Order of construction?

I thought I would split this question out from my longer construction thread. As I am approaching the end of my drywall nightmare, I am now looking forward towards the finishing touches on the room. I wanted to run these last tasks by the group to see what the opinions are on the ORDER that these tasks should be be tackled: 1) Paint walls 2) Install doors 3) Install flooring It seems to me that the flooring needs to be laid before I put the doors in so that I can make sure that the door jams/thresholds mesh with the flooring height, but I see construction threads where the doors are installed even before the walls are painted. Any advice here? Thanks!

I would definately paint before you put the floor in... not as much to worry about taping, and cleanup... way easier and quicker and I would just measure your floor thickness and install the doors with the measurements and install the floor last... it would stay protected... from paint etc... my2c kevin

You beat me to it Kevin, but, since a good topical debate is healthy, I'd go with a slightly different approach. Doors - Floor - Walls :shock: :shock: Here's why : DH, if your doors are acoustic doors then the bottom of the frame will quite probably be an integral part of the frame to ensure the 'airtight seal', in which case you'd have to 'butt' the floor base to the bottom of the frame. Even if there not, the frames, and the doors themselves, are capable of causing much more accidental, yet unnecessary, damage to your walls and floor. Knowing you, and the quality of your workmanship, your floors will doubtless look totally fab, and, be capable of handling the occasional female singers’ high heels - (yes, my friend you're getting that close) :wink: :wink: The painted surface on the walls you suggest, is by far the most fragile and susceptible to accidental marking and scraping, and therefore (imho) should be undertaken last of all. By all means of course, do what any pro decorator would do, and put down loads of good quality dust sheets before you paint, mask all edges, and go carefully etc. To put it another way my friend, once your facility is up and running, you’ll be wanting to redecorate long in advance of wanting to change the floors or doors, since your paintwork will deteriorate first! (Gear scrapes, fingerprints - you name it.) But hey what do I know? I’m just a rookie! :D :D :D Kind regards, Lou. 8)

I personally don't care much for painting. Definitely the cut-in or trim part of it. I'd much rather go wild with rollers or spraying and not worry about getting paint where it's not supposed to go than to spend all the time of taping and tarping and working carefully with a brush. You can always go back and do touch up. Lou has good points on the doors. I did subcontract flooring (mostly vinyl) for a while and was always annoyed when the doors and particularly the trim were already installed. It meant extra work to take the door off the hinges, cut the door jambs (wood) and trim or having to fit the floor up to them and being more precise with cuts, etc. :) However, installing a door after the floor is in can mean damage to the finish floor. I think the best compromise is the door being set but not trimmed out for the floor install. If the jambs are cut down to allow the flooring to fit right under it, even better. In general construction, the order is more often based on when the GC can get things scheduled, not necessarily what is the best order for things to be done to make it easier on those doing the work or for the least amount of damage to finish product. I've seen all kinds of variations on the order of installation of things. Based on my experience and preferences (and of course to add to this debate :twisted: ), I'd be inclined to say: Paint - Doors - Floor --- Trim (painted or stained pre-install) and touchup paint The most likely areas for damage to the paintjob would be around the door frame and in the first few inches from the floor. Both areas which usually end up with trim of some sort that will cover up most of it. That's barring the dirty hand prints in general or from forgetting that there's glue or some such gunk on your hands before using the wall for balance. :shock: In many cases, there's paint touch-up that needs to be done anyway and this isn't nearly as messy as putting on it on to begin with.

I agree with "Paint, Floors Doors" as well. You won't have to lay drop cloths from wall to wall and be carefull about making a mess on the floors. I am going to use adjustable door threshold seals, so definately would want the floors installed in order to be able to install and adjust allowing for the thickness of the flooring material, in my case hardwoods. Dan

Thanks for the advice guys. I am not too worried about getting paint on the floors, but it would be nice not to have to worry about it! I also am pretty confident that if I paint first, I am going to be OK as far as nicks and dings go. No matter what, I am going to have to touch up some areas as I finish out the trim work, haul furniture in and out, etc. My biggest concern I guess is the doors vs. the floor. I am putting down engineered hardwood, and want to make sure that everything fits nicely with the least amount of "sand to fit and paint to match" type of cobbling.

The proper sequence in the construction world would be Paint - Doors / Hardware Paint touch-up and door finishes (although wwe do sometimes pre-finish doors the schedule between receiving the door packages and getting them finished does not usually allow it). Flooring / baseboard Cutting in is always easier / faster without trim in the way. Doors generally have either thresholds or sills that the flooring terminates to - which is usually raised above the finished flooring - the flooring should terminate to that - and that is an intergal part of the door assembly. with the exception of paint touch up - finished flooring is usuually the last part of a project - and you do not want it getting beat up by other trades after it's installed. Any flooring installer and trim carpenter who has been in the trade for any length of time can install their oproduct without beating up walls - or else they are back charged for the damage and the painter is paid with their monies. Rod