FAQs About Our New Flooring

We’re engaged on a giant put up about our completed renovation (which we final talked about on the weblog right here). However I’m dropping in to reply questions in regards to the new flooring that we selected for our total first flooring (apart from the tiled bogs). They’ve been one of many most-asked-about particulars of our reno on Instagram, the place Sherry shared this reno because it rolled alongside in our Tales. So as we speak we’ll cowl the what, why, and the way of our new flooring. It’s our first time utilizing this specific materials, and we’ve got some ideas.

we love saving and refinishing unique hardwood flooring – we did it in our first home, our third home, the seaside home, and the duplex – and every time we had been extraordinarily pleased with the outcomes. So again in 2020 it felt like a no brainer to enthusiastically refinish the flooring right here and hope for the most effective.

To chop to the chase: we positively had larger hopes for these flooring, however they held up so poorly. And after 6 years of residing with them, it turned clear that this renovation was an important second to pivot as a substitute of making an attempt to patch in matching flooring in all of the spots the place we eliminated partitions or added sq. footage (keep in mind we completed the lined porch to turn into our daughter’s room).

Why Did You Substitute Your Flooring?

You is likely to be like: what the heck is totally different about this home than all the opposite homes the place you refinished the unique flooring? Effectively, you could keep in mind we’ve got coronary heart pine hardwoods upstairs, which is a fairly frequent and sturdy flooring kind. It’s what we had on the seaside home & the duplex, and we beloved it. However we simply had common yellow pine downstairs right here, and never the tremendous outdated, dense pine that’s additional sturdy. This was newer yellow pine from the 90s.

So cause primary is simply that the unique flooring was not almost as sturdy as we hoped it might be. Be at liberty to google “coronary heart pine flooring vs common pine flooring” for more information about how a lot they differ, however the basic consensus is that pine is a softwood, particularly yellow pine like ours. It dings, scratches, and dents simply from excessive heels, pets, or dropped objects. In the meantime coronary heart pine resists put on much better on account of its excessive resin content material (which we solely have upstairs).

Lengthy story lengthy, yellow pine from that period simply isn’t as sturdy of a flooring materials – particularly in rooms with frequent foot visitors by a number of individuals & pets. Particularly not for a home by the seaside with a pool (sand + water + moist towels galore).

The second cause is that once you’re shifting partitions and constructing a brand new addition, the brand new format can depart a lot of gaps in an outdated flooring, a few of which you’ll see under. We additionally created a complete new room that had no flooring in any respect! So it might’ve been difficult to patch & match the present flooring for a seamless look.

However “difficult” doesn’t imply “unattainable.” In reality, we’ve had hardwood flooring patched in three of our earlier houses with nice outcomes. So why not try this right here?

Effectively, if we had beloved how the outdated flooring had held up, it most likely would have been definitely worth the threat to us. We’d have tried to patch in new flooring and hopefully might have gotten a fairly shut match. However in a nutshell, these flooring had been in tough form. Like, embarrassingly unhealthy in some spots – a lot of which you’ll see within the earlier than & after video under.

Be aware: You may also watch this video on YouTube.

Purpose quantity three is the way in which they had been poorly refinished, which turned clearer over time. We truly thought of changing the flooring even earlier than we got here up with our massive thought for the renovation, however might by no means fairly justify disrupting the home a lot… which is why we waited till the home was already getting disrupted for our massive “that is it” reno that completed all of our objectives for the home on the similar time (you may learn extra about these right here).

“However wait, weren’t you “thrilled” with these flooring once you moved in?” We had been! Initially we had been in love with how the flooring turned out! The colour was EXACTLY what we had needed, and we beloved their laid-back, rustic appeal. We had been additionally typically giddy about our new house’s general transformation. And in some rooms (like our bed room), the flooring had been just about good.

However the extra time we spent residing right here, the extra points we seen. We discovered areas that had been sanded, wooden crammed, and/or sealed poorly (like the perimeters of our stairs, which we ended up portray).

