All wood floors have one thing in common: they are only as good as the subfloor beneath them. There are gaps between the boards, and the floors always squeak when you walk on them. The reason? The builder installed the wood flooring over a subfloor consisting of one layer of V2-in. plywood. This subfloor isn't thick enough to hold the flooring nails, so the wood flooring moves constantly. This story is typical. Many flooring problems have more to do with what's...
One in 10 Americans has a hearing loss severe enough to affect their ability to understand speech. It's more common among wood flooring contractors. Nearly everyone I know in this trade has hearing loss, which has made me all the more adamant about hearing protection. Noise is measured in decibels, or dB. The dB scale is logarithmic rather than linear. An increase of 10dB isn't additive; it represents a tenfold increase in noise. Consequently, even a small increase in dB can...
Installing wood floors requires an incredible amount of cutting and nailing, but the most important equipment I own doesn't cut or fasten anything. Nothing comes before safety equipment. With all the cutting, nailing, and chemicals flooring installers work with, it is only a matter of time before an injury will occur if you don't have the proper protection. Many old-time wood flooring contractors are partially deaf because they didn't protect their hearing when using nailers and power tools. Before I started wearing...
You need to be careful when removing old resilient flooring. Many linoleum and vinyl floors from the 1970s and earlier contained asbestos in their backings or adhesives. Various federal, state, and local government agencies have regulations that require special licensed abatement contractors to remove material containing asbestos. (You can find these contractors online or in the Yellow Pages.) I never remove old resilient flooring without having it tested for asbestos first. it is just not worth possible health problems, breaking...
If you're installing a hardwood floor in new construction, all you have to worry about is the condition of the subfloor. But if you're working on a remodel project, you'll likely have to remove an existing floor covering, which might be carpet, linoleum, or vinyl. Removing old floor coverings is my least favorite part of installing wood flooring. REMOVING CARPET No matter how many times a carpet is cleaned throughout its life, removing all the animal dander, dirt, and dead bugs is...
COLOR Wood flooring is available in a variety of colors that can change the feel of any room, making color one of the most critical aesthetic design elements. The palette of colors seems limitless. American walnut provides deep rich brown tones, hard maple has white with tan hues, and purpleheart really is purple. You can stain wood floors, but with the availability of so many colors, I generally try not to—when a stained floor is scratched, it can be hard to...
Even Drying Promotes Straight, Flat Flooring. Because wood dries and shrinks first at the outside, the outer surfaces tend to be in tension while the inside is in compression. Keeping these forces balanced is crucial to keeping the wood flat and straight. That's why even airflow is so important during acclimation. One edge drying faster than the other can result in crooked wood, because that edge exerts more tension on the board. Similarly, one face drying faster than another can cup...
Not all wood flooring products should be acclimated. Some engineered products come wrapped in plastic, which keeps them at the manufacturer's desired moisture content until installation. The tongue-and-groove joint in these products is precisely machined, and moisture changes can make it too tight and hard to fit. Wood flooring may, or may not, be delivered at the correct moisture content to be installed in a particular house. Even the most reputable seller can only control the moisture of the flooring while...
Natural beauty of wood makes it the one of favourite materials. Hardwood Flooring has a great variety of options. The choice depends on whether it is supposed to re-do a floor, to repair existing or to install a new hardwood flooring over an old floor. Natural aging of a wood only improves the appeal and it's type. Sound of steps and noise of the removed chairs or other furniture can be heard in the room on the floor below — it is well known to people who lives in apartments or...
The most popular types of rolled flooring is carpet (including natural carpet), sinthetic - made of polyvinylchloride (PVC) and linoleum. For carpets both materials can be used : natural and synthetic, plus their mixes. Most popular are - synthetic carpets becayse of their wear resistance. Polyester, polyacryle, polypropylene, nylon — the market is rich with the offers. From the point of view of an ease of care, color fastness, than softness (but a creaseresistance) one of the best is nylon. Its only minus — high...
