A pleasant surprise

[SeaCat]

Well this was a pleasant surprise.

My wife and I drove up to my parents for a visit as well as to get the new flooring for our place. (There is a place up there that was selling the stuff I was looking at for nearly half the price it's going for down here.)

Well we hopped in my parents car and drove over to the store only to find it has shut down. Out of business. Bummer. My father then commented that he had seen another place nearby selling wood laminate flooring cheaply so we drove over to check it out. Oh what a pleasant surprise we encountered there.

They had two pallet loads of flooring on sale. A bit more than what I had been expecting to pay but it looked nice. (Actually it was absolutely beautiful in a color they called Mountain Maple.) I was told they were selling it for $.99 a square foot. Then I looked at it again and pulled out my Credit Card.

Yep it was $.40 a square foot more, and it wasn't the brand I had been looking for but oh my. The stuff I had been looking at was a 6mm Perga. This was 8.2mm Kyron which normally sells for around $3.00 a square foot. (It also has a 50 year warranty on wear and fading.)

I bought 19 boxes of the stuff which gives me enough for the floor plus a little left over for the occasional Oops. (Hey I'm covering 477 square feet of floor. There's going to be an oops or two.)

I came back about half an hour later and loaded ten boxes into the car. (10 boxes at 40 pounds each, the car was going to grunt on the way home.) I couldn't load all of it because of the cargo limitations of the car. (950 pounds total.)

Cat

 

[cloudy]

I'm jealous.

We're currently discussing whether to recarpet, or just put wood floors down in the house (the one in Ontario).

Wood floors would be damn cold in the winter, but there's no air conditioning in the house, so they'd be really nice in the summer.

Decisions, decisions.

 

[glynndah]

Good karma. You treat others nicely, so you get nice floors. Kneepads

 

[Weird Harold]

Wood floors would be damn cold in the winter, but there's no air conditioning in the house, so they'd be really nice in the summer.

If you're redoing the floor would your budget stretch to installing radiant heating under the new flooring?

If shows like Hometime and This Old House can be believed, radiant under-floor heating is not only solves the problem of cold floors, it is much more economical than other heating options.

 

[Boxlicker101]

Well this was a pleasant surprise.

My wife and I drove up to my parents for a visit as well as to get the new flooring for our place. (There is a place up there that was selling the stuff I was looking at for nearly half the price it's going for down here.)

Well we hopped in my parents car and drove over to the store only to find it has shut down. Out of business. Bummer. My father then commented that he had seen another place nearby selling wood laminate flooring cheaply so we drove over to check it out. Oh what a pleasant surprise we encountered there.

They had two pallet loads of flooring on sale. A bit more than what I had been expecting to pay but it looked nice. (Actually it was absolutely beautiful in a color they called Mountain Maple.) I was told they were selling it for $.99 a square foot. Then I looked at it again and pulled out my Credit Card.

Yep it was $.40 a square foot more, and it wasn't the brand I had been looking for but oh my. The stuff I had been looking at was a 6mm Perga. This was 8.2mm Kyron which normally sells for around $3.00 a square foot. (It also has a 50 year warranty on wear and fading.)

I bought 19 boxes of the stuff which gives me enough for the floor plus a little left over for the occasional Oops. (Hey I'm covering 477 square feet of floor. There's going to be an oops or two.)

I came back about half an hour later and loaded ten boxes into the car. (10 boxes at 40 pounds each, the car was going to grunt on the way home.) I couldn't load all of it because of the cargo limitations of the car. (950 pounds total.)

Cat

Well, why didn't you ask me to give you a hand? You could have borrowed my pickup truck to bring it back home.

 

[cloudy]

If you're redoing the floor would your budget stretch to installing radiant heating under the new flooring?

If shows like Hometime and This Old House can be believed, radiant under-floor heating is not only solves the problem of cold floors, it is much more economical than other heating options.

no, but I'm not sure we'd need that. Our woodstove is in the basement, so the floors tend to be sort of warm, anyway....except to me, the delicate southern flower.

 

[starrkers]

Isn't it great when you get something better than you thought you could afford?

I dream of having nice floors...*wistful sigh*

 

[SeaCat]

no, but I'm not sure we'd need that. Our woodstove is in the basement, so the floors tend to be sort of warm, anyway....except to me, the delicate southern flower.

LOLOL

Two answers to this.

