Flooring with Outside Contractor

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Here is a list

A.J. Flooring
Allen_Tugle
Allwood Import
Amazon Floor
Anderson
Appalachian
Armstrong
Artec
Bruce Hardwood
Bruce Laminate
Carlton Hardwood Flooring
CherryBark
CountryWood Flooring
Du Chateau
Earnest Hemingway
East Teak
Eastern Elegance Bamboo
Formica
Garrison
Gemwoods
Graf. Bros.
Homerwood
Indusparquet
Johnsonite
Johnson Hardwood
Kahrs
Kaindl Flooring
Lauzon
Lebanon Oak Flooring
LM Flooring
Mannington
Max Windsor
Maxwell Flooring
Mirage Floors
Mohak
Mullican Flooring
Oasis
Oshkosh Floor Designs
Owens Plank Floor
Pollemier
Portofino
Provenza
QuickStep
Real Wood Floor
Reward
Ronbinson Lumber
Somerset Flooring
Taylor Lumber
Tesoro Woods
Urban Floor
Virginia Vintage Handscraped Floor
W.D Flooring

Which ones do people recommend?
 
@tyler:

On your stairs, does the edge of the stair have a moulding or is it a straight overlap?

I find the ones with a moulding uncomfortable to walk on barefoot... and prefer a flat step throughout but I don't know if that kind of installation is possible (or might cost extra?).
 
Tyler Durden said:
irvinehomeowner said:
But is the nose raised higher than the plank (like over it)? I don't mind a nose that's level with the plank.
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No, it is level.  having one raised over the plank is a sign of poor workmanship or poor quality flooring (if a nosing is not available).
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Ahh yes... that's good.

The small elevated bump gives me plantar fasciitis. :)
 
Ready2Downsize said:
We bought our current home 15 years ago and I don't remember what we had to sign regarding closing with no flooring but I do remember we didn't have a long time to get it installed as far as the lender was concerned. We did get a credit for no flooring but we had to have quite a lot withheld at escrow which would have we would have had to forfit if we didn't get it installed by their deadline and we weren't allowed to use the money that was withheld.

We barely got it in on time but that is because we had the the master counters, tub tile and shower as well as the family room, kitchen and entry replaced with marble (which takes a while to install) after we had the kitchen counter redone in granite.

How much of a credit are they allowing these days?
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I know I guy that recently tried no flooring, it's not an option anymore with some builders.  They will install the stock floor, then you have to rip it out.
 
nosuchreality said:
Ready2Downsize said:
We bought our current home 15 years ago and I don't remember what we had to sign regarding closing with no flooring but I do remember we didn't have a long time to get it installed as far as the lender was concerned. We did get a credit for no flooring but we had to have quite a lot withheld at escrow which would have we would have had to forfit if we didn't get it installed by their deadline and we weren't allowed to use the money that was withheld.

We barely got it in on time but that is because we had the the master counters, tub tile and shower as well as the family room, kitchen and entry replaced with marble (which takes a while to install) after we had the kitchen counter redone in granite.

How much of a credit are they allowing these days?
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I know I guy that recently tried no flooring, it's not an option anymore with some builders.  They will install the stock floor, then you have to rip it out.
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As long as your default floor is carpet and vinyl, not tile, demo should be pretty easy.  Tile is just a pain to get all the mortar and grout scraped off the floor to make level for wood.
 
Has anyone used MAC flooring? They seem to have a lot of 5-stars on Yelp.

From what I'm hearing, Venetian seems to be the best out there.....however it's unfortunate that they only do hardwood floors. Is it worth finding 1 contractor that does everything (hardwood, carpet, tile, etc.) or it's not that bad of a headache to have 2 different contractors for 2 different jobs?
 
golfpapi said:
Has anyone used MAC flooring? They seem to have a lot of 5-stars on Yelp.

From what I'm hearing, Venetian seems to be the best out there.....however it's unfortunate that they only do hardwood floors. Is it worth finding 1 contractor that does everything (hardwood, carpet, tile, etc.) or it's not that bad of a headache to have 2 different contractors for 2 different jobs?
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id go with one contractor that does it all. too much hassle otherwise.
 
golfpapi said:
Has anyone used MAC flooring? They seem to have a lot of 5-stars on Yelp.

