hi guys,

Im building a house and thinking of using Merbau timber for my flooring...

Any recommendations on where to source for good quality and CHEAP merbau timbers in PJ/KL ??

Or if anybody have other suggestions on types of timber, i would love to hear it..

thank you

Why restrict your self to only Merbau. Try Floor Depot, they have many types of flooring to suit your needs. I opted for Cherry Apple wood. Service and installation is 1st class and product also very good. Catch them during promotion and you can get a good deal.

Netwood at damansara
=)

I posed something a year back:


The Journey - Wood flooring (Enigma of Building Material) Part 1

Based on the building plan, the first floor, ground floor bedroom,lower ground floor and all staircase will be covered with timber flooring. In addition, at least two of the exterior decks will be wooden deck as well. This translates to almost 3000 ++ sq ft of wooden flooring. Timber flooring is expected to add 'softness' to the supposedly cold modern contemporarist structure that envelopes the exterior of the house. Given the extensive use of wood flooring, this is one of the area we have spent researching over the last one or two months. To my surprise, the technicalities, choices available and practical considerations are so extensive in relation to wood flooring. Sometimes, I am thankful I did the research so as to make an informed decision later on, on the contrary at times I also wonder whether I have read too much and got confused along the way. In any case, I attempt to put in perspective the analysis I have made after months of research and also the discussion I had with various suppliers and people who are in the building industry.

Other than species choices, a buyer like me needs to consider types of wood flooring which can be categorised into:

(a) Solid hardwood
(b) Engineered hardwood
© Laminate flooring.

In this case, laminate flooring is not being considered for the current journey at hand.

In addition, I also need to consider pre-finished or on site finished hardwood. Pre finished means the finishing is done at the factory whereas the latter, the finishing will be completed on site after the flooring is fixed in the house.

Finally, the choice of species is key as different wood species bring different grain, colour and durability into the picture.

Solid vs engineered hardwood

A surfing exercise of the internet will reveal millions of references to this perennial issue in wood flooring. Solid or engineered - that is the question.

Note that '+' is for pros and '-' for cons

Solid hardwood

+ Can be resand many times
+ Cheaper to install : Merbau is RM14++ to supply install, whereas engineered wood hovers around RM18-20++
+ Psychologically feel better, as you are perceived to pay for the whole exotic wood plank
+ Full 18mm plank can be obtained
- May have a problem if installed at the lower ground floor
- Buckling and ripping
- Gaps appear in the long run
- Workmanship very dependent on the 'master' on site
- Need to make sure the wood is really really kiln dried otherwise big problem will emerge

Engineered wood

+ 70% more stable than solid hardwood
+ Easier to install
+ Minimum buckling and ripping
+ Can install at lower ground floor with proper waterproof underlay
+ Enviromentally friendly. The sub-surface layers are made from "junk" or "scrap" wood, not the ornamental wood. This approach saves more forests because each tree of the desired ornamental wood can go further than it does with solid wood flooring.
- Can be more expensive than solid hardwood
- Psychologically feel cheated if its more expensive than solid hardwood
- Not nice for staircase as engineered wood normally come in tounge and groove version (T&G)and not the Surfaced Four Side (S4S) version
- Only come in 14mm thickness rather than 18mm
- Limited sanding

What you can see is that there is always a compromise somewhere and one cannot have the cake and eat it in this situation. In this respect,personal priorities will likely to determine the option chosen.

Prefinished vs unfinished flooring

I always thought prefinished is superior as the finishing is likely to be more durable and that is an important consideration as I have a young family with little gals and boys running around. Because sanding and finishing are not required, a pre-finished floor is completed relatively quickly without the dust, noise and fumes that can accompany the on-site finishing process.

The species

We have actually narrowed down to about a number contenders with some dark horses. The contenders are as follows:

Doussie


What we like about Doussie is the grain and the colour. The grain being wavy is unusual and its not too reddish compared to Jatoba.The unique grain feature displays a perfect fit and finish every time, which creates an instant modern, chic environment. As with most exotic species, Doussie will become darker in color and richer looking as the floor ages - something we are looking for. One final strong point is that it is considered a hard species, this selection comes in at a durable 1,770 PSI (pounds per square inch) under the Janka Hardness Ranking.

