Pre-Finished Hardwood Floors 101

[hazmat]

I am planning on installing some prefinished hardwood floors in my dining room & family room. My plan was to Remove the baseboards and reinstall after the hardwood is down.

MarkV (who happens to be a pro floor installler) suggests I leave the baseboard & install shoe molding to cover the expansion gap. I've seen it done both ways. I like the look of the shoeless method better, but if there is a compelling reason I should install the shoe molding let me know.

It seems easier to install the shoe ILO removing & reinstalling the baseboard. But, what do you do at the door casings? [img]/forums/images/icons/confused.gif[/img]

Also, please recommend any books, videos, or web pages that provide step by step instruction. The floor place said they would provide a video, but its quality is TBD. I've found a couple web pages, I'll dig them up so you guys can critique them.

I really hope others benefit from these discussions, more often than not, I feel like I'm on the receiving end of the advice.

Edit here: let's see If I can change the subject heading

[Gatorboy]

I have only installed tile floors myself, never hardwood floors, so I just would get it close and put grout in that gap.

I think for your case it may be necessary to trim the door casing to get the hardwood underneath the casing. Set a jamb saw on a piece of scrap flooring to guide how much casing to cut off.

[DUMBDOG]

When i redid my house with laminate flooring, that is what I did, used a jamb saw to cut the casings, pain in the corners, but it is possible.

You might research some web sights for some of the laminate floorings, the principle should be the same. Do not have them bookmarked anymore.

[Hank]

<font color="blue"> But, what do you do at the door casings? </font color>

What I've seen done (the easy way) is just to make an angle cut on the end of the shoe, so it dies back to the casing. This is usually not quite as severe as a 45, more like 30 degrees.

The fancier way would involve cutting off the bottom 5-6" of your door trim, and installing plinth blocks in that space. These are just lengths of wood that are beveled on the face so they roughly follow the dimensions of the trim. With the thicker plinth block in place, there is enough space to die the shoe into the plinth directly, for a cleaner look.

[Gatorboy]

Hank,

I think you answered his question -- I was thinking he was referring to what to do with the flooring at the casing.

I also think the best and easiest is just cutting an angle on the shoe.

Do you guys ever notice that when you are working on a project, whether it is painting a room, doing trim work, etc. when you are focused on the task, it seems that the smallest flaw is SO NOTICEABLE at the time, but after the room or project is done, those things that seemed so obvious are hardly ever seen again? [img]/forums/images/icons/laugh.gif[/img]

[AndyF]

When you install the shoe molding just cut it back at a 45 degree angle when you reach the door casing. Take a look at an older home which still has its original trim and you'll see what I mean.

One thing to consider with the prefinished floors is the floor material itself. Many of the floors are basically plywood with a 1/16 -1/32" thick hardwood veneer on top. They look OK, but will not have the durability of a true hardwood floor. Also, you will not be able to sand them down and refinish them in 20 - 25 years as you would with a true hardwood floor.

An alternative worth considering is 3/8" thick hardwood flooring. Companies such as Launstein manufacture hardwood strip floor in a variety of widths, grades and wood types which install very easily with a pin-nailer and sub-floor adhesive. After laying the floor you do a light sanding with 80 and 120 grit paper and then apply your finish.

[hazmat]

A couple web sites I've found.

NOFMA

DIYNET

Lowes

[hazmat]

<font color="blue"> One thing to consider with the prefinished floors is the floor material itself. Many of the floors are basically plywood with a 1/16 -1/32" thick hardwood veneer on top. They look OK, but will not have the durability of a true hardwood floor. Also, you will not be able to sand them down and refinish them in 20 - 25 years as you would with a true hardwood floor.
</font color>

The product we picked out is 3/4" thick solid oak that is prefinished. It is "real hardwood" with the messy part already done [img]/forums/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img]

[Hank]

<font color="blue"> The product we picked out is 3/4" thick solid oak that is prefinished. It is "real hardwood" with the messy part already done </font color>

They keep coming up with ways to do things better!

Traditionally, solid wood T&amp;G flooring was always finished in place, because it had to be sanded flat after installation.

Is this stuff T&amp;G, or have they come up with some superior locking mechanism to hold the boards flush with each other?

[hazmat]

<font color="blue"> Is this stuff T&amp;G, or have they come up with some superior locking mechanism to hold the boards flush with each other?
</font color>

It is T&amp;G. They solve the flatness problem with a micro bevel on the top edges. This breaks the plane between each board. It effectively fools the human eye (and hand) that the boards are the same height.

My inlaws installed this throughout their house (3,500 sq feet) and it looks and feels great. If you took a straightedge to it, you'll probably see the board height differences.