You might also keep in mind from our house’s earlier than images that the earlier house owners had torn out an enormous part of flooring on account of a water leak. Many boards that the unique contractor we utilized in 2020 had patched in started to separate and splinter over time. We imagine they hadn’t been left to acclimate sufficient earlier than set up, in order time glided by, these separations and splinters occurred.

Whereas the blame for this could fall at that contractor’s toes, we give him some grace as a result of this was all taking place throughout the peak of the pandemic (Spring of 2020), which seemingly contributed to him speeding & not utilizing expert flooring refinishers for the job. We (years later) realized that he used basic handmen for our flooring refinishing challenge as a substitute of hardwood specialists, which is who we’ve all the time employed for each flooring reno we’ve finished in earlier homes.

COVID additionally prevented us from being on the bottom in Florida to catch a few of the preliminary points sooner (we didn’t lay eyes on the refinished flooring till the day we moved in!). And I’ll say it once more: in some areas, like our bed room, they seemed completely stunning at first! Look how stunning and hole free they appear on this photograph:

If they’d stayed that handsome over time, we’d have caught with patching issues in and making an attempt to make them work. However as a substitute, because the years rolled by, we spent hours wood-filling cracks, screwing down squeaky spots, and masking unhealthy areas with rugs as they continued to separate and pop and splinter aside. And all of the whereas, issues like dropping an apple (sure, an apple) or somebody stepping inside for a minute with heels on made precise seen dents and dings within the flooring.

True story: we as soon as had an insurance coverage inspector are available in and say “this home appears so new apart from all the ground gaps.” Le sigh.

In the end, the flooring had been one massive disappointment, between the not-as-durable materials, the set up points, and the patching challenges we knew we’d encounter within the upcoming renovation. However we’re not sorry we tried our greatest to avoid wasting them again in 2020. It purchased us 6 years to determine our dream flooring plan, which was the proper second to proper this unsuitable on the similar time.

So, lengthy story lengthy, the choice to totally exchange this flooring was a straightforward (albeit unhappy) resolution.

What Flooring Did You Use?

The brand new flooring is LVP, or luxurious vinyl plank. Which I do know will shock a few of you. In reality I feel a ton of you is likely to be hardwood purists like we had been after a long time of refinishing them and having nice outcomes. First let me say that LVP has come a good distance. So for those who noticed it (or stood on it) 10 years in the past, this isn’t something like that stuff.

For this home and this local weather/location our first intuition (in fact) was to redo the entire downstairs with our favourite hardwood methodology (unfinished white oak, nailed down after which completed in place). However then we walked right into a home that our new contractor was constructing throughout the planning technique of this transform (we didn’t use the identical contractor we employed again in 2020, we discovered our new one by way of an area realtor & good friend who personally had used him twice). Anyway, we walked into that home and we each mentioned “we actually like these hardwoods – lets simply do that” and he’s mentioned: “that is LVP.”

After which our heads exploded.

The particular title of it’s V-Evo XL by Durato within the colour “Biscotti.” We acquired it by way of our contractor, who acquired it by way of an area distributor – however I’ve discovered it listed in a few locations on-line (right here and right here) with fairly horrible footage, however you may order a pattern and see it for your self. If anybody spots it elsewhere, let me know, and I’ll replace my hyperlinks!

So sure, that is our first time utilizing LVP, and we all know some individuals have sturdy opinions about it, particularly in comparison actual hardwood flooring (which is usually our choice too – we completely get what you’re considering). So let me stroll you thru how we got here to this resolution, and the way we really feel about our LVP flooring now that they’re in and we’ve lived with them for round 4 months.

Why Did You Select LVP?

In speaking with our contractor on the massive “these are LVP flooring” reveal in that fancy new home he was constructing, we realized that LVP has two key benefits in a seaside home like ours: ease of set up and long-term sturdiness in our surroundings. LVP additionally tends to be cheaper than actual hardwood (we spent A LOT LESS per sq. foot for this than we’d on new hardwoods), which isn’t the one cause we’d ever decide one thing, however together with these two different perks it was compelling.