Walnut


Walnut floors are proving to be so popular because the wood here is actually considered to improve in the way it looks as time passes. The natural veining and curling grain effect of this wood also often give it an individual style that you simply will not get with many other flooring woods. Many walnut floors are laid for their colour depth and richness. One reservation I have is that a slight variation of colour may result in a country rather than a modern contemporary feel hence a risk of mismatch. Also, given its a temperate wood, not sure how would it adapt to the tropical weather in Malaysia.

Belian



This is more for external deck. What interest us to this species is the durability. Its not called ironwood for nothing and apparently it also darkens as it ages. One thing though is that the grain is not exactly very striking.

Merbau


Merbau is the dark horse here as it is easily available in Malaysia and is cost effective given its local nature. Durable and easily adaptable to local environment but could be 'too common' for liking.

Well, currently these are the species we are seriously considering and it may change between now and when we make the final decision

Great info and very informative.

Awesome stuff. /add bookmark

http://www.malaysiaparquet.com/

Thanks for info. Will call them up

I got mine done with this company... quite happy with it.

http://www.parquet.com.my/

How much did you pay for it?

mine one is rm11.80 all in for 16mm thickness 95mm width merbau wood

After knowing some branded hardwood flooring. I am bit skeptic if http://www.parquet.com.my/ really give same same quality comparing other which cost like 2.5x more.

Is it same quality?

i believe lumbermart will have best overall products and services for solid timber flooring

www.lumbermart.com.my

Rich..... Now merbau price is RM3300/m3
hiking a lot for recent years....
The price is almost RM5.00/sf for the input material cost of merbau, prior to any processing. aihz.... japanese do like timber due to their earthquake environment, even they dun purchase merbau, purchasing other hardwood drives up the price too....

Recently wood prices have increased due to demand in Japan.

Actually, I was also skeptical when I first found this supplier. I visited his factory, and asked him questions. I think I paid all in, RM17k for flooring and for staircase, including skirting. Becaus I did the stairs together with the FF floor, he charged me the staircase timber floor same as the normal floor, around RM14 psf (I cannot remmber but he has a promotion package at his website, just take a look). I think average per sf (incl skiring cost_) cld be around RM17 or RM18 psf. This is all in cost on a psf basis, covering batten and skirting.

The timber is 18mm thick, 90mm wide, with lengths ranging from 1 foot to 5 feet long. He uses bona coating. The floor is laid on top of cengal battens spaced 4 or 5 inche apart...

I talked to another flooring expert, their product knowledge is not as good as mr woon.

Timber floor is way nicer than tiles, and look very nice too. When my sister saw my floor, she said to me, very worth it. Also, my sister is quite knowledgeable about timber becuz she used to sel timber as a trade. So I think shld be ok lah..

Usually, chceap no good, and good no cheap. But I think Mr Woon's timber is not really cheap lah, it is more to do with other ppl are selling it expensive!! (My cinapek contractor also quote me RM18 psf)

This post has been edited by lizziewong: May 25 2011, 05:14 PM

Thank you lizziewong. I'll do visit when my house near completion.

If u do timber floor, it has to be laid before u do painting, and need to inform contractor so they can allow for your floor becuz timber floor is thicker than laminate. Timber laying is about 2 days, but u need to let it acclimatise for about 10 days, then only grind and polish. Painting can do only after grinding habis. I got him to come another trip to fix the skirting before my build in cabinet installed. Ready to move hse then call him to come in again to do the top coat varnish.

This post has been edited by lizziewong: May 25 2011, 07:36 PM

Many shop charge per step "stair" ranging from RM 300 to 500. so for a double story house, this is really killing. just imagine 14 steps X RM 500 = 7k..

Staircase : @ RM 160-180 per Step – Tread only – supply & install merbau solid timber, landing is charge per sqft. average step for double storey house is 16 steps plus 2 landing.

