Let’s talk about wood, shall we? As we mentioned on Tuesday, we decided to go with solid oak hardwoods for the four bedrooms and the hallway upstairs since many rooms downstairs along with the stairs themselves have a nice medium toned oak already (pretty similar to the hardwoods in our first house that ended up being super dog/kid friendly).
As for where to get it, first we looked on craigslist to see if anyone had a large quantity of something in the right tone/amount (no dice) and then we headed to Lumber Liquidators, since we’ve had luck with them when it came to buying hardwood floors for half of our first house back in 2007 and it’s also where we got the cork flooring for our kitchen in 2011. They always have a ton of selection, and tend to have lots in stock along with all of the underlayment & tools in one place, so they’re pretty much a one stop shop for us now that it’s our third time to the flooring rodeo.
Clara walked right in and made herself comfortable (the girl’s right at home on wood flooring, what can I say?) and we had a look around.
She also had some fun on the tiny set of display stairs. According to the guys who work there every kid who enters the store does that as some sort of unspoken toddler rite of passage.
We ended up grabbing six different samples to hold up against the stairs to see which one would be the best match (we tackled this “sampling phase” right before ripping out all of that nasty upstairs carpeting). Since the sun was setting, we waited until the next morning to take them to the new house so we could judge them in natural light.
We decided to try stripping the carpet off of just the top stair so we could be sure the wood under there was still in good shape (if it was completely damaged we’d have to refinish them, which would mean that we could be less careful about picking a matching wood tone for the upstairs). Thankfully the floor under the runner was in great shape (after we pulled about a hundred staples out by hand) and we loved the medium brown tone (not too yellow, not too dark, not too light). Basically it’s the Goldilocks of hard wood.
For a bit more on why we love not-too-dark-not-too-light-not-too-yellow-not-too-red-toned oak, it’s probably 50% personal preference (some people love it redder or more golden) and 50% practical (if you go too dark with hardwoods we hear that every spec of dust and pet hair can be seen, and if you go too light we’ve heard that wear and tear is also easier to spot since it’s such a light surface). And since we had practically the same tone of oak hardwoods in our first house for years (and it worked well for us – we loved how it looked with our furniture, etc) that ended up swaying us.
Can you tell from this bad iPhone picture of all the samples (sorry!) which one works the best with the stairs?
Yup, it’s the bottom left guy. He was the only one in almost exactly the same color and with the same variety of grain (some dark grain and some light grain). It was also the same thickness (2 1/4″) as the hardwood downstairs. So although we loved some of the wider board options, it felt true to our house and nice and cohesive to go with the one that was the right color, had the right amount of wood grain, and was the same width as the rest of the wood flooring in the house.
It took everything in us not to keep going down each step with the crowbar and the pliers, stripping that stained old carpet as we went. But we knew we had a date with the carpeting upstairs (it’s more important to rip that out and lay the new hardwoods before we move than it is to get it off the stairs, which can be done at any time). In the bad news department, that top step took us about 20 minutes to wrestle free (which means we have about three hours worth of work in our future). But stair runner, you have been warned. We’ll be back.
So after judging those samples in the nice natural light of the morning, we returned to Lumber Liquidators a day after our first trip to officially put in our order. We were armed with the square footage for all of the areas we needed to do, so now that we had picked our Hardwood Bachelor (he accepted our rose and everything), it was pretty straightforward.
Here’s a close up of our winner winner chicken dinner. It’s called Lono Oak and it’s a solid wood floor (it’s not engineered, and it’s 3/4″ thick so it can be refinished many times) and it comes with a 25 year warranty. Most hardwood flooring is in the $4-7-ish range, but LL’s list price was $3.69 per square foot.
Here’s where I smiled sweetly and asked my favorite negotiating question, which is “what’s your best price?” Then you just stand there. Resist the urge to mumble “uh, not that I’m trying to be tough” or “I’m sorry, forget it” Just stand there in silence and wait to see what they say. If they can come down, they’ll tell you. And if they can’t they’ll say they can’t and you can smile and say “just had to ask.” John hates this step, so it’s always my job. And before I threw out my favorite line, I also mentioned how this was our third big order from them so we’re definitely loyal repeat customers.
Boom: 10% off our entire order for those two sentences. So that took the price per square foot down to $3.29 and also scored us 10% off other things we grabbed like a special type of underlayment to work with our subfloor (more on that when we get to the installation process). Speaking of installing it, we’re going to attempt to do it all ourselves, and we better get started soon if we hope to move in 2.5 weeks! Plus we want to paint all of the blue/mauve trim (and maybe even the doors?) while the carpet’s out but before the floor goes down. So… yeah. Tick tock, Petersiks.
Meanwhile Clara was busy spicing up their brochure displays…
We left feeling pretty excited about our big upstairs flooring overhaul. Especially since we asked how much it would cost to hire their guys to install all the flooring and they said it would be around four thousand bucks! So assuming we can do it (knock on hardwood) it’ll definitely add up to some serious money saved.
