Time to buy! What do I need to know? Part one.
Your new flooring purchase. Part 1
You have arrived. You are ready to purchase your new or reclaimed wood floor. This is the first time you have ever done this and you are not sure what you need to know. Fortunately for you you are now reading this blog and by the time you are done you will know everything you will ever need to make the right call on the right floor.
Ok, here we go. Your budget. What is the budget for this project? Proper budgeting will make all of this more fun. If you are at the beginning of a new home or a remodel DO NOT WAIT TO BUDGET FOR THE FLOORING. Sorry for yelling at you there but too many times have we heard the sad story of the homeowner that is not going to get what they want because they spent, spent and spent some more before they realized they did not properly budget for the flooring. What's the big deal you ask? Well I will tell you dear reader the big deal is the the flooring is one of the biggest elements of your interior. Flooring is, in our opinion, more important than having a roof on your home! Ok so maybe not a roof but if you choose the right floor the rest of your interior is going to look amazing, or not if you failed to budget.
So how do I figure out my spend? The next step here is to measure out the space or spaces where you want the wood flooring to go. Length times width of each room gives you total square footage. But you need to do one more quick calculation and that is the waste factor. Take the total square footage and multiply it times 7%. You need to have a waste factor since fit and finish on your installation will involved lots of cutting and trimming thus generating waste. This is not a step you can skip since you could find yourself running out of material on a custom milled floor and you cannot just call up and have us ship out 10 square feet quickly. If you are doing a patterned floor such as the image below,
you will need a much higher waste factor. This herringbone floor requires a waste factor between 15-20%. Don't worry if you have questions here, we can walk you through this.
Ok you now have your actual and total square footage. Next step will be deciding who is going to do the install, sand and finish. Contact local and highly recommended contractors and get some ball park figures. Depending on where you are in the country and how complicated your project is you should be looking at somewhere in $4-6 dollars per sqaure foot for the entire job. Did you say DIY? I am pretty sure you did and good on you! This project is completely doable for anyone willing to learn and work hard for a super rewarding job. If you think you are up to it you just saved yourself a bundle and opened up the budget for the flooring you REALLY want.
Alright you now know what your budget can handle time to decide on what width or widths you would like. We offer from 3"-10" widths. Before you answer this question take a look at the space. Are the rooms spacious with high ceilings and big windows? If it is a generous room consider wider planks as they will match the scale of the room quite nicely. If the room is cozy look to a more narrow range such as 3"-6" and it will also scale properly. We like random widths as it allows you to see a variety of the grain and knot content naturally occuring in the wood. You are buying an organic product with endless variation so why not take advantage of that fact and create a visually stunning look?
Let's go shopping! This is the fun part. But before we dive into the deep end one more thing to factor in and that is your household lifestyle. What's the scene at your groovy pad? Are the kids at war with each other? Did you have to choose the largest dog breed on the planet? Or is your house fit for a ascetic shaman whose vow of silence for a decade has just begun...Whatever the case may be you should be honest about the wear and tear the flooring will experience and how much you are committed to maintaining, or not maintaining the floor. Now don't you go overthinking this either. Life happens on our flooring so don't get wrapped around your tailpipe on this one. I just love that saying...
The flooring. Now this is where you absolutely must trust your first instincts as they will be right. The first flooring you see and like is probably where you should end up. We have seen so many people get lost in the choices and this will turn what should be a fun project into a nightmare of indecision and doubt. So get your zen on and let the force guide you and everything will work out. Oh and if you find yourself spending too much time on pinterest just put down the phone,tablet, laptop, divining rod or however you get to the interweb and walk away.
Ok stay tuned for part two where we choose our, er I mean your new floor!
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