HawthorneVillager.com

I sure hope so, but if we every do the upstairs or the basement I will be sure to keep you in mind. (if I don't do it myself)

No problem

_________________
The OFFICIAL Hardwood Flooring Thread

Yes, it's doable & some of the hallway planks will have to be removed in order to join in the new floor but it will be seamless. It will cost you a little extra to have this done but once it's finished, you will not know where it was joint if done properly

If you want hardwood installed on upstairs hallway, it's good idea to ask the builder to set your nosings to 3/4" height. So then the wood can be installed flush to the nosing. The hardwood installer can raise your nosing but this will require more time & will cost extra so might as well pay the builder to do it.

It really depends on the hardwood installer, not really the builder. Yes if the super sees that the installer did a poor job, he might have to come back & fix it. Some installers just don't care, do a quick, sloppy job, bad cuts, etc... But then others (like my husband ) take care & do it properly & care about the quality of their workmanship, since their reputation depends on it. So to answer your question, quality will usually be better after closing because you have more control over what is being done in your home & you can see how it's being installed and if you are not happy, you will let the installer know.

_________________
The OFFICIAL Hardwood Flooring Thread

Then consider yourself lucky.

Just recently someone closed their new house & the builder did the hardwood floors & there was a small leak (thanks to the plumber) & they had to replace some of the planks before closing but the owner was not happy with the quality of the repair & is still fighting the builder to have the floors replaced. So things can happen. Of course none of this would have happened if he would have done it after closing since the leak would have been caught before the house closed...

Bruno is right, the quality of installation after closing is usually better vs. builder, since you are there to see how the installation process is going, the installer is not in a rush because the house is closing, etc...& no other trades coming in to finish up last minute work & walking on your beautiful new floors with dirty shoes I have heard many stories about damaged floors before closing...

_________________
The OFFICIAL Hardwood Flooring Thread

I am sure it's easy for the installer, you can certainly watch & learn Of course some of the planks might get damaged while removing but that's the nature of this job, not much choice if you want to join two floors. But I am sure the installer will try to be careful

I am not familiar with this colour, I would have to get some prices, what is the width of the planks you want? I assume this will be the colour of your stairs then... Cost for basic installation is $2 sq. ft.

I agree about the quarter round, the door stop looks much nicer. Since you will have carpet installed, the baseboards will not be perfectly set for hardwood, so you will need the door stop to cover the gap. The only way for the hardwood to go under the baseboards is if you have the baseboards installed after the hardwood.

_________________
The OFFICIAL Hardwood Flooring Thread

I never said don't go through the builder, this is just my opinion since I know what can happen & I personally would not take a chance with paying so much money & then for problems to occur. I guess you can call me a "control freak" I guess for me to do things after closing comes naturally since my husband can do most of the stuff & I like to have control over things that I pay lots of money for. We have done most upgrades ourselves because after going to some model homes & seeing the "quality" from the builders, I said thanks but no thanks Plus not to mention all that money you save!

When it comes to having hardwood done after closing, the installer will adjust to YOUR schedule, so no need to take time off work, he can do everything after hours, weekends, etc... Yes there will be slight inconvenience with having the work done but for many people it's wroth it & you save a lot of money at the same time

_________________
The OFFICIAL Hardwood Flooring Thread

It's unfortunate that you did not have good experience with 3rd party contractors. I guess I was lucky that all my experiences have been positive so far. Perhaps it helped that my husband knew most of the people he was getting, since he works with them

A lot of people now a days are mostly looking for cheap price per sq. ft. for hardwood installation. But they don't realize that sometimes that cheap price might give them problems, so trying to save those pew pennies is not always a good idea. There is a reason why someone might be offering a cheaper price for installation, perhaps he is not very busy with work, not very skilled, does not value his workmanship very much & therefore is happy to just get any job & lowers the price. Those who value their high quality workmanship & are in high demand (very busy with work), will not go below their minimum price & will actually refuse jobs. Hey, if people really want to save, why not hire cheap Chinese labour

I am all for getting a great deal too but for some things, you just cannot look at price alone. There's a saying, you get what you pay for. There are installers & then there are installers

_________________
The OFFICIAL Hardwood Flooring Thread

First, did you ever ask Mattamy that you want carpet in the foyer & hallway? Or at least end the tiles at stairs & rest carpet...! Tell them you are alllergic to tiles ...or that your small kids love to crawl on the carpet!

Seriously, if Mattamy is so customer friendly, this should be easily doable unless the JD Power does not allow them to

It's a messy job & expensive but doable. But try first to see if they can install carpet at least in the hallway/closets.

_________________
The OFFICIAL Hardwood Flooring Thread

Is it worth it to pay $790 more to get maple stairs instead of Oak?

That depends what you plan to install on the main floor... If you want maple hardwood floors, then sure it's worth it...but if you want oak floors, no point really.

_________________
The OFFICIAL Hardwood Flooring Thread

Isn't Oak more durable than Maple? We will most likely be installing Maple floors but will keep the second floor carpet. So will it look that bad to have Oak stairs?

On the hardness scale, maple is a little harder than oak but due to its smooth finish & lack of grain, it shows damage faster even though it's harder.
Also the grain in the oak "hides" the scratches a little better.

We had maple floors in our previous house & it really got scratched up by the kids of course, before it looked spotless So if you have kids, dogs, etc. good luck
We also had oak stairs with our maple floors & personally it never bothered me & back then, I did not even know that you can have maples stairs Back then I thought they are all oak...haha...

You should be fine with oak stairs, since I consider stairs to be separate from the floors, so IMO it's fine if it's not the same species of wood as long as the stain is
the same colour

_________________
The OFFICIAL Hardwood Flooring Thread

Great, thanks for the advice. I'll stick with the Oak stairs because I know there will be alot of wear and tear scratches.

Hey Patrob,

Question regarding stairs. We are not sure if we want to go with the wrought iron staircase or not, so what we are doing is taking the 1st level oak staircase upgrade with the darker stain.

Is it more expensive/difficult to upgrade the pickets and rails after closing? Currently, its an extra $3500 - $4000, for the upgraded posts/rails/wrought iron, and we are not even 100% sure which look we want for the staircase. So, we figured a year down the road we can decide.

So is it more costly afterwards? Do you recommend we make a decision now and select the upgraded staircase, beyond the 1st level upgrade?

good question - i'm not sure what look we want either. We may just settle for the standard but I don't want to regret it later.

_________________
HVE