Hardwood Floors - Plainfield,IL

You'll need to phone around... vendors change their prices seasonally AND during certain times in season...

... But do your research first. Most modern hardwood floors have a strip of hardwood of hardwood that is VARYING thicknesses. (You'll only get solid hardwood by paying through the nose, or using reclaimed flooring). The thicker the wood, the longer it will last. Some are so thin you can't even refinish them, but have to yank out the entire floor and replace it (avoid)

To learn more about hardwood than you ever wanted to know:

http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/wood-floors

is a good place to start.

Know, too, that most people regret flooring 'dark'. EVERY speck of dust shows on them, and scratches are like neon signs (because the scratches show the light wood under the stain). I have 2 friends who floor professionally (their own company, 17 years in), and they strongly recommend medium shades, and oak. Oak isn't my fav grain pattern, but it lasts and ages reeeally well.

Choices:

- thickness
- species
- nail or glue (nail is better)
- finish type (oil, water, polyurethane... they pull different colors from the wood and have different feels, water pulls browns, oil pulls red, poly feels like plastic under your feet/fake wood... in addition to durability)
- prefinished and finish on site.

ALSO strongly consider placing a sound barrier under the floor while you have a chance. Durasom is one of the most common. It will reduce any footstep echoing/banging. AND do know that for the first couple years while the floor settles your floor is going to 'talk' to you while it stretches and shrinks into the unique humidity and use of your space.

I agree you want to get multiple work estimates.
My spouse decided to implement the hardwood floors himself and we had our main level of our house torn apart for many weeks.
Right now he's working on an upstairs bedroom and we hope he gets done before guests come at Thanksgiving. eek!
We took the time to look at and pick out our flooring from Menards.
The warranties are different for some of the flooring solutions.
Try not to pick what is the cheapest because it may not last as long as some of the other solutions.
We had to take remedial action (more nails) as we ripped out the carpet because of the squeaks in our flooring. If any of your flooring feels mushy or squeaks, understand you may need some remedial action and ask your experts doing the work estimates if they believe you need this remedial action?
Keep networking to get tips on companies you want to get bids from.

I would suggest calling Ray Horan, Buff and Coat, for an estimate. He's a great guy and does great work. His number is ###-###-####. Tell him S. sent you and good luck with your decision.

I don't live by you but having gotten them where I live, I found that the retail stores charge more and aren't often the best work. but the good thing is that they have good warranties. If you go with a man who owns his own biz, they usually do really good work and sometimes are cheaper. Make sure you do your research what type of floors, what wood, what finish is the best and most durable.

We remodeled our kitchen this summer and the contractor was so-so, but he subcontracted the flooring and I was very impressed with the installer....Roman Hardwood Flooring. We made one trip to Lumber Liquidators, in Bolingbrook, and when the flooring installer came, our floor looked so pitiful, from previous kitchen remodels, I thought that the floor would be uneven and horrible, but in less than a day, Roman had our flooring installed and it is beautiful and solid. We have small kids and a dog, and we didn't even have to stay in a hotel, because after 4 hours, the smells were gone! Now, I want Roman to come and do the rest of the house!

We went with Best Buy Carpet & Granite in Naperville. They are on 75th and Route 59. We went in person looked at samples, they came in and measured and got a great price. Now I have beautiful hardwood flooring thru out my home. If you decide to give it a shot, ask for Chris he was good to work with. The workers who came to do the job were very professional and I was happy with the end result. Good Luck!

Hi B.,
So excited for you! I asked this same question about hardwood floors about two years ago (search the question database under "hardwood floors" and you will find some great responses.) Whatever you do, don't go with a large retailer like Home Depot and definitely don't go Luna. They are awful and their prices are outrageous. Get at least three quotes from smaller contractors. Decide on the hardness (type) of wood you want and make sure they bring samples. Two years later I couldn't be happier with my floors. Below is my follow-up "So What Happened response" I posted:

I called three of the companies that were suggested and ended up going with K. S.'s recommendation of PK Flooring, ###-###-####. Paul Kapinos is the owner and he was awesome. He came out to my house to do the quote then came over several more times with samples since I was having a hard time deciding. He (along with two of his workers) ended up laying down hickory floors with a walnut inlay and my floors look absolutely amazing. I couldn't be happier. They got the job done one day earlier than quoted, they had the best quote, they sometimes worked 13 hour days and they included all sorts of extras (such as flush wood heater vents) that many of the other companies charged extra for. They did a great job on clean up and worked really hard to keep a dusty messy process (having ceramic and plywood ripped out, then sanding and finishing the floors on site)dust free.

Just had my floors done by Klis Flooring. Ask for Jack and tell him L. recommended you. Ray Horan came to my house (per someone's recommendation from here) and then never called me back with an estimate. Jack did a beautiful job and came in significantly less than the two other floor guys' estimates. http://www.klisflooring.com/