All Forum Posts by: Dan Earl

should this be posted in a different section of this board? thanks

I have 3/4" hardwoods in the kitchen and have carpets everywhere else. 

This is my primary home. Hardwoods were neglected/scratched badly and carpets ruined by a tenant. Now I need to figure out what to replace the carpet with and what to do with the hardwoods in the Kitchen to make this home right again. 

The hardwood in kitchen would need to be sanded and refinished and carpets need to be replaced with either carpet or LVT (Can't afford hardwood, and do not want laminate or engineered wood)

One of my concerns is the height difference from the hardwood in the kitchen being 3/4 inch higher. The kitchen's entrance and floor height difference is on a doorway length entrance only (see picture). 

What would you do in this situation?

I have been thinking about covering the hardwood with LVT since it would be the same floor all over the house instead of having lvt next to hardwoods and LVT is easier to clean/maintain. Not having to live through the restoration process of sanding, staining and poly is a plus too, but I am not sure this is the right choice since hardwoods are higher value than LVT. It would be floating LVT not glued. 

Also, there is the height difference of 3/4 inch. Floor guy says he would put a transition piece and it will still look good, but I don't know if this is considered done properly. 

It was suggested that I install luan to increase the height of the floor and try to match it to the hardwood, but that is a lot more work and I am not sure this is even a good idea.

What would you suggest I do to these floors? 

Thank you for reading this and thanks in advance for any insight or suggestions. 

By the way, there is a possibility I may sell this home, but that has not been decided yet. Still need to fix these floors now. 

Thank you again. Didn't think about carpets accumulating what we bring from outside.. so true and nasty now that I think of it. Thanks for bringing that to my attention. 

As for the materials themselves... would you say carpet is more toxic than Vinyl Planks? We would be comparing the fire retardants and other chemicals to prevent stains and the pad underneath in carpet flooring, to the PVC in VInyl planks and possibly some amount of Phtalates. Although apparently home depot has managed to remove phtalates from LVP. 

Decisions....

 Hi Mike thank you for your comment and suggestions. I will look into tile, since it is the only option I never considered due to not being typical in my area. May be too cold in the winter?

I have hardwood in the kitchen and I will be refinishing it (sanding) and I will have to decide a stain or no stain. I won't do Polyurethane for sure, but I have to choose whether to stain or not and what finish or no finish.  Do you have a suggestion to avoid VOCs.?

If you had to choose between carpet, laminate and vinyl, which would be the least in VOC or let's say less toxic to live with in the long run. If you have children who will have direct contact with the floors, more than an adult, (crawling, rolling, bare foot), is the contact with PVC vinyl worse than say the stuff they put on the carpets or the formaldehyde in laminate?

appreciate any suggestions on this. Thanks a lot

 Thanks for the suggestion. 

I get the feeling this topic will not get many replies on this forum for obvious reasons. :) 

Anyways, I am sure some have given this a thought since from little googling you get a ton of hits.  

Even Home depot has started requiring the elimination of some toxic chemicals from paints and I think some floors due to their proved and studied negative impact on health, so this is very real. Remember Lead in paint ?

Anyways, if you have some knowledge on this topic and can suggest a good balance between the inevitable toxic flooring options you get when you have a modest budget, please chip in. I'd greatly appreciate it. 

Hello folks!!!

I need to replace the old worn carpet in my home and have been looking at installing new carpet on 2nd floor and also maybe Luxury Vinyl Plank (LVP) or Laminate for the first floor (living room, bedrooms, bathrooms). 

Just from researching the different types of flooring I inevitably came across their toxicity. 

It seems that Vinyl floors are highly toxic since they are made of PVC, Laminate flooring also toxic since they have formaldehyde and carpets are also toxic since they have fire retardants and stain resistant chemicals. Not to mention the installation of the carpets and Vinyl can also be highly toxic right after installation.

Thing is, it seems everything can be toxic, but if I am at the point in which I can choose then I might as well look into this now and choose what is least toxic based on budget. 

I realize that hard wood floors are the way to go, but it is out of my budget. 

So, do you guys even care about this or just buy whatever for your own homes and look for price and durability OR you also consider the level of cancer causing chemicals these materials expose you and your family to?

If you have looked into this and can suggest maybe a brand or type of flooring that is least toxic and still affordable, please let me know. 

Thanks a lot. 

Thank you for replying Nathan,

I am still within the 4 days, so I wonder If I could just have my friend go back and do a proper inspection with her this time, but she may refuse and then at that point if she refuses because she already went there, would I be back to losing any claim to the deposit?

I will be able to inspect the house myself in a few days, but out of the 4 day window and inside the 30 days allowed by the lease and TN code for discovering more damage. Landlords can find additional damage after the initial inspection and they are responsible for it. 

I am curious whether I also forfeited my right to find damage after the inspection within the 30 days. If I didn't forfeit my right to find additional damage, will l have to "first" send them their deposit and then come up with an itemized list of damage and send them a bill and take it from there?

Sorry for the lengthy write up and thanks for replying!

bump

I should add that tenant is requesting deposit to be immediately sent to him. So I need to figure this one out asap. Thanks

Hello folks, 

I became landlord by chance and this is my first time having to go through giving back a security deposit to a tenant, so please bare with me. 

It was physically impossible for me to be present at the final walk through with my tenant. 

So I was able to get someone to meet the tenant at the property for the keys and to basically do a quick walk through to makes sure there was nothing major going on or left behind.

In my state, TN, apparently, if the tenant is present for the final walk through then the landlord has to give the tenant right there on the spot a list of damages that would count against their deposit. 

But since this list of damages was not compiled during this final walk through, does it mean that I now have to refund the full deposit to the tenant even though there are a few things that I need to count against their deposit?

Here is the code: "At the mutual inspection, a comprehensive listing of ascertainable physical damage, along with a repair cost estimate for each item, should be reduced to writing and signed by both parties. Id. The signatures of the landlord and tenant are conclusive as to the accuracy of the listing, except the tenant may be liable for additional damages found after the inspection."

The code also states that the landlord can discover damages up to 30 days after tenant moves out and that the security deposit must be returned to tenant within 30 days after they moved out. 

If I must give them the deposit back due to failure to give them an on the spot checklist of damages. Do I have to first mail the check to them and THEN send them a checklist of damages discovered during the 30 days and just hope they pay me the damages back?

Thing is I won't be able to see the property for at least another 2 weeks to get an accurate list of damages. 

What is the order I need to get this done to stay on the up and up ? 

Thank you very much for your replies. 

Also that tenant can be present for the inspection and the landlord 

That the deposit must be returned within 30 days.