How do we deal with concrete that is flush to hardwood floor?
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we recently bought a house that has an addition that was previously a garage. The previous owners leveled the garage to the rest of the house and added on 4 feet to the original house. When they did this they made the addition flush with the original hardwood floor and then carpeted the whole house. We would like to rip up the carpet and refinish the hardwood, but with the concrete being flush to the original floors we are just at a loss on how to proceed. Any advise would be great! Everything I google just talks about laying hardwood over the concrete.
Hello. I would refinish the hardwood floors as you intend and possibly consider using a concrete paint in the same wood tone color on the concrete areas. Hopefully it might blend and look uniform or at least be a uniform cohesive floor color.
You could always call a flooring company and get free estimates on how to fix this and to be sure there is a moisture barrier there as well
You could stain the concrete to look like wood or paint it with an interesting "tile" pattern like a threshold.
You patch any cracks in the concrete floor or use a concrete resurfacer if it's in bad shape. Then you can paint it.
https://www.hometalk.com/search/posts?filter=paint%20concrete%20floor
Another option is a paper bag floor over the concrete
https://www.hometalk.com/search/posts?filter=paper%20bag%20floor
What are you wanting to put over the concrete? Carpet? Paint?
You could put your hardwood up to the concrete, add a transition piece like this
https://upgradedhome.com/how-to-install-transition-strips-on-concrete/
What is the desired surface on the concrete? If it's not more than half an inch or so, you can easily place a transition threshold on the seam. Most people really don't notice such a small change in elevation. If that doesn't/won't work, I'd call a pro for some advice.
Easiest thing would be to lay something over both the original flooring and the concrete and this also might be your cheapest option in the long run.
Sort of curious was that extension permitted? There are building codes regarding subfloors to ensure structural loads are adequate.
You could put a low lying threshold at that gap. Maybe a thin strip of wood the length of the gap stained to match or a contrasting strip of graduated marble to gently ease room to room.
For the unfinished floor call in several professionals and see what they can do, pick their brains, it maybe something you can do yourself.
I would call a flooring company and pick their brain. It's going to be tough to get the wood floors to match unless you sand the old ones down and restain both, and joining floor is rarely seamless. The painting option seems like it might work, but if you're bent on wood, you probably need a pro.
Contact a professional wood installer and asked their advice.
It is unlikely that either a professional installer or a flooring company would be willing to give free advice over the phone if you call them and try to 'pick their brain' without first coming to your home in person and seeing what your individual situation is.
What would you like to do ? and why ?
You could do laminate ,tile ,carpet what ever you want then add a wide satle to cover the transition between the wood and cement
You can buy various wooden threshold trim for transitioning from room to room with different flooring and even some height difference. Take a trip to Lowe's or Lumber Liquidators, and can even check their websites. https://www.lowes.com/search?searchTerm=wooden+door+threshold+trim
Fit a carpet?
Is your question how to finish the concrete? I personally like the look so I'd refinish the floors and maybe seal up the concrete. You can stain the concrete with a stain meant for concrete.
I would be best to contact your flooring company so that you can get estimate with regards to fixing this.