So our hardwoods are ordered and we have a whole mess of blue trim to paint. We’d like to buy a paint sprayer and try our hand at that, so we’ll keep you posted. Should be interesting…
More Flooring Projects
If you would like to read about other flooring projects we’ve done, please check out the posts below:
Love the floor! Just my two cents on spraying your trim.: We did that it in our old house and I would NEVER do it again. I didn’t like the sprayer we bought so maybe it comes down to that, but it was such a pain and I wasn’t that thrilled with the results. Hopefully if you go that route you’ll figure out how to do it right! Good luck!
They haven’t looked clean for more than a few hours since the day before we moved in even though they get regular sweeping/mopping. White dogs, dust, water spots, etc. I’ve gotten very good at ignoring it though ;)
So, did you buy the entire upstairs worth of wood?
I only ask because we bought half of ours because we didn’t have enough room to store it..and lo and behold our flooring got discontinued. Our plan was to avoid thresholds at all cost so we did the 4 hour round trip to go to another Lumber Liquidator store and buy all of their inventory.
If you didn’t buy it all, keep an eye on it online!
I feel your pain about the staples, the tack strips and the nails…we are doing the same thing at our house right now. Good luck!
Yup we got it for all the spaces upstairs except for the bathrooms and the unfinished storage area, just because we might use something else in there (and definitely will do tile for the bathrooms). Great tip to get it all!
xo,
s
JanetS.says
I love your choice of flooring. While You have a lot of work ahead of you It will be very satisfying and make a huge difference in the look of your new home.
I hope that you will remove the baseboard molding before installing the floor. Doing so will eliminate the need for the additional piece of molding to cover the gap at the wall and yields a much nicer finished floor when you reinstall it after the floor has been laid..
RENT THE SPRAYER!!! You can’t go wrong. We did that when we repainted our upstairs hallway for the doors and the stairway trim (we have one of those half banisters), it was amazing. So fast. We did nine doors in four hours in the backyard. No taping, no brush marks, just DONE. It took longer to prep them for paint!! :) I can’t wait to see what you do and your helper definitely spruced up LL ;) Love it! LOL
And you don’t have flooring to worry about overspray on, so it’s a win-win ;)
Laritasays
Oh my goodness, I’m so excited! It’s kind of happened over several months, but your blog is definitely my absolute favourite right now; first place I head to every morning with my coffee! I’m just so excited about your new house and can’t wait to see what you guys do with it!
I have always wanted wood stairs so I could put a Dash & Albert striped runner on them. Have you checked them out? They are very affordable and look gorgeous. I don’t own my own home right now (moving around with hubby’s job) but CANNOT WAIT to buy our own place and get stuck into some DIY. Oh, my hubby is the negotiator in this family (he says it is because he is half Asian – it is in his blood to haggle – ha!). I literally walk away if I know he is going to ask for a discount. Makes me embarrassed down to my pinky toe!
I LOVE Dash & Albert runners! Totally a possibility!
xo,
s
JanetS.says
I love your choice of flooring. While You have a lot of work ahead of you It will be very satisfying and make a huge difference in the look of your new home.
I hope that you will remove the baseboard molding before installing the floor. Doing so will eliminate the need for the additional piece of molding to cover the gap at the wall and yields a much nicer finished floor when you reinstall it after the floor has been laid.
I’m with Janet. If there’s any way you could remove the base trim and reinstall it on top of the new floors instead of using quarter-round, it really takes the installation up a notch. For an idea of how “clean” it looks, you can see some pictures here (but nothing too close up, unfortunately).
Epic bargaining skillz, Sherry! Gotta try to steal those for myself someday. And your hardwood choice looks GORGEOUS. As a kid who grew up with semi-DIYed hardwood floors throughout the house (I remember the same yucky carpet/mom+dad+contractor DIY situation, though ours involved more cat pee), it’s a really wonderful feeling. I mean, the floors are beautiful and solid to begin with. But it’s really special to wake up on a summer morning, put your feet down on a rug and then on cool, smooth wooden flooring, and to remember that your parents did it themselves. (See how nostalgic I’m getting? :)) Good luck–laying it down is going to be a blast!
Just wanted to let you know that my husband, my Dad and I laid approximately 650+ square feet of this same flooring back in 2005 over New Years weekend. Yes, you read that right, in 2 1/5 days and that was stopping to remove the bottom kitchen cabinets the later half of one day. My poor hubby fractured his wrist working the floor hammer (that we rented), but we did it!
Then my husband and I laid the remaining 600 sq ft, at a much slower pace – bedroom by bedroom, over the next few years. (No more fractured wrists either!) I totally agree, wood flooring is the best for kids and pets!
You guys are seasoned DIYer’s and shouldn’t have any problems. The key – just be sure to get your very first line of flooring extremely straight and from there, it’s a piece of cake! If you want any more details just let me know! I’d be happy to share.
Paint sprayers are amazing. We used ours for the first time recently and they are a serious life changer, especially if you’re doing a whole house. Plus they’re fun!
I was having crazy flashbacks with your carpet pictures…we also inherited awesome folding-bumpy-mystery-stained-used-to-be-white-ish? carpets. Congrats on your flooring choice–love it!
I am the negotiator between my husband and my self. I am also the one that orders takeout, answers the door, asks for directions… you get it.
When our Subaru went into the shop for a catalytic converter one week after we bought it, and two days before our Christmas Road Trip, he came home with a tiny Chevy Loaner Vehicle. I was on the phone within one minute and persuaded the dealership to give us a brand new Subaru right off the lot to drive over 1000 miles round trip.
