Wood Floor installers

[AmericanSafety]

Afternoon Gents-

I recently purchased a 3BR/2Bath in the Jomtien area. It is a nice house but the previous owners wore shoes indoors and consequently, the tile is old and faded. I have always lived in houses with wood floors and would like them installed in my new home. I looked at Homeworks and Homepros and spoke with some people about their work and virtually everyone said they are awful.

I was wondering, does anyone know of good, reputable places which install wood floors?

I am hoping that the flooring can be placed over the tile, instead of breaking it up.

Thanks ahead of time,

AS

[craigt3365]

I've worked with a guy who'll do this. He isn't cheap, but does great work. Definitely don't use the cheap laminate. Spill one glass of water and it will warp. Our house came with this junk and we're going to have to replace it. It's horrible stuff.

We had a friend do his house with teak. Very good contractor. But, didn't put a proper seal in and water is seeping up through the concrete somehow and the incredibly expensive floor now looks horrible.

If you are interested, I'll PM you the contractor I used. He doesn't speak much English, so you'll need a Thai partner to help you out with this.

If you do go forward, please reply back here as to how it went!

Good luck!

[joepattaya1961]

Check out this FB-page.

No clue where they are, but in almost every post they mention a telephone number: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100005987829624

[AmericanSafety]

I've worked with a guy who'll do this. He isn't cheap, but does great work. Definitely don't use the cheap laminate. Spill one glass of water and it will warp. Our house came with this junk and we're going to have to replace it. It's horrible stuff.

We had a friend do his house with teak. Very good contractor. But, didn't put a proper seal in and water is seeping up through the concrete somehow and the incredibly expensive floor now looks horrible.

If you are interested, I'll PM you the contractor I used. He doesn't speak much English, so you'll need a Thai partner to help you out with this.

If you do go forward, please reply back here as to how it went!

Good luck!

Thanks Craigt3365-

Ideally, I'd like 5/8th wood on top of tile. Blogs I've checked out say, "yes, no and everything in between." Fairly irritating because there is little continuity and even fewer results from a websearch. I think the strangest thing is that there are millions of condos being thrown up and some contractor is going room my room putting in nice floors at some of the middle to hirer end developments; where are these people?!!

I for the life of me have been asking agents and contractors and all I hear is, "well they come in and send us a bill.." It's like they come in under the cover of darkness, do good deeds and leave like Batman.

Edited February 14, 2015 by AmericanSafety

[craigt3365]

The contractor who did my house mainly does condo buildings here in Chonburi. He's also done several of the store buildouts in Central Festival.

[rgs2001uk]

For the OP, I dont know how may square meters you need doing, be aware, this will not be cheap.

Personally if you get away with doing the lot for less than 3,000 baht per sq/m, you will have done well.

As mentioned By Craig, in most Thai houses the wood is usually upstairs for the reasons mentioned.

The usual wood to use is mai daeng, its about 2,000 baht per s/m.

You will also need to purchase the battens for the floor to be laid on, after that skirting board.

Dont forget your doors will need to be shortened.

Thats assuming you lay on top of existing floor, if ripping out old tiles, extra baht to be paid.

[craigt3365]

rgs: one night, I spilled a glass of water that was on my night stand. It was late and I didn't really notice it as I was pretty much sound asleep. I guess my pillow hit the plastic glass.

In the morning, the water had seeped into the flooring and it had buckled. 6 months later, it's still buckled. That cheap laminate flooring is horrible.

[pluto_manibo]

I second that, avoid the Laminate(@ 1100 baht/m2). I used it in a recording studio and between the spilled drinks and dog "accidents", the floor is warped, buckled and disjointed in those areas. However, they do have a new laminate which is waterproof. Their display model in the stores, shows a continuous stream of water flowing over the laminate. They use it for bathrooms as well.

[rgs2001uk]

Craig, agree 101% ref laminate, its nasty stuff.

What I cant understand, in some places its more expensive than mai daeng.

