Low cost finish floor

[DFB]

Give me some suggestions...

My boss wants the upstairs in his new barn finished so he needs a finished floor over the construction subfloor which is real mess from paint and wallboard compound.

Its got to be wood of some form no adhesive tiles or lino

Consulting with my independent lumber yard they suggested shiplap pine boards its all the same price no matter what width I choose. I'm in agreement with that and I'm looking at about $1.75 sq.ft. there. I even have cut nails to make to look rustic (I had that in my other house)

His all talk no action pal wants him to buy packaged laminate floating flooring from the Orange Big Box. My independent guy didn't think that a great idea being the size of the room is approx. 25x 60 and all wide open thought it might show to much discrepancy in the room. Dunno never used it. My contractor buddy absolutely hates it I cant even run that suggestion in front of him. .

Now some of that stuff runs as low as .80 a sq.ft. or about half the cost of the 3/4" pine. I have no idea of the quality or durability of something cheap like that in semi-commercial setting. Obviously I can match or even exceed the pine in price with other choice selections though.

My boss he never even pounded a nail wants it done as fast as possible keeps saying to me he want some large panels sheet goods that look like flooring...I don't think I even know about anything like that and if they even exist


Anyhow its big room

and plywood isn't good enough!

 

[CurlyDave]

How much traffic is there? Pine is very soft and will not hold up under even moderate foot traffic.

Why do you even want to do this job? If he wants the cheapest, it will not be durable and he will remember that you did it, but not the part about what you advised.

A local carpet installer can put in the cheapest wood-looking laminate flooring very quickly and will be a convenient scapegoat if it fails.

 

[downsizingnow48]

During my contractor days that is the kind of job I would not take. Picky ignorant client just going to be trouble.

That said in some parts of the country you can get yellow pine floor boards much harder than regular pine. Looks nice too.

 

[KennyG]

I've become a real fan of click lock floating floors. They range from to cheap laminates to exotic engineered hardwoods. The cheap laminates are serviceable for light duty, look plastic but get the job done. Quality laminates are hard to tell from real hardwood. Engineered hardwoods are extremely durable and easy to install. I put in some engineered bamboo a number of years ago and I'm amazed at how good it looks and holds up. It was not all that expensive - much much cheaper than hardwood when you factor in the easy installation and no finishing required.

 

[paulharvey]

Sounds like you need "utility grade" pine or hardwood flooring.

 

[STx]

Laminate is cheap, quick and easy to replace. Durability will depend on the traffic an finish of the laminate, the more expensive stuff will be more durable. Take some moderate care in putting protectors under chairs (rugs or the plastic stuff used on carpets) and runner rugs in high traffic areas and it will hold up just fine.

Tile would be the most durable. It does need to be set with mastic but you can (and should) put a layer of 1/4" backer board over your plywood first, which is just nailed down. That would make removal of the tile pretty easy down the road, if needed.

 

[BitChin1]

Might not be what he is looking for but I saw a nice country house with a "finished" floor recently that looked rather good - they added a second layer of OSB over their subfloor and then put urethane floor finish over it - had a slight brown tent to the random pattern of the OSB.

My first thought was this was not going to be good but was actually surprised how nice it looked.
This was several months ago so I have no idea how well it will wear over time. That said it is low cost and quick to install!

 

[jaotguy]

don't walk away ... ......run from the job ...

you've already given suggestions and he's going in a different direction.

let HIM get someone fast and cheap ... and stay out of it .

he can only blame himself later if it fails to hold up or look nice ....

 

[s219]

There are some great laminates, but the cheap ones look and perform horrible, so I wouldn't waste my time.

Another cheap option is bamboo flooring -- it's durable and cheap, and looks good. Comes in pre-finished T&G planks just like other lumber flooring, and I have seen both 3/8" and 3/4" thickness. I know many people that have used it and it's a great option. Nails down with a standard floor stapler that drives a staple or cleat through the top of the tongue on an angle.

I agree with others, though, this seems like a serious boondoggle that I'd avoid like the plague.

 

[luvmexfood]

My one experience with a floating laminate floor is enough for me to say never ever again. It floats this way and then over that way. If you consider it look at the specifications for the sub-floor. Very low tolerances for anything that is the least bit out of level. At least what I used. A mid-grade from Lowe's.

Also watch the lower priced 3/4" prefinished flooring. Especially if it says made in China. I bought some from Lowe's. Pretty fair hand at woodworking etc. Started out with long pieces along an outside wall. Mixed pieces from different boxes per instructions. Kept getting off leaving a 1/8" gap at times. Would fix with a joiner and get back true. Off again a few runs later. Come to find out their was a 1/16" difference in width between different boxes.

Good luck it whatever you use.