As for the way it’s put in, LVP comes as pre-made planks that may be glued on or floated over a subfloor. Ours float, which makes it sound like they flex underfoot or sound hole once you stroll on them. These had been a few of the misconceptions we had, however I’ve mentioned it earlier than and I’ll say it once more: LVP has come a LOOOOOONG manner. Our flooring really feel fully strong, there isn’t a flex or bounce in them. Sherry was delighted to find that once you stroll on them in heels, they make that satisfying deep clacking sound like hardwood (not the lighter clicking sound that earlier floating laminate flooring made).

However again to the set up. Floating these pre-made planks makes for a a lot less complicated and speedier set up than hardwoods, a distinction that we skilled firsthand after we did that in our final home. These flooring required 2+ weeks of laying, sanding, staining, sealing, and curing. It was lengthy, messy, and smelly. Against this, the LVP took one man about 3 days – together with demo of the outdated flooring – and we might stroll on it instantly. There was no odor, or additional ready time to put down rugs (I feel they really useful 30 and even 45 full days of ready to roll out rugs on our finished-in-place hardwoods within the final home).

Selecting LVP this time additionally meant the flooring contractor might work in sections. So slightly than having to maneuver EVERYTHING out of our total home’s downstairs, we simply shifted furnishings round as he labored his manner by way of the home, clearing one half of a room at a time.

Past the better set up, LVP can be a well-liked selection as a result of it’s waterproof and really sturdy. It’s a fascinating selection in our space since you get the look of wooden, however the efficiency of tile – so there’s much less to fret about when individuals are coming in moist or sandy from the seaside and pool. One other false impression we had is that the good homes right here don’t use LVP, they use hardwoods. Lo and behold, it’s so onerous to inform that good-quality LVP isn’t hardwood, we realized {that a} ton of million-dollar seaside houses are utilizing LVP lately, as a result of it appears like hardwood and it’s nice for a seaside setting.

In order a lot as we love actual wooden floors, all indicators had been pointing us in direction of LVP this time round, and we’re very very pleased with our selection.

How’d You Decide This Particular Shade and Dimension of LVP?

Whereas standing in that house our contractor introduced us to (whereby we mainly screamed “we’ll have what they’re having!”) our contractor defined that we might select narrower planks or different finishes. He even had a scrap piece of the Biscotti flooring from that new construct and gave it to us whereas we had been there. So we simply that plank house and put it down in just a few spots round the home and immediately knew it might be nice.

We didn’t have any want to alter the thickness or the colour in any respect, because of seeing it put in in the home he took us to. I’m certain we had been additionally wowed by the overall grandeur of this house (it was a elaborate new construct), however seeing it absolutely put in someplace completely offered us on it. We determined to not overcomplicate this resolution by evaluating dozens of choices after we had a wonderfully nice one laid out earlier than us.

I can’t underline how a lot it helped to see it in individual in one other house first (and stand on it, and stroll on it, and bend down and examine it), because of our contractor bringing us to that home – so I’d extremely suggest that if attainable.

Do We Like Our LVP Flooring?

Brief reply: YES! Our outdated flooring had been gone the purpose of “rustic” and “charming” – so attending to stroll on even, quiet, and gained’t-give-you-a-splinter flooring feels downright luxurious. Longer reply: Sure, however there are definitely some variations from hardwood, for those who’re a hardwood fanatic like us. We’ll get into that extra in a second.

First we simply must take a second of appreciation. There’s little question that our new flooring are the largest unsung hero of this renovation. The brand new lounge space, additional rest room, and open view to our pool are the extra apparent enhancements, however the brand new flooring convey a way of polish we might by no means obtain by patching in some yellow pine, simply on account of the way it wears over time. Regardless of how effectively we labored to make them match and to get them shiny and crack-free at first, we knew that over time they wouldn’t maintain up.

We’re actually pleased with the colour, the wooden grain, and the broad plank too. That final element, particularly, helps our rooms really feel bigger than they really are. Additionally they make our house really feel more energizing and extra up to date. Our purpose isn’t for a home to look model new when renovating (we love an outdated home!) however having our flooring look so unhealthy just a few years after refinishing was whispering “uncared for” as a substitute of “lovingly restored.” So going from a home that had annoying gaps and globs of wooden putty to a recent and clean flooring outcome has been nice.