This post has been edited by maxguy: May 26 2011, 11:03 AM

Apart from the usual factors which affect price (like species of wood, or solid wood vs engineered wood), other factors include:

- dimensions of the plank (thickness x width x length). Many suppliers have max length of 3' to 5' - these are the 2nd tier cuts from the log and hence a bit more affordable. 18mm is fairly standard thickness for solid wood. When I did my floor, I specially use higher grade planks 19mm thick with max length up to 12'.

- sub floor preparation, namely the battens. What wood they use and spacing. Good standard is chengal and about 6" center-to-center spacing.

- what coating they use. I believe water based is more expensive.

160 - 180 is cheap.

I can supply you with Merbau wood for your floor.

PM me with your dimension, i will quote.

Can i ask how you going to finished the surface?

initially i want solid wood for my ground floor living cum dining area, after some reading n searching looks like i have no choice but to choose laminated flooring.

1) problem of waterproofing. the new extension floor can do waterproofing but if to hack the old floor n redo waterproofing, the costing is simply too high.

2) even if i choose the common merbau solid wood, the price is easily 3 times more than a common laminated flooring, not to mention my favorite teak.

i thing for sure, i will not pick the "woodlike" vinyl

Ground floor use timber need to have good water proofing, if not, heart sick later. Tiles are the most sensible. Bedrooms upstairs if use timber wld be nice.

i don't like the cold feeling of tiles although they look nice too. since mine is a single storey corner, have no choice lah. laminated should be able to withstand moisture far more better than solid wood.

I think both of you looking for trouble.

Ground floor, always have water vapour seeping out of the concrete, thus worse for laminated flooring as de-lamination will 100% occur. Ignore what the manufacturer claim, unless they are willing to give you a lifetime warranty against de-lamination. No glue is soooo good, the heat and cold cycle inside our house will cause the glue to degrade over the years. Don't understand ?? easy, same as any good expensive pair of shoe, the sole will de-laminate after a few year.... hot and cold cycle. Heat from our feet and cool down when you take off your shoe. Ask any good shoe sales person.

Just for your understanding re solid wood flooring, thickness and length do matter on cost.
All solid timber costing is calculated from either per M3 or MT ( volume ton = 1.416 m3 ), so whatever your contractor quote you, work out the cost per m3 or mt to compare.
Eg : 16mm x 95mm @ rm12/m run = 1 / (0.016 x 0.09 ) x rm12 = rm8333 / m3 . Use only 0.09 instead of 0.095 cos 5mm is eaten up by the tongue&groove (T&G).
For ground floor, best to use only 18mm up thickness, too much traffic, unless the batten is placed very closely.

As for the length of 3ft to 6ft, this are majority imported from Indonesia, Finish product like flooring is still legal to be exported. Cost is around usd1200-1400/m3, KD with or without T&G. WHERE GOT SO MUCH MERBAU IN MALAYSIA except from Sabah.

As for waterproofing the ground floor, ask any good tiling supplier, there is already in the market waterproofing coating chemical to coat over the existing tile as waterproofing. Ask around, you are paying for heartache if not.

Merbau is super for flooring if you can afford it.

This post has been edited by hunter1425: Jun 22 2011, 03:57 PM

Hi there,

can I know where did you get this material conversion factor ( volume ton = 1.416 m3 )??

Google lah.

Timber is calculated by volumetric tonnage. Very confusing when timber men quote by MT.

Standard is 50 ft3 = 1 MT = 1.416 M3.

Keke, I was in timber b4.

I guess that is for general calculation...

Apart from that, I guess your calculation is based on Saw Mill supply rate excluding all the process to manufactured into Timber Flooring?

Standard market for T&G processing won't be more than rm500/MT.

Cost at usd1200-1400/m3 is for Grade A Merbau, flooring sizes, rip or S4S KD (MC 10-12%) timber.

Wah, you really Timber Sifu....

so mr hunter, r u suggesting that only those with deep pocket or stay at 2 storey house may use wood flooring, be it solid or laminated?

To each his own bro.

Some love to spend money on their house, some on girls, some on drug, some on gadget, some on car, so many some of...........


I myself loves timber flooring, just our Malaysia weather is not favouring timber flooring on ground floor. Still possible, but..... hiya lots of headache to do it properly.


There are lots of other cheaper good Malaysian timber suitable for flooring, why use the expensive Merbau ? Check with MTIB ( Malaysian Timber Industry Board ).

