Flooring

When it comes time to get new flooring you can save money by removing the old flooring yourself but if you have old linoleum on your floors you might be in for quite a challenge. Depending on how old the linoleum is and the type of adhesive that was used it can be extremely difficult to get up.

First of all, it's unlikely that you'll be able to just remove the linoleum and adhesive all at once. The surface under the linoleum and the damage you might cause it needs to be considered - especially if that surface is wood. Concrete floors can take a lot more in the way of rough treatment. The type of scraper you use has a lot to do with your success as well as the damage to the floor underneath. Many people use paint scrapers but those with a razor blade are usually more efficient. Be prepared to break some blades it if the adhesive is hard, and you're working on concrete.

Try cutting the linoleum into strips or sections instead of removing the whole chunk at once. This will make it easier to get an edge to pry up. Of course, the linoleum probably won't come up in nice neat sections so be prepared to deal with a lot of left over backing and glue that is still attached to your floor.

One way to deal with those remnants that just won't come up is to apply some kind of solvent or remover. A popular brand is Krud Kutter, which appears to work very well from the customer feedback comments. Follow directions on the label of whatever product you employ, and wear gloves to protect your hands. Do a small section at a time, and then move to the next one.

Another technique is to use boiling water and pour it directly on the backing and adhesive. Let it soak and then scrape up. If you don't want to use water, you can try to heat up the glue with a hair dryer or heat gun. Pick a very inconspicuous area, such as behind a door, to try it. Heat the adhesive with the hair dryer and scrape it up with a straight-blade scraper (like a stiff putty knife with a beveled edge). Move the scraper in the direction of the grain of the wood if you are uncovering a hardwood floor. Have a pan or some other container handy to drop the scrapings into - one that is unlikely to either melt or ignite when coming in contact with hot materials. Be very careful if you are using a heat gun as this can easily damage the floor underneath if it is wood.

If worse comes to worse and you are left with some stubborn adhesive on the floors, it might be time to sand. Of course, if your floors are wood and you plan to refinish them you would need to sand anyway, but during this step you must be careful not to damage the particular area by keeping the sander on it for too long.

Once you finally get the linoleum and all traces of adhesive up, you are ready to seal the floor as recommended for the type of flooring and apply the new floor as recommended!

Author Bio
Lee Dobbins writes for A Kitchen Decorating Idea where you can find more tips on kitchen remodeling and decorating on a budget.

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Installing hardwood flooring is very much like putting a puzzle together. There are three main installation methods. These are nail-down installation, glue-down installation, and floating installation. It is assumed that you have a level subfloor that is wood for nail-down installation. Glue-down and floating installations can usually be done on both wood and concrete subfloors, but it must be level also.
Nail-down installation
1. Remove any baseboards or shoe moldings. Baseboard is used to hide the gap that you must leave for expansion and contraction of wood. So, you will want to make sure your subfloor is clear to the walls in order to have a place to come back and install the base and shoe molding later. The standard gap between the flooring and the walls is 3/16" to 3/4" depending on your manufacturer and style of flooring.

2. Screw down any loose or squeaky boards and undercut any door jambs to allow for the wood to be installed underneath. A helpful tip is to use the backside of one of your boards to determine the height needed to be cut off of your door jambs.

3. Start laying out the first row. Try to run the boards perpendicular to your floor joists if possible. You will need to either pop a chalk line or stretch a line parallel to your first wall. Make sure and account at this point for any out of square issues in your room. Once you start running boards they will appear as straight as the first board. You usually would measure from one side of the wall to the other and adjust any discrepancies with this first row. Make sure and predrill your first row or two for nails and face nail them into joists if possible.

4. Dry fit the next 3 feet or so. Make sure you are pulling your strips or planks from three separate boxes randomly so that the natural graining of the wood will vary slightly. This way your installed floor will have a more uniform look. Now you can layout all your boards for 3 feet or so and make your length cuts accordingly.

5. Nail down the next rows. Use a flooring nailer to nail through the tongue of the board. These are usually available for rent at most tool rental outlets. Using a rubber mallet to shoot the nail through the tongue. Make sure you adjust the nailer so that it countersinks the boards. Keep alternating nailing and dry-fitting boards to assure a proper fit.

6. Nail around any obstacles in the floor such as cabinets or pipes/fixtures that come out of the subfloor. Make sure you leave the appropriate gap around any of these obstacles.

