3/4" Red Oak Hardwoods, nail down. Provincial stain with MinWax Polyurethane finish. After the finish dried and soaked in, the glossy look diminished by around 90%. Still looks great without having a glossy shine, yet the polyurethane protects the floor from scuffs and stains.

not nice, VERY nice...love the color, not too dark but dark enough to show the woodgrain!

Geez, what does 3/4" hardwood flooring cost these days?

Two hallways, large living area and formal dining area cost around $5K.

This guy out of McKinney did it: www.getflooredinc.net/gallery.php?category=wood

Pain in the arse getting it done, but will never have to replace the floor again.

does that include staining and labor or just the wood?

Actually cheaper than I thought it would be. Any idea of the cost per sq. foot?

Beautiful!

It was everything. Carpet and base-molding tear out/haul away, gluing down the 3/4" plywood, nailing the 3/4" Red Oak to the plywood, re-installing 5" baseboards with top trim and painting white to match other moldings. Sanding, staining, and polyurethane coating.

After this was done, I recognized the bundle of hardwood flooring at Home Depot as the same as what the installation crew brought to the house. The goal was to do upgrades to the parents' house, sell it then move them closer to siblings who could help them in their old age. But now they won't move because of the upgrades - they love the house so much they don't want to move.

Not only did they get wood floors, but granite countertops (including the island), settling cracks in sheetrock fixed, new interior paint job, they're also getting built-ins put in the living room (entertainment center).

Granite slab Mom picked out (Dad didn't care):







Under counter - mount sink. Mom liked the black because it didn't take away from the granite.


Pic of dining room wood floor with Polyurethane still wet. Mom loves her wood floors.

She'll love that sink. We have one of the same material.

Doesn't stain or scratch and is very quiet (no clanking sound when someone sets a dish down hard).

That granite FTW!

Looks fantastic.

Completely impressed!

General question...how is an under mounted sink attached? Do you need support legs?

I am in the process of "planning" some upgrades and a very modest change in the kitchen that will include counters and a sink. I like the farmhouse look but also the under mount feature. Is it possible to have both? This is all new to me but I am getting super excited with all the threads and photos! Our current sink is original to 1976 and not even self rimming, it has a separate rim!!!

Mom, the sink is just glued directly to the countertop with a very strong adhesive.

Gary, thanks, that is what I though but I am somewhat skeptical or maybe just flat scared to glue a sink, then fill it with water and dishes or pots and not worry about it falling through!

Beautiful floors

Thanks everyone.

The hardwood floors and granite countertops will boost the market value ($price) of the house - Mom should get back 80-100% of her cost on these upgrades because they're so desireable. Plus when they sell it should help make the house sell faster.

The sink hasn't fallen through. But I sure wouldn't let a teenager stand in it knowing it's glued on!

Missed posting the pic of the Island:



The granite has an unusual streak of blue-green going through it. The pic of the countertop looks way too green - it's not that green when looking at it in person. We went to probably five different distributors around Dallas / Fort Worth looking until we found exactly what Mom wanted.

FWIW, I would lose or paint those white appliances, they detract from the beauty of the counters...I would also pick out a color in the counters and paint the walls to match.

You need to give us room by room photos Mr B!

i hate you...

.... we put in the engineered floors and they simply are not as good as the old 3/4 Red Oak hardwoods we had in our old home....

agracer: I'm sure there are high quality engineered woods out there. Might not be just like hardwoods, but each has its advantages! Sorry to make you feel bad - not a hardwoods snob by any means.

Mom - looks MUCH better with everything finished. Mom had off-white tumbled marble backsplash installed. She has a new breakfast room round table (solid oak bases and tops - no particle board) which seats 4, but extends out to seat 8. Thanks to Nude furniture, she was able to get them to stain it to almost exactly the cabinet stain color. Before I left to come back over here, I painted the living/dining room a rosy beige. With the 5" baseboards and hardwood stain, it looks almost Victorian. New custom built-ins going in next to the fireplace, will be painted white to match trim in the room. The top where the TV will sit will be the same wood as the floor, laid in the same direction and stained/polyurethaned just like the floor. Hoping it blends in well.

[This message has been edited by b.blauser (edited 4/19/2011 1:50p).]

Brad, I love that floor! My husband is totally against wood floors but your parents' might just nudge him enough...he agreed that it is a beautiful wood!

Did they install the wood over the slab? I heard somewhere that in houston they would not guarentee the product if laid out on slab. Do not know, but that is what someone said why they picked enginerred floors. I have original wood in the living room, but the slab was sunk to install the Hardwood when built for that room. Rest is carpet.

3/4" plywood was put down first. Then the hardwood. There isn't a 'factory warranty' on hardwood planks bought at Home Depot or Lowes. They are cross-laid layers of wood glued together somehow I'm sure. The installation is guaranteed by the contractor, but the product? Nah.

Absolutely gorgeous!!!! We have a wood-look vinyl right now because we have a toddler and a cat, but when we get our "grown up" floors I think nothing will do but the real deal!!

I love that granite. Truly stunning!

And I'm in the minority but I prefer white appliances. They always look clean, help brighten the space, don't show spots like black and they will never look dated like other colors tend to (just imagine in 15 years when people are sick and tired of stainless! hello new harvest gold!)

The built-ins in the living room have been installed next to the fireplace. They look great, with the wood floor planks installed as the cabinet/countertop. Mom sent the glass-front doors on the top out to be etched with her chosen design. Next time I'm in the US, I'll get pictures and post. Also the tumbled marble backsplash looks great - will get pics up of that also.

Mom & Dad refuse to sell. Guess when the time comes, I'll have to hire a home health nurse to care for them because they refuse to leave the house!

Brad, I was just wondering the other day if they had finished their reno project! Do you get to see it thorough Skype calls?

Those pictures are making me anxious for the builders to get to putting in my floors, cabinets and tiles...

Looks great!

quote:

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Carpet and base-molding tear out/haul away, gluing down the 3/4" plywood, nailing the 3/4" Red Oak to the plywood, re-installing 5" baseboards with top trim and painting white to match other moldings.

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How did they deal with the door clearances?

Mom: Yeah, the cabinets were finally done in early Spring. I went home for R&R at the end of May / beginning of June and didn't like the glass in the top cabinet doors (they were just frosted), and it was going to take another $500-$1000 to get new glass installed. So my Mom decided to have them etched for not much money. She found a pattern she liked really well, and they've been re-installed now so everything's 100%. Hoping they look right!

TxElsie: Congrats on the new place!

agracer: They pulled the doors and trimmed the bottoms. Still had plenty of room before reaching the hollow core of the doors. Looks just as natural as when they were new.