Replacing Floors Without Moving Out
February 29, 2016 5:49 AM
If you have replaced the floors in your home without moving out in the process, can you share your experiences with me?
I live in a 1200 sq ft, 2 bed, 1 bath, condo in Boston. I want to replace all the floors, except those in the bathroom (tile) and one of the bedrooms (replaced by previous owner). I know the easy way to do this is to move everything out of the home and have the crew come in and do it while the place is empty, but that sounds like a nightmare to do in a city, with a child and dog, etc.
Do any of you have experience replacing your hardwood floors without moving out in the process? What was it like? How was it different, as the customer, than if you had moved out in the process? Would you recommend it to someone else?
I live in a 1200 sq ft, 2 bed, 1 bath, condo in Boston. I want to replace all the floors, except those in the bathroom (tile) and one of the bedrooms (replaced by previous owner). I know the easy way to do this is to move everything out of the home and have the crew come in and do it while the place is empty, but that sounds like a nightmare to do in a city, with a child and dog, etc.
Do any of you have experience replacing your hardwood floors without moving out in the process? What was it like? How was it different, as the customer, than if you had moved out in the process? Would you recommend it to someone else?
How long are they estimating it will take? It only took two days to do 700 sq. ft of laminate plus 400 sq ft. of tile at my house last year. We didn't even consider moving out - just stacked all our stuff in one of the rooms not getting done, or moved it onto the porch, or like jraz said moved the really heavy stuff back and forth. Living in one room with two adults and two dogs was a pain, but it was a mercifully short one.
posted by muddgirl at 6:11 AM on February 29, 2016
posted by muddgirl at 6:11 AM on February 29, 2016
My parents redid their entire house, and the installers just moved the furniture from one spot to another, as jraz suggests. If you're going to stay in the condo, though, I'd definitely suggest prefinished hardwoods, as neither you nor your pets will want to be around for the staining and sealing process.
posted by thomas j wise at 6:13 AM on February 29, 2016
posted by thomas j wise at 6:13 AM on February 29, 2016
I did it myself one room at a time, which was no big deal except that having help to move the furniture would have been great. There was one room that needed to be finished, though, and even with vent fans running the smell was really toxic and I would never again try to stay in a house during that. Unless you are using prefinished floors or some miracle eco-friendly product, I would budget for a few nights in a hotel during the drying/curing process.
posted by Dip Flash at 6:19 AM on February 29, 2016
posted by Dip Flash at 6:19 AM on February 29, 2016
We had carpet removed and new prefinished hardwoods installed on one story of our house - about 700 sq feet - in one day, without any prep on our part. I wasn't there but assume they just moved furniture to one side of the room at a time. If you haven't talked to an installer, check with them; if you have, check with another.
You may be thinking of refinishing, which is much more complex and does generally require moving out.
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 6:42 AM on February 29, 2016
You may be thinking of refinishing, which is much more complex and does generally require moving out.
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 6:42 AM on February 29, 2016
We had most of our entire first story floors replaced at one go, and we didn't leave. The installers did a fantastic job but it was awful being there the whole time. We were having wood floors put in, and refinishing the existing flooring that was also staying, so that's probably why it was so bad. The smell. Dear god, the smell. Also, we couldn't walk on the newly finished floors for a while, so there was a period of time we actually had to leave. We went to a hotel for like two days and boarded the cats. When the upstairs needs to be done, we're taking a long vacation for the duration.
I would strongly recommend pre-finished flooring if that's an option.
posted by cooker girl at 7:18 AM on February 29, 2016
I would strongly recommend pre-finished flooring if that's an option.
posted by cooker girl at 7:18 AM on February 29, 2016
Yeah I had carpet pulled out and laminate put in and all I did was move furniture to one end of the apartment to another. They did the floors and I moved the furniture back.
posted by aclevername at 7:18 AM on February 29, 2016
posted by aclevername at 7:18 AM on February 29, 2016
What snickerdoodle said. It's not clear why it's a "nightmare" to move to a hotel with a child and dog, unless there's a special factor you haven't mentioned. That's what you do on vacation, right?