Many inhabitants of old houses face a problem of the fact that the deal wooden floor begins to creak over time. Such floors usually lie on the logs which are over a concrete plate, eventually become loose and when walking on them begin to creak. Especially it becomes noticeable and irritates at night when you try to pass quietly about the room and to a corridor, a floor creaks, and you finally awake relatives. Basic reasons of that scratch of floors If...
The number of admirers of a laminate grows every day. Installing the laminate doesn't demand special skills as connection of plates happens at the expense of the special lock so you can do it yourself. Before installation it is necessary to clean the floor to avoid the formation of dust. Then put the underlay before starting installing the laminate flooring. It is desirable to stack an underlay perpendicular to the direction of a laminate. It will allow to avoid coincidence of joints at an...
Today the laminate is the most urgent and demanded flooring which can be used almost everywhere in the house or apartment. However, using it in the hall or kitchen it isn't very practical and it is reasonable decision. For such rooms the ceramic tile will be the best option. However laminate in the kitchen can be used in the dining area, and other part of the room can be covered with tile. And here is a question: how to close a joint between a tile...
Low air humidity In case of strong heating the laminate shrinks and small cracks in joints appear. To avoid this problem just regularly air the apartment/house or to establish a humidifier. Uneven floor basis The concrete coupler as the easiest way to make it equal will be the ideal basis for a laminate. Some owners don't trouble themselves equalization of a floor and install the laminate directly on the uneven floor. As a result the laminate spoils, disperses, breaking laminate locks. Wrong laminate stacking It is necessary to...
After the difficult choice of a flooring, you stopped on a laminate. Now you are tormented by a question how to take care of it. First of all we will pay attentionon the structure of a laminate. Upper protective layer is the most important. If we damage it in use, then the laminate will lose the gloss and will become subject to scratches and moisture. It is also necessary to put a rug which will detain hit of sand to your apartment in a...
Make Safety a Habit Like all construction work, installing wood flooring has inherent risks. Cuts from edge tools are one obvious hazard. Others are less obvious, but perhaps more readily prevented. Reduce the risks of eye injuries, hearing damage, lung disease, and bad knees with proper safety gear. Comfort is one of the most important factors when selecting safety equipment. I tend to rely on 3M® for safety products, but you may find other brands fit you better. Try out several....
Installation of Wood Flooring Houses under construction are invariably wetter than they will be in service. Allow construction dampness—from fresh concrete, wet lumber, plaster and drywall finishing, and drying paint — to dissipate before delivering the wood flooring. HOW long to wait depends on how much moisture was initially put into the building and what is being used to remove it. Wood flooring should be delivered only once the house is at the correct moisture level. Most manufacturers produce flooring with moisture content between...
How do you know whether the finish you're thinking of re-coating is adequately adhered to the wood? If it isn't, you won't get by with just a screening and a recoat. The floor needs to be sanded to the wood first. What if you've just finished a floor, but for some reason have a nagging doubt about whether the finish is going to stay put? Perhaps you're using a new combination of stain and finish. There's a simple way to...
CRAWLING CAUSE Finishes can separate into their components if they sit in the can for too long. Inadequate mixing can result in applying only some of the components of the finish, which fail to form a uniform film. Contaminants on the flooring, particularly paste wax that has seeped into the joints and been re-dissolved by the finish's solvents, can also cause crawling. FIX Small areas can be scraped and touched in. Larger areas may require screening the floor or sanding to bare wood....
CLOUDY FINISH CAUSE Most often, this is caused by applying a coat of finish before the underlying coat has completely dried. This traps the unevaporated solvents in the lower coat. It can also occur if you use finishes from different manufacturers in successive coats. FIX Screen and recoat. Make sure to allow adequate drying time between coats. Check with a damp rag before reapplication of finish to make sure the cloudiness has disappeared—if the finish appears clear when dampened, the problem has probably been...