I spent RM17,000 for timber flooring for first floor (24' x 55') and the tangga. Average abt RM15 or RM17 psf I think.

1. Merbau planks 18mm thick 1 ft to 5 fft lengths, 90mm wide
2. Planks placed on cengal batten placed 4" to 5" apart
3. Water based coating(Bona - accordng to the supplier)
4. Area covered - all upstairs floor & 14 stepts of stairs & landing.

If cover with 2x2 tiles, the cost will be about RM9 psf MINIMUM.

Timber supply by Maha Asia. They have a website, just google parquet it shld pop up. The website advertise a promotion, this is an ongoing promo, so u can take your time to compare prices or quality. The office is in puchong I think, and behind the office is the store where u can inspect the planks and check out the varish they use.

This post has been edited by lizziewong: Jun 22 2011, 05:20 PM

That is reasonable. Where did you get it from?

When I started my reno, I wanted to use cheap cheap things to save cost. My friend said to me, better to feel the pain one time only (meaning spend alot of $$ for the reno to do it right), rather than to hve pain everyday (heart sick to see the end result if not done properly). I suppose he is right, thats why I spnt on my timber floor, which cost RM5k more than tiles.

Now when I look around my house, Iwish I had spent abit more on better finishes in some places. I opted for the Niro 2x2 polished tiles wihich was lelong at builders mart at RM14 per pc. It would be nicer if I spent more on sthg really very special (maybe double thee cost). Since my Niro tiles look quite decent (not exquisite), so it is not painful for me, and it is just a nice to have.

To save cashflow, I have brought my old furnture across (tv counter, dining table, sofa). Will buy new ones when I see sthg good later..

This post has been edited by lizziewong: Jun 22 2011, 05:15 PM

i thought merbau is considered common n "cheap" already, what would u suggest Mr Hunter?

Merbau actually has been considered a "common" Hardwood Timber flooring due to all the common factors such as price, stock availability, MC and etc...

There are more Hardwood Timber flooring around (e.g Teak, Pinewood and etc) which is imported timber flooring...

Common and cheap is what the timber retailer are telling you.

Common for them as they can anytime buy from Indo ( Indo is exporting no less than 10,000 m3/mth all over the world for this species), cheap to them cos they can get easy margin of 20% just trading. No sweat lah.

For other local suitable timber for flooring, ask MTIB opinion and go and see the sample. Individual taste on color, grain . etc ,etc. American loves red colored wood, same as Chinese, Japanese and European prefer light yellowish color. So, personal taste.

Teak is considered an exotic timber for the non teak producing country. U know the teak used for building super yacht cost easily Euro20,000/m3 ?

---

Added on June 22, 2011, 5:58 pmBro, pine is classed under temperate softwood. Pine is used as all purpose utility softwood, except the pine from New Zealand. Bro, those NZ plantation pine is beautiful lah.

Temperate hardwood is only equal to our tropical medium hard.

This post has been edited by hunter1425: Jun 22 2011, 05:58 PM

Agreed with your comment bro... Anyhow I just give some example nia.... Nice of sharing info you have here...

cheers

Agree, especially something that need lots of work. Like piping, electrical and flooring. For me i don't save on piping and electrical. My electrical re-wiring already cost me around 12k (excluding switch and socket) and is only single phase. My friend ask me why so expensive, his house 3 phase is near also same amount. Then i show him the number of MCB i got, 2 DB box, and only few looping of socket, he keep quiet

My current house, i remove the parque, ask my contractor to flat the surface. Will decide what to use after i have come near end of the renovation, and see what budget i have to use.

Lizzie, Niro still got warehouse sale? i like the cement type tiles they offer.

I did my 3ph with 2 Hager DB box, 1 for FF and 1 for GF as advised my EE brother. My rewiring plus 3 ph only 15k or thereabout. Though there is some savings but it is not worth it, becuz my contractor uses Indian nationals to do the work who do not do a proper job and need a lot of time to check and correct defects. In the end, the completion of the house is delayed. So, need to balance quality and price, always.

