New Home Q's

37up

37up

Joined
Jun 16, 2002
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Hey guys, managed to move out of the city and purchase a new home (to be built waaaay in the future). However, I am no handy man and there is quite a bit to learn!

A few questions to get me started.

The builder wants to put 5/8" particle subfloor in, we have the very expensive option of upgrading to 5/8" or 3/4" plywood, any thoughts?

Maple vs Oak hardwood? I know there is a grain difference between it, but what about durability and colour changes?

I have partial stucco on the exterior, was this a mistake for the Cdn climate?

Oak veneer on the staircase, is it worth it to upgrade to the full hardwood on the staircase? I hear putting hardwood on the staircase is really expensive.

What are the design trends these days in the states? Canada always seems to be a generation behind.

That's it for now, new homes these days are super expensive but built with the minimum code. It's hard to tell what kind of structural improvements we need. Most couples are solely concerned with dark black brown stained hardwood (which is THE trend), iron pickets on the staircase, stainless steel furniture, and granite. I've been focussed more on the structural issues.

The builder is charging an arm and a leg for upgrades!
 
Plywood sub flooring is a good upgrade to get.

Solid oak on the stairs (another good upgrade) would look best with oak rather than maple throughout. (oak is harder anyway).

What kind of stucco?? Soft core stucco is fiberlgass over styrofoam, and sucks badly for leaks etc. Solid core stucco is a bit better. Get brick. Your home is a major investment.

Work the guy down on the upgrades. If Canada is like us now, he's desperate for work. Walk away once at least.
 
my next door neighbour had particle board floors on beams, up till the flood last summer, it all disintegrated when it got wet, causing all kinds of fun & damage on it's own. he had to rip out the entire downstairs flooring & joists/beams. he replaced it all with a poured concrete floor. (we're too close to the ground water level for basements.) if you can get anything other than particle board, please do so.
 
Plywood for the floor, preferrably treated. Light colrs, no carpet is the trend here.
Terry
 
I'm just wondering if we need to go to 3/4" plywood which is twice the cost of 5/8". I know that tile manufacturers, or at least the ones I have read, insist on at least 3/4".

I'm stuck with the stucco, which is now becoming popular in the Toronto area. Fact is, it is relatively "new" here. Probably b/c previous generations in home builders knew stucco was not a Cdn climate material.

Our real estate is slowing down, but not declining like the US. I'll try to negotiate but we already got a 7,500 upgrade credit. Builder charges like 3 times more for an upgrade than the market...

The hardwood we are getting is thinner in terms of width. the 3" wide hardwood is an upgrade. oh, we are getting laminate for upstairs. Upgrading to oak hardwood would probably run 5K through the builder. Any thoughts on laminate?
 
Dave Hahn said:
I'm just wondering if we need to go to 3/4" plywood which is twice the cost of 5/8". I know that tile manufacturers, or at least the ones I have read, insist on at least 3/4".

I'm stuck with the stucco, which is now becoming popular in the Toronto area. Fact is, it is relatively "new" here. Probably b/c previous generations in home builders knew stucco was not a Cdn climate material.

Our real estate is slowing down, but not declining like the US. I'll try to negotiate but we already got a 7,500 upgrade credit. Builder charges like 3 times more for an upgrade than the market...

The hardwood we are getting is thinner in terms of width. the 3" wide hardwood is an upgrade. oh, we are getting laminate for upstairs. Upgrading to oak hardwood would probably run 5K through the builder. Any thoughts on laminate?
Click to expand...

I'd personally go with the manufacturers suggestions on the plywood, they probably insist on 3/4 to minimize flex in the subflooring and possible costly tile repair.

Stucco while not the best thing you could use , up there in the north, should hold up fine, we have some stucco exterior houses here in upstate NY, not too many....but they seem to hold up fine, and we get plenty cold here.

Being in an area where vast climate changes occur i would probably opt for the hardwood over the laminate, but thats me......plus i don't care for laminate much, to me real wood always "feels" better.
 
+19 on the plywood and the friends that have it are very happy with their laminate flooring.
 
Dave Hahn said:
Hey guys, managed to move out of the city and purchase a new home (to be built waaaay in the future). However, I am no handy man and there is quite a bit to learn!