I can only assume that when we purchase a house, I will be dealing with the contractors and salesmen as well.
I just helped my parents put down hardwood. It was surprisingly easy but I had a quick organizational tip. Before you start, open a couple boxes and lay out the pieces by length so it looks like a cell service icon. That way you can grab a piece closest to the size you need and minimize the number of cuts, and waste!
Before we started we also put planks in piles of appealing color and grain that would make each row. That way, we could just grab a bundle, lay it out and nail into place. It saved a LOT of headache and frustration to not have to calculate and nail, we could focus on whether it looked good altogether. If a plank didn’t look quite right, back to the neatly laid-out-by-size pile to swap it!
Good Luck!
We have really dark hardwood floors in our home and although they do show specs of dust, etc, they really add an elegance to the home that is so very much worth it to me. They also pop so nicely with white trim. Having said that I can see why they aren’t appealing to everyone. The Swiffer sweeper helps us keep them clean in between deeper cleanings. If we ever got another house I would for sure get the dark floors again because I love the look so much.
I like the flooring you chose as I also prefer a more neutral tone if you go with a more natural wood color (versus a red or yellow undertone).
Buy the sprayer! You will never regret it. It will make your life so much easier and you will be surprised at how much you use it! Can’t wait to read more updates on your new crib!
Don’t waste time thinking about spraying the trim. Just Do It! Get a good one that has a hose that goes into the paint bucket. I’ve found the hand held motor kind vibrates your hand too much and is hard to use for large projects. I’m partial to Graco (full disclosure my oldest friend is the lead engineer, but they really are the best)
I’ve also removed a LOT of carpet in my life. The best tool for staple removal is a vise grip. Your hand muscles will thank you. Just squeeze the handle it self locks onto the staple then pull it right out. Flip the release and repeat.
You and I have the same negotiating tactic. I blame it on living in Greece, but it’s amazing what services and products are flexible in price. I’m hoping when my son goes to college I can do the same with his tuition!
I have re-read this post title about 100 times today! I kept thinking, “I don’t get it!”. I too was thinking it was supposed to be “What Wood We Do” but thought maybe I’m having an off day and missing something here.
Haha, I can’t believe I stared at it all morning and didn’t catch it!
xo
s
mribarosays
I was also scratchin my head but I thought the title would sound right if you wrote “Which wood would we do?”. Still, “What Wood We Do?” also works fine.
Love the color you chose! our apartment has slightly orangey hardwoods (though I believe they are original, so they’re 109 years old!).
Can’t believe how much you have to accomplish in the next 2.5 weeks! Are you doing the old “take over three boxes, dump them in the kitchen, take the empty boxes home” routine when you’re going back and forth? It does help with all the misc stuff!
Your new house looks like my fixer-upper’s cousin (we live in Fredericksburg and I’ve heard that our builder has done work in Richmond so perhaps…). Thank you for posting this flooring because it appears to be a perfect match to what we will need to carry into parts of our house. Lumber Liquidators will be our first stop and it’s nice to know that there’s one just down the road that might be able to hook us up with the perfect flooring!
Bottom left! I saw it as soon as I saw the first pick. I like how you went with what your house “told” you as opposed to just picking whatever flooring you liked. It will definitely up the resale value! Oh, but wide planks are (in the words of $herdog) my JAM. So cozy looking.
I know the temptation is great, but best keep that carpet on the stairs as loooong as you can bear it through your work and moving in as it’ll protect the wood like nothing else could. You’ll be trampling up and down with loads of heavy stuff, often wearing grimy boots, and that can really marr wooden stairs (much more than a floor since you tend to always tread on the same spot each way up and down.
I have 2 wooden staircases in my place, one was covered in carpet before my major renovations, the other (less used) I covered it protective waxed cardboard. The carpeted one didn’t have a scratch once done (even though it’s from ground to first floor), but the one to the second floor ended up pretty scuffed, even protected.
Oh yeah… and when you’re painting those walls and ceiling in the staircase… always a tricky and difficult job, who cares if you splatter paint on the nasty carpet that’s going to be ripped out!!! Just don’t drop the whole gallon onto it though ;-)
That’s a good tip! We’ll probably beat up those stairs while we move so it’s nice for them to have a little protection. Haha!
xo
s
karensays
why don’t you guys take off a couple days so you can realllly focus on that huge job ahead of you! jeese..take off a week!
i say it’s okay if it means anything ;)
Haha, thanks Karen! I think we’re doing ok. The real crunch will probably be the week after we move (when you’re trying to get settled and can’t find your toothbrush) so just the fact that our current house is still cozy and functional is awesome :)
Love your wood choice, but the best part was the discount you scored! I, like you, always ask. It can’t hurt, and can save you a ton of $$$. Not sure I would advise installing it yourself. We installed our own hardwood in the kitchen a few years back. It is extremely labor intensive, and can be tricky in tight spots. Might be worth it to pay for a pro. Just sayin’. :)
We’ve been replacing our carpeting with hardwood from LL over the past few years. I never thought to ask for their “best price”. You bet I will from now on! Installing hardwood is easier than you think (especially since you aren’t afraid of power tools). Our subfloor must be petrified – my husband had to make a tool to handset each nail. Our hydraulic nailer could not set those nails! It’s worth every ache and pain.
