Wood floors anyone ?

[ea93105]

Currently remodeling an older Mexican house which had ugly tile on top of a thin layer of mortar over dirt. I love the look and feel of wood floors and prefer it over tile. Anyone here install a wood floor, either real or laminated ? I also like the warmer and softer feel of a wood floor over a foam underlayment..

For those who have installed a wood floor, can you share your experience so far ? What flooring ? where purchased ? etc.

Thanks

[traderspoc]

Termites and humidity,  wood floors look great..  but in the tropics, i would give it a second thought  unless you have a special way of protecting the floor.

 

I love tile its  100 year floor

[HarryB]

there are tiles that look like wood?

 

[johanson]

I have seen  tile designed to look like a wood floor that looks quite nice. In fact Pancho's  new Deli, just east of Maskaras Clinic, has such a floor tile. Very impressive looking.

[rvanparys]

Wood floors are a disaster waiting to happen... Stick with tile. A compromise would be tiles that look like wood flooring...

[ea93105]

I'm aware of termites,  but we will be pouring a new slab and sealing around the perimeter. Also the wood doors and frames in this house are untouched after decades.

Humidity here is no worse than many places around the US where they use wood floors. Need to leave room for expansion of course.

Yes there are tiles which look like wood but they are cold and hard like all tiles.

 

[ComputerGuy]

I've seen Pergo and laminates in Home Depot, but I'd have to say whoever does the initial pouring needs to be a helluvan expert. I was just in a place in Upper Chula Vista yesterday with lots of laminate in various rooms. But I worry about the way the land is constantly shifting here, especially by the lake, because the ground is just not stable. My own front wooden door has had to be planed twice now in a year on the bottom, to keep it from catching on the floor when it opens and shuts. This is not moisture in the door; it's the floor rising.

[Ferret]

Well then, go ahead and do it. I wouldn't because of the termites and also wouldn't because there are very few reputable installers of wood floors here. I've heard of people going to great expense to do this and having to have it ripped up within a couple of years. Your choice, your money.

[geeser]

39 minutes ago, ea93105 said:

Currently remodeling an older Mexican house which had ugly tile on top of a thin layer of mortar over dirt. I love the look and feel of wood floors and prefer it over tile. Anyone here install a wood floor, either real or laminated ? I also like the warmer and softer feel of a wood floor over a foam underlayment..

For those who have installed a wood floor, can you share your experience so far ? What flooring ? where purchased ? etc.

Thanks

There are few wood floors anywhere in the tropics because of the termites. I stayed in a casita in Honduras that had a teak floor and the owner said termites don't eat teak. Before you re pour the concrete floor be certain to lay heavy black plastic sheeting and tape any over lapping seams. Use the heaviest plastic sheeting you can afford, 10 mil is not too heavy but 3 mil may be all you can afford. This is important to reduce the rise of moisture through the floors. 

  Use PVC pipes and make sure it is the heaviest (Schedule 40) so not let them use cheaper schedule 20. You should use 1' pipe and reduce it only at the valve below the  faucet. It is smart to use the insulating foam wrapper tubes on the hot side pipes if you can find them here. The pipes in the floor or wall loose heat quickly.

In the midst of a remodel you will want to run all phone lines and cable for TV and or stereo in the walls before re-plastering.

[gringal]

19 minutes ago, ComputerGuy said:

I've seen Pergo and laminates in Home Depot, but I'd have to say whoever does the initial pouring needs to be a helluvan expert. I was just in a place in Upper Chula Vista yesterday with lots of laminate in various rooms. But I worry about the way the land is constantly shifting here, especially by the lake, because the ground is just not stable. My own front wooden door has had to be planed twice now in a year on the bottom, to keep it from catching on the floor when it opens and shuts. This is not moisture in the door; it's the floor rising.

Very good points.  In my ancient casa, the original deep reddish brown tiles rise and fall with the seasons.  Keeps the place comfortable in the hot months.  (Nothing like going barefoot on cool tiles in May.)  The bi-weekly cleaning service knows just how to take care of them.  I did bring in a 6' X 8' locally made rug for the living room to soften the effect of all tile.  Too many potential problems with a wood floor, and I prefer to let my Mexican casa be Mexican.😉 

[Metuchenmama]

Friends put in a wood floor when they built in Ajijic.  It looked completely out of place.

