Got a possible reno opportunity on the hook… One of the must do jobs is to rip up out the 35 year old carpet and most likely replace with floating floors. The base underneath the carpets is apparently chipboard, so sanding not really an option.
I know next to nothing about flooring types, but I'm told you can get floating floorboards that are actually real wood, rather than composite stuff. Anyone know what approximate sqM costs are? Or anyone know some stores to look at that would be less retail than bunnings?
The target market is kinda middle of the road. So the floors will need to look good, don't need to be great, but the only floating floors I've seen to date look pretty cheap and nasty. Any advice greatly appreciated!
Thanks.
Yeh you can get lino that looks like wood…technically not floating floorboards but people call them that anyway. It's pretty cheap to do that.
The floating floorboards you are after slot together and will just sit on top of your chipboard.
Personally I think carpet is better for bedrooms (and rentals), and carpet is generally cheaper. Best idea (to find out price) is to get a quote, or are you going to install the floating floorboards yourself.
Can't really recommend a local builder because it probably won't suit, and prices always vary. Sorry if that's not what you were looking for.
Ryan McLean | On Property
http://onproperty.com.au
Email Methey sell that sort of stuff at IKEA…but im sure you'd get a better price elsewhere.
Can any one comment on the pros vs cons of carpert versus floorboards for an IP??
Check out ebay. There's a few companies selling laminate flooring – very competitive prices. You can order a sample for a few dollars.
Cheers,
Jamie
Jamie Moore | Pass Go Home Loans Pty Ltd
http://www.passgo.com.au
Email Me | Phone MeMortgage Broker assisting clients Australia wide Email: [email protected]
We used bamboo as it is very tough, but at the expensive end of options approx $90sqm.in our PPOR. We have original boards in our IP.
Our office break out room has the lino that looks like boards and it is holding up really well – I think that would be a better option for an IP
Clip together floating floors can be purchased from Ikea, Bunnings or carpet shops from about $16.50 per metre. Check the durability rating. Go for heavy duty residential as a minimum.
Carpet can be depreciated over 10 years where floating floors is 15 years.
You can easily lay floating floors yourself. All you need is a drop saw. Make sure you leave a large gap (15mm) around the edges to accomodate swelling/shrinking. It's best to remove the old skirting boards and install new thick ones over the floating floor.
I think they are great. Much easier to clean than carpet and look pretty fancy. Just make sure you install them properly. Keep a few spare ones so if any get damaged you can replace them with the original.dtrump wrote:they sell that sort of stuff at IKEA…but im sure you'd get a better price elsewhere.Can any one comment on the pros vs cons of carpert versus floorboards for an IP??
There are numerous threads on this topic actually…. from what I can tell:
General preference for a rental property is builders carpet. It's cheap; it's easy to lay; looks great when laid professionally; it's the tenants responsibility to clean it when they leave; it doesn't get scratched up by people walking around with stones in their shoes or high heels; it doesn't warp or distort like some of the cheaper boards; a few pulls here and there are not a concern; and it's easy/cheap to replace if you get some tenant who decides to carry bits of his LS1 commodore engine upstairs and pull them apart in the middle of the lounge room floor….. Having said that though, there are exceptions. For example, in some areas trendy engineered floors or tiled floors are expected.
I'm personally not a fan of lino… Sure, it cleans easy, but one scratch in it and it's screwed…. then you start getting bubbles and all kinds of horror… And pulling it up is a nightmare!! Or maybe that's just my dodgy 80's lino experience talking. Feel free to correct me those who have used it with success more recently.
For an owner occupier, once again it depends on what the area demands but more people tend to be leaning toward hard floors… easier to clean, they look swish, and owner occupiers will tend to take more care with them…. The 'area' will also indicate whether you can get away with lino, or whether tile/engineered floors are expected.
I guess it also comes down in part to the style of house… if it's a post war style house that would normally be associated with polished timber or carpets, and all you have to work with is chipboard, I'd probably whack down some cheap carpet that looks good, laid well by the pro's, and splash out putting some tiles down in the kitchen and wet areas. That would probably cover off both kinds of buyers, opening up your market more.
I bought a cheap 10.50c per square mtr laminated flooring off eBay and had a 16 year old install it for $10 an hour. It's good enough for the old type of property and might put mats down on the center of the rooms to give a warmer look.