Haha! I love the way you wrote this post. Little lines here and there had me laughing so hard. It’s good to know that they will possibly come down on price. We are wanting to pull up all of the carpet and linoleum(yuck!) in our house and put in hard wood floors, so it is good to know that there are places that can possibly work with you.
Love your blog and I can’t wait to see how everything turns out!
I love hardwood floors; we have terracota floors downstairs, and upstairs we have eucalyptus hardwood floor and we are in love!!! My father and my husband did the job; not too difficult for an accountant(my hubby) but dad is an architect so he´s the knowledge!
We’ve put down two hardwood floors because getting the pros to do it is pretty darn expensive (but after installing a few rows yourself, the price almost begins to seem reasonable). It’s backbreaking work though to be sure. At least, it was for my husband. I mostly watched.
Be sure to get some cushy knee pads. And have wine chilling in the fridge for the end of the day. :-)
I really hope you paint your blue rail spindles so I can copy your technique. Our entryway will not look “complete” until I do something about the rail situation!
Haha! Or have some sort of recording on your phone that says “What’s your best price?” – just aim it at them and close your eyes and let your phone do all the talking ;)
Great choice, guys! Just a tad jealous. ; )We have light blue carpeting that I can’t wait to tear out, and replace with hard wood floors. Excited to watch your tutorial! : )
We just wanted to keep things consistent so the new floors flowed into the old ones and looked/sounded/felt like they were original. So since the stairs leading up to the new flooring is oak, we thought a change to laminate would be clear underfoot and we wanted it to be less obvious :)
xo
s
Mara Smithsays
This may seem really dumb and someone may have already asked, but is your title post really supposed to say Would Wood We Do? or should it say What wood we do?
Haha, yes, it’s supposed to be What Would We Do! Don’t know how we missed it, but it’s all fixed :)
xo
s
Jacelynsays
I love the hardwoods! I can’t wait, but will be as patient as possible. I wish you guys a smooth install, birthday party, holiday weekend and move, as possible. Also, I’ve decided you guys are simply too energetic. I don’t know how you get it all done and then respond to all these posts, too! I can’t believe it! You put many of us to shame. Anyway, hope it goes well and I can’t wait to see it progress.
P.S. Don’t respond to this! You don’t have enough time! You could be pulling out at least three staples/nails in that time. But we still appreciate your thoughtful feedback.
We replaced the carpet in our first floor a couple of years ago and I’m literally dying to replace the wall to wall carpet in our upstairs. Apparently, I have to wait until the carpet is sufficiently soiled until Lisa will let me do that…. which is why I stopped walking the dog. :)
Hey if you guys are interested, I have a floor stapler that I use like twice a decade. We just used it for that floor project I mentioned (http://www.ourhomefromscratch.com/2012/01/replacing-carpet-with-hardwood-floors/). I can totally ship it to you and you can use it for a couple months if you want it. That way you can take your time with the install. I’m not using it anytime soon. I would do the same for any of my blog friends. It’s pretty much going to sit in my basement for another few years otherwise. :)
Our house is around 2500 square feet but since there are bathrooms and a closet and an unfinished storage space upstairs which aren’t getting hardwood (and the upstairs is smaller than the downstairs) it’s around 800 square feet I think!
I love wood floors! My parents have had them (installed themselves but my dad’s a professional carpenter) in every house I’ve ever lived in. When buying our own house, hard wood floors were definitely on our want list. Luckily we have them and we’ve lived here for 6 years and they only need to be professionally refinished because the previous owner did it herself and it’s horrible. But with two (at times three) dogs, two cats, two adults, and one toddler with one on the way, we’re keeping them in the super worn in look for awhile. Some look great, others are just extra “loved.” As for wear and tear, it’s definitely a great idea to go with real hardwood. My parents have one dent from my mom dropping an extra heavy duty pan on it but normal stuff doesn’t show up at all. However, my aunt’s engineered stuff is horrible from almost day one with just a couple adults and one dog.
LOVING this new(old) house stuff. Can’t wait to see how the floors turn out. This will be a project for us soon (our 1929 colonial has been neglected for at least 30 years, so the posts on your new house are really hitting close to home). We want to make sure all our updates “look like they’ve always been there,” so I’m loving that you’re keeping the character of your house with the thin, REAL WOOD boards. I have to say that your timeline for moving/painting baseboards/putting down the floors made me hyperventilate a little, though. God speed!
Would you be open to please sharing the total cost for all the hardwood you purchased so that we don’t have to do the math? Just curious! Also, how many extra square feet did you purchase beyond the square footage of the upstairs floor?
Our house is around 2500 square feet but since there are bathrooms and a closet and an unfinished storage space upstairs which aren’t getting hardwood (and the upstairs is smaller than the downstairs) it’s around 800 square feet I think! So let’s see, at $3.29 a square foot that’s around $2,600 (I don’t have the paperwork in front of me though – so that’s a rough guess for ya). Of course it’ll differ for everyone (depending what wood you pick, what deal you get, and how much flooring you need :)
xo
s
Adrienne Jsays
Well, my husband and I live in Henrico (Lakeside area) but haven’t used our sprayer YET! You guys could totally borrow it and make it useful! Seriously.
