2x6 flooring

rcrchick33 · 10-23-2012, 11:42 AM

Hello!! I am brand new to this chatroom. I am trying to figure out new flooring for my entire house that i could do room by room as money allows. I clean a house of a friend that has 2x6 flooring that they keep stained that has been in their house for years, i do not know what kind of wood it is.... I love it and would love to start with my dining room which is carpeted now. I would love advice, what needs to be done first after carpet is pulled up, what type of wood to get and where to buy it from, etc. etc. etc..... I do have two small dogs in my house so i need something that will work good for pets.... thanks so much for your time...

joecaption · 10-23-2012, 12:04 PM

No clue what type flooring they could have used that would be 2 X 6. Is this on a second floor in a cabin type home or log cabin?
What you can or can not use on your own floor would partly depend on what's there now.
For 6" wide loong floors I'd suggest engineered prefinished flooring in most cases.

rcrchick33 · 10-23-2012, 12:29 PM

to me it just looks like 2x6 wood you can by at like home depot or lowes, it is not like hardwood flooring and you can tell it has shrunk some over the years and the all dont fit flush up against each other. I will try to ask her what kind of wood it is when i see her next time.

zakany · 10-23-2012, 12:52 PM

Pine?

Pine is a soft wood that is often used for rustic environments.

With a couple small dogs, your worry is mostly marring the finish. Prefinished floors often come with several layers of aluminum oxide containing finishes, which are very abrasion resistant. Still, a dent will dent.

What do you want to spend? What are your DIY skills? Are you comfortable with power tools, or would you prefer tool-less flooring (note that none are tool-free, and my opinion is that tool-less products are harder to install in many cases). What type of house is it? What materials do you have, or want to have, in your rooms?

Just an FYI - if you're tearing up the carpet, it's an excellent time to consider painting! Love those fuzzy, wall-to-wall drop cloths.

rcrchick33 · 11-05-2012, 11:51 AM

zakany, i have very little diy skills haha. i just need new flooring and was looking for something i could possibly install that would cost less than paying for labor. i really wouldnt care if it was linoleum flooring or vinyl flooring as long as it looks like wood, i have a big kitchen, dining room, laundry room, den and 1 bathroom that i want to put new flooring in, probably about 1600 sq feet. we have two small inside dogs and the carpet is 16 years old and i am tired of it. i will be putting carpet back in the bedrooms, and i have a friend who does that so that is not an issue... any advice on what is the cheapest way to go would be wonderful... i am very crafty and my husband has a vast knowledge of tools, but we have never tried installing flooring.

zakany · 11-05-2012, 01:08 PM

I had never installed flooring (with the exception of floating some Pergo in a small dining room) before this year. In the past year, I installed some vinyl plank in my disabled son's room, porcelain tile in my master bathroom, and am in the process of installing solid hickory in the living areas and other bathrooms. It's not rocket science. Our carpet is worn out and we wanted something better, too.

Cheapest is always a relative term. $3/sq ft flooring that you have to replace is more expensive than $5/sq ft floors you don't.

Do you want to know what looks like wood? Wood.

Do you want to know what I'd install in a bathroom, kitchen, and utility room? Not wood.

If you want a wood look in a vinyl product, there are lots of posts here about Allure Ultra. It costs about $3/sq ft. It's a lot faster to install than wood flooring, but it can be a real PITA trying to snap it together, install it in closets and around obstacles, etc. Solid wood has been a back-breaker. Much heavier. Tile is actually not too difficult to install, if that's an option for your wet areas.

Whatever you do, when you rip out your carpet you can take the time to fix anything wrong with your subfloor. In my house, the carpet installers just slapped padding and carpet down. They didn't take the time you have to find and repair all those little squeaks and creaks. The quality of your flooring job is dictated by the preparation you make before you install anything..

patented · 11-05-2012, 05:50 PM

Cheapest is a relative term. Typically, linoleum or vinyl tile flooring is going to be very cheap. However, these may not provide you with the long term durability that you want. Something like pergo, or other laminate "wood" floors are relatively inexpensive compared to prefinished real hardwood.

One other way you may want to go is to buy unfinished tongue and groove hardwood (or pine if you like the rustic look). Unfinished wood is much less expensive, but you would have to finish it yourself. Something like this http://www.lumberliquidators.com/ll/...-OA3U/10000722 can be had for less than $1 per square foot.

rusty baker · 11-05-2012, 06:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by patented

Cheapest is a relative term. Typically, linoleum or vinyl tile flooring is going to be very cheap. However, these may not provide you with the long term durability that you want. Something like pergo, or other laminate "wood" floors are relatively inexpensive compared to prefinished real hardwood.

One other way you may want to go is to buy unfinished tongue and groove hardwood (or pine if you like the rustic look). Unfinished wood is much less expensive, but you would have to finish it yourself. Something like this http://www.lumberliquidators.com/ll/...-OA3U/10000722 can be had for less than $1 per square foot.

Just be aware that LL has a very poor record of resolving problems and with the cheapest stuff you get many short pieces. If you want a wood-look vinyl, why not an IVC vinyl? Very DIY friendly.

rcrchick33 · 11-06-2012, 03:08 PM

thanks for all the replies!! it has all been helpful...