What did you do today?

[highup]

I admire your guts.............. and smarts on moisture stuff. I rarely touch any real wood (engineered) wood products. Most everything here is on wood flooring systems with some slabs. Usually basements. I've never installed any wood on concrete.

 

[highup]

.....wait, I did one time. I installed vinyl flooring in a tiny recording studio, then installed the wood parquet flooring over that. The vinyl was my 1990 version of MVP.

 

[Jon]

I admire your guts.............. and smarts on moisture stuff. I rarely touch any real wood (engineered) wood products. Most everything here is on wood flooring systems with some slabs. Usually basements. I've never installed any wood on concrete.

Not even cork tiles over concrete?
They can look strange if there is a moisture problem

 

[highup]

Got my 48 foot living room finished today. I'll try to get a few images. Crappy camera, crappy images.

Hardest part was all the angles. The first image is some 4x4 supports set in place so that I could set up a temporary wall to stretch from. No way can you stretch off a 45 degree wall.
I cut the seams and thermo sealed them, then pre-stretched both sides of this long seam. It's about 42 feet long. There's a lot of hours just getting the seam completed.
I made one side of the seam straight using a string, then made the second side conform to it. I used the Kool Glide to make the seam.
Every effort stretching one way or another required setting up 4x4 wall support concoctions like the one in the first image and reversing the stretcher setup to go the opposite direction. No way can you stretch a long room like this, stretching it in just two directions. There are 7 angled walls in the room not including the rock face below the hearth and the water baseboard heater to deal with.
From start to finish I probably set up my stretcher and moved the temporary wall supports back and forth at least a few dozens of times. Took 4 hours for me and my brother today to stretch the room from end to end, ....................then reverse the effort end to end the other way. I even stretched and stay nailed the carpet across the 22 foot width about 25 feet from one end, and then completed the stretching after repositioning my 4x4's and supports. We had already stretched the room in width the day before but it relaxes enough overnight it got a second stretch.
I carpeted this home 25 years ago and it was a nightmare then. I didn't think I was capable of doing it again, but it turned out nice. I have three stairs to finish on Monday. A 7 footer, an 8 footer and a 9 footer all with 45 degree angles on one end and turn and tack on the other end.
$1400 doesn't see remotely close enough.

 

[Ernesto]

Not even cork tiles over concrete?
They can look strange if there is a moisture problem

Yes, cork tiles naturally love to curl at the corners when not glued properly and or has a moisture issue . Back in the late 70's and early 80's we glued them down to concrete with contact cement then gave it a coat of varnish. Bullet proof flooring especially as far as a water leak.
Then came pre-glued backed cork prefinished or not tiles.
So many brain cells lost.
Now days i just leave my 100lb roller at the house for the customer to use. Roll it, an roll it again 50 times with these new adhesives .
I got one coming up in a couple months.

 

[Ernesto]

Got my 48 foot living room finished today. I'll try to get a few images. Crappy camera, crappy images.

Hardest part was all the angles. The first image is some 4x4 supports set in place so that I could set up a temporary wall to stretch from. No way can you stretch off a 45 degree wall.
I cut the seams and thermo sealed them, then pre-stretched both sides of this long seam. It's about 42 feet long.
I made one side of the seam straight using a string, then made the second side conform to it.
Every effort stretching one way or another required setting up wall supports like the one in the first image and reversing the stretcher setup to go the opposite direction. No way can you stretch a long room like this, stretching it in just two directions.
From start to finish I probably set up my stretcher and moved the temporary wall supports dozens of times. 4 hours for me and my brother today just stretching the room from end to end................ we had already stretched it width wise the day before after putting the seam together and stretching one side of the length along the fireplace.

God bless you. Back in the dsy i would tackle that but wouldnt touch it now days for 100 bucks a yd.

