Musical Sheers Hair Salon in Bellevue TN 37221 done in VCT tile by Country Flooring Direct

This job took longer than anticipated because of a large amount of prep work to the concrete. However it was completed in 2 days and the owner Bob is very happy.  He wanted to remodel his salon with a floor that would stand up against hair dyes and foot traffic.  The other option was luxury tiles.

The floor had been tiled with vinyl tiles over existing glue down carpet that didnt last more than a year.

Options in Hardwood flooring for an old or distressed look

This one we replace boards from the upstairs sanded it down flat and coated it three times natural.  It is a mixture of wood species and you need to replace with the same wood.

This is just a picture of pine flooring It is commonly used in distressed looks due to its a softwood easily distressed and the way it stains. riftandquartersawnwoodfloors.com

This is a contemporary floor but finished in Monocoat which is a good option if you want a very dull floor and a natural oil finish with no VOCS.  

These are Rifted and quartersawn floors that we have done.  It gives you the great character to start with.

You can also buff and coat your unfinished floor stain it and coat the floor.  Your floor will accept the stain however darker than normally, your floor will have chatter and distressed marks from the mill left in it however it will be smooth for your feet to walk on.

New Carpet fighting against mold mildew and bacteria

The Healthy Touch display is a new fixture here at country flooring direct.  It utilizes silver release technology with magic fresh and soft touch polyesters to keep your carpet and home clean.  The Silver release is exclusive to Beaulieu products but it has been used for years as an antimicrobial agent naturally inhibitting the growth of mold mildew and bacteria.  The Silver Release lasts the lifetime of the carpet and you can still clean your carpet the reccomended amount through your carpet manufacturer.  What it does is eliminate smells and stains from bacteria and mold growth and keep your floors safe for young ones to play on.

Who should look into buying Healthy Touch when replacing your floors?

I think people with young families and the elderly should look seriously at Healthy Touch.  The features and benefits allow you to keep a cleaner healthier home and anyone with kids knows how often they play with children on the floor.  For more information visit www.blissflooring.com or call 615 646 0366.

Bruce hardwood floor in Franklin TN

440 sq ft of hardwood installed in two days with furniture and carpet take up.  Bruce Natural Choice Cherry High gloss.

what should i put in my basement? can i have hardwood floors in my basement?

Basement Floors? Are you stuck with Carpet? Can you put hardwood flooring down?

You have many options as to what can you put in a finished basement and you should really consult as always a professional about what can you do, but I have great news for those of you who dont want carpet in the basement and want hardwood.  Now I am going to tell you your options as to how to install the hardwood in your basement.

Ok you not only can install hardwood flooring in your basement but you have options and as many options as your pocket book will allow, yes some cost more than others.  They include floating the floor, nailing it down, or glue. 

Floating a floor in a basement

This is probably the easiest and cheapest option.  Not necessarily the best but it will work.  Your concern as always when working over concrete is moisture coming up and damaging your floor and in this case how level your concrete floor is.  You will need an engineered hardwood floor, a good moisture barrier underlayment, and a mostly level floor.  We believe in overkill at country flooring direct so dont get the cheap 2-1 foam underlayment get the nicest underlayment you can we use shaws 3-1 the cost will double but were talking about 25 cents a sq ft so thats not a big deal and its the cheapest insurance policy youll ever buy.  As long as your floor doesnt vary 1/8 inch in an 8 foot radius you are good to start laying your floor.  You will want to undercut all of your door jambs and start on your longest straightest wall leaving a 1/4" gap from the wall on all sides, staggering your butt joints 8".

Direct Glue 

You can also Directly glue the hardwood floor to the concrete.  Here you can use either solid or engineered product however it is reccomended to use solid only on above grade floors.  The floor again has to be within industry standards for flatness.  The overkill Country Flooring Direct reccomends is in the adhesive, we use Stauff adhesive and it has a moisture barrier built into the glue, again the cost is an extra 25 cents a sq ft but as always its the cheapest insurance you can buy. You will need a special trowel that Stauff will provide you so that the glue will go on properly but your installation is the same as the floating.  This method is going to be more costly and your options will be different than with the floating floor however this is better in my eyes than floating the floor for durability reasons.

