Browse Forums Flooring & Floor Covering 1 Sep 02, 2008 10:10 pm Hi All
well we found out that solid timber suppliers (retail outlets) seem to be a dime a dozen! There are at least 5 different company's set up within our suburb and the adjacent 2 suburbs (within 5km radius!) Must be some good money in it! Anyway, all we want is some tassie oak hardwood flooring about 123sqm - here is a list of the quotes and I need your help to choose one: 1. To supply and install: Bostik Moistureseal membrane 2 coats, 19mm sheet flooring using pins, select grade , highly featured Victorian Ash strip flooring (similar grain to American oak) trowel glued and secret nailed AND sand and polish using three coats of polyurethane with a low sheen finish - $25k inc GST 2. Supply tassie oak timber floor 85x19- $33 per sqm. Install cost $91sqm includes moisture seal, 12mm ply sheet, fully trowel glue and sand and polish 3 coats - $15k 3. Supply 108x 13mm $5203; Lay, sand & polish using moisture seal, fully trowelled ultraset glue and sand & polish 3 coats $8732. Total: $13935 4. Tas Oak 85x19mm Select Grade, moisture barrier, Pre-sand chipboard, Supply and install $14300.00 - They do not trowel glue, just the "S". 5. Tas Oak 85x12mm select grade, moisture barrier, plywood, supply & install $14000 - They do not trowel glue either, just the "S". So, what to choose??!! I am not sure about the "trowling" process and whether this is an absolute necessity? Ruth -Bought house in Melbourne inner burbs, knocked it down & now...we are owner builders! Completed OB project and moved in to our new home with our new baby in May 2009! Re: quotes for solid timber floor - which to choose?! 2Sep 02, 2008 11:24 pm rerob1, I can't help with your quotes, but just wanted to make sure you know that Tassie Oak is one of the softer timbers that they use for floors?
Sounds like you have done your research so tell me to shut up if I'm being Captain Obvious - but have you seen this sticky https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?t=7825 in the flooring forum - it lists all the Janka hardness ratings of the different flooring types. We are getting Tassie Oak floors too and while I think they are going to look great, I kind of wish I knew about the hardness rating when we were making the decision, as we might have chosen differently. Just thought I'd tell you to give you the warning I wish we'd got Re: quotes for solid timber floor - which to choose?! 3Sep 03, 2008 1:36 pm rerob1 Hi All well we found out that solid timber suppliers (retail outlets) seem to be a dime a dozen! There are at least 5 different company's set up within our suburb and the adjacent 2 suburbs (within 5km radius!) Must be some good money in it! ? you'll probably find that most of the suppliers get their wood from one or two timber mills. We chose to avoid the Boral distributors because the wood is not as dry (bitter experience) and are very happy with the WA crowd who ship it in from Herford Industries. How many m2 are you having installed? We purchased our timber ourselves on special, and then found an installer with a good reputation + installation price. We found we could then control the process far better than using one company to do the lot. If you know the m2 area ring around and get the best price for the wood. Then price the installation separately. We did this with our spotted gum and it has turned out absolutely terrific. Our installer won't work with Boral timber (says its not stable enough) and is doing a meticulous job. Our floors have been glued down for 2 weeks now (prior to sanding/polishing) and the installer saw them yesterday and is very happy as they haven't moved a mm since installation. We paid $63 m2 for the select grade solid timber (83 x 13) and $60 for installation - including moisture seal, trowel glued and 4 coats of poly with a sheen finish. $14K for 100 m2 + staircase. It does seem that the eastern states sometimes have 19mm timbers for direct stick ... not sure why as in SA they only recommend this for laying over joists (which we did in our last house). The carpet, tiles and wooden floors are level with one another in our new home. Anyhow hope above is helpful. good luck. edit: sorry I just saw you are laying about 123 m2 Re: quotes for solid timber floor - which to choose?! 4Sep 03, 2008 7:22 pm Dear Captain Obvious , thank you so much for your comments, we are aware of the janka ratings, however chose to go with it anyway for its warmth and really we just love the look! I appreciate you reiterating though, there are others who may read this and change their minds which will be useful I am sure...
DeeElle, thanks for your feedback, we may look at doing it seperately, but at this stage were hoping to go for an "all in one" package because we are owner building so it will be less to coordinate if we do it with one company...I think most of our suppliers have quoted timber that will come from a Gunns Mill, is that the same or totally seperate to Boral! What does everyone think about the installation methods? Timber is going over waffle pod concrete slab. Ruth -Bought house in Melbourne inner burbs, knocked it down & now...we are owner builders! Completed OB project and moved in to our new home with our new baby in May 2009! Re: quotes for solid timber floor - which to choose?! 5Sep 03, 2008 7:37 pm I would stick away from the 108mm x 13mm glue only quote - there would be a tendancy for the boards to cup without fastening.
Are you aware Vic Ash and Tassie Oak are both trade names for essentially the same mix of blond eucalypts? With regard to the 2nd quote, you really need 15mm ply minimum with 19mm thick flooring as the staples (secret-nail) are 44mm long (fired through on an angle of coure)[/i] Re: quotes for solid timber floor - which to choose?! 6Sep 03, 2008 8:18 pm I'd check with the company and ask them where they source the timber. Re: quotes for solid timber floor - which to choose?! 7Sep 03, 2008 8:23 pm rerob1 Dear Captain Obvious , thank you so much for your comments, we are aware of the janka ratings, however chose to go with it anyway for its warmth and really we just love the look! Great. I agree they are going to look fantastic Re: quotes for solid timber floor - which to choose?! 8Sep 04, 2008 6:58 pm DeeElle you'll probably find that most of the suppliers get their wood from one or two timber mills. Our floors have been glued down for 2 weeks now (prior to sanding/polishing) and the installer saw them yesterday and is very happy as they haven't moved a mm since installation. There are literally dozens and dozens of timber mills producing T&G flooring, not one or two. Why are they waiting so long to sand and finish your floors? Its normally done straight after laying. If its for acclimatising, thats meant to be done before laying. After laying is too late. Re: quotes for solid timber floor - which to choose?! 9Sep 04, 2008 7:28 pm Hi Luke, thanks for your info, its very helpful. I was just wondering about the glue method - trowel vs just "S" - just how important is this part of the installation?
