House Remodeling Thread (long)

[Helene2013]

Mr. Net is Mr. Clean in English.

[ny biker]

The thing is that I really love the wall colors. I spent a lot of time choosing them. So I don't want to change them to match new floors. Also I don't want a floor with a warm undertone because I really don't like warm colors for decorating. I think I am in a minority in that respect.

I am definitely not Mr. Net/Mr. Clean, so I am working on freeing my mind of all the flooring decisions I made in the past year or so. I need to be open to lighter colors, as long as they're not too light. And I need to stop telling myself how rich and beautiful the dark chocolate/mocha samples are.

The people at Duro-Design are very helpful, Emily. When the time comes, you can request samples directly from them. If you're doing a click-lock floating floor, they can tell you which colors are available pre-finished. If you want the glue-down tiles then I think they're always finished on-site after installation. Glue-down tiles are better in places that are exposed to water/flooding, such as kitchens and bathrooms -- I'm not sure if that's a concern for an RV. I would imagine that installing any floor in an RV is relatively simple, in the sense that you're not dealing with the types of leveling problems that my condo and many other old homes have.

[emily_in_nc]

The people at Duro-Design are very helpful, Emily. When the time comes, you can request samples directly from them. If you're doing a click-lock floating floor, they can tell you which colors are available pre-finished. If you want the glue-down tiles then I think they're always finished on-site after installation. Glue-down tiles are better in places that are exposed to water/flooding, such as kitchens and bathrooms -- I'm not sure if that's a concern for an RV. I would imagine that installing any floor in an RV is relatively simple, in the sense that you're not dealing with the types of leveling problems that my condo and many other old homes have.

Oh good to know, thanks! I didn't realize that was the company you were dealing with too. They had been recommended on an RV site.

We will definitely go with the floating, click-lock floor. For one thing, it's much easier for DIY, and for another, with a moving "house", like an RV, you don't want things that are rigid since there is a lot of flex and motion when you're on the road. So floating floors are much preferred. Our current floor (the part that isn't carpet) is, I'm pretty sure, a floating laminate floor, but it's much shinier than we prefer (the reflections on it from the windows show every paw print, every dried drop of water, foot smudge, etc) and too dark as well, and it's cold in the winter. And pre-finished is the only thing I'd consider. It will be in the kitchen area, but I'll probably leave the existing vinyl in the tiny bathroom, as it's okay and in good shape. We always use a rug in front of the sink area, so I don't worry too much about water in the kitchen. Sure, flooding could happen, but that would hurt just about any floor, so we won't plan for that much bad luck!

[ny biker]

So, update. Apologies for the long rambling post here but since I'm making this decision all by myself, this helps me to think it through.

I've gone back to several of the flooring stores and spent a fair amount of time reconsidering samples that I had previously rejected. I ended up bringing home several samples that are cork but with an HD image printed on them, so they look like wood grain. I also brought home one sample that has a real cork look, in a tan color called "coffee" (which is more coffee ice cream than black coffee). A couple of the wood-look samples I brought home are a light grayish-brown. This is a trendy color right now but I ruled it out because it doesn't look good with my furniture. The coffee-colored cork was in the running for about a day but then I decided I don't like the way it looks in lamp light. And really it's too light.

So I've narrowed it down to two of the wood-look cork samples -- "Oak Fumed" from Ecotimber and "Kilmartin Pine" from US Floors. The color of the Ecotimber sample is definitely good. I think the US Floors color also works but I haven't seen it in sunlight yet -- it may have too much yellow in it.

But I had two concerns about the wood-look cork. First, is the wood image durable or is it easily scratched or marred? So I did a test with the Ecotimber sample. I put it on a hard surface (tile bathroom floor) and then I dropped a hammer on it from shoulder height (roughly 5' off the floor). Then I dropped it 5 more times. There was not a single mark from the hammer. I also tried scratching it with my fingernail -- really digging in -- and then I put on a high-heeled shoe and dug the edge of the heel into the cork. These two tests did leave marks but the cork has rebounded a bit and the marks have become less noticeable over time. BTW I also dropped the hammer onto a sample of engineered hardwood (oak) that I have at home and it left two dents. So the cork sample won that test -- it resists damage well. (I haven't tried the same test yet with the sample from US Floors -- if I decide I like the color I will try dropping things on it.)

My other concern is that the wood-look cork looks too fake. This is the main reason that I am still undecided. I think the main issue is the finish. I walked around one of the flooring stores looking at hardwood as well as LVT and laminate that look like wood. Almost all of hardwoods have a high-gloss finish. The fake wood-look products, including the two cork samples I'm considering, are all completely matte, no gloss at all. I think this is what makes it possible to tell that that they're not real wood.

