Stages of the Library & Retro Bath

Guest Bath

Progress on 2 fronts

Bye Bye My lovely Green!

Happy to be working
I have a sink-ing feeling This is going to be fun to play in

Radical, Who will keep me Clean?

Answer to Flooring inquiry

Nadine,

Yes The Rosewood does darken to a beautiful red brown. We tested it inside and out in the Florida Sun.

Why did we choose this brand? The quality appears to be identical and the pricing is half or more of Br111 pricing.

The company was great to work with. They had this flooring made to order for us. We wanted the 5" boards.

Check out their website the link is on the left "Unique wood floors"

Please mention our site and be sure to ask for WINSTON.

http://www.uniquewoodfloors.net

Here is a picture of the test we did. It takes three to four months inside to fully darken but we did it in the heat of the Florida Summer Sun to simulate the process. This day as I remember was in the high 90"s. It has not darkened any furthur snce then and it has been left inside the house as we were building for the last 6 months


I picked the lightest boards one of each brand left 'elegence" Middle" Br111 " right"Tiger Wood" 11:00 AM
After 7 hours of intense Sun 6:00PM The eLegence really darkened Br111 a little less and Tiger wood not much at all

simyloc said...

Hello, love your flooring. Does this rosewood change color? What size did you get? Why did you take that brand name versus BR111?

Thanks

Nadine

Dri-Core interupted

I are taking a slight detour around the flooring delivery. More on Dri-core's final day and plywood installation over the Dri-core . Some interesting installation discoveries on the plywood overlay.

The final Delivery!!

Three Guys 10,000 + Lbs. ****117 Boxes*** 2-88 lb boxs each/ minute

Unique Wood Floors " The quality of milling & finishing is superb"

Just the beginning of these "superb" floors from Unique Wood Floors. Click the link at the left to visit their website
Brazilian Walnut (IPE) for the Guest House
Patagonian Rosewood for the Main House.

Moisture barrier proven mold free

The high density polyethylene moisture barrier bonded to the underside of DRIcore subfloor panels is molded with dual wall cleats that are durable and act as a raised moisture barrier. Independent lab tests confirmed that the DRIcore polyethylene moisture barrier does not support the growth of mold. " The panels due indeed fit nice and tight with one another with really no seams at all to speak of, so I assume the VB is relatively contiguous and I don't need one for the laminate.

How are DRIcore subfloor panels treated for moisture resistance?
	The top surface of the panels is treated with a water resistant water based acrylic sealant for added protection against humidity. The high density polyethylene membrane bonded to the underside of the DRIcore sublfoor panels is a moisture barrier.
	What is unique about DRIcore’s polyethylene moisture barrier?
	The high density polyethylene moisture barrier bonded to the underside of DRIcore subfloor panels is molded with dual wall cleats that are durable and act as a raised moisture barrier. Independent lab tests confirmed that the DRIcore polyethylene moisture barrier does not support the growth of mold.
	Is DRIcore made with hazardous materials?
	No urea formaldehyde glue is used in the construction of DRIcore subfloor panels. DRIcore subfloor panels support a healthy home environment.

Dri-core installation Statistics

Check details used 590. = 2360 s.f.
Laid 2147 /4= 537 tiles
590 - 537 =53 waste x 4 = 212 s.f. waste / 2147 = .0987% waste
Installed / day = 429.4 s.f.



Five days, Total S.F. Installed 2147 s.f.
Total waste 53 tiles = 212 s.f. = .987% waste
22 Hours total time
9 1/2 Total Floor preparation
3 hours special fabrication time
4 hours of problem solving Floor preparation.
Total time installing 12 1/2 Hours
Average daily floor preparation time 1hr 54 minutes

Total S.F. installed per Total Time 97.59 s.f. per hour
Total S.F. installed per actual install time 171.76 S.F.
Total % of waste used 11%
Tile waste /S.F. a little more than 1/10 of a tile per s.f.


What we learned

Labor cost per s.f approx .50

Learning curve

Instruction time

Additional Materials used
Vulcan polyurethane waterproof sealent
SikFlex polyurethane waterproof sealent
3/16 - 1 1/4" Tapcons

We designed our own tapping block * See details

We designed our own shims when we used up our whole supply on the cold joint at the main wall *See details

Day 4 Dri-core Installation Master Bedroom and Master Bath

Total time 4 1/2 Hours
Total Dri-core installed 400 s.f.
312 s.f installed in 2 Hours
Template fabrication and design 3 hours
Dri-core custom 88 +- s.f. fabrication and installation 1 1/2 Hours


I wanted to do something different in the Master bedroom/Bath . This is an open area and we needed to define the Bedroom from the bathroom without the obvious every day traditional door. The problem! How to end the hardwood floor and begin the stone floor. How to deal with the wet areas that will get a lot of pool traffic and yet still maintain the luxury look of the hardwood floor and softness of the Master bedroom. Without a defining doorway nothing seemed to look right where the hardwood would end and the tile would begin. This is also a room that can be used as an access to the Guest house, Library and laundry room so a walkway was important and it had to be hardwood . I did not want an abrupt straight line end between the hardwood floor and the tile. It just did not look right.

I decided to make the Stone tile "FLOW" into the hardwood just like water would flow into a the room. The ocean is 2 blocks to the East and the Indian River is 4 houses to the West. So why not bring the feeling of the Ocean and River into the house and make the bathroom floor wave into the room just like the waves wash up on the sand and pound against the rivers edge.?

Now I have a defined bathroom area and if you just want to get to the laundry room you never leave the hardwood floor. This door way to the laundry area is also an access to the master bedroom from the garage. The hardwood area allows you to open the door and walk directly to the bedroom without transferring between tile and wood.