The awesome benefit of your purchasing and redoing two houses previously, is that you know where to go and what to do. How cool you’re already making so much progress!
Sorry if this has been mentioned already, but prefinished hardwood floors are not ideal to refinish. The coatings are thick and they do not sand off in the same way as unfinished floors. I’m not saying you can’t refinish, but it is very very difficult and costly.
Never heard that! So interesting! We hope these guys last a good long time before refinishing and then we can figure out how to get ‘er done (heck, methods might be different in a few decades anyway) :)
Liz says
Love the floor! Just my two cents on spraying your trim.: We did that it in our old house and I would NEVER do it again. I didn’t like the sprayer we bought so maybe it comes down to that, but it was such a pain and I wasn’t that thrilled with the results. Hopefully if you go that route you’ll figure out how to do it right! Good luck!
Nichole K says
I think your choice is perfect! I love, love, love dark espresso floors, so that’s what we put in our new house. http://chattynichole.blogspot.com/2012/05/officially-moved-but-not-unpacked.html
They haven’t looked clean for more than a few hours since the day before we moved in even though they get regular sweeping/mopping. White dogs, dust, water spots, etc. I’ve gotten very good at ignoring it though ;)
Tan says
So, did you buy the entire upstairs worth of wood?
I only ask because we bought half of ours because we didn’t have enough room to store it..and lo and behold our flooring got discontinued. Our plan was to avoid thresholds at all cost so we did the 4 hour round trip to go to another Lumber Liquidator store and buy all of their inventory.
If you didn’t buy it all, keep an eye on it online!
I feel your pain about the staples, the tack strips and the nails…we are doing the same thing at our house right now. Good luck!
YoungHouseLove says
Yup we got it for all the spaces upstairs except for the bathrooms and the unfinished storage area, just because we might use something else in there (and definitely will do tile for the bathrooms). Great tip to get it all!
xo,
s
JanetS. says
I love your choice of flooring. While You have a lot of work ahead of you It will be very satisfying and make a huge difference in the look of your new home.
I hope that you will remove the baseboard molding before installing the floor. Doing so will eliminate the need for the additional piece of molding to cover the gap at the wall and yields a much nicer finished floor when you reinstall it after the floor has been laid..
Amanda S. says
RENT THE SPRAYER!!! You can’t go wrong. We did that when we repainted our upstairs hallway for the doors and the stairway trim (we have one of those half banisters), it was amazing. So fast. We did nine doors in four hours in the backyard. No taping, no brush marks, just DONE. It took longer to prep them for paint!! :) I can’t wait to see what you do and your helper definitely spruced up LL ;) Love it! LOL
Amanda S. says
And you don’t have flooring to worry about overspray on, so it’s a win-win ;)
Larita says
Oh my goodness, I’m so excited! It’s kind of happened over several months, but your blog is definitely my absolute favourite right now; first place I head to every morning with my coffee! I’m just so excited about your new house and can’t wait to see what you guys do with it!
Catherine says
I have always wanted wood stairs so I could put a Dash & Albert striped runner on them. Have you checked them out? They are very affordable and look gorgeous. I don’t own my own home right now (moving around with hubby’s job) but CANNOT WAIT to buy our own place and get stuck into some DIY. Oh, my hubby is the negotiator in this family (he says it is because he is half Asian – it is in his blood to haggle – ha!). I literally walk away if I know he is going to ask for a discount. Makes me embarrassed down to my pinky toe!
YoungHouseLove says
I LOVE Dash & Albert runners! Totally a possibility!
xo,
s
JanetS. says
I love your choice of flooring. While You have a lot of work ahead of you It will be very satisfying and make a huge difference in the look of your new home.
I hope that you will remove the baseboard molding before installing the floor. Doing so will eliminate the need for the additional piece of molding to cover the gap at the wall and yields a much nicer finished floor when you reinstall it after the floor has been laid.
YoungHouseLove says
We’ll be adding standard quarter round (which was missing since it was carpeted) so it’ll all be seamless :)
xo,
s
Devon @ Green House, Good Life says
I’m with Janet. If there’s any way you could remove the base trim and reinstall it on top of the new floors instead of using quarter-round, it really takes the installation up a notch. For an idea of how “clean” it looks, you can see some pictures here (but nothing too close up, unfortunately).
YoungHouseLove says
Sounds really gorgeous! Don’t know if it works with our timeline though. I guess we’ll see! Haha!
xo,
s
Magpie says
Epic bargaining skillz, Sherry! Gotta try to steal those for myself someday. And your hardwood choice looks GORGEOUS. As a kid who grew up with semi-DIYed hardwood floors throughout the house (I remember the same yucky carpet/mom+dad+contractor DIY situation, though ours involved more cat pee), it’s a really wonderful feeling. I mean, the floors are beautiful and solid to begin with. But it’s really special to wake up on a summer morning, put your feet down on a rug and then on cool, smooth wooden flooring, and to remember that your parents did it themselves. (See how nostalgic I’m getting? :)) Good luck–laying it down is going to be a blast!
Monica says
John & Sherry,
Just wanted to let you know that my husband, my Dad and I laid approximately 650+ square feet of this same flooring back in 2005 over New Years weekend. Yes, you read that right, in 2 1/5 days and that was stopping to remove the bottom kitchen cabinets the later half of one day. My poor hubby fractured his wrist working the floor hammer (that we rented), but we did it!