From what I'm hearing, Venetian seems to be the best out there.....however it's unfortunate that they only do hardwood floors. Is it worth finding 1 contractor that does everything (hardwood, carpet, tile, etc.) or it's not that bad of a headache to have 2 different contractors for 2 different jobs?
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Hard to find one that does everything well.  Usually you get a guy who's better at one thing than the other.  Since flooring and tile is something I wouldn't want to change for a long time I'd pay to have "experts" do it well and do it right.  If that means getting 2 contractors...that is what I will do.
 
Chairman said:
Here is a list
........

Which ones do people recommend?
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My contractor recommends a brand call Pravada.  He likes the fit and finish of this brand.  If you like the wire-brushed/oiled oak floor like the Provenza warm sand in the Mulberry plan 2 model home, take a look at Pravada's. http://www.pravadafloors.com/HAUTE_COULEUR.html

Pravada's are about the same price as Provenza's.  He quote me around $12k for the entire first floor for either Provenza or Pravada.  IP Design center quote me around $18k (after the flooring allowance of $2500) for Provenza warm sand.
 
irvinehomeowner said:
Yeah... I like the look of those wire-brushed wood floors. I just wonder how they hold up to scratches and dents.
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They hold up scratches very well but they probably dents just like any hard wood floors. 

Wire-brush wood floor are wood planks that have been brushed with hard wire brushes.  These hard wire brushes scrape all soft part of wood off the top and leaving only the hardest wood and exposing more of the wood's natural grain.  Because of this,  they are harder then normal hard wood floor and are less likely to show scrapes and scratches. 
 
Tyler Durden said:
bones said:
Tyler Durden said:
bones said:
Chairman said:
What are people's thoughts on the brand Du Chateau? It is considered a premium brand from what I have been told. Is it worth the extra markup? What is a good price for it $/sq ft wise? Thanks.
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I have heard the same thing about them being a premium brand - a lot of the wood is hand finished.  From what I recall, some of them do not come pre-oiled (unlike for example the Provenza brand).  The wood place/installer can oil it for you (at an extra cost - I think I got quoted like 75 cents to $1.5 additional psf) or you can oil it yourself after install.  When I went to the wood showroom - I was naturally drawn to these.  Basically, the guy explained - like with most things, you get what you pay for, but he felt a lot of the other "cheaper" woods are perfectly fine too.  Is it worth the cost?  That I can't say?

The cost per square foot varies between the types within Du Chateau.  The more expensive ones have less knots since they have to select the wood more carefully.  Sometimes they'll have overstock of one type and you can get a good price on those...
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Thats the brand i have.  Specifically this color:


http://duchateaufloors.com/product/seine/
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Good taste!  When I walked into the showroom, I had no clue what was priced at what... but I was naturally drawn to this brand!  Did you get it installed through the builder?  What type of pricing (PSF) did you pay?  How do you like the floors?
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I think it was $10 / sq. ft, including install for a 3,000 sq. ft home including the staircase and stair noses from the outside contractor we looked into.


We ultimately went through the builder to get it though since they were able to get it first, and i didn't want to live in a construction zone after we moved in.


We love the floors.  It was the backbone of our design in our home (the floors are the "spine of the home", and our cabinets were based off that, and that cabinet decision affected our countertops and paint).


There has not been a single visitor to the home that didn't immediately notice the floors upon walking in.  Since the planks are hand scraped, they feel good to walk on without shoes and you really notice the variation in the planks and the graining of the wood.
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Looking at a Du Chateau as well and I have received two quotes so far. I wonder how low I can get it for. One at 12 and change and another vendor for 9.39. Same wood! That is some serious price gouging.
 
Looked at these contractors so far for flooring.

1) Venetian Flooring
2) OC Flooring
3) Tompkins Flooring

So far Venetian seems to be over charging on materials
OC Flooring was decent
Tompkins said they could beat pricing I quoted from other vendors and is charging the lowest for labor

Which contractor would you recommend? Any other ones I should look at?
 
irvinehomeowner said:
If Tompkins can match Venetian, I would choose them because they do other types of flooring and have a storefront in Irvine.
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They are also close to where I will be living so that is convenient. Great point.
 
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