I discovered that, if we go to the tiles shop in say, and order in large quanitites, u can get a good discounts. Buimaco in tmn megah can offer some good prices too.

Anyway, my reno finished ady, now only left with some build-ins and cabinets for my dry kitchen, all the optional extras for a more comfy living. Hope to complete by christmas.

what is MCB n DB box?

i too like the cement type tiles and the wood type too.

This post has been edited by orientaliew: Jun 23 2011, 12:05 PM

MCB, is like olden day fuse. Now run without fuse, only trip according to the load made printed on the MCB

DB box, aka Distribution Box, to put the MCB, ELCB, RCCB, and timer. Is a square box. Can be Metal, Plastic.

MCB got lots of brand, usually the reliable are ABB, Hager, MK. Got some really made in Germany but dam expensive now.

Just google lah bro.

Wiki " MCB (Miniature Circuit Breaker)--A circuit breaker is an automatically operated electrical switch designed to protect an electrical circuit from damage caused by overload or short circuit. "

It is those black color thingy inside your DB. A lot are made in Malaysia , sirim approved, are just as good. Only the ELCB buy better imported one safer.

Many with Sirim approved five problem too. You know how sirim approve things?

Money, money .......money.

malas to ask MTIB lah, just share with us your view, regardless of taste.

I'm also in the market for hardwood flooring. Maha Asia quoting RM16 per sq ft for Merbau 18mm (depth) x 90mm (width) inc install (cengal batten) and 3 layers. Lizziewong, who did you speak to? Mr Woon is the boss?

RM 16 include installation? pre-finish?

I think Mr Woon is the boss.... My deal is more or less the same I think...

---

Added on July 15, 2011, 4:30 pmMy floor space is about 970 sf, plus a flight of stairs of 13 steps, altogether cost m RM17k. The planks are unpolished, but afte laying, breathing, will be polished. The comes the buffing then varnish... RM16 or RM17 is all in cost, incl of skirting.

Planks is RM 15psf and skirting is RM5 pfr.

Skirting is pre-finished.

This post has been edited by lizziewong: Jul 15 2011, 04:32 PM

Thank you for the information, I also found another small shop doing flooring @ Kuchai Lama, will check out later when my house almost ready.

BTW, the stair step, do you use one single pieces, or same as the floor? Single pieces very nice.

To save cost, I use the 90 mm planks. The workeers pick out the 4ft lengths and lay it across the steps. Quite nice too.... Oh, my 17k comes with nosing for the steps, but no timber for the riser.

y limit urself to merbau only? there are variety of malaysian timber which is suitable for flooring apart from merbau
we have balau, bintagor, kempas, keranji, red balau, and dark red meranti as well ma


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What are the prices like for the other types? Maha Asia only have merbau.

For the other varieties, price is one factor. But more important u shld go to the timber board website to familiarise yourself with the quality of the timber. One important criteria is resistance to termites. Merbau is not top tier like Teak, but for the price, it is considered quite hard for termites. The other wood grains are nice, but termite resistance must be good too.

I did my window hood using balau wood, which is considered ok for external. But I notice other contractor also use meranti which someone tells me is softer wood.

A timber supplier whom I asked to quote timber stairs, told me balau is not so suitable because it tends to warp over time.

This post has been edited by lizziewong: Jul 16 2011, 11:09 AM

termite resistant is not jus bout the wood... people got the misconception d.. for termite, normally flooring company will treat the wood 1st de.. so relatively speaking if u go to a reputable flooring company most of their wood is treated d.. wont be susceptible to termite unless u expose it to prolong moist environment..

merbau is on par with teak in term of strength and durability ...
balau not suitable for ur stair becos it have high shrinkage value...but tat 1 can be solve if u tell ur installer wat environment u are installing it at.. for normal indoor u need to tell ur installer , will u install aircon environment? or jus open air.. if air con environment.. will it be 24 hour .. the installer must monitor ur room moisture content and humidity and acclimatised the wood before install.. normally for indoor the moisture content is around 15-17% if in aircon environment (8-12%).

for more information on wat type of wood and its suitability u can go to http://woodwizard.my/index.asp . it have most of the Malaysian species available in Malaysia

Thanks all of you for the info. I am thinking of installing hardwood flooring for my new house also. I just wonder if there's any 5-6 inch width, maybe 6-9 feet length Merbau, Teak or Walnut available in Malaysian market? I prefer long wide strips of wood, more pleasing to the eyes. Anyone know the cost of those wood? I just want to compare the cost to marble flooring. Want to check if it fits my budget.

