The floating floor we've got is called Boral Silkwood and it retails for $70 to $150 a lineal metre depending on the style. (DH said he could supply, but I think the freight from Qld to Vic would add too much to the cost ) If you google it there's a brochure which includes installation instructions.
It does insulate a bit, so that is an advantage over polishing the pine.
I think polished floors are much better than carpet too! In fact we're buying a house with all polished floors. I'm gonna get some rugs so my DH doesn't complain about it being cold in winter.
LOL SL, I'm struggling to imagine it getting too cold in your 'winter'!!!! Here in Melbourne it really does get cold, so we do have to take that into consideration.
Thank you everyone SO MUCH for your wise words and suggestions, it is really very helpful. I think we will talk to some different people, and get some ideas on what can be done, cost etc. After reading all of this I think I'm leaning again to polishing the existing boards. Mel, I definitely agree with you about getting a super good professional in to do it. There are many things I'm happy to do ourselves, but this is not one of them, it's too big a feature, too important. And doing it ourselves would mean it's unlikely to happen before this baby is born . And that is one thing I'm set on, if we have to move out for a week etc, it HAS to happen before this baby joins us!
Still happy to hear other people's experiences, it's all helpful
Hi Janie, not sure where you are in melbourne but back 12 years ago I got my floorboards done by a guy. He was just a one man company and he did a great job and very down to earth. I am fairly sure he was Viking Floors and is in the yellow pages in balnarring.
ETA - a word of warning, even though they use a bag to catch the dust, there is still dust on everything. If you can, close and tape up the doors to the rooms taht are not being done otherwise you get a light coating of dust on everything!
We got a floating floor put in this time last year. We were going to get the floorboards polished but once the carpet was up & the guy looked at them he said there were way too many gaps & dodgy bits that would need fixing & it would have cost us more.
I'm quite a cold person, goes with a condition I have & to be honest I wouldn't say it was too much colder than the carpet. I did find myself wearing socks much more often though, but could go without no big deal.
Anney, we're eastern suburbs, so your Balnarring guy should be okay for us. I will look him up, thank you for the recommendation. And thanks for the tip about the dust, I will definitely do that! I am the queen of drop sheets when tradies come LOL, I hate cleaning up after them! So closing doors and taping etc sounds like a great idea. Out of interest, how long before you could come back into the house?
Sarah, thanks for that. I was worried about the condition of our boards too, but the bits we've been able to check out look good actually. The only bit I'm worried about is in our entrance hall where they will have to pull tiles up. I'm worried that lifting the grout etc will damage the boards. But as I said, I really have no clue about this stuff, so we'll talk to the flooring guys about it. My SIL had her boards done this year, and although they have beautiful timber, there were ALOT of gaps etc to fix up and IMO it's not that great a finish. I don't think I will use her guy. I want it to look really well sealed and polished if that makes sense?
Yep I know what you mean. You also might find some funny things when you pull everything up.... We discovered there was a doorway that no longer exists & some replaced boards near the back door, so had they been polished it would have just looked odd IYKWIM.
Yep, I think when they pulled up the lino/carpet here they discovered a few unused and covered up fire-place hearths... there's one right under my desk here... the wood is kinda patched but it doesn't stand out too much. If we renovate this house we might even re-instate the fireplace!
Janie, can't really remember how long before we got back in. I think it takes a day to prepare ie. block the cracks and bang in the nails and then a day (or maybe 2) to sand then they do 3 coats of laquer (i think) and each needs overnight at least to dry so it could be a week.
People next door have just been to europe for 4 weeks and I think they got theirs done in the first week they were away. so if you could afford a holiday and floorboards at the same time, that would be best.
We put bamboo boards down in our house (which we just sold couple of months ago but still rent while we build). So much better getting timber flooring than having carpet, with messy little kids! Ours is super hard, but is glossy, so it's gets fine sratches all over it. Still happy with it though.
Look forward to hearing what you end up choosing! (and maybe seeing some pics! )
We are about the start renovations, and are putting down floating boards over a concrete slab. Now we just have to decide whether we should go the laminate or the better stuff. We are only going to be here for a few more years, so i don't know if it is worth paying double the price for the better stuff.
Does anyone have them in your kitchen? Aren't you supposed to avoid water getting on them? Is that a problem? OUr living rooms leads through an open doorway into the kitchen so it will look strange if i suddenly switch the tiles, but i don't want to kill the floorboards in 6 months.
Yael - ours is in the kitchen and we haven't had a problem after more than 5 years. We don't leave pools of water sitting around, but then I doubt many people would. If something gets spilled, we wipe it up.
) If you google it there's a brochure which includes installation instructions.
In fact we're buying a house with all polished floors. I'm gonna get some rugs so my DH doesn't complain about it being cold in winter.
Reply With Quote. And that is one thing I'm set on, if we have to move out for a week etc, it HAS to happen before this baby joins us!
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