7. Face nail the last few rows when you come to the edge of the room.

8. Next install your transitions and base moldings. Make sure you allow for a gap inside your transition. Also, make sure that you do not nail down the transition or moldings to the wood floor. You will need to nail the base moldings into the wall and the transitions into the floor in a place where it will not come into contact with the wood. Sometimes it is helpful to add some construction adhesive to the bottom of the transitions as these are usually high traffic areas. Over time this will prevent squeaking.
Glue-down installation
1. Remove any baseboards or shoe moldings. Baseboard is used to hide the gap that you must leave for expansion and contraction of wood. So, you will want to make sure your subfloor is clear to the walls in order to have a place to come back and install the base and shoe molding later. The standard gap between the flooring and the walls is 3/16" to 3/4" depending on your manufacturer and style of flooring.

2. If installing over a wood subfloor, screw down any loose or squeaky boards, Undercut any door jambs to allow for the wood to be installed underneath. A helpful tip is to use the backside of one of your boards to determine the height needed to be cut off of your door jambs.

3. Start laying out the first row. Try to run the boards perpendicular to your floor joists if possible. You will need to either pop a chalk line or stretch a line parallel to your first wall. Make sure and account at this point for any out of square issues in your room. Once you start running boards they will appear as straight as the first board. You usually would measure from one side of the wall to the other and adjust any discrepancies with this first row. Glue down this first row.

4. Dry fit the next 3 feet or so. Make sure you are pulling your strips or planks from three separate boxes randomly so that the natural graining of the wood will vary slightly. This way your installed floor will have a more uniform look. Now you can layout all your boards for 3 feet or so and make your length cuts accordingly.

5. Apply glue a foot or so out from the board and glue down the next few rows. Keep in mind the larger the room the less area away from your board you will be able to glue at a time. Make sure and keep some cleanup rags to try and keep the glue off the wood. Most manufacturers sell these as accessories. You can also use Acetone on a cotton or cheesecloth rag.

6. Glue around any obstacles in the floor such as cabinets or pipes/fixtures that come out of the subfloor. Make sure you leave the appropriate gap around any of these obstacles.

7. Glue down the last few rows when you come to the edge of the room.

8. Next install your transitions and base moldings. Make sure you allow for a gap inside your transition. Also, make sure that you do not glue down the transition or moldings to the wood floor. You will need to nail the base moldings into the wall and glue the transitions into the floor in a place where it will not come into contact with the wood using some construction adhesive to the bottom of the transitions.

Author Bio
InstallGuru is the founder of InstallHowTo.com and a construction industry professional with 15 yrs of experience.

Article Source: http://www.ArticleGeek.com - Free Website Content

Hardwood Floors - Hot Tips To Save You Money
by twinpeak

There are many types of hardwood floorings available in the marketplace today. So how do you know which kind of hardwood flooring will be the right one for you? And hardwood floors offer an incredible array of aesthetic options, too.

Although plush carpeting is an easy alternative to floor decorations, many home decorators are now setting a new trend with beautiful hardwood flooring. There are many reasons to go with hardwood floors, such as the permanent value they add to your home, the easy care and easy cleaning, great style and durability and they're natural and safe for the environment too.

The cost can vary depending on whether or not you can find discounts or can buy it wholesale. If you know a building contractor or hardwood floor contractor, they may be able to help you get a nice discount where they buy their materials even if you do it yourself. Installing hardwood flooring in your home should be considered a long-term investment that will hold its value, or even increase the resale value of your home, well surpassing the installation cost of the hardwood floors.

After all wood is wood, and what can be more ecologically clean than natural wood planks after very little chemical processing? For the healthy minded, there are much lower levels of chemical emissions from natural wood products. The cost of hardwood flooring depends on what type you choose.

Many of the hardwood flooring retailers and manufacturers offer good discounts if you have a lot of square footage. If you're thinking about a do-it-yourself project and you're handy with tools, you can learn how to install hardwood flooring with a few of the proper tools like sanders, nailers, or nail guns, etc. which you can easily rent or borrow. Some of the most popular hardwood floor manufacturers include Bruce, Shaw, Mohawk, Mannington and Armstrong.