How about those lock on timber strips like those sold in Floor Depot? Are they more durable? They mentioned to me that their solid timber are abrasive and scratch resistance because their timber are pre-laminated with coating in the factory, not at the site of installation. what do u guys think?

yes those will be more durable in term of scratch resistance .. but besure to check u got the right thing.. some might give engineered / reconstituted wood but claimed to be solid wood.

Im a newbie and planning to replace my old parquet floor with new timber flooring. During the survey, I came across kekatong timber. Does anybody knows is kekatong better for flooring compare to merbau? Anybody can share experience installing kekatong flooring? Share kekatong floor pic?

In order to get to install the flooring cheaper, I was thinking of buying the wooden planks separately and hired a contractor to install them. Would this be more cheaper than buying directly from the flooring shop? Anybody who can offer contractors with reasonable price and good workmanship for installing solid timber floor is most appreciated. Does anybody knows whats the average charge for taking out old parquet, installing, grinding, and varnish new timber floor?

Thanks in advance.

Question, where you going to get the wood planks? Is it cut for flooring use? and season for the weather?

Yes, it is sold as wooden plank T&G for flooring purposes. Some of the wooden flooring shop selling these planks as promotions from old stocks.

yes kekatong is a very good wood.. density is around 800-1000 kg/m3.. which is comparable to merbau.. when u are buying from contractor.. make sure the contractor know where u wanna install it.. and check the environment 1st.. the moisture content and humidity of the place which u wanna install is vital for solid wood installation.. if not properly acclimatised ur flooring will have lot of defects... usually the reason y the contractor suddenly intro u this species becos he having a stock on hand and wanna sell it to u.... wood is good no doubt tat is if ur contractor is honest enough to give u to whole package with kekatong wood.. sometimes they will mix with meranti or even cap chai.. so better u got some1 which is knowledgeable in this solid wood so tat u dont get cheated..

What about Borneo cherry compared to merbau or walnut?

I prefer the lighter colour of Borneo cherry. Anyone know what is the name of the tree which Borneo cherry wood is taken from?

This post has been edited by kamion: Jul 24 2011, 07:22 PM

Should be kapur.. But u really need to ask the shop tat sell it.. As we dont have tis species here.. But it is usually given an exotic trade name by shop to boast their sales..

They have no idea. Is this a bad sign?

This is a picture of the sample I was shown.


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can shot top and side view as well..?

Anyone use Cherry wood before?

About to install something called Borneo Cherry.

Oh, how much did you get? A company offer me Cherry, same price as Merbau cause is balance from project. Wonder how good is it.

If it is indeed real american cherry, u might have lucked out. But cherry is softer than merbau and is prone to dents so one has to be wary of unpadded furniture legs and sharp objects.

Nowadays retailers name wood all types of names..takes a real wood guy to tell you what really is what.

According to the supplier, the borneo cherry come from Sabah.

I might caution you from doing this though. depending on your knowledge of wood, it might be a risk not worth taking if you do not have any history on how this wood is seasoned (ie. KD schedules, Moisture content, dimensional tolerances). Once installed, when problems develop, you'd run into a lot of finger pointing. if you buy material yourself, you would also need to factor in wastages and if the installer is diligent in helping you save material (since he's not paying for it)

Prices do vary a lot from what work is involved, what finishing (solvent or waterbased PU), how many coats of finishing. refinishing for wood floors with a good multi-layer coat would usually run about $5.50/sf. Installation depends on what installation method used and on what material (lamparquet, timber strips, batten, moisture barrier, waterproofing, leveling etc).


This is just an exotic name given to a local species.

Yeah, I finally made a decision to use Merbau. Less worry and headache

And yes, using conventional gloss finish is cheaper, water-based are much more expensive. Take www.parquet.com.my for example, their promotion include installation is RM 8.80 for a merbau 15mm x 73mm but without baton, and use conventional finishing.

