House Remodeling Thread (long)

[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.

[emily_in_nc]

NY, sorry I have been away from the forum and hadn't seen your post until just now.

I *love* your choice! In fact, I've bookmarked it to look at again later as a possibility for our motorhome, when the time comes. I suspect it will be too gray for the other bits we're stuck with, but I do think it's very attractive. Nice choice!

I hope that you will be very happy. Would love to hear how it goes with the install and see a photo or two afterwards. I don't think you'll regret it!

Thanks for sharing!

[ny biker]

Thanks Emily! As it turns out, it's backordered right now so it looks like installation will be in July. Though we're already through most of May and I have a vacation planned in late June, so July will be here before I'm ready for it.

Meanwhile I'm addressing some other issues in my condo. I finally had the contractor who did the bathroom renovation come back to do the follow-up work that was needed -- replacing some cracked caulk and filling in the gap in the wall on top of the wall cabinet. While he was here I asked him for an estimate to do something in the kitchen, which he had renovated 5-6 years ago, and he said there he would do it at no charge. So that was nice! It was related to the terrible problem I have with cooking odors from the neighbors' apartments. In going through photos I took during the renovation I saw that they left a gap where the walls meet the floor. Most of it is covered by cabinets and countertop but I wanted the areas behind the stove and dishwasher to be filled in. They did the part behind the stove yesterday but I'm not sure if they had time to move the dishwasher out -- I need to call him to follow up. I don't think this will solve the problem entirely but I'm hoping it will help. I'm also looking into having an air purifier installed within the air handler of my heat pump. It should help remove odors from the air and is also supposed to reduce mold, allergens, etc. It's not cheap but as I seal up every gap I can find to keep the neighbor's smells out of my house, I'm also limiting the amount of fresh air that can get in. (Though the air coming in through the walls from the apartment downstairs is not all that fresh, I think.)

[Eden]

I've got my own little (ha… little) home remodeling project finally really rolling. 3 days to lay the stone, 2 more to grout it, but I'm quite pleased with the results so far. The upper part of the walls will be Alaskan yellow cedar paneling - working on getting that ordered right now. We've a port orford cedar Japanese soaking tub that will eventually make it's home here. I cannot wait to take a bath!

[emily_in_nc]

Oooh, that's lovely, Eden! I just love the style of homes and design in the Pacific NW. So different from where I grew up in the southeast!

[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.

<sigh> This floor thing is not going to plan.

I placed an order for one box of the Oak Weathered cork flooring that I finally chose. This was a recommendation from the "color disclaimer" on the manufacturer's website -- order one box to make sure you like the variations in color that you see, while understanding that the whole order of multiple boxes might still have other variations. I figured this made sense for managing expectations, so I ordered the one box. It was backordered, and finally arrived last week. But --- also last week I looked at the manufacturer’s website and found that the Oak Weathered color is no longer on the site. I emailed the store owner who placed the order for me and said, before I open this box, are they still selling this stuff? He wrote back yesterday: no, they have discontinued it.

Very frustrating. But I still want a new floor. So, here are my choices:

1. Order a cork floor with gray-brown HD wood image from a different company, US Floors. This would be the same color and image that I wanted, but with beveled edges that are colored silver. From a distance you don’t notice but up close the silver edges are very noticeable. Love the color but the beveled edges might drive me crazy.

2. Order the cork floor with HD wood image in Oak Fumed (medium brown). The image does not look as much like real wood as the Oak Weathered does, but it’s passable. The color is okay in my living room but darker than I’d like in the bedroom. Feeling very lukewarm about this choice, maybe I will learn to like it but maybe not.

3. Give up on cork and find a wood floor in the gray-brown color that I have grown to like so much. The main problem here is that my current upstairs neighbor is the loudest elephant-walking stomper in the history of elephant-walking stompers. The stomping literally vibrates down my walls to my floor. Sometimes it actually makes my furniture shake. So I really really want the sound and vibration dampening effects of a cork floor.

4. Wait and see – the company that I ordered that one box of gray-brown cork from is supposed to be coming out with new designs, but we don’t know what or when.

I don’t know what to do. First step is to return the box that arrived last week. I will be going back to the store in a few days to look again at what they have, including the gray-brown with the silver edges. I already have a sample of the brown Oak Fumed at home.

[emily_in_nc]

Oh boy, NY, that is a real pain. I so loved the floor you chose and was actually thinking about the same one for our motorhome. I don't know what I'd do. Those silver beveled edges sound a bit odd to me. Maybe they are expecting people to use it in a kitchen to tie in with stainless steel appliances? I don't think I'd use it throughout but would have to see it. Unless you are really sold on cork, maybe the wood floor would be best. You are on the ground floor, no? If that's the case, you really don't have to worry about bothering anyone else, so if you like the wood, I'd go for it. There are also some nice tiles now that look like wood as well, but would likely be too "cold" for your area. Great for the south, though!

[Eden]

The next step is to move the tub in. The powder room portion on the other side isn't even really started, but we will be able to have a bath quite soon.

[Eden]

We got ambitious and put the tub in. It wasn't nearly as difficult as I was expecting to get it into place.