And since this home was in-built 1991 (it’s hardly historic), we love the broad planks, that are fairly well-liked in our space (this wasn’t an out-there selection). I’ll say, for those who’ve acquired an older house or stay in additional historic space, I most likely wouldn’t decide this wide-plank type. Perhaps strive one thing a bit darker and skinnier for much less of a seaside home vibe.

And now, here’s what you’ve all been ready for: the 2 issues we needed to alter to with LVP after being such lifelong hardwood followers.

First, for those who’re barefoot, the flooring don’t really feel like actual hardwood in your toes. I can’t actually describe how the sensation is totally different, simply that it’s. It’s not a nasty factor, however you is likely to be disenchanted for those who had been hoping to cross them off as actual hardwoods throughout a sockless social gathering (you recognize, these are a factor, proper?).

It’s like your toes can inform that the fabric is denser (it’s nice for sound blocking) and never as slick. Our mates not too long ago used LVP of their new house, they usually noticed the identical factor about theirs. We each agreed that we like it general, nevertheless it’s humorous how your naked toes can inform the delicate distinction in density and slickness. With socks and footwear on, you may’t inform although. Not less than we are able to’t.

The opposite adjustment was that it was form of a tough feeling on our toes for the primary week or so. It was as if the fake wooden grain texture was just a bit too “coarse” proper out of the field. A couple of days after strolling round on it, we’re undecided if our toes simply adjusted or if we truly sanded it down just a little with the foot visitors? Both manner, then it wasn’t noticeable in any respect, and for those who requested me now “does the ground really feel tough?” I’d be like “…no. I’d describe it as clean. Why would you say that?” It was only a humorous and sudden phenomenon at first, so heads up for those who use the identical or related flooring!

The very last thing is that, whereas it’s sturdy, LVP will not be indestructable. We already put a small ding underneath our fridge as a result of we forgot to boost the steel foot on the fridge earlier than rolling it out. It’s not noticeable, nevertheless it was a reminder that (in contrast to hardwood) harm to LVP isn’t one thing you may sand or buff out. In order that’s a psychological adjustment for us, particularly after so a few years of making an attempt to salvage our outdated flooring with wooden putty and wax. The excellent news is that we’ve dropped many issues heavier than an apple with out a dent, and Sherry has heel-tested them (no dings, wheras our earlier flooring seemed hole-punched). So sure, general they’re way more sturdy. We even have some additional bins of this precise flooring (all the time get additional!) so we are able to exchange any areas that may get dented one way or the other.

What About Your Upstairs Flooring?

We didn’t do something to our upstairs flooring as a part of this renovation. They’re nonetheless the unique flooring that we had refinished in 2020. Sure, meaning our upstairs flooring don’t match our downstairs flooring. However… they by no means did! The upstairs has that a lot tougher coronary heart pine flooring that has held up lots higher than the common pine downstairs.

Look ma, no cracks!

Perhaps sometime we’ll redo these to match the LVP downstairs if it bothers us over time, however the two supplies by no means contact as a result of we’ve acquired the painted stairs with the sisal runner separating them. For the reason that upstairs flooring by no means pinch or splinter us, we don’t really feel any urgency, and really like that a few of the orignal hardwoods get to stay on up there.

In order that’s the 411 on our new flooring. We’ll get again to work on that bigger put up about the remainder of our renovation, together with our new rest room. It’s fairly wild how a lot has modified because of this challenge, and we’re so glad we waited over 5 years to do it so we might make certain precisely what we needed to get out of the replace. It has exceeded our expectations, and we each suppose that’s from residing right here so lengthy and really determining what points nagged at us (and what issues we guessed could be points down the road however by no means truly had been). Your imaginative and prescient and the way you reside in a home simply will get clearer over time.

Extra Flooring Posts

Listed below are extra flooring posts you would possibly take pleasure in, together with some DIY tutorials for putting in a click-and-lock flooring like LVP.

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