Our old carpet in living room is over 10+ years old now and pretty badly stained (thanks to our 1 yr old) We have decided to replace it with hardwood floors. The area to be covered in living room and kitchen is appx 450 sq. ft.
I am a newbie and undertaking one of the first such projects for our maiden house, so your help will be greatly appreciated on the following questions :
1. Should I go with a turn-key project to name-brand stores like HomeDepot, Lowe's etc?
2. OR is it a good idea to go with contractors with some good references from friends and family?
3. There are so many varieties of woods available, it's really overwhelming. We have a fairly small living room and kithen, so our criteria is something lighter in color (so it gives a perception of a larger appearance) What are my choices?
4. Also, we plan to live in this house probably for another year or two at the most. So the intent is that this home improvement will help sell the house faster. However, I really don't want to spend a fortune on this project, as we will be moving in couple years anyway
5. Can you please provide appx. estimates on labor and material for this project?

many thanks in advance as usual!
R

You may want to consider a floating wood floor. Check out Popular Mechanic's website for installation tips:

http://www.popularmechanics.com/home_journal/how_to/4212794.html

This is something that you could probably do yourself if you have any basic home improvement skills. You do need special flooring, but by doing this job yourself you could afford to buy a higher quality floor. I would check Lowe's as they seem to have high quality flooring products.

Take a look at Kahrs flooring. The kind we put in our home several years ago can be refinished up to 3 times. It has held up extremely well with dogs and 4 kids (plus their friends). Very easy to clean, doesn't easily scratch. They are a Swedish brand.

shopliftinginva said:Our last flooring project was Pergo in our sunroom. Bought it from iFloor (2% CashBack). The prices for the highest end flooring were still significantly less than the prices for the low end stuff locally. I think they carry hardwood too.
I agree with the iFloor suggestion. Also on their website, they have outstanding reviews on all sorts of flooring products.

If you want your floors look good and also not that expensive, you might go with engineered hardwood flooring. It is somewhere in between laminate and the hardwood. And I think it will be much easier to install, because most of it comes already prefinished. So the pluses - looks good... very durable... and not that expensive.. and no smell in the house (if you have a baby or todler)

atlanticfisherman said:Posted on SD and other places:
20% off Bruce Hardwood @ HD

This is a great deal and just in time for me to redo my flooring! 20% off all Bruce Hardwood (and engineered) floor at Home Depot. This is good quality stuff as well w/15 year warranty I believe. These prices were NOT inflated before taking this discount (unlike most cases).

Expires June 1, 2008

Enjoy! I would compare that to the pricing at ifloors though. With Cash Back and prices often lower than other stores, even with sales, it might come out much cheaper even with shipping. HD is a great place to check on colors you like and get a feel for what their pricing is, but I would double check to maximize savings.

atlanticfisherman said:Posted on SD and other places:
20% off Bruce Hardwood @ HD

This is a great deal and just in time for me to redo my flooring! 20% off all Bruce Hardwood (and engineered) floor at Home Depot. This is good quality stuff as well w/15 year warranty I believe. These prices were NOT inflated before taking this discount (unlike most cases).

Expires June 1, 2008

Enjoy!

And remember that if you are planning on 'moving' sign up with HD's movers program, even if you are thinking about moving. They'll send you a 10% coupon - Note that it can take 4 weeks for it to arrive via snail mail.

Lowes has a similar program, but their coupon is sent via email. Some HDs have no problems in taking the Lowes printout ones...

My .02...

For engineer or hardwood flooring, you are looking at anywhere from $3-$20 sqft for the materials. The cost of installation will be $2.50-$4.00 sqft (if you shop around for local contractors). These are materials and installation prices only. Any prep work done on subfloor is additional charge.

If you want lighter color, consider using bamboo.