[RVGRINGO]

It is a terrible idea. Please don't put in a wood floor. You will definitely regret it.

[sm1mex]

 Wood floors high maintenance. 

[Tony321]

I also had to do a floor repour.

Get it in wriiing. I ended gettin g another guy to finish the job. The 1st guy wanted extra $$ for finishing the job. 

As what type of you want. Your house your money. Next person that comes along does't like the floor his problema!

[Xena]

39 minutes ago, Tony321 said:

I also had to do a floor repour.

Get it in wriiing. I ended gettin g another guy to finish the job. The 1st guy wanted extra $$ for finishing the job. 

As what type of you want. Your house your money. Next person that comes along does't like the floor his problema!

Actually, next person that comes along doesn’t like the floor doesn’t buy the house. So, resale of the house is another point to consider. 

[Tony321]

People have different likes. Life is to short to worry about what others like or dont like. Go with what you like and can afford.

[rafterbr]

If you are going with wood floor be sure the sand or dirt is sprayed for termites before the concrete is poured.  The new termite spray is good for over 20 years so you shouldn't have problem if you do this.  Otherwise the termites will go right thru the concrete.

[ea93105]

1 hour ago, rafterbr said:

If you are going with wood floor be sure the sand or dirt is sprayed for termites before the concrete is poured.  The new termite spray is good for over 20 years so you shouldn't have problem if you do this.  Otherwise the termites will go right thru the concrete.

Thanks for that tip, I will do that for sure

[ea93105]

6 hours ago, geeser said:

There are few wood floors anywhere in the tropics because of the termites. I stayed in a casita in Honduras that had a teak floor and the owner said termites don't eat teak. Before you re pour the concrete floor be certain to lay heavy black plastic sheeting and tape any over lapping seams. Use the heaviest plastic sheeting you can afford, 10 mil is not too heavy but 3 mil may be all you can afford. This is important to reduce the rise of moisture through the floors. 

  Use PVC pipes and make sure it is the heaviest (Schedule 40) so not let them use cheaper schedule 20. You should use 1' pipe and reduce it only at the valve below the  faucet. It is smart to use the insulating foam wrapper tubes on the hot side pipes if you can find them here. The pipes in the floor or wall loose heat quickly.

In the midst of a remodel you will want to run all phone lines and cable for TV and or stereo in the walls before re-plastering.

Yes, we definitely will be laying plastic down before the pour. We removed the existing tiles in a matter of hours, nothing underneath but sand with a thin mortar layer ( which explains the unevenness of the floor ).  The dirt underneath is bone dry, at least to the eye.

Thanks for the tips

 

[vista lake]

You can used a Parota Wood for floor tiles!!! But you need to have a good concrete work before to install!!! You need to remove the old concrete,  then you need to put a special plastic, and them the concrete what they used for pools, thats special, them the wood floor! Thats give you warranty!! Grettis 

[Tony321]

Wish you good. Let us know how it all turns out.

[ea93105]

I'm not dead set on a wood floor but have had it in my last few homes and loved it. All input is appreciated. To me the difference between walking barefoot on tile vs wood is huge. I'm always putting on socks for tile and slipping

 

 

[rvanparys]

I rarely walk barefooted as we have scorpions from time to time...I find it difficult to believe that you can have a repoured floor that is even enough for wood... An uneven base will cause you grief later on... The comment above about lack of square walls is spot on... 

[ea93105]

The old floor had elevation differences of approx. 2-3 inches, but I agree that getting anything perfectly straight here is more of an accident. Hopefully we can pour a slab with less than 1/2 inch deviation.

 

[Bisbee Gal]

1 hour ago, ea93105 said:

I'm not dead set on a wood floor but have had it in my last few homes and loved it. All input is appreciated. To me the difference between walking barefoot on tile vs wood is huge. I'm always putting on socks for tile and slipping

 

 

What about underfloor heating tubes beneath tile....it's really nice on cold tile floors (have it in a US home). 

Or non-skid socks  🧦 which I wear Dec-Jan. 😉