On the other hand -- there was one hardwood sample with a very matte, totally unglossy finish. And it was from a brand that is considered high quality. So maybe a matte finish is not so bad? And when I first saw the Ecotimber wood-look cork at the store I ignored it because I thought it was hardwood. So it did fool me. The only reason I brought the sample home was because the guy in the store told me it was cork. And in general I'm not completely opposed to something that is fake wood. As long as it doesn't scream "cheap and fake" I think I'd be okay with it.

There is one more cork sample that I want to see in my home but haven't been able to get my hands on yet. I think the color is okay. The possible problem is the texture -- it's pretty busy and in photos that I've seen online it kind of looks like it's peeling. I'm still hoping to be able to bring a sample home so I can decide one way or the other.

So in summary my decision is:

- cork that is a good color but is imprinted with a wood-grain image that may look fake
- cork that is a good color and is a real cork texture but may look like a bad skin rash
- give up on cork and get hardwood

I'm leaning toward rolling the dice on the cork with the wood image that might look fake.

Here are some photos from the internet. The first two are the "Kilmartin Pine" from US Floors; both photos are from the manufacturer's site. The third and fourth are the cork with the good color but with the texture that concerns me. I think this actually doesn't look so bad in the third photo, which someone took in their house and posted on a decorating/remodeling forum. It does look bad in the fourth photo which is from the manufacturer.

[ny biker]

(These are related to the last post on the previous page.) Here are some photos I took. They show the sample of Ecotimber cork in "Oak Fumed" next to a real oak sample. The coffee-colored cork is also included. These were taken under artificial light.

[emily_in_nc]

I can definitely see your dilemma, NY. I looked at all your photos and am not sure which I'd pick either! I like the look of the actual cork but would I like it all over the floor...it's hard to say. I suspect after a brief getting-used-to-it period, I would. It's just "different" compared to the hardwood I'm so used to.

I have seen that very matte fake hardwood in a couple of stores and casual restaurants and liked it; I wonder if it was cork? I do remember thinking that it was probably not real wood; for one thing, it was not as hard (so maybe it was cork), but I don't mind "fakes", so long as they look nice. I think it does look nice, though the color of the one you are looking at is darker than I would because of showing light hairs and dust.

Decisions decisions! It's definitely a big decision so you want to feel good about it.

[ny biker]

Okay I have made my decision. I looked at even more samples, went back and reconsidered colors that I'd already decided against and rejected them again, even reconsidered some a third time. In the end I chose a wood-grain image in a brown-gray. It's "Oak Weathered" from Ecotimber.

http://ecotimber.com/productdetails?...itle1=&title2=

It's a very good image of a wood grain, very realistic. It has more depth than the brown Oak Fumed sample and several of the other wood-grain products that I looked at. It's also a bit lighter than the brown Kilmartin Pine that I'd considered. Ironically it's nearly identical to another product sold by US Floors, the company that sells the Kilmartin Pine. The only difference is that the US Floors product is beveled with an odd silver color on the beveled edges. I almost went with that one but worried about those silver edges. Then I looked again at the Ecotimber product and realized it was just the right color with no beveled edges. I worried that the gray tone was too trendy and would seem dated in a few years, but it really looks good with my wall colors and with most of my furniture. It's softer than a true brown. And the weathered look should help hide any scratches or dings that occur.

Anyway here I sit, ready to place the order. For some reason I'm hesitating. I think it's the overwhelming nature of this project. I've started to clear out closets and put more stuff in storage so there will be less for the installers to move out of the way, but I still have plenty to do in that regard. And then there's that fear -- what will will go wrong, will more of my furniture get damaged, will the installers end up doing a terrible job. I did have a good feeling when I spoke to the installer that I'm going to choose for the job. He's done projects in my condo association years ago and still accurately remembers the way our original floors were installed. He's also a cyclist, which of course has nothing to do with floors but is still nice. More important is the fact that I'm not actually buying the flooring from him -- I'm getting it from a retail store that specializes in environmentally-friendly products for home improvement, and the store owner recommends this particular installer for his customers. If the installer had a habit of doing bad work, I'm sure the store owner would not be working with him.

Okay, I'm going to do it. Getting out the estimates, sending an email to the store to say I want to place the order and move forward.

BTW I think it's funny how I've done complete 180s on some of my decisions with this. When I first looked into flooring, looking at hardwood, I wanted a dark wood color. I saw samples of gray-brown floors and instantly rejected them as being too trendy. Then when I started to look at cork, I instantly decided I didn't want anything that was pretending to look like wood or tile instead. But you're right, Emily, there are many stores and restaurants that have vinyl, porcelain or cork floors that look like wood, and many of look them pretty darn good.