Nail Down hardwood

How can you nail down hardwood flooring over concrete? easily install 3/4" advantec first and nail over top of that.  The question becomes how to put the advantec down.  Your options are nailing it, floating it or gluing it.  The best way is to float it.  You will install a plastic 6 mil moisture barrier under neath the plywood, cut the plywood into 2*4 foot sections put a relief joint in and install the plywood on a 45 degree angle for additional stability.  The only important thing to consider here is how long your nails are you will want 1.5" nails so you dont go into the plastic which is your moisture barrier.  This way is the most expensive however it makes for the flatest floor with the best moisture prevention.  Another way is to use maize nails and shoot down the plywood and use a topical moisture barrier like aquabar, in the past I have also used black mamba (tar) under the floor to seal the concrete and nailed it with maize nails.  Any one of these options can be used and you can put solid prefinished or unfinished hardwood flooring down here.

The Cost Of Laminated Flooring

Laminated Flooring can be a great option and very durable however there are so many options available it can be confusing about what is the cost of a Quality Laminated floor.  Most consumers look at the wrong qualities in a floor.  For instance, I just met with a man who was buying a laminated floor and I understand why he thought the competitors floor which is thicker and less was a better buy however there are costs involved in making a lamianted floor.  

The Wear Layer

The locking Mechanism

The core

The Biggest cost of making a laminated floor

The two main costs are the wear layer and the locking mechanism.  The cost in the wear layer is effected by the Graphics, or how real the floor looks, the thickness described in millimeters and the adhesive used to keep it all together.  If you are looking for an inexpensive laminate in a plain oak look 7 millimeter wear layer, the least expensive one if your buying out of stock would range 1.29-1.49 sq ft for product fancier laminates can range higher upwards to $4 sq ft.  The other expense is your locking mechanism.  It is not commonly known by consumers but most of your main manufacturers all use one locking mechanism that they pay a royalty to use.  Why is this? Very simply it is the best and if your locking mechanism is not good, your sales will drop as soon as the installer starts complaining about how horrible the floor installs.

The other main cost is the core what is the middle made from how dense is the core? How water resistant is it? Is it made of HDF or Plastic? This determines  sound and impact absorbsion and how much water effects the product.  A Plastic core product is going to run upwards to 5-7 sq ft, the problem with this approach is you can get a nicer LVT product installed for this and not have any moisture problems and have an easier installation.

Inexpensive laminated floors should cost 3.50-4 dollars a sq ft to install product underlayment and labor.  Inexpensive LVT floors will run closer to 4 dollars a sq ft and top out around$7 but they are more resistant to moisture.  

We hope you found this helpful.

Solid Prefinished Hardwood in Bellvue TN

Solid Prefinished Hardwood in Nashville TN

The top picture is gunstock 2 1/4 choice grade the bottom is 3 1/4 warm walnut character.  Turman is a great option for affordable prefinished hardwood flooring that is still good quality.

The downstairs already had sanded and refinished hardwood in it and I suggested going back with that, however the old floor had signs of wear and I suggested that if they did do that they sand the entire floor down to match.  The turman allowed the homeowner to complete the look they wanted for much less

.http://countryflooringdirect.simpl.com/

What Does the Cheapest Price MEAN?

I was notified I was the second cheapest price on a job and lost out to the Cheapest.  The job was about 1500 and now its going to cost the client what they paid and what they pay me to do it again including removal and moving office furniture.  In case the pictures don't do the job Justice it was ran in the wrong direction, wasn't cut properly to be seamed together and the seam wasn't sealed properly.  Had this been done the job would have had 3 seams total instead it has 9.

