authentic vs synthetic. 4500 vs 2500 per sqm. should apply waterproofing to avoid humid coming out of cement. be sure lang di kapak flooring mo. we used old yakal or ipil wood from 2nd hand lumber stores. and this wood already lasted for decades and will last for another decades. synthetic wood planks comes out with many nice design, if you plan to buy this , prepare another budget for the replacement for 2-3 years. hehehe. 🙂

kelagan po ba ng termite treatment ng 2nd hand wood? what about yung laminate kelangan po ba ng anti anay? thanks

it depends on the quality of the 2nd hand wood if it needs treatment or not - if the wood uses tongue and groove joint, look closely at the groove area. your contractor would be able to help you check this out. but to be on the safe side, it's better to have it treated as the additional cost will not be too big. laminated floor tiles are processed wood and does not need any treatment as it has already been treated in its manufacturing process.

choosing which to use (real wood or laminated wood) is a matter of personal preference and budget :-). and asmentioned, real wood is more expensive and will last longer than laminated ones. and for me personally, kung kaya lang ng budget, iba ang apak mo when you walk on real wood barefooted 🙂

which ever you choose, the critical thing to make sure is that the concrete floor is properly prepared and leveled (in all directions) otherwise problems will arise once the floor is being used. a worker manually plastering the floor with cement can never do this 100% which is why most floors you see now uses ceramic tiles - much nicer to look at than a manually plastered bare cement floor. to ensure a leveled floor, you need to use 'liquid cement' instead of plastering - it's a special type of cement mix with water and simply poured on the rough concrete floor slab. once it cures, the floor will be 100% level in all direction as water will normally seek it's own level. i first saw this method being done when we were constructing the ADB bldg in ortigas.

if you still prefer to use real wood and the floor will be manually plastered by a worker, you may want to consider using wood parquet floor tiles. all the bedrooms of my parents old house in QC was made with this. the good thing about this wood tiles is you can select the design and the type of wood you want - e.g. narra, mahogany, yakal, etc. the uneveness in the floor plastering will be compensated during the sanding/finishing of the wood tiles after it has been installed. end result, is a leveled floor. look for wood tiles that are thick (at least 7mm, the thicker the better). make sure you use a good quality glue to secure the wood tiles to the floor and a good polyurethane to protect the wood from normal wear and tear. in the old days, you can see a lot of small shops selling this wood parquet tiles, now you may have to do a lot of searching to find one - i have'nt seen one here in south cotobato 🙂

i hope this info helps you ... cheers

Boo!

if we go the laminated route, are there any recommended brands (durable with reasonable price) or real wood (maybe not 2nd hand kasi we're not sure how to repurpose them)?

i've been reading the link below and ok naman yung choices but since mostly matimco products yung na-review, baka lang po merong ibang brands available na pwedeng ma recommend.

http://jasmreflections.blogspot.com/2014/03/wood-floor-options-help-which-is-best.html?m=1

i'm not really that familiar with the other local brands of laminates or hardwood here in PH as my family has been back to PH for only 1+ year. in fact, i only got to know about matimco a few weeks ago here in PHM on a topic about gazebo.

yesterday, there was an advertisement in the daily inquirer newspaper about beech wood which you may also want to contact. the details are below - i kept it for my reference in case i may need it in the future 🙂
Daily Inquirer newspaper advertisement Jan 29 2016
European Beech Lumber
Available Sizes:
Thickness: 25mm (1 inch) ; 52mm (2 inches)
Width: 300mm (12 inches) to 400mm (16 inches)
Lengths:
8 feet (2.49m)
9 feet (2.79m)
10 feet (3.01m)
11 feet (3.40m)
Contact numbers: 02-571-2451 ; 02-401-9410 ; 02-975-0621
Email: [email protected] ; FB: bftc168

if your currently based outside PH right now, i highly recommend that you consult/get a reputable contractor for your project. you can insist on the contractor to provide you with 2-4 local brands for the materials to be use in your project.

thanks for sharing the article, its a good reference material on how to use wood in house design ... cheers

Boo!

thank you! just emailed them. hope they reply 🙂

meanwhile, any thoughts po on vinyl planks? it seems to be gaining popularity in the US for its low cost, durability and low maintenance.