In my case, part of the contractor's service was to move the furniture around as needed. See if yours will take care of that, or consider other contractors.
You won't have to "move everything out of the home," whether you stay on-site or not.
With a child and dog, it's the dust and toxic fumes that will be the nightmare. Moving out is best.
Good luck, it will be over sooner than you think.
posted by JimN2TAW at 8:23 AM on February 29, 2016
In my case, part of the contractor's service was to move the furniture around as needed. See if yours will take care of that, or consider other contractors.
You won't have to "move everything out of the home," whether you stay on-site or not.
With a child and dog, it's the dust and toxic fumes that will be the nightmare. Moving out is best.
Good luck, it will be over sooner than you think.
posted by JimN2TAW at 8:23 AM on February 29, 2016
Thanks, all, it's good to hear all the positive experiences. Most everyone I know who has done this has said they moved out, and it had to be easier than that.
I would strongly recommend pre-finished flooring if that's an option.
Yup. I wasn't considering unfinished for a second.
It's not clear why it's a "nightmare" to move to a hotel with a child and dog
It's not moving the people out that's a hassle, it's moving all the furniture and property that I'm trying to avoid.
posted by NotMyselfRightNow at 8:33 AM on February 29, 2016
I would strongly recommend pre-finished flooring if that's an option.
Yup. I wasn't considering unfinished for a second.
It's not clear why it's a "nightmare" to move to a hotel with a child and dog
It's not moving the people out that's a hassle, it's moving all the furniture and property that I'm trying to avoid.
posted by NotMyselfRightNow at 8:33 AM on February 29, 2016
I had carpet pulled out and replaced with engineered wood in an apartment much smaller than yours, and my flooring contractors did all the moving of furniture. The labor cost for this wasn't a whole lot on top of what I was already paying for materials and installation. I didn't move out, but I did go on a short road trip during the installation and stayed in touch by phone. The only thing I'd do differently would be to get dropcloths to put on furniture and open shelves beforehand, because the dust that gets all over everything is crazy and there's only so much the installer can do to clean it up.
posted by clavicle at 10:16 AM on February 29, 2016
posted by clavicle at 10:16 AM on February 29, 2016
Yes, with prefinished flooring they can do it piece by piece. You shouldn't have to leave during the process, but there will need to be room to work and they will need to be cutting boards and running compressors and flooring nailers and such for a few days. You (and your dog) won't want to be there during working hours, if the place is as small as I'm thinking it is. It's going to get very cramped and noisy once you clear half the floor for work, pile all your furniture onto the other half, and then abandon the rooms where the carpenters are working so that they can go about their business.
Personally I would prefer to live in a hotel or at a friend's place for a few days. You definitely don't have to remove your furniture (though you may have to pay a bit extra for the shuffling of it and I'd recommend safeguarding any breakable knick-knacks) but I think it'll be easier on your sanity if you can remove yourselves. A good flooring crew shouldn't need more than about four or five days to replace your floors, including time to remove the existing flooring.
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 2:56 PM on February 29, 2016
Personally I would prefer to live in a hotel or at a friend's place for a few days. You definitely don't have to remove your furniture (though you may have to pay a bit extra for the shuffling of it and I'd recommend safeguarding any breakable knick-knacks) but I think it'll be easier on your sanity if you can remove yourselves. A good flooring crew shouldn't need more than about four or five days to replace your floors, including time to remove the existing flooring.
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 2:56 PM on February 29, 2016
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One note though, we chose a prefinished wood floor. The only part they had to sand and stain were the stairs. If they did the whole house, it may have taken a bit longer. IIRC, it took about 2 days to do about 1000 sq ft and another day to do the stairs.
posted by jraz at 6:07 AM on February 29, 2016