when we install the new floors downstairs, we were planning on doing it the right way. we were planning on having someone (plumber? hvac guy?) come in and temporarily remove the radiators, we would install the floor, and then reinstall the radiators. we finally found a company that is willing to help us out with this, most of the places we call just don't deal with radiators anymore. this company will... but for a price. a very high price.
so now we're thinking of possibly leaving the radiators in place and installing the floor around them? i know it's not the best solution, but i'm not sure that we can justify spending 1/3 of our floor budget on moving 3 radiators. the floors upstairs were installed after the radiators, they just cut around the little feet and you can't really tell unless you were to look closely. if, at some point, someone wanted to remove the radiators, they will be patching the floor anyway because of the piping. hopefully it won't be that difficult to work around the radiators.
here is the floor we are currently looking at: bruce ecostrip in gunstock. it is a prefinished solid red and white oak mix hardwood floor with square ends and edges (a must for us) and is 5/16" thick. typically hardwood floors are 3/4" thick. i haven't heard much about 5/16" thick floors, but we are leaning towards them because 1) they are less expensive, 2) we are getting a prefinished floor that will come with a finish warranty, this particular floor has a 25 year warranty on the finish. we will not be living in the house for 25 years anyway, and it can still be refinished 2 or 3 times should it need it some point in the future. and 3) the thinner the floor, the less weight we're adding to our already uneven floors and we can get away without having to remove baseboards or cut doors when we do the install. we haven't seen the bruce ecostrip in person, but we saw similar bruce floor a while ago and really liked how it looked. we want the square edges and ends, that is hard to find. the ecostrip has (according to their website) the highest abrasive resistant finish that they offer, and it does come with a commercial warranty. i've found that it is difficult to get commercial warranties on stuff like this, so the fact that they even offer it leads me to believe the finish is extra strong. even better with our dogs :-)
what do you think? ok to work around the radiators? do you like the color/finish? i think it's a pretty close match to our existing floors...
here is the floor we are currently looking at: bruce ecostrip in gunstock. it is a prefinished solid red and white oak mix hardwood floor with square ends and edges (a must for us) and is 5/16" thick. typically hardwood floors are 3/4" thick. i haven't heard much about 5/16" thick floors, but we are leaning towards them because 1) they are less expensive, 2) we are getting a prefinished floor that will come with a finish warranty, this particular floor has a 25 year warranty on the finish. we will not be living in the house for 25 years anyway, and it can still be refinished 2 or 3 times should it need it some point in the future. and 3) the thinner the floor, the less weight we're adding to our already uneven floors and we can get away without having to remove baseboards or cut doors when we do the install. we haven't seen the bruce ecostrip in person, but we saw similar bruce floor a while ago and really liked how it looked. we want the square edges and ends, that is hard to find. the ecostrip has (according to their website) the highest abrasive resistant finish that they offer, and it does come with a commercial warranty. i've found that it is difficult to get commercial warranties on stuff like this, so the fact that they even offer it leads me to believe the finish is extra strong. even better with our dogs :-)what do you think? ok to work around the radiators? do you like the color/finish? i think it's a pretty close match to our existing floors...
3 Responses to radiator love
I personally like radiators and they look very charming in your vintage home. I say work around them. I do like the choice of flooring and the finish. It seems right.
Any plumber can remove and reinstall radiators. This is a VERY SIMPLE job for anyone with the right tools. I'd definitely suggest doing the whole floor. Even if no one else sees that the area around the radiators doesn't match, you'll know.
i would think, that given the area where we live, we'd have better luck finding a plumber who deals with radiators! i don't know why this has been so difficult.
we would still be doing the entire floor, we would just have to cut a little around the feet (and the pipes) of the radiator and fit the floor around that. so the floor would still go under the radiator and to the wall. i completely agree that it would be better to remove them first, i just don't know if we'll be able to make that happen :-/
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