What Did the Cheapest Price on Carpet and Install Mean?

• Carpet ran in the wrong Direction ( the job would have been easier and had fewer seams ran in the other direction)
• Carpet not cut properly ( in the one picture you will notice the seam is not straight, had it been row cut it would not ravel the way it is)
• Carpet is not sealed properly ( the seams are starting to ravel had the side seams been sealed they would not be raveling)
• The Client will have to pay to have the job done again, and incur removal and furniture costs.

Here it is done by Country Flooring Direct

Flooring For new homes Carpet hardwood

Do You need new carpet?

When you are considering selling your home, and want to get maximum dollar for your asset, you may need to address the walls and floors.  You should ask yourself how old is the carpet? If your carpet is more than 10 years old it probably should be replaced.  Do you have animals? Carpet fibers hold animal dander and smell that may inhibit people buying your home.  The carpet does not need to be what you want, it needs to be what will help the house appear clean and well maintained.  I recommend a beige plush carpet it is what you will see in most new spec homes.

What you see is an inexpensive nylon plush carpet beige this house was professionally staged.  If the carpet is new and just needs to be restretched or clean we do that as well.  Carpet that is old and needs to be replaced, that has not had pets on it, can be done cheaper if you dont replace the padding.

My Hardwood looks Dull?

If your floors look Dull or have small scratches you can Buff and Coat the floors.  Probably if the hardwood is not older than 4 years you can put a new top coat on the floor.  If its older or the floor have deep scratches or the color has faded you need them Sanded and Refinished.

Stencil painted hardwood floor

We installed sanded stained and coated this floor.  Bradleton Interiors was responsible for the design and stencil work.

1903 house sand and refinish in Dickson TN

This job is still a work in progress the home owner sold the home he was living in and wanted to move in, so we sanded and refinished the floor.  This is out of order the house and walls should be done before we sand the house but the client wanted to the floors done so he could move in while he worked on the rest of the house.  We put ram board down to protect the floor.  I didn't get a chance to take pictures of the floor before they got covered with ram board.  When I do the showers ill post pictures of the hardwood.

The true cost of hardwood V Carpet

I have been asked many times what is more money long term carpet or hardwood.  It is really an unfair question because they are two very different products each with totally different benefits but here we go.

I did this over a 15 year period and based it upon carpet costs $3 sq ft and hardwood cost at $7 sq ft factoring in maintenance for carpet at .35 sq ft for cleaning and hardwood at $1 sq ft for a buff and coat and 2.5 sq ft for a full refinish.   With customers normally replacing carpet every 7-8 years recoating their floors every 7 years and refinishing every 15 years and the house being ready to sell at the end of the 15 year period.  I used 1.5 sq ft price for cheap builder grade carpet to be installed to sell the home and the area being 1000 sq ft.  

                  Hardwood    vs     Carpet

Day 1      7000                      3000

Year 1     0                               350

Year 2     0                              350

Year 3     0                              350

Year 4      0                             350

Year 5      0                             350

Year 6      0                            350 

Year 7    1000                    3000

Year 8        0                         350 

Year 9        0                         350

Year 10      0                         350

Year 11       0                         350 

Year 12      0                          350

Year 13       0                         350

Year 14     0                            350

Year 15    2500                    1500

Totals      10,500                12,050

There are different things to think of obviously the longer the period the more the hardwood will save you money.   Some people dont clean their carpets as they should and some will move every 7-10 years so why invest the money into your home.  But if I asked my financial planner what to do with the money he would tell me to fully fund my roth ira or whatever.  Its a bad investment, I dont know anyone who picks a floor based on their return on investment.  You want a floor that will last and hardwood flooring will outlast almost any carpet.  

New Built home in Dickson County

Job took 3 days to install the wood and stairs 7 days to install the tile for the shower tile tub surround and floor tile.  The wood is 2 1/4 red oak #1 common hardwood floor.