Then my husband and I laid the remaining 600 sq ft, at a much slower pace – bedroom by bedroom, over the next few years. (No more fractured wrists either!) I totally agree, wood flooring is the best for kids and pets!
You guys are seasoned DIYer’s and shouldn’t have any problems. The key – just be sure to get your very first line of flooring extremely straight and from there, it’s a piece of cake! If you want any more details just let me know! I’d be happy to share.
Monica
RubysNPurls (http://rubysnpurls.wordpress.com)
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Monica!
xo,
s
Carissa says
Paint sprayers are amazing. We used ours for the first time recently and they are a serious life changer, especially if you’re doing a whole house. Plus they’re fun!
Lauren Reese says
I was having crazy flashbacks with your carpet pictures…we also inherited awesome folding-bumpy-mystery-stained-used-to-be-white-ish? carpets. Congrats on your flooring choice–love it!
We love LL. We just splurged for the Virginia Mill Works Castle Park Oak (https://www.lumberliquidators.com/ll/c/Castle-Park-Oak-Easy-Click-Virginia-Mill-Works-VMCP5/10022497) for about 1000 sqft of our house. Thankfully because it is ‘hand scraped’ it hides the dust/puppy hair pretty well–but I can see how people would have trouble with the super-dark.
YoungHouseLove says
Gorgeous!
xo,
s
Alison says
I am the negotiator between my husband and my self. I am also the one that orders takeout, answers the door, asks for directions… you get it.
When our Subaru went into the shop for a catalytic converter one week after we bought it, and two days before our Christmas Road Trip, he came home with a tiny Chevy Loaner Vehicle. I was on the phone within one minute and persuaded the dealership to give us a brand new Subaru right off the lot to drive over 1000 miles round trip.
I can only assume that when we purchase a house, I will be dealing with the contractors and salesmen as well.
YoungHouseLove says
Holy cow that’s amazing!
xo,
s
Vicki says
I just helped my parents put down hardwood. It was surprisingly easy but I had a quick organizational tip. Before you start, open a couple boxes and lay out the pieces by length so it looks like a cell service icon. That way you can grab a piece closest to the size you need and minimize the number of cuts, and waste!
Before we started we also put planks in piles of appealing color and grain that would make each row. That way, we could just grab a bundle, lay it out and nail into place. It saved a LOT of headache and frustration to not have to calculate and nail, we could focus on whether it looked good altogether. If a plank didn’t look quite right, back to the neatly laid-out-by-size pile to swap it!
Good Luck!
YoungHouseLove says
Great tip!
xo,
s
Veronika says
We have really dark hardwood floors in our home and although they do show specs of dust, etc, they really add an elegance to the home that is so very much worth it to me. They also pop so nicely with white trim. Having said that I can see why they aren’t appealing to everyone. The Swiffer sweeper helps us keep them clean in between deeper cleanings. If we ever got another house I would for sure get the dark floors again because I love the look so much.
I like the flooring you chose as I also prefer a more neutral tone if you go with a more natural wood color (versus a red or yellow undertone).
Andrea Sims says
Did a miss a-we sold the house announcement? Or 2.5 weeks just a planned move in day just because you can’t wait!
YoungHouseLove says
That was on Monday :)
xo,
s
[email protected] says
Well done on negotiating the price down. I am never good at that but you are right – there really isn’t anything to lose by trying.
Amy says
Buy the sprayer! You will never regret it. It will make your life so much easier and you will be surprised at how much you use it! Can’t wait to read more updates on your new crib!
Bill Cote says
I’ve installed my own hardwood floors. Drop a line if you want to talk about it.
Bill
Cindy says
Don’t waste time thinking about spraying the trim. Just Do It! Get a good one that has a hose that goes into the paint bucket. I’ve found the hand held motor kind vibrates your hand too much and is hard to use for large projects. I’m partial to Graco (full disclosure my oldest friend is the lead engineer, but they really are the best)
I’ve also removed a LOT of carpet in my life. The best tool for staple removal is a vise grip. Your hand muscles will thank you. Just squeeze the handle it self locks onto the staple then pull it right out. Flip the release and repeat.
Kari says
I hope you guys plan to leave a sweet letter and photo under these new floors for the recipients to find in 70 years once the warranty is up :)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha I love that!
xo
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Dallas says
You and I have the same negotiating tactic. I blame it on living in Greece, but it’s amazing what services and products are flexible in price. I’m hoping when my son goes to college I can do the same with his tuition!
Kaylyn says
I’m always impressed by the speed at which you get projects done. You go!
Small editing question: is the title of this post supposed to be “What Wood We Do?” rather than “Would Wood We Do?”
Happy installation!
YoungHouseLove says
Hahaha yes! How did I miss that?!
xo,
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Katie says
I have re-read this post title about 100 times today! I kept thinking, “I don’t get it!”. I too was thinking it was supposed to be “What Wood We Do” but thought maybe I’m having an off day and missing something here.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, I can’t believe I stared at it all morning and didn’t catch it!
xo
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mribaro says
I was also scratchin my head but I thought the title would sound right if you wrote “Which wood would we do?”. Still, “What Wood We Do?” also works fine.
