[cdr108]

Actually, I would say a vast majority of the mid-range condos all offer laminate as standard, with the option to upgrade to hardword. Of course, they try to make laminate sound a lot better, they call it "gleaming" laminate, or some such.

It gets confusing when they use the term 'hardwood' laminate b/c I then think of pre-engineered hardwood, which is a hardwood veneer over plywood veneer laminate.

Laminate is a plastic film of photographed wood over high-pressured pulp and resin.

wikipedia - Laminate flooring is made to look like natural products such as wood flooring or natural stone, yet is made up of either synthetic materials (usually melamine resin) or of synthetic materials combined with natural and recycled ingredients and covered with an attached decorative applique including an aluminum oxide finish.

 

[Granny]

Actually, I would say a vast majority of the mid-range condos all offer laminate as standard, with the option to upgrade to hardword. Of course, they try to make laminate sound a lot better, they call it "gleaming" laminate, or some such. But, in my place, I paid the extra to upgrade to hardwood throughout (two bedrooms too - the standard carpet was crap, and since I was upgrading anyway, I decided to go for what I REALLY wanted.)
I plan to live in the unit a long time and it was an important upgrade for me.

Oopsies there Urban. Laminate, Engineered Hardwood, Hardwood. THREE different things. The third, 'Hardwood', is virtually never even offered for condos. The reason being, it is not recomended for application on concrete.
I know it's confusing, but there are a few good web sites out there that can help explain it all and advise what is is good for where. It certainly helped me to straighten it all out before I went into my options meeting with my builder. (That no good %$!^&%&%$!!)

 

[Urban Newbie]

Gotchya.
And when I say I upgraded to "hardwood", I meant engineered hardwood.
Sounds like you had a crap time with your builder! Mind if I ask who it was?

 

[aiekon]

Standard flooring in my development was engineered hardwood. The upgrade option for the flooring was engineered "plank" hardwood. The cost difference between the two were pretty substantial. Anyhow, I'm still not that sure what engineered plank hardwood is. Is this one strip of wood instead of the 2-3 strips?

 

[Solaris]

not quite sure what the difference is aiekon ...

but I must say warning to all potential condo purchasers, watch what you are getting becuase I find many sales people either don't know the difference or purposely confuse pre-engineered hardwood vs laminate hardwood flooring

 

[Granny]

Gotchya.
And when I say I upgraded to "hardwood", I meant engineered hardwood.
Sounds like you had a crap time with your builder! Mind if I ask who it was?

Cityzen / London on the Esplanade

NOT a good experience. ..at all.

 

[Urban Newbie]

Granny - that sucks to hear! I considered buying there and it's such a great location. Have there been problems from the beginning?

 

[dosbox]

Standard flooring in my development was engineered hardwood. The upgrade option for the flooring was engineered "plank" hardwood. The cost difference between the two were pretty substantial. Anyhow, I'm still not that sure what engineered plank hardwood is. Is this one strip of wood instead of the 2-3 strips?

In my building, engineered hardwood was offered as a plank - i.e. each board consists one one, multi-layered, strip. In other words, it looks much like a single board of solid hardwood.

 

[w.ll.am]

We went way overboard with out upgrades. Every room is upgraded. Every time we did one upgrade suddenly nothing matched and all the default items were garbage except maybe one or two.

-smooth ceiling
-engineered hardwood (zebra wood - so it can be scratched and whatnot with no wear showing) in all rooms except 2nd bedroom
-upgraded carpet in 2nd bedroom
-granite(including bathrooms)
-stainless steel faucets (except in guest bathroom bath)
-custom cabinets (including bathrooms)
-slate floor in kitchen
-glass tile kitchen backsplash and bathroom shower/bath
-upgraded stove from coil to glass top
-changed shower from metal/glass to just glass

The hardwood was the biggest upgrade which seemed to justify the costs of all the other upgrades because it was half the overall upgrade price. I think it was almost 10$ a square foot for the eng. hardwood and having replaced laminate before it would end up costing almost the same if not more.

 

[Solaris]

can anyone provide some insight on what costs to expect to get these upgrades?

- square double edge granite kitchen counters (I already have granite, just have to upgrade the edge thickness)

- potlights in living room

- undermount sink

 

[AKS]

I guess that's my next question.. are purchasers able to do these types of things during occupancy period?

I think you can do whatever fixes you want to your condo during occupancy. But those fixes that go bad, the builder is not responsible. They are only responsible for stuff they put in. I've seen people hiring others to replace the carpet with hardwood flooring during occupancy. I also heard a lot of hammering, drilling and what not.

 

[Solaris]

...my next question.. are purchasers able to do these types of things during occupancy period?

I think you can do whatever fixes you want to your condo during occupancy. But those fixes that go bad, the builder is not responsible. They are only responsible for stuff they put in. I've seen people hiring others to replace the carpet with hardwood flooring during occupancy. I also heard a lot of hammering, drilling and what not.

According to the rules in the legal document (Agreement of Purchase and Sale), there are clauses that speak to 'no alterations to the unit are permitted during the occupancy period', because technically the builder still owns the unit and you are only renting from them (well at least in the interim) ... you builder is entitled to revoke (not like they will though) the sale if they are concerned with what was done to the unit during the occupancy period and seek cost + damages from you (legally speaking)

at the end of the day, you are not legally supposed to do renovations to the unit until after final closing ... but some people still do and as long as the builder is not strict about the rules you are fine

 

[Wooba]

Does anyone know what the following options mean (particularly AD / BD):

- Pot lights in Insulated Ceilings - AD
- Pot lights in Insulated Ceilings - BD
- Pot lights in Uninsulated Ceilings - AD
- Pot lights in Uninsulated Ceilings - BD

I'm pretty sure it means After/Before drywall.

 

[newbuyer]

Looking at all of these hassles and tons of money, wouldn't be better just to get everything standard and uprgrade later with your own contractor? That way you don't have to spend any extra money at all andd plus you can supervise the work.

 

[w.ll.am]

The convenience and culpability of the developer is what makes doing upgrades through them enticing.

With contractors you have to find a reliable person to do the job. You have to be willing to have these contractors work in your home while you live there. Pretty much every person I have heard of that worked with contractors have had problems with the job getting finished in a timely matter. The closer to the end the job gets the let time the contractor tends to spend on the job. Kinda like the ever lengthening tunnel syndrome

On the same vein the builder needs to be a reliable builder otherwise you may end up chasing them for fixes that never get completed. The builders however are more on the line for delivering what they promised compared to contractors. It's easier to sue and receive compensation from a builder should that path become necessary.

Overall my experience with upgrades was worth it. I just moved in and I could start on upgrading things that weren't provided by the builder.