The first is a simple one. Wool Socks.

The second one dates back to the Romans and is one of the neatest ideas I have ever seen. It takes a bit of work but in cold climates it is so worth it.

When you redo the flooring you completely rebuild it. You leave a gap of something like three inches between layers of the floor. This gap is lined with fireproof tile. The smoke and hot gases from the basement wood stove are run through the floor space to a chimeny on the other side of the house. This heats the floor and uses even more of the heat from the fire. (Heating the floors helps heat the room.)

In the summer that same gap in the floor helps to keep the floor cool.

Cat

 

[SeaCat]

Good karma. You treat others nicely, so you get nice floors. Kneepads

Already have the kneepads.

Nice?

Cat

 

[SeaCat]

If you're redoing the floor would your budget stretch to installing radiant heating under the new flooring?

If shows like Hometime and This Old House can be believed, radiant under-floor heating is not only solves the problem of cold floors, it is much more economical than other heating options.

I haven't heard of radiant heating in the flooring. I'll have to mention this to my father. (He has a house up north.)

We did have some of the first radiant heaters in New England although we never used the damned things.

Double barreled Wood Furnace in the basement took care of the heating.

Cat

 

[SeaCat]

Well, why didn't you ask me to give you a hand? You could have borrowed my pickup truck to bring it back home.

Ahhh this just gives me an excuse to drive up there and mooch dinner. Tonight was open faced Roast Beef Sandwiches.

The last time we visited we went down to Cocoa Beach. Now that place is a trip. Other than South Beach I have never seen more thongs, and the people are nicer.

If I didn't own the place I live in now I would be tempted to move up to Melbourn.

Cat

 

[SeaCat]

Isn't it great when you get something better than you thought you could afford?

I dream of having nice floors...*wistful sigh*

Starkers,
I am rebuilding a Mobile Home. All of the work is being done by my wife and myself. We are doing it on the budget of two C.N.A.'s.

The trick is, we are doing it ourselves.

Wood laminate flooring doesn't cost that much, if you look around. It is also easy to put in and it last damn near forever. (It snaps together.)

Cat

 

[glynndah]

Already have the kneepads.

Nice?

Cat

Hey, it worked for the guy in that other thread. Thought I'd try it. I don't think it's really what was called for, though. How 'bout "kick-ass", instead?
Good call on the kneepads. A whole new kind of protection....

 

[starrkers]

Starkers,
I am rebuilding a Mobile Home. All of the work is being done by my wife and myself. We are doing it on the budget of two C.N.A.'s.

The trick is, we are doing it ourselves.

Wood laminate flooring doesn't cost that much, if you look around. It is also easy to put in and it last damn near forever. (It snaps together.)

Cat

My husband and I are building a house. From scratch. Ourselves. In our spare time, as money allows.
I think we're insane!

 

[SeaCat]

My husband and I are building a house. From scratch. Ourselves. In our spare time, as money allows.
I think we're insane!

Insane? Possibly but it depends on if you are following a plan or not.

I would love to build a house on my own. I could have a hell of a lot of fun with it.

My father got his hands on the plans for their house up north before it was built. He modified them to suit his needs and rammed it down the contractors throats.

In 1970 he had built the house from hell. This house had a double walled, insulated basement. (With a purpose built armored weapons vault.) A massive heat sink under the garage.

Where the plans had called for 2x4's he had put in 4x4's. Where the plan called for 4x4's he had them put in 6x6's. The walls are over eight inches thick and fully insulated. (Where most houses had 4 inches of insulation in the walls he had 8.) The roof is insulated, as is the crawlspace. Instead of the double pane windows in use at the time he special ordered triple panes. He had roll down shutters over all windows and doors.

He had purpose built in the basement a Wood Furnace. A highly efficent wood furnace built to his own design. The smoke from the furnace is vented through a gap in the flooring before it reaches the Chimmeny(sp). (Like I mentioned above.)

He had the first solar powered Hot Water in the County. He had the first built in Generator in the county.

Off the back of the house is an immense greenhouse. The panels for this are also triple paned. The heat from this during the day is piped into the house. (There is also a hot tub in the greenhouse. )

The secondary heat source for the house are the original Radiant Heaters made. (They still work.)

Lighting was interesting.