[fosseway]

Oak is of course the material of choice, ash may be ok, much cheaper and readily available here.

Mai Dang, is of course, red wood, usually used for door and window frames, it could be used I suppose, if you want a red floor, but it would have to be well seasoned, as is prone to warping.

You would want to be looking at 20mm for a minimum thickness floorboard, width could be 100mm to 150mm. You may have to find a good machine shop to form this for you. It you wanted it to be laid an top of your existing tiles, you would need to screw 50 x 25mm battens @ 400mm centers max. Flooring should be tongued and grooved, plus "Secret Nailed" You would need to remove, raise and replace the existing door frames, your existing doors could be retained at 20000mm in height.

This would be specialist work and quite costly.

Agree with previous postings, stay well away from laminates, if your unit is a "Keeper"

[Pattaya46]

// It you wanted it to be laid an top of your existing tiles, you would need to screw 50 x 25mm battens @ 400mm centers max. Flooring should be tongued and grooved, plus "Secret Nailed" //

Hi. I don't know how it's made here in Thailand, but in Europe it's frequent - when you want to lay a wooden floor over a plain strong surface as a tiled one - to just glue the wood on the tiles. No need of battens and a lower high for the floor.

[piston broke]

i'd be very wary about installing wooden flooring.......

if you get an infestation of termites, you'll be kicking yourself.

Far safer / easier to go for ceramic / marble flooring.

[Blueeyes1999uk]

Hi, I have sent you a PM

[AmericanSafety]

Thanks Blueeyes for the PM.

Virtually, everywhere I have read has said that battens have to be used for installation on top of a tile floor. I'm looking for a dark red stain to match the existing doors and door frames. I'm thinking about later, doing the bedroom floors in a soft light stain (helps with the light).

I haven't seen any termites in the area. My neighbors haven't mentioned anything either. It might be prudent to have the exterior of the house sprayed.

[rgs2001uk]

^^^^^,

after the floor is laid, it will be stained with for example a red or yellow powder that is worked into the wood, it will be sanded down with a buffer and re applied, then it will be coated.

As for termites, why are there wooden houses in Ayuttaya or Chaing Mai that have been standing for years.

[fosseway]

^^^^^,

after the floor is laid, it will be stained with for example a red or yellow powder that is worked into the wood, it will be sanded down with a buffer and re applied, then it will be coated.

As for termites, why are there wooden houses in Ayuttaya or Chaing Mai that have been standing for years.

These are teak, so termites are not a problem. Teak is very expensive, and not suitable for floors, as it is very soft.

[craigt3365]

^^^^^,

after the floor is laid, it will be stained with for example a red or yellow powder that is worked into the wood, it will be sanded down with a buffer and re applied, then it will be coated.

As for termites, why are there wooden houses in Ayuttaya or Chaing Mai that have been standing for years.

My MIL's house in Issan used wood from her mother's house and the main posts are riddled with termite holes. In our village here, termites are a huge problem.

[AmericanSafety]

^^^^^,

after the floor is laid, it will be stained with for example a red or yellow powder that is worked into the wood, it will be sanded down with a buffer and re applied, then it will be coated.

As for termites, why are there wooden houses in Ayuttaya or Chaing Mai that have been standing for years.

My MIL's house in Issan used wood from her mother's house and the main posts are riddled with termite holes. In our village here, termites are a huge problem.

I also have a teak and ironwood house in Isaan. We've never had a problem with termites there either (and it's out in the sticks). But, that being said, it is made with teak and ironwood and from what I have always heard, both types of woods are not a termite favorite. Being that my other house is in Jomtien and the house is wrapped in tile, the house is concrete and steel, I don't think the likelihood is necessarily here.

I'm just guessing, as I do not remember the actual dimensions of the main salon, 20ft x 40ft? So, 7m x 14m = 98m x 2,000B ($60) = $5880 or 3,000B ($100) = $9,800. This sound about right?