warranty? And just to be clear, the planks are solid wood? Personally, I think you can tell if the hardwood is a good quality just by picking up a sample and just LOOKING at it. You can get a decent idea of how it will hold up and age with time (which it will.)

Starmusica

It's just over 500 square feet of space. The planks are 3 1/4 inch wide. The wood is solid hardwood. It was really good. He brought a large sample and my husband being my husband dropped a pot on it from several feet up in the air (yea seriously I was like uhhhh ur insane). It didn't nick, dent scratch...

The quote was $4600....

MarriedInAFever

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_snarky-brides_calling-flooring-experts?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:17Discussion:2c2a57ab-57bd-41f8-8117-916b823d7104Post:399b35d5-5e27-4788-8db6-95c15771ab2d">Re: Calling all flooring experts.....</a>:
[QUOTE]It's just over 500 square feet of space. The planks are 3 1/4 inch wide. The wood is solid hardwood. It was really good. He brought a large sample and my husband being my husband dropped a pot on it from several feet up in the air (yea seriously I was like uhhhh ur insane). It didn't nick, dent scratch... The quote was $4600....
Posted by Starmusica[/QUOTE]

Well, honestly, that's on the high end for hardwood flooring. But, it sounds incredibly durable, which is rare for solid hardwood. If the flooring also has a good warranty (around 50 years) and you both like it, I would go for it. If the flooring doesn't have a good warranty, I would shop around.

Starmusica

It has a 50 year warranty.. we are getting 2 more quotes but we feel fairly useless... we don't know a thing about this and researching hasn't helped a hell of a lot :-/ thanks for the advice!

MarriedInAFever

A 50 year warranty makes it a good buy. Think about how long you'll be in your home. Most likely, you'll never have to replace it and if it's durable, it will continue to look great. Did this quote installation, or just material?

Starmusica

MIAF- its the whole nine yards. This isn't our forever home though which is 90% of my trepidation. However, it will help us when we sell someday....

MarriedInAFever

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_snarky-brides_calling-flooring-experts?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:17Discussion:2c2a57ab-57bd-41f8-8117-916b823d7104Post:146c6e95-cdf0-4a19-ba89-9e5d563919b7">Re: Calling all flooring experts.....</a>:
[QUOTE]MIAF- its the whole nine yards. This isn't our forever home though which is 90% of my trepidation. However, it will help us when we sell someday....
Posted by Starmusica[/QUOTE]

Ok! If it includes installation as well, I would definitely get it. That's a great buy! That would definitely add value to your home.

Starmusica

MIAF- I will say.. while the company clearly thinks I am nuts so far they are getting an A for customer service. I called about 20 minutes ago (the national number) for a quick question. They put me on hold and then said.. ur sales rep will call u in a moment. The poor guys just called my house at 10:40- from his home. I feel terrible to have bothered him... oopsie. It was a simple question- who would have thought they'd call the guys?! insane.

MarriedInAFever

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_snarky-brides_calling-flooring-experts?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:17Discussion:2c2a57ab-57bd-41f8-8117-916b823d7104Post:00357c0e-fd4c-4221-9c9d-08811e14ba1c">Re: Calling all flooring experts.....</a>:
[QUOTE]MIAF- I will say.. while the company clearly thinks I am nuts so far they are getting an A for customer service. I called about 20 minutes ago (the national number) for a quick question. They put me on hold and then said.. ur sales rep will call u in a moment. The poor guys just called my house at 10:40- from his home. I feel terrible to have bothered him... oopsie. It was a simple question- who would have thought they'd call the guys?! insane.
Posted by Starmusica[/QUOTE]

You definitely don't get that kind of service at Home Depot <img src="http://cdn.cl9.vanillaforums.com/downloaded/ver1.0/content/scripts/tinymce/plugins/emotions/images/smiley-wink.gif" border="0" alt="Wink" title="Wink" /> That's really good to know and makes for an easy transaction. You never know when you'll have to get back with the company for a warranty claim or some kind of follow up. It's nice to know you can depend on them. Seriously, I say buy the flooring. An independent retailer offering that quality of flooring WITH installation is fantastic. Go for it!

Starmusica

Thanks for the advice MIAF H and I are "sleeping on it" lol. I read reviews online and they are mixed but I feel like its always that way because how many satisfied custmers really take to the web? BBB rated Empire A+ but I always wonder about BBB..

[Deleted User]

I work in flooring and have for pretty much my entire life. I grew up in it. Do not use Empire or any of the home improvement stores. Go to a mom & pop style shop. They are always your best bet.

There are a lot of factors that come into play with flooring that only flooring professionals know. Empire and box stores alike seem inexpensive but then get you with tons of charges for sweeping and dropping off material and measuring and things like that, that should be included in any professional service. It all adds up and you end up paying more. Their sales people are not as educated esp. at box stores (those guys can work in paint one day, tools another and then you happen to get them in the flooring dept.)

Hard wood, pre-finished hard wood, and laminates all need to be in your home for at least 48 hours before installation to allow for acclimation. Wood is subject to contraction and expansion and leaving it in the place it is going to be installed prior to installtion limits changes in expansion and contractions and will offer the best situation for installation. If the salesperson says the installer will bring the material when they come to install - RUN!

Starmusica

schlag- thank you!

[Deleted User]

welcome! good luck!