Flooring

Archive for the ‘Flooring’ Category

If you are looking for a durable alternative to carpet, wood or vinyl flooring then laminate flooring can be a fantastic choice. With hundreds of different floor laminates designed to look exactly like timber or other floor materials you will be sure to find a type of laminate that suits your home.

A set of installation instructions should come with your set of floor laminates. This is important reading because floor laminates can vary slightly between manufacturers and you will want to make sure that you stick close to any specific instructions or tips they set down for their product.

With that said, there are a few dos and don’ts that applies to almost all types of laminate flooring. Here are some of them:

- Fully investigate the style and type of laminate flooring that you are intending to install. Make sure you fully understand what is required to install them and that you feel comfortable that you are capable of carrying out the required tasks.

- Your floors should be level and flat, and any dips or bumps in your floors need to be filled in or flatten before you place down the floor laminates.

- The laminate flooring should be placed on floors that move or shift under foot. These spots on your floor will need to be repaired before you lay down the flooring on top.

- Measure your room first. You need to make sure that you will have enough and the right lengths and widths of laminates before you begin. The instructions from the manufacturer will help you will this and will tell you how you need to cut any laminates to fit the length and breadth of your room.

- Measure twice. Before you cut any boards make sure you have at least measured it twice. Use a pencil to mark on the underside the correct length and double check this before your start to cut. This way you won’t quickly run out of boards because you end up making too many mistakes.

- Check your measurements. Are you seeing a pattern? Don’t assume that you have measured correctly the first time. Double and triple check all your measurements.

- When cutting the laminates be sure to do outside or in an area which has good ventilation, and make sure you wear a breathing mask. The cutting of laminate flooring board can create a lot of find dust that can cause respiratory problems.

- Leave the laminate board inside the room for a few days. As they can expand or contract with the temperature and humidity this will allow them to acclimatize to the particular room and stop them shifting as much when they are laid down.

- Because of this expanding and contradicting phenomena it is important that you leave ½ inch gap between the walls and any obstacles like stairs or door frames. This will allow the flooring to expand or contract as needed as the seasons and temperature change.

These are just a few quick tips to help you learn more about installing laminate flooring. Be sure to check the manufacturer’s instructions to learn more.

Linda Federer
http://www.articlesbase.com/home-improvement-articles/tips-on-installing-laminate-Flooring-675461.html

This is in the bathroom. Right now we are down to the bare wood planks. What should we use as a sub floor before installing the vinyl Flooring?

Most commonly called luan, ( 1/4" smooth on one side ply) Screws, ring shanked nails or you can rent a special stapler to put it down with. Use a special joint compound on the seams and any small imperfections in the wood. Dries an matter of minutes , 1/2 hr at the most. Most commonly used for this is called Ardex, but there are others on the market.
Any questions you can e mail me through my avatar..GL

I have unlevel wood floors and want to install laminate Flooring. Was told that I need to level out the floor but what is the best, least expensive way to accomplish this. I have tried raising the floor in the low spots but that did not help. Thanks
I would use the powdered form and mix it. Also depending on the product you buy, you may need a primer which allows the leveler to bond properly to the floor. when you pour out the leveler it may be helpful to go over it with a straight edge following the high spots. Another suggestion is to sand down high spots, as this may minimize the amount of leveler you need.