All Forum Posts by: Paula M.

He used a Skill Saw with a fine blade and tacked down a guide board. 

These pictures are from the last floor we put in. We did it differently from past installations. We glued entire sheets of plywood down. Then my husband used a guide to cut faux plank lines. Can't remember if it was 6" or 8" wide.  This eliminated any prep or exactness for ripped planks that we previously used.

How are prior floors holding up? Great! Damage if any is repaired easily with stain and fresh coat of poly over entire. Doesn't take long at all. Water damage could occur with any wood floor. We install the floors in living/bedrooms/dining rooms to minimize the possibility of water damage.

Tile is still the most damage proof resilient option.

It's just not always in the budget and this is a cheap, good looking option. Many compliments from tenants, contractors, etc.

Vinyl can tear or color can be stripped when furniture drags across it (our tenants :(  ). We also have had the seems popup in some houses. My husband was tired of gluing them. We still have some carpet in one home that has worn especially well. But I hate carpet and the smells that get trapped there, so it is going one day. I think you just have to see what works well for you.

Quick cover for scratches in vinyl: crayons. Yep, crayons will cover the scratch and not wash off easily because of the wax (my tenants have not scrubbed it off yet.) I've tried paints and markers, but crayons offer the best cover for minor imperfections.

Maybe it doesn't get washed off because new tenants then place their furniture in nearly the same location. Moving furniture seems to be the cause of the scratches.

Originally posted by Paula Matli:

Originally posted by Jon Klaus:

Originally posted by Paula Matli:

On our last turnover, we laid down--plywood--. Yep. plywood. We cut the boards into 6" x 4' sections. I then stained it with 2 dif stains for a rustic look and 3 coats of poly. Tenant loved it. If it gets beat up, oh well that will only make it look better. It would be an easy fix with more stain/poly or replace the one board. We'll see how it goes.

If that doesn't wear well, we'll go with all tile.

Paula, how much time did you put into the plywood floor? Time per square foot?

Jon-honestly, I didn't keep track. This was a first time event, so we did spend a lot of time analyzing everything. We know now, how and what to change to speed the process. If you are referring to the installation time-it went as smooth as installing the allure. Most of the time is spent on things curing-stain,glue, and poly.

P

We are going to 'stockpile' planks in our downtime (ha!) for future turnovers in our other homes. These will be cut, stained and poly. Ready for install.

Originally posted by Jon Klaus:

Originally posted by Paula Matli:

On our last turnover, we laid down--plywood--. Yep. plywood. We cut the boards into 6" x 4' sections. I then stained it with 2 dif stains for a rustic look and 3 coats of poly. Tenant loved it. If it gets beat up, oh well that will only make it look better. It would be an easy fix with more stain/poly or replace the one board. We'll see how it goes.

If that doesn't wear well, we'll go with all tile.

Paula, how much time did you put into the plywood floor? Time per square foot?

Jon-honestly, I didn't keep track. This was a first time event, so we did spend a lot of time analyzing everything. We know now, how and what to change to speed the process. If you are referring to the installation time-it went as smooth as installing the allure. Most of the time is spent on things curing-stain,glue, and poly.

P

It turned out beautiful. I stained 2x with a pecan stain to 'hide' the grain. Then hand applied ebony stain and wiped off here and there. Some pieces had blue or green ink and black lettering from the manf. After my staining, however it just made it look more weathered.

We've done Allure for years with mixed results. Some houses it pops up and others it doesn't. We even contacted the manf. to get the best installation tips. It always looks great, but we are done with it for now. Once it pops up, it looks cheap. It also scratches easily and as yet I haven't found a good remedy that will cover them.

On our last turnover, we laid down--plywood--. Yep. plywood. We cut the boards into 6" x 4' sections. I then stained it with 2 dif stains for a rustic look and 3 coats of poly. Tenant loved it. If it gets beat up, oh well that will only make it look better. It would be an easy fix with more stain/poly or replace the one board. We'll see how it goes.

If that doesn't wear well, we'll go with all tile.

I think its often just a way to get the conversation going, annoying but necessary.

Thanks for the tips! I'l check out the Keyword Alerts soon. So much to explore here.

:)