I have a question. I've purchased a new house and intend to replace the first floor tiles with solid wood strip flooring. I'm getting a lot of conflicting answers from the people I've asked concerning whether it is necessary to remove the tiles first before installing the wood flooring. Most say that it is okay to install the wood planks over the tiles. Did you guys have the tiles removed first before installation of the wood flooring?

You may be able to find almost the size that you're looking for with LumberMart. Expect to pay at least RM17, but due to the non-standard size the price may be higher.

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Added on September 20, 2011, 7:23 amHave seen work done by different companies for timber flooring and of all, in my opinion, LumberMart gives the best work and satisfaction overall.

My experience previously was with RV Woods, bought merbau flooring from them and overall service was good with only 1 complaint, wasn't completely happy with excuse and finished work in my walk-in wardrobe.

Anyway, I've listed the companies that I've either personally used or seen work done for my friends houses. Hope the info comes in handy.
Timber Flooring Contacts




This post has been edited by adrianjc: Sep 20 2011, 07:23 AM

120mm (about 5") should be around RM 17 +- 1, thickness is very important too. usually is 18mm.

You can try Maha Asia Parquet. They have quiet a few variety of Merbau.

That really depends on what "wood flooring" you are planning to install.

For engineered wood flooring (and laminates), yes, you can install "floating" over your existing tiles.

For solid wood, it is necessary to remove your tiles and have fresh floor screed. Reason being the baton/floor planks must have a good adhesion surface.


I assume this is supply and install prices, but i don't know if you can get those prices now,especially if its on waterbased finish. Merbau has gone up some 10-15% recently...

Yes supply and install, the 120mm many i ask don't have stock. Maybe because of the shortage price gone up. Mine is just average thickness 90mm

This post has been edited by weikee: Sep 21 2011, 02:29 PM

Hi,

My house come with Merbau floor at 1st floor and the staircase. One of my contractor told me that the finishing of the Merbau is not good as it is just normal finishing and it is easy to scratch. He recommended me to re-apply better finishing which will have better effect of anti-scratch with the server RM3500. Total area including the staircase should be about 1k sqf. Is this reasonable ?

I have not seen the sample yet because he only will show me coming weekend.

RM3.5k is definitely not reasonable for re-finishing your floor. Bona finishing from Lumbermart costs about RM1.20 per sq/ft.

Chances are your contractor might be trying to take you on a ride.

if the scope of work include re-grind the timber floor, use branded water base floor finish then rm3.5/ft2 is reasonable price, Lumbermart RM1.20 per sq/ft with Bona finish only applicable for new timber floor done by them.



This post has been edited by skng03: Mar 13 2012, 09:04 AM

Even the Bona finishing provided at RM1.20 is only the entry level one and they are not sold in more advanced countries. A good finishing like Bona Mega is about RM2.20 per sq/ft

Thank you all. Yes, the work including re-grind since need to apply different finish according to the contractor for long lasting. I will check with him about the details and if there is further discount else I will skip it and get other contact for this.

I'm pretty sure Bona Mega can be made available for people who really want it. But for a price of course... hehehehe...

Hmm, if can get maybe my house next polish can use Bona Mega. Anyone know the distributor here?

its available n its not very much different with bona novia..

Lumbermart....here

Do you think they sell to home owner for DIYing?

My new home is using engineering wood with merbau wood on top layer...wonder why when i step on it, some part got sound like "crack crack crack"...sounds like the "gap" between is cracking lol is this normal for engineering wood ?

Quite normal for engineering or laminated timber floor, especially floating system.

My raised timber floor, engineering wood on plywood with lots of glue but still got little bit sound on some spot

using rubber silencio underneath?

what is rubber silencio hehe i saw them put a layer of transparent plastic, then another layer of white thin spongy thing...

oh..i think urs is PE foam (Polyethylene Foam)

I installed solid wood..so i upgrade my underneath layer PE foam to rubber silencio.

Erm..it gives more bouncy and reduce squeaking sound. keke

whats is your ideal width for the wood flooring? I read from a book to go as far as 20cm wide and beyond