A few questions to get me started.

The builder wants to put 5/8" particle subfloor in, we have the very expensive option of upgrading to 5/8" or 3/4" plywood, any thoughts?

Maple vs Oak hardwood? I know there is a grain difference between it, but what about durability and colour changes?

I have partial stucco on the exterior, was this a mistake for the Cdn climate?

Oak veneer on the staircase, is it worth it to upgrade to the full hardwood on the staircase? I hear putting hardwood on the staircase is really expensive.

What are the design trends these days in the states? Canada always seems to be a generation behind.

That's it for now, new homes these days are super expensive but built with the minimum code. It's hard to tell what kind of structural improvements we need. Most couples are solely concerned with dark black brown stained hardwood (which is THE trend), iron pickets on the staircase, stainless steel furniture, and granite. I've been focussed more on the structural issues.

The builder is charging an arm and a leg for upgrades!
Click to expand...


I'm also no builder, nor a designer, but I've worked part time at a small locally-owned flooring shop for a couple years. And I have opinions. :D

+84 on the plywood. Thicker is stiffer, so 3/4" is a good bet. Particleboard is entirely unsuitable as an underlayment for anything. Not only is it heavy, it's brittle, won't tolerate moisture, and won't nail well. If you do end up with tile, plywood will form a better substrate (though tile is more commonly installed over backerboard these days, plywood is still a better surface on which to install backerboard).

Maple and oak are fairly comparable in terms of hardness. Maple is a little more likely to move with changes in temperature and humidity than oak. I think oak is a little more traditional, maple more modern, though this depends entirely on your specific flooring. Oak would look better than maple if you have an oak staircase. Some woods "mix" well, but maple and oak don't (IMO, of course). They look dramatically different if nothing else.

As far as width goes, there's nothing wrong with 2 1/4" hardwood. Pretty much all new wood flooring comes in the same range of lengths (usually 1.5-7 feet, randomly mixed), so strip width becomes a personal taste/design issue.

Laminate flooring is fine, so long as you pick a look you like from a reputable manufacturer. Like everything else, there's good and bad. If it's a name brand with a good warranty, it'll probably be fine. The better stuff stays together and wears like iron.

Whatever you do for laminate, buy a quality underlayment. It's a roll of foam, rubber, fiber, or whatever that gets placed under the laminate floor and reduces sound transmission through the subfloor into the room below. It also makes the floor sound better (more like naildown hardwood) when you walk on it, instead of hollow. The important number to look for is the Impact Isolation Class (IIC) rating. An IIC of 50 is standard for most gypcrete condos in Seattle, to give you an idea. We sell a product called FloorMuffler that has an IIC in the high 60's. Underlayment can cost from about 25-80 cents per square foot; usually good underlayment runs around 50 cents on up.

I'd upgrade the staircase to solid oak. Solid wood is more durable, longer lasting, reuseable, and better looking. I bet it is quite a bit more expensive, though.

I'd do my best to get "unstuck" with the stucco. It was a fad in Seattle decades ago (not now, at all, for residential), and is unsuitable for our climate (cracks, leaks, mold, and rot lead to chunks falling off and rotten structural members from what I've seen). It also looks goofy as hell in a city that's grey eight months a year. I can only imagine what I'd think if I saw stucco getting snowed on. :D Unless you're intentionally building a Mission-style home I'd get rid of it and put up brick instead. Stucco will probably look dated in ten or twenty years.

Design trends around here seem to be light carpet, dark hardwood, stone tile, stone or manmade stone countertops. True linoleum (Marmoleum, e.g.) is a solid product for us as well.

I'm a bit surprised your builder can get away with charging 3x market rate for upgrades. That seems like a steep price to pay to avoid dealing with remodel headaches.

Best of luck! :)

JR
 
I've seen a bunch of stuccoed houses up in Quebec on the way to Montreal. So I guess that it it used successfully up there.

Go with the the thicker plywood flooring. The flooring company is recommending it for a reason. (Unless you like that little "rebounding" feeling when walking across the floor!)

I prefer oak for flooring over maple (I prefer maple for furniture).
 
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