What's a good flooring option?

[wilfred]

Have you look into laminate flooring? Looks good, easy to maintain, and inexpensive. If you are doing it youself, the cheaper ones are a little over $1/sqft. I recently had a house done for $2.50/sqft including parts & labor. They can get expensive depending on the brand, quality, and how real it looks. I have seen some that has a thin layer of real wood on top so it looks as good as it gets and you don't have to worry about the maintenance & care as opposed to real hardwood.

[devilsfan]

I have laminate, and wouldn't recommend it for this particular use. The bike shoes are one thing; but if it's a true "men's room," the laminate won't hold up well to thrown beer bottles and puke.



Stacy

[bparker]

Cross scraped oak would be pimp and indestructible - but it is expensive.. but it will last forever

Slate is a good classic look as well

[CO Hummer]

Originally Posted by devilsfan

Slate is VERY manly.

Stacy.......... You might be on to something here! I kind like that idea!!!

But now I'd have to wrestle with the idea of taking a woman's suggestion about my man room. That could lead to some emotional stress down the road.

[wpage]

My friend just did his room with brazilian cherry prefinished wood. Its 3/4 " solid wood and its really nice. Tongue and groove 4" and not too expensive. Same as prefinished oak. But nice and very hard. Ping tested harder than red oak. He loves it and he's a real pain in the ass engineer.

[bparker]

If I may, I would'nt suggest a prefinished veneer wood floor for any high traffic area or an area that will be abused. Prefinished are veneer layered which makes them weak due to the cheap filler woods they use under the veneer to cut costs and make them affordable which will possibly put you right back into the market for a new floor in a few years.

Also, most not all but most prefinished veneers are obtained from rolling the log on a blade making a "sheet" which seperates the grains and further weakens the top veneer. If they are actually "cut" (and some brands offer this) its much better but still a thin veneer at best.

Stick with solid planks, oak is one of the best to be had but there are other exotics that are great too just a little more pricey. But stay with the "hard woods" for a longer lasting floor as something like pine will dent easlily but some like that distressed look too..

If you really want durability go with cross scraped oak. Not many offer this but inquire to custom designers and they may know about the process - its not fun - but if you hand scrape "across the grains" it takes all the soft grains out and the hard ones are higher - lightly sand (or screen) then stain. I have seen people hit those floors with a hammer and they wont dent. No, I am not talking about a sledge hammer with a running start but just standing flat footed with a good whack and they wont dent. Try that with a laminent wood

[deserth3]

I put Austrailian Cypres in my bathroom about 9 years ago and it's done great. Looks good too. Just put a few coats of a good finish on it. I used polyurethane.

[devilsfan]

Originally Posted by CO Hummer

Stacy.......... You might be on to something here! I kind like that idea!!!

But now I'd have to wrestle with the idea of taking a woman's suggestion about my man room. That could lead to some emotional stress down the road.

You can rest assured. I'm an interior designer by trade. So you just got a professional consultation for free.

Stacy

[CO Hummer]

Originally Posted by devilsfan

You can rest assured. I'm an interior designer by trade. So you just got a professional consultation for free.

Stacy

OK Stacy - what do you think about cork flooring? It's said to be extremely durable. I really like the looks of it - and it doesn't get cold like tile/slate. Can I get a second consultation here?

[devilsfan]

I wouldn't do cork with bike shoes. It's sealed with a layer of urethane to protect it and give it durability; if you puncture that and give moisture an opening, you can cause the cork to swell and buckle your floor.

Stacy

[ssgharkness020147]

Have you ever stood on a cork floor for an extended amount of time CO? They are niiice to stand on, the little bit of give that they have in them makes it very comfortable to stand on. As to whether or not it will stand up to your abuse is another question.

[H3 Alaska]

I used to sell this stuff, if you prep the surface right it will never come off and make the concrete stronger (no cracks etc). Again, like any coating, prep is the key to making it last forever. http://www.steelcotemfg.com/p-concrete-coating.htm

But if you want a real man room....go stainless with a floor drain in the middle so you can spray it down with a hose when the party is over.

[KenP]

Originally Posted by wpage

My friend just did his room with brazilian cherry prefinished wood. Its 3/4 " solid wood and its really nice. Tongue and groove 4" and not too expensive. Same as prefinished oak. But nice and very hard. Ping tested harder than red oak. He loves it and he's a real pain in the ass engineer.

I'm installing 5" hand scraped and finished Burmese Teak. It's not perfectly flat and industrial looking on the finished side, it's wavy.

I've finished the LR and now I have just the den and breakfast area to complete.

It's not as hard as the Cherry, but it's got tons of character.

[CO Hummer]

Originally Posted by KenP

I'm installing 5" hand scraped and finished Burmese Teak. It's not perfectly flat and industrial looking on the finished side, it's wavy.

I've finished the LR and now I have just the den and breakfast area to complete.

It's not as hard as the Cherry, but it's got tons of character.

Well......the verdict is IN.

Hickory hardwood flooring. I'm going with a 5"/4"/3" width pattern. I fell in love with it at the hardwood store. Then Ken helped me save $1000 and re-directed me to Lumber Liquidators.

[bparker]

Congrats and be sure to post pics as i am sure it will turn out nice.

Which color stain are you going with?

[CO Hummer]

Originally Posted by bparker

Which color stain are you going with?

Just like in that pic - it's the natural color, prefinished wood. 50 year warranty on the product - including the finishing!

[KenP]

Originally Posted by CO Hummer

Then Ken helped me save $1000 and re-directed me to Lumber Liquidators.

I'll collect the Savings Commision when we come out.

[SR1355]

Originally Posted by CO Hummer

Well......the verdict is IN.

Hickory hardwood flooring. I'm going with a 5"/4"/3" width pattern. I fell in love with it at the hardwood store. Then Ken helped me save $1000 and re-directed me to Lumber Liquidators.

Are you getting first or seconds, I've used LL many times, with seconds be sure to order extra, say additional 10%. I installed about 1200 sf of the Hickory in the 5/4/3 pattern in a house last year and it looked great. Good luck!!!

[KenP]

Originally Posted by SR1355

Are you getting first or seconds, I've used LL many times, with seconds be sure to order extra, say additional 10%. I installed about 1200 sf of the Hickory in the 5/4/3 pattern in a house last year and it looked great. Good luck!!!

I've got a hundred bucks that he got firsts. I like that they discount the price if there's damage to the sides of the box in anticipation of tongue damage.

Alan, have fun matching the shoe molding. For ours I used two coats of Minwax Provincial and one coat of Red Mahagony.