Each room had incorporated in it's ceilng a mat of etched Fiber Optic Cable. The feeds for these ran back to a central light sourse. A 100 watt Light. (There was also another feed to a collector on the roof that picked up sunlight.) There was no way to turn these mats off so we had panels we slid over them. (Each room also had additional lights placed in them but these were rarely used.) This system still works and works well.

I could go on but I somehow don't think people would be interested in his Septic System or recycling system.

I can say this. I was never cold in that house. Nor did I get overheated in the summer.

Cat

 

[oggbashan]

My house. built in 1939, has the original wood flooring installed by the joiner who built the house for himself. It also has the original doors and door furniture.

There is some marking to the bare boards after 60+ years but the wood is warm underfoot. Apart from a couple of rugs, and vinyl in the bathrooms and kitchen, all the wood is left bare. Our friends are jealous.

My brother isn't jealous. His house has the original flooring from 1635. It's not quite as good as his previous house dated 1639 - that one was built from the timber of a ship launched in the 1500s. The floorboards were 3 inch thick oak in 18 inch widths and the beams were 12 x 12 except the main roof beams 18 x 18. All the timber had been seasoned before use in the ship, tarred, then soaked in sea water for about 50 years. Even in hundreds of years no woodpest had been able to make any impact on any of the wood in that house. The beams show the carpenter's marks when the house was built AND the shipbuilder's marks when the ship was constructed.

Good timber is unbeatable.

Og

 

[R. Richard]

LOLOL

Two answers to this.

The first is a simple one. Wool Socks.

The second one dates back to the Romans and is one of the neatest ideas I have ever seen. It takes a bit of work but in cold climates it is so worth it.

When you redo the flooring you completely rebuild it. You leave a gap of something like three inches between layers of the floor. This gap is lined with fireproof tile. The smoke and hot gases from the basement wood stove are run through the floor space to a chimeny on the other side of the house. This heats the floor and uses even more of the heat from the fire. (Heating the floors helps heat the room.)

In the summer that same gap in the floor helps to keep the floor cool.

Cat

The Koreans have used the under floor heating system forever. It is a very efficient way to heat, as the heat is in the floor where the people are, rather than up at the ceiling as in a forced air system. Also, it is practical to heat just the rooms you are using, rather than the whole house. The Korean system used a hibatchi type stove for a heat source while the modern systems use a hot water radiant heater system.

 

[SeaCat]

My house. built in 1939, has the original wood flooring installed by the joiner who built the house for himself. It also has the original doors and door furniture.

There is some marking to the bare boards after 60+ years but the wood is warm underfoot. Apart from a couple of rugs, and vinyl in the bathrooms and kitchen, all the wood is left bare. Our friends are jealous.

My brother isn't jealous. His house has the original flooring from 1635. It's not quite as good as his previous house dated 1639 - that one was built from the timber of a ship launched in the 1500s. The floorboards were 3 inch thick oak in 18 inch widths and the beams were 12 x 12 except the main roof beams 18 x 18. All the timber had been seasoned before use in the ship, tarred, then soaked in sea water for about 50 years. Even in hundreds of years no woodpest had been able to make any impact on any of the wood in that house. The beams show the carpenter's marks when the house was built AND the shipbuilder's marks when the ship was constructed.

Good timber is unbeatable.

Og

Wood, if used correctly is the greatest thing to build with.

In 2000 my wife and I finished the rebuild of a house built in 1800.

When I lived in Upstate New York we lived in a house built in the late 1700's.

I love to work with wood and would build a house of it if I had the chance. Then again I understand wood. I know it's strengths and it's weaknesses. I love it's character.

My parents house, built oh so many years ago, has been looked at by experts. Recently it was looked at by building inspectors from Dade County. (The Experts in Hurricane Construction.) They just shook their heads. My fathers house so far exceeded their codes they couldn't comment on it. The only question they had was the pitch of the roof, which my father explained was designed to shed snow. (The house is in New England after all.) The entire house is wood framed.

Cat

 

[TheeGoatPig]

The only question they had was the pitch of the roof, which my father explained was designed to shed snow. (The house is in New England after all.) The entire house is wood framed.

Cat

Working in the architectural field, I would love to discuss this with you and your father. I have never seen such an over-designed house in the ten years I have been working in this business. It puzzels me how you could take some hings that far. It also intrigues me to no end. I would love to see this house.

Also, just out of curiosity, what are the pitches? I have seen some high ones, but not many areas around here will let them be all that steep (stupid high limitations).