The Dri-core cuts either with a jig saw and band saw perfectly. Since we did not have any instructions on how to attach this area we decided on screwing each edge panel along the perimeter. Since it will be against the tile and the tile may often be wet we will use "Sikaflex" silicon polyurethane sealant on the edge seam. It allows movement and is an excellent water repellent.

"Sikaflex" is the only sealant that passes the Miami Dade 140 MPH wind load regulations and is used on the latest and only Miami Dade certified standing seam roof that can be used in the Hurricane Zones in Florida, roofing made by UNION CORRUGATING. Of course this is the roof used on this House. In fact it was the FIRST one to be installed in Florida just a few days after it passed the Miami Dade Specifications. More on that later. Just remember

Union Corrugating "Advantage Lok 11 " Metal Standing Seam Snap lock Roofing

"Sikaflex" if it is good enough to stop leaks in Hurricanes then I think it will be good enough to stop water from leaking under our hardwood floor . Time will be the best test.

The first Tile
Cutting the door trim
Ready to template /setting the wave line

Wave #1

Second wave

Third Wave
Ready for the next and last room

Done

DRI-core Installers and Home Owner benefits

These installers until 3 days ago had never heard of Dri-Core. They had never installed a sub floor on concrete. We gave them downloaded instructions and meet with one of them twice before beginning the install.

The installers are typical Florida floor installers who have been gluing engineered floor to the concrete for years. When approached to participate in this job they agreed but with much hesitation. The biggest obstacle in Florida is convincing installers that you can use 3/4 solid hardwood flooring on concrete with the right under layment. Every one wants the hardwood but are usually talked out of it with the argument that it will warp and cup over time and there is no other suitable flooring only engineered flooring. Plus it is quick and easy and most of todays installers have no idea how to install a hardwood floor over sleepers. The traditional method for concrete floors.

By the time we are done ANYONE watching our video will be able to install a DRI-core subfloor

Our goal is to show other installers it can be done and how easy it can be done. Our second goal is to show home owners it can be done and the result will be a long lasting , comfortable solid hardwood floor that will last a lifetime. A floor that is environmentally friendly and healthy. A floor that will be kind to your legs as opposed to hard concrete under your feet. A floor that has no negative effects no chemicals and glue and feels great underfoot.

* "No urea formaldehyde glue is used in the construction of DRIcore subfloor panels. DRIcore subfloor panels support a healthy home environment. "

Before beginning we did extensive searching on the internet for anyone writing about Dri-core installation. In addition to reading and listening and watching all the Dri-core website information.

My observation was that even the website did not give specific enough information to feel comfortable about installing the product for the first time. I could not find anyone writing about their Dri-core install giving really useful photos or details about the installation. A lot of conflicting information but no actual visuals of how too. So I have decided to make a time lapse step by step video of the entire installation with explicit information about exact fastener sizes and detailed pictures of methods of attachment, fasteners, shimming and floor preparation. I am going to do a detailed photo of the side view of the installation not just a drawing a real 3d mock up . The time lapse is one shot per minute so anyone can see the minute by minute step by step installation of the entire floor. They will be available on video or in book form with detailed information about every step of the process.

Let's put more solid hardwood floors in Florida homes and let's get Dri-Core into our stores.

Stay tuned for more details.

1. Preparing the moisture barrier under the Foundation
2. Working with the concrete foundation team to finish the slab correctly to eliminate problems that could occur
3. Preparing the foundation after the pour
4. Installing the Dri-core
5. Installing the Plywood over Dri-core
6. Installing the actual 3/4" solid hardwood floor
7. Installer interview and reactions to Dri-core and its benefits

Dri-core Installation Day 3

Not so smooth running today. Total Time 7 Hours
Total Prep 5 Hours
Total S.F. Installed 500 s.f.

The front of the House has a foundation pour flaw. When the foundation was being poured we were shut down by a neighbors complaint for about 25 minutes. The pour had already started and the concrete in the front of the house cured before we could begin again causing a COLD Joint to have to be finished later in the day. Now that COLD JOINT has come back to haunt us.

The joint sits at the front wall and extends 2 1/2 feet into the house. It is uneven, bumpy and sometimes 1/2 to 1 " higher in places. It is very rough. When installing the Dri-core we used 4 boxes of shims on 1 row and had to grind down the concrete in three places to get the floor flat. In addition to grinding we used self leveling at the door and skim coats in three other places. One row of Dri-core against the front wall took 4 hours to install. But the floor is even and flat although it appears to be higher looking front to back and appears to slope a little to the west.

The installers did an excellent job!!.

But the good news is that the remaining floor in the kitchen took only 1 hour to complete.
So we ended up with about 500' installed. We have 720' remaining to finish. Looks like it will be done tomorrow so all in all 4 days to install 2600'. Then on to installing the plywood which will be placed into the rooms and allowed to acclimate for several days and maybe even a week.

Main Living Room

Start time 8:30AM


Three Rows done elapsed time 30 minutes Final row begins

Signs of trouble
Big trouble the floor is bumpy and Dri-core will not lay flat
Checking the heights Looking for the bumps
The trouble spot is found Now we grind and chip for two hours

Now we start all over

Main, Kitchen & Stage Area

Finally we are moving
1 hour 40 minutes and finished

Since we have a break at the kitchen side we actually offset the alignment so that we could have a full tile at kitchen side and the cut tile at the stage side. We felt the high traffic area needed the stability of a full tile not a small cut section. Hence the not quite even lines at the opening between kitchen and main living room. We added additional screws at the kitchen side where the stone meets the hardwood