Maggie Rose says
Love the color you chose! our apartment has slightly orangey hardwoods (though I believe they are original, so they’re 109 years old!).
Can’t believe how much you have to accomplish in the next 2.5 weeks! Are you doing the old “take over three boxes, dump them in the kitchen, take the empty boxes home” routine when you’re going back and forth? It does help with all the misc stuff!
YoungHouseLove says
Didnt even think about that! Good tip!
xo,
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Amy says
I love how informative & fun you guys make your blog posts. Clara stole the show here……..love her dress, purse and toys she seemed quite well set!
Emily says
Your new house looks like my fixer-upper’s cousin (we live in Fredericksburg and I’ve heard that our builder has done work in Richmond so perhaps…). Thank you for posting this flooring because it appears to be a perfect match to what we will need to carry into parts of our house. Lumber Liquidators will be our first stop and it’s nice to know that there’s one just down the road that might be able to hook us up with the perfect flooring!
Janelle @ Two Cups of Happy says
Bottom left! I saw it as soon as I saw the first pick. I like how you went with what your house “told” you as opposed to just picking whatever flooring you liked. It will definitely up the resale value! Oh, but wide planks are (in the words of $herdog) my JAM. So cozy looking.
Syl says
Super plans there!
I know the temptation is great, but best keep that carpet on the stairs as loooong as you can bear it through your work and moving in as it’ll protect the wood like nothing else could. You’ll be trampling up and down with loads of heavy stuff, often wearing grimy boots, and that can really marr wooden stairs (much more than a floor since you tend to always tread on the same spot each way up and down.
I have 2 wooden staircases in my place, one was covered in carpet before my major renovations, the other (less used) I covered it protective waxed cardboard. The carpeted one didn’t have a scratch once done (even though it’s from ground to first floor), but the one to the second floor ended up pretty scuffed, even protected.
Oh yeah… and when you’re painting those walls and ceiling in the staircase… always a tricky and difficult job, who cares if you splatter paint on the nasty carpet that’s going to be ripped out!!! Just don’t drop the whole gallon onto it though ;-)
YoungHouseLove says
That’s a good tip! We’ll probably beat up those stairs while we move so it’s nice for them to have a little protection. Haha!
xo
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karen says
why don’t you guys take off a couple days so you can realllly focus on that huge job ahead of you! jeese..take off a week!
i say it’s okay if it means anything ;)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, thanks Karen! I think we’re doing ok. The real crunch will probably be the week after we move (when you’re trying to get settled and can’t find your toothbrush) so just the fact that our current house is still cozy and functional is awesome :)
xo
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christina @ homemade ocean says
This is such a helpful post and I CAN’T WAIT TO SEE INSTALLATION because we have been toying with hardwood throughout for a long long time now.
Maybe you will give us that extra push….after we paint the exterior, finish our bathroom, and build office desks!!!!
renee says
Love your wood choice, but the best part was the discount you scored! I, like you, always ask. It can’t hurt, and can save you a ton of $$$. Not sure I would advise installing it yourself. We installed our own hardwood in the kitchen a few years back. It is extremely labor intensive, and can be tricky in tight spots. Might be worth it to pay for a pro. Just sayin’. :)
Pam C says
We’ve been replacing our carpeting with hardwood from LL over the past few years. I never thought to ask for their “best price”. You bet I will from now on! Installing hardwood is easier than you think (especially since you aren’t afraid of power tools). Our subfloor must be petrified – my husband had to make a tool to handset each nail. Our hydraulic nailer could not set those nails! It’s worth every ache and pain.
Megan says
Haha! I love the way you wrote this post. Little lines here and there had me laughing so hard. It’s good to know that they will possibly come down on price. We are wanting to pull up all of the carpet and linoleum(yuck!) in our house and put in hard wood floors, so it is good to know that there are places that can possibly work with you.
Love your blog and I can’t wait to see how everything turns out!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Megan, you’re so sweet!
xo
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agustina says
I love hardwood floors; we have terracota floors downstairs, and upstairs we have eucalyptus hardwood floor and we are in love!!! My father and my husband did the job; not too difficult for an accountant(my hubby) but dad is an architect so he´s the knowledge!
Suzanne says
We’ve put down two hardwood floors because getting the pros to do it is pretty darn expensive (but after installing a few rows yourself, the price almost begins to seem reasonable). It’s backbreaking work though to be sure. At least, it was for my husband. I mostly watched.
Be sure to get some cushy knee pads. And have wine chilling in the fridge for the end of the day. :-)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, thanks Suzanne! Love the tips.
xo
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Meg says
I really hope you paint your blue rail spindles so I can copy your technique. Our entryway will not look “complete” until I do something about the rail situation!
Meredith says
I’m single, and I HATE asking for a lower price or anything in that vein. Clearly, I need to get married ASAP to foist this task off on someone else!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha! Or have some sort of recording on your phone that says “What’s your best price?” – just aim it at them and close your eyes and let your phone do all the talking ;)
xo
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Jennifer says
Great choice, guys! Just a tad jealous. ; )We have light blue carpeting that I can’t wait to tear out, and replace with hard wood floors. Excited to watch your tutorial! : )
Brandy says
Did you ever consider Pergo (or another laminate)? Why or why not?