 

[highup]

I didn't take a photo after we got done today after all the tools were out and it was vacuumed. I'll do that on Monday.
After putting stay nails across the center of this long room and stretching it in one direction.................... I reversed my stretcher and stretched 3/4 of the way down the room and put more stay nails across the room again to gain some stretch. After that, I finished stretching that direction to the wall. You can see the wrinkle caused by my stay nails perpendicular to the stretcher. The seam is a little bit visible down the length from this view, but not as much from the end where you enter the room. Looked better when i was done................. will be totally invisible in a year, or after the furniture is put back in on Tuesday.
The last image is under the hearth overhang............. crappy image.
That area is 5 inches tall, by 36 inches deep and 5 1/2 feet wide. Two sides are fitted against stone and remember what the carpet looks like.
........oh yes, and there's a 17 inch seam back there. I git the fun ones.

 

[highup]

God bless you. Back in the dsy i would tackle that but wouldnt touch it now days for 100 bucks a yd.

Good appreciative customers make it all worthwhile. Might get $1600 out of it if I stick to my bid. They thought this and an office nightmare would be a 3 day job. I told her I'd be a relative by the time I got done........ and explained why.
It's 75 feet from the garage doorway down to this room and the room is 48 feet long. It's another 45 feet to my van...... not that I measured.

 

[highup]

I had a high estimate in my mind of $2400 and told them it looks like at least $1800. They sort of freaked so I didn't press for the high mark I can't afford to lose work. I figured $10 a yard plus $400 for the steps and misc including the 14 foot office and this 48 foot long living room. $2400 was low wasn't it?

 

[highup]

oh and I almost forgot. 25 years ago when I did that room.................... all of those walls below the windows. They had continuous hot water baseboard heaters.
This new homeowner replaced all those large windows and removed the heaters. They like me...... they really really like me.

 

[Nick]

I had a high estimate in my mind of $2400 and told them it looks like at least $1800. They sort of freaked so I didn't press for the high mark I can't afford to lose work. I figured $10 a yard plus $400 for the steps and misc including the 14 foot office and this 48 foot long living room. $2400 was low wasn't it?

Yes ..

 

[Nick]

I had a high estimate in my mind of $2400 and told them it looks like at least $1800. They sort of freaked so I didn't press for the high mark I can't afford to lose work. I figured $10 a yard plus $400 for the steps and misc including the 14 foot office and this 48 foot long living room. $2400 was low wasn't it?

Stick to your guns , and charge them .. i can see that was no fun job..

 

[Floorist]

Charge them.

 

[highup]

I will, but I'll stick to my low number. I never gave them my high number. I did the 14 foot office a month ago and charged $180 and she paid me $200. They appreciate what I've done. They like the fact that I did this room 25 years ago too.
Here's my stretching diagram in case you run into a room like this some day.

 

[Ernesto]

Ever do an octagonal house? I have, one pole in the center to stretch off of.

 

[Nick]

Did a lot of them .. One town they all had them ..

 

[highup]

Ever do an octagonal house? I have, one pole in the center to stretch off of.

I did a restretch in a geodesic dome house once. Too many doorways and heater vents to stretch towards the walls. Everything would move too far and no extra material to do repairs and patches. ...so I stretched inwards from opposite directions and stay tacked the seam and cut material out of the seam and re-seamed. Room was almost 36 feet wide, so I had to do that to two seams. The wrinkles were big and I couldn't take everything from just one seam because I had to control movement of the doorways and vents .
The guy built a larger house and a guest house years later. I never saw that one. The indoor pool area was 5000 sq ft. I recall the tile setter was asked to install tile around the pool area because the owner decided that the exposed aggregate wasn't flashy enough.

 

[zannej]

Highup, I think sticking to your price is the right thing-- especially since they are appreciative & you never gave them the high number. That looks like a nightmare to stretch. I had no idea that stretching carpet could be that complicated. That sun room looks awesome though.

I'm still feeling tired & am trying to motivate myself to get up & clean.

 

[Floorist]

Did a round one once on concrete slab.

 

[Floorist]

Highup, I think sticking to your price is the right thing-- especially since they are appreciative & you never gave them the high number. That looks like a nightmare to stretch. I had no idea that stretching carpet could be that complicated. That sun room looks awesome though.

I'm still feeling tired & am trying to motivate myself to get up & clean.

Many people think that installing carpet is "grunt" work. It can be hard to figure angles and also material.