i have read about it in some articles before but i have not actually seen the product (vinly planks) in SG before nor here in PH. i'll reserve my comments once i have actually seen the product 🙂 ... cheers

Boo!

i just downloaded and read the technical specs of some vinyl plank products (see below) and the first thing that came to my mind while reading it is that it's the same as the existing vinyl products that you have in the local market right now - e.g. vinyl tiles, linoleum sheets. basically, they just change the design pattern to make it look like wood so that they can market it to home owners. vinyl tiles has been in use for so many years as flooring in commercial places.
Kraus KPA-501 Vinyl Plank
FRANK Luxury Vinyl Planks & Tiles
Traverse™ Luxury Vinyl Planks & Tiles

the specs specify the 'wear layer thickness' of the product to be only around 0.55mm to 0.70mm, it's too thin. this is the protective layer on top of protect its surface from wear and tear. i don't think that the product's 'aesthetics beauty of the wood design' will last long, most likely 1-3 years. this is the common problem with all vinyl products, too much traffic + natural elements that comes with it (e.g. sand, grit, any abrasive material, etc) will result in product deterioration. this is the main reason why it's mostly use in commercial places - kahit luma na istura and gasgas na ang design, ok lang at talagang expected na yun due to the human traffic 🙂 he he he ... notice that the specs does not specify how long the 'wear layer thickness' can protect the product, it's because they know that it's not that long (it's a legal strategy of a manufacturer against lawsuit to its product) ... it's only nice to look at when it's new but after a few months or 1 year of use, then you start to notice the changes 🙂

in my opinion, choosing between vinyl plank/tile or ceramic tile floor (next cheaper option) for your home, ceramic tiles is a better option. the additional cost of using tiles is not that big and it will last longer. but if your staying in an apartment, and you just want to make it look better, then it's a cheap way to enhance the look of the unit and you can do-it-yourself 🙂 ... cheers

Boo!

can vinyl planks be used for cabinets instead of laminates? or are those 2 completely different? apologies in advance for the odd question

it' is not an odd question. a DIYer always find new ways of using a material or a product :-).

technically it's possible to use it to cover the flat surface of a furniture (e.g. cabinet). it's a bit thick (2.5 mm to 3 mm thickness) compared to other materials (e.g. melamine sheets with adhesive backings). also, the size (length is 36 inches and width is 4 inches or 6 inches) of the planks would make it quite expensive as a covering for a cabinet as you need a lot of it for a cabinet.

one thing i can think of where you can use it is to cover the top of a table or a desk, or as a cover for a flat kitchen cabinet door. also note that the recommended adhesive for the vinyl plank cannot be use for certain wood materials (e.g. particle board) as a backing. you can download the technical specs of some vinyl planks to get more information on how you can use it for other purposes ... cheers

Boo!

thank you!!!

hi boo! just an update. beech wood flooring gave me a quotation of 1" x 12" x 8ft php 275.00/bft and 2" x 12" x 8ft php 320.00/bft. per my computation cost is Php1,120/sqm but there seems to be a different computation because he came up with php 2,959.00/sqm.

would you have any recommended suppliers for wood flooring? thanks!

wow that's expensive. at P275/board feet, the 1"x12"x8' would cost = 1x12x8 = 96/12 = 8 board feet * P275 = 2,200.00 per peice ... the 2" thick would cost 2*12*8 = 192/12 = 16 * P320 = 5,120.00 per piece

1 meter = 3.28 feet, so 1 sqm is basically 3.28' x 3.28' = 10.7584 square feet * P275 = P2958.56 = P2959/sqm or 3K. so for a 4m x 5m master bedroom, that would be 20 sqm * 3K = 60K for the wood flooring.

sorry, i don't know of any supplier of hardwood. maybe the other PHM member can help you on this.
the hardwood i used (e.g. stairs) for our house, i just bought it from the locals here in tampakan when SMI was doing their clearing operation at their mine site in the mountain around tampakan ... cheers

Boo!

hehe yes the price is quite high so i'm now on the lookout for other sources/suppliers. will let you know if i come across anything. cheers and thanks again for your help!