This risk is that water can cause swelling to the joints that doesn't go away. But you can have the installer or yourself apply glue to stop water penetrating through the joiner cracks around wet areas. Let tenants know not to use sloppy mops etc.
Looks like you have plenty of options to consider for the top layer Mud. The primary concern though will be that chipboard underneath, I would get a professional opinion on the condition of that. If it is not level and starting to deteriorate you might as well rip it all up now and replace it with ply.
Let us know what you decide to do!
Hi All,
Thanks for the tips and options! In the end we did not buy the property as after some finer level research the numbers didn't stack up. We did do some research at local flooring places, and had we bought the place we probably would have gone with bamboo flooring for the living areas, and carpet for the bedrooms. The bamboo looked great and was half-way between solid wood and the laminate stuff. The whole eco thing with bamboo could also be a selling point.
We probably would have gone floating rather than fixed (glued) due to A) cheaper cost and
it can be removed if needed! Best cost for floating bamboo we came across was around $80 psqm and the guy would install for $22 psqm. Not bad, as we probably would have installed it ourselves.
Cheers all.
I'm looking at floating floors myself and those prices seem really high to me for bamboo. Were you looking at strand woven with any special details?
I have come across a few floor places selling vertical natural sections for $39 per/m^2 and the highest I have come across was $74 m^2. I am trying to organise around 80 m^2 for around the $40-50 mark and will let you know how i go. You can get cheaper stuff on ebay, dont know the quality but im thinking it wouldnt be great, but alot of ebay stores are real stores aswell.G'day Jeff,
That was for strand woven. I assume the 'vertical' bamboo you refer to is the bamboo that is simply flattened stakes? We saw this too, but it doesn't apparently doesn't have the hardness that the strand woven bamboo is famous for. I too would be dubious about buying on eBay, I think there is a great variance in quality out there, so I'd be looking to go with someone who I can actually talk to face to face, to try and gauge their quality and experience!
Another thing to watch out for on the eco front apparently, is that due to its increasing popularity, bamboo is another crop that is starting to displace food crops and native habitats. So if you can ask your dealer where they get their stuff, then you might sleep a little easier knowing its not making some endangered animal homeless somewhere!
Please do report back on your findings – would be interested.
Hi Muddwiggle,
I found a place that I will probably be using although freight is a bit high IMO.
http://www.lionkingflooring.com.au/index.php?act=thanksI am looking at strandwoven natural semi gloss click selection (NSWSG) for around 52m^2. I am also looking to get there 2 in 1 underlay for 2m^2. They have advised freight to depot in mount isa is $770 though, so its a bit high but I am getting 80m^2.
They have a 10 year strata warranty covering splitting and warping (manufacturers) and a 5 year pealing warranty which is dealt through them. Prefinish is german grade polyurethane (not sure how many coats but bamboozle.com.au seemed to have the same type?)I am going to keep looking around and ask a few more questions before buying but i think it looks good. Anyone used them or heard of them?
forgot to ask, is Tongue and groove or click better in terms of installation and fit? I plan on only doing a floating floor on the underlay on not fixing it to the concrete slab. I am assuming click is easier as it generally seams more expensive, do you still need to use glue with click?
Thanks,
An installation video here for click – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Ewf_RYw034
thanks Daniel, will watch it now. It says its for laminate flooring is it the same with bamboo floating floor?
I live in mt isa, are there any things i should be careful of with the heat out here etc?We put floating floorboards in our IP and it is really rather easy once you get the hang of it. It looks great and as we bought heavy duty ones it has ‘weathered’ tenant treatment very well. Our other IP has original floor boards and that was a lot of work sanding years of paint and general abuse off and then applying varnish. I’d go with floating floorboards or carpet in future. We rent ourselves (preferring to use extra cash to invest in IP) and as a tenant I actually prefer floorboard or tile over carpet. Generally I have found property owners tend to skimp and lay crap carpet which stains easily. Builders carpet is a better option.
Amazingjeffrey, as far as tongue& groove vs click is concerned:
Talked to an installer when I was in his store a while back, and I don't believe you don't have a choice!
Tongue and groove is for the boards that you will glue to the underfloor. Whereas the Click-in's are for installation as floating floorboards. With floating you won't need glue (hence the name), but there is some form of underlay that goes between the boards and the underfloor. This absorbs pressure and gives the 'floating' boards more of a springy feel than the glued.
Cheers,
it can be removed if needed! 
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