YoungHouseLove says
We just wanted to keep things consistent so the new floors flowed into the old ones and looked/sounded/felt like they were original. So since the stairs leading up to the new flooring is oak, we thought a change to laminate would be clear underfoot and we wanted it to be less obvious :)
xo
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Mara Smith says
This may seem really dumb and someone may have already asked, but is your title post really supposed to say Would Wood We Do? or should it say What wood we do?
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, yes, it’s supposed to be What Would We Do! Don’t know how we missed it, but it’s all fixed :)
xo
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Jacelyn says
I love the hardwoods! I can’t wait, but will be as patient as possible. I wish you guys a smooth install, birthday party, holiday weekend and move, as possible. Also, I’ve decided you guys are simply too energetic. I don’t know how you get it all done and then respond to all these posts, too! I can’t believe it! You put many of us to shame. Anyway, hope it goes well and I can’t wait to see it progress.
P.S. Don’t respond to this! You don’t have enough time! You could be pulling out at least three staples/nails in that time. But we still appreciate your thoughtful feedback.
John @ Our Home from Scratch says
We replaced the carpet in our first floor a couple of years ago and I’m literally dying to replace the wall to wall carpet in our upstairs. Apparently, I have to wait until the carpet is sufficiently soiled until Lisa will let me do that…. which is why I stopped walking the dog. :)
Hey if you guys are interested, I have a floor stapler that I use like twice a decade. We just used it for that floor project I mentioned (http://www.ourhomefromscratch.com/2012/01/replacing-carpet-with-hardwood-floors/). I can totally ship it to you and you can use it for a couple months if you want it. That way you can take your time with the install. I’m not using it anytime soon. I would do the same for any of my blog friends. It’s pretty much going to sit in my basement for another few years otherwise. :)
YoungHouseLove says
You’re so sweet John! Thanks so much for the offer, but we think we’re all set. Also, you’re hilarious about not walking the dog. Solid plan ;)
xo
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Lauren says
Hi Sherry! Apologies if you’ve already addressed this — did you say how many square feet you needed? Just curious if it was the upstairs only.
YoungHouseLove says
Our house is around 2500 square feet but since there are bathrooms and a closet and an unfinished storage space upstairs which aren’t getting hardwood (and the upstairs is smaller than the downstairs) it’s around 800 square feet I think!
xo
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Georgia says
Ooooooh all systems go!
I also ask for discounts etc, and get my husband cringing with embarressment, if you dont ask you dont get right?!
Megan says
I love wood floors! My parents have had them (installed themselves but my dad’s a professional carpenter) in every house I’ve ever lived in. When buying our own house, hard wood floors were definitely on our want list. Luckily we have them and we’ve lived here for 6 years and they only need to be professionally refinished because the previous owner did it herself and it’s horrible. But with two (at times three) dogs, two cats, two adults, and one toddler with one on the way, we’re keeping them in the super worn in look for awhile. Some look great, others are just extra “loved.” As for wear and tear, it’s definitely a great idea to go with real hardwood. My parents have one dent from my mom dropping an extra heavy duty pan on it but normal stuff doesn’t show up at all. However, my aunt’s engineered stuff is horrible from almost day one with just a couple adults and one dog.
Annie says
LOVING this new(old) house stuff. Can’t wait to see how the floors turn out. This will be a project for us soon (our 1929 colonial has been neglected for at least 30 years, so the posts on your new house are really hitting close to home). We want to make sure all our updates “look like they’ve always been there,” so I’m loving that you’re keeping the character of your house with the thin, REAL WOOD boards. I have to say that your timeline for moving/painting baseboards/putting down the floors made me hyperventilate a little, though. God speed!
Archer says
Would you be open to please sharing the total cost for all the hardwood you purchased so that we don’t have to do the math? Just curious! Also, how many extra square feet did you purchase beyond the square footage of the upstairs floor?
YoungHouseLove says
Our house is around 2500 square feet but since there are bathrooms and a closet and an unfinished storage space upstairs which aren’t getting hardwood (and the upstairs is smaller than the downstairs) it’s around 800 square feet I think! So let’s see, at $3.29 a square foot that’s around $2,600 (I don’t have the paperwork in front of me though – so that’s a rough guess for ya). Of course it’ll differ for everyone (depending what wood you pick, what deal you get, and how much flooring you need :)
xo
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Adrienne J says
Well, my husband and I live in Henrico (Lakeside area) but haven’t used our sprayer YET! You guys could totally borrow it and make it useful! Seriously.
YoungHouseLove says
Aw you’re so sweet! We actually went shopping this afternoon so we’re all set, but thanks for the generous offer!
xo
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Angel says
The awesome benefit of your purchasing and redoing two houses previously, is that you know where to go and what to do. How cool you’re already making so much progress!
Kathie says
Sorry if this has been mentioned already, but prefinished hardwood floors are not ideal to refinish. The coatings are thick and they do not sand off in the same way as unfinished floors. I’m not saying you can’t refinish, but it is very very difficult and costly.
YoungHouseLove says
Never heard that! So interesting! We hope these guys last a good long time before refinishing and then we can figure out how to get ‘er done (heck, methods might be different in a few decades anyway) :)
xo
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