 

[buxxxom]

Just completed two rooms of laminate flooring. The result is spectacular. I hope you'll be as pleased with yours as we are with ours.

 

[SeaCat]

Working in the architectural field, I would love to discuss this with you and your father. I have never seen such an over-designed house in the ten years I have been working in this business. It puzzels me how you could take some hings that far. It also intrigues me to no end. I would love to see this house.

Also, just out of curiosity, what are the pitches? I have seen some high ones, but not many areas around here will let them be all that steep (stupid high limitations).

I think, if I recall correctly, the ptich was one foot out to two feet down. A relatively steep pitch.

As for his taking things that far, my father is of the old German School of engineering. If it works, make it stronger.

He has lived in places of truly evil weather and had done his research on the weather in that part of the United States. He had also lived in places where the temperatures dropped quite low. He like me hates being cold.

He had decided that he would spend the extra money and effot to make the best house he could concieve of. He didn't play around, he knew what he wanted.

I have carried in the wood to feed the furnace. We used less than three cords of wood to heat the place over a winter.

I lived there through I can't tell you how many Nor'easters. I watched houses collapse. Ours came through with no damage.

I was there when a Cat. 2 Hurricane hit. The house came through with zero damage.

I lived in that house when we had no power for two weeks in the middle of winter because of a winter storm. We had no problems.

When I moved out I took many lessons from there with me. I lived in a building with four apartments. I modified the furnace so I could operate it off a 12 volt battery. When we lost power that winter because of a storm we were the only building in the complex with heat.

I learned from my father. My current place is a Mobile Home. As soon as I moved in I started fixing it up with my fathers lessons in mind. I put in roof straps, I reinforced the walls. We got hit by a storm. My neighbor lost his roof, it Sardine Canned. My place came through just fine.

Cat

 

[SeaCat]

Just took four panels and placed them on the floor in the hallway. Wow talk about nice. This will really lighten up the place.

We picked up the paint for the underfloor. (Kilz) and the underlayment.

The underlayment is a pad as well as a Vapor Barrier.

The wood flooring will include the Master Bedroom, the hall, the living room and the front room. (The kitchen will be done in Linoleum.) It is going to look great.

Once we finish with this we will redo some sections of the walls before painting them.

Oh there is so much to do.

The Master Bathroom is going to be fun. We're going to rip out the tub and fix the floor. Then we'll put in a Shower and Tile the entire thing.

The Kitchen will be redone completely. (For right now we're just going to paint the cabinets.) We intend to have nice blond wood in there.

Cat

 

[Weird Harold]

I haven't heard of radiant heating in the flooring. I'll have to mention this to my father. (He has a house up north.)

We did have some of the first radiant heaters in New England although we never used the damned things.

Double barreled Wood Furnace in the basement took care of the heating.

Cat

What the home shows call "Radiant Heating" is tubing that goes under the manufactured flooring -- similar to the hypocaust system you described but using hot water in tubing winding through or under the sub-floor instead of hot air. It is NOT the same thing as "Radiant Heaters" that heat with Infrared.

They've shown several different sources for the hot water ranging from the hot water heater doing double duty to solar collectors but the basic installation of the tubing under the flooring is about the same.

 

[SeaCat]

What the home shows call "Radiant Heating" is tubing that goes under the manufactured flooring -- similar to the hypocaust system you described but using hot water in tubing winding through or under the sub-floor instead of hot air. It is NOT the same thing as "Radiant Heaters" that heat with Infrared.

They've shown several different sources for the hot water ranging from the hot water heater doing double duty to solar collectors but the basic installation of the tubing under the flooring is about the same.

Ahh then my father wouln't be interested.

Thanks for the info though.

Cat

 

[TheeGoatPig]

What the home shows call "Radiant Heating" is tubing that goes under the manufactured flooring -- similar to the hypocaust system you described but using hot water in tubing winding through or under the sub-floor instead of hot air. It is NOT the same thing as "Radiant Heaters" that heat with Infrared.

They've shown several different sources for the hot water ranging from the hot water heater doing double duty to solar collectors but the basic installation of the tubing under the flooring is about the same.

I've heard of it, but I don't htink I have ever heard of using it in a trailer. It doesn't sound like it would fit in the flooring system.

Then again, I've never seen the actual construction of a trailer, so I would know jack-all