Also, I know I have read it in a previous post, however can you please reiterate about being able to re sand & polish 12mm vs 19mm boards years down the track....I would like to think that 19 is better merely because there is more of it?? Or am I completely wrong? I know this affects the height of the floor, and we have not given enough thought to floor heights in the house yet (so its about time we did!) FYI... the timber floor will be laid over the main living areas (family & meals) and kitchen, the hallway to bedrooms, study & entry. The formal lounge and bedrooms will be carpet and tiles only in the wet areas. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Ruth -Bought house in Melbourne inner burbs, knocked it down & now...we are owner builders! Completed OB project and moved in to our new home with our new baby in May 2009! Re: quotes for solid timber floor - which to choose?! 10Sep 05, 2008 10:51 am Dukekamaya DeeElle you'll probably find that most of the suppliers get their wood from one or two timber mills. Our floors have been glued down for 2 weeks now (prior to sanding/polishing) and the installer saw them yesterday and is very happy as they haven't moved a mm since installation. There are literally dozens and dozens of timber mills producing T&G flooring, not one or two. Why are they waiting so long to sand and finish your floors? Its normally done straight after laying. If its for acclimatising, thats meant to be done before laying. After laying is too late. Thanks for the tip Luke. We were told there were only a few timber mills that the companies source from. 2 weeks ... builders stuff up with other trades coming through. However we were also told the floors should sit for a week between laying and sanding . They also sat for 2 weeks in the house prior to laying. Re: quotes for solid timber floor - which to choose?! 11Sep 05, 2008 7:33 pm DeeElle 2 weeks ... builders stuff up with other trades coming through. However we were also told the floors should sit for a week between laying and sanding . They also sat for 2 weeks in the house prior to laying. Floors should be the last 'wet' trade finished, they should be laid after all plastering and painting etc is finished. I hope they are covered with all these guys walking over them unsanded. Re: quotes for solid timber floor - which to choose?! 12Sep 05, 2008 7:37 pm rerob1 Hi Luke, thanks for your info, its very helpful. I was just wondering about the glue method - trowel vs just "S" - just how important is this part of the installation? Trowelled glue is more important if the glue is the only method of fixing, i.e. there are no nails. The 'S' method is used in between the nails which are spaced at 450mm or over the battens if fixed that way. Re: quotes for solid timber floor - which to choose?! 13Sep 05, 2008 7:57 pm Dukekamaya DeeElle 2 weeks ... builders stuff up with other trades coming through. However we were also told the floors should sit for a week between laying and sanding . They also sat for 2 weeks in the house prior to laying. Floors should be the last 'wet' trade finished, they should be laid after all plastering and painting etc is finished. I hope they are covered with all these guys walking over them unsanded. ours have been laid in the past couple of days - painting still to be done. I thought it was so that they could sit our kitchen cabinetry on top of the floorboards. Re: quotes for solid timber floor - which to choose?! 14Sep 11, 2008 4:56 pm Only just found this thread today. We are also getting timber flooring upstairs. So it will be laid on chipboard. Does anyone know the difference between the getting the raw timber, then sanding, then polish and pre-finished solid timber floors? Re: quotes for solid timber floor - which to choose?! 15Sep 11, 2008 7:11 pm Depends on the grade/species/width etc etc. Re: quotes for solid timber floor - which to choose?! 16Sep 12, 2008 12:40 pm We were looking at Kempas prefinished 19mm solid timber. We were told that there is not much difference in price between the prefinished and the raw type. Is this true? Re: quotes for solid timber floor - which to choose?! 17Sep 12, 2008 8:47 pm Kempas is widely sold here in raw form. The problem with pre-finished flooring is that the sub-floor needs to be completely level as there is no sanding to even the boards out - there have been issues with poor maching of pre-finished flooring too which causes poor fitting. Care also needs to be taken in laying not to scratch the boards. Re: quotes for solid timber floor - which to choose?! 18Sep 13, 2008 10:14 am Thanks Luke. Unfortunately, our chipboard is quite uneven due to the rain before the roof was installed. We definitely will get the builder to sand it down as much as possible. Would it be easier to lay engineered timber instead of solid timber if there is a slightly uneven surface? We chose to go with Kempas because it was the cheapest solid timber around. We were told that prefinished timber has less shrinkage as well. Re: quotes for solid timber floor - which to choose?! 19Sep 13, 2008 2:49 pm Its no different to lay, you just can't sand the pre-finished floor after its laid to smooth it out.
As far as shrinkage goes thats rubbish. All soild flooring is kiln dried to the same standard. It all expands and contracts with varying moisture levels regardless of being finished or unfinished. Re: quotes for solid timber floor - which to choose?! 20Sep 14, 2008 11:17 am thanks Luke. Given what you have told me, I think we should have gone for the raw stuff! Engineering timber is certainly a less fuss option, times cheaper to supply and install and better withstands humidity. 1 15909 Thank you. Do I use timber floorboards for stairs or do people use timber treads? Or is both the same? 6 7284 If this is a custom build then I would expect the builder to set out the door frame closer to the wall to avoid the gap between architrave and the wall and or specify… 9 8306 |