When shopping for new wood flooring you want to check for special discounts or coupons from the many retailers and manufacturers both online and offline. Many people are now installing hardwood floors in their kitchen too and they can also be installed over concrete. Your new flooring may need a few refinishing, sanding and finish coats over the years. When you consider that carpets and vinyl floors will need to be replaced at least three or four times in that same time period, the long run costs of hardwood flooring seem very economical.

Besides the floor coverings that have been traditionally used in the past, there are now many new styles and materials of flooring to choose from that can definitely add to the style of any room. Hardwoods can give a room an expensive and high quality finish that 's usually only connected to higher-end apartments and designer homes. But first of all you need to find a reputable hardwood floor company to help design and create the type of flooring that you want, unless you're experienced enough to forge ahead..

Most hardwood floors almost never need replacement and can add thousands of dollars to the value of any home. And hardwood flooring is the healthiest choice for interior living, especially if you have children in the home.

And with today 's advanced wood flooring stains and finishes, cleaning your wood floors has never been easier. If you're looking for a great way to improve the look, the durability and the value of your home, hardwood floors are definitely the way to go. And wood is a wonderful natural resource that is both renewable and recyclable.
About the Author

Article Source: Content for Reprint

Tips On How To Install Laminate Flooring
by apple33p

Laminate floors has been gaining in popularity. One major reason that people are fond of choosing laminate flooring is for the reason that it resembles hardwood flooring.

There are lots of advantages to this type of flooring, the first of which is in regard to installation. Higher qualities of this type of flooring in reality only need to be sliced, and pieced together. This procedure will take only a few days to accomplish if done by expert floor installers. Another advantage to laminate floor is its hygiene factor. This type of floor can be effortlessly cleaned with just some water and soap. Moreover, this sort of flooring is a good substitute for people who are sensitive to carpets.

Laminate flooring installation could be very enjoyable if you understand what you are doing so prior to you going into laminate flooring installation, you should foremost learn the imperative things about laminate flooring installation. If you try to install it yourself without first educating yourself, your laminate floor may go to waste.

Some History Of Laminate Flooring Installation

Last time, there was only one way to fix laminates on the floor, which is to make use of glue. Laminate flooring installation in the late 90 's would need the binding of the tongue and grooves of the laminate together to reach the preferred results. If you are using small laminates or if you would like to make some complicated designs, it might take you a while to finish gluing things together. Depending on your pace, you may possibly spend some days gluing things together and creating a bit of a mess in the region of your floor too.

As the technology of laminate flooring installation gets better, there is currently the so-called glueless laminate floor installation. The superior thing concerning the glueless laminate floor installation is that it is certainly easier than installing your laminates with the use of glue. The glue less technology would allow you to fit your laminates in half the time necessary if you were to utilize glue. What is more exciting about the glueless installation is that it is less untidy and the end products would seem more professional.

If you are in actual fact determined to fit your laminates by yourself, you should ask the manufactures to provide you those types of laminates that would not need glue to install. Make certain that your laminate floor installation training comes with diagrams or video which you can watch prior to installing your floor.

How to Install Laminate Floor

Be aware that the technique you used in installing laminate floor will very much control the life and performance of your floors. There are three types of procedure in installing laminate floor - glue laminates, glueless laminates and pre-glued laminates.

Installing laminate floors using glue method is straightforward even for beginners. The glue is by hand applied to the tongue or the groove of each squares or planks during fixing. Conversely, installing laminate floor using glue-less technique utilize a type of locking system that snaps, clicks or hooks to the tongue and groove for the laminate floor to fasten tightly into the floor.

A benefit of glue-less method is that the locking systems give the users with a easy and simple procedure of installing laminate floors. Not only do the users take pleasure in installing without the messy glue, they are also capable to use the floors right away after installation. Pre-glued laminates combine the two installing method of laminate flooring.

Checklist before Installing Laminate Floors

Before installing laminate floors, it is imperative that you follow several steps to make sure your installation would be completed effectively.

1) Make sure that you eliminate all "breakables" where you will fit the floors.

2) If required, get rid of all appliances, furniture and sub-floor. It is also significant that you disconnect gas appliances to keep away from possible fire accidents. When you want to alter the height of your floors, make the essential adjustments to your doors for them to open and close correctly.

3) Check your items in closets and other storage areas and take out everything that will obstruct with installing your laminate floors.

4) Double-check if the temperature within your home is suitable for laminate installation.

Although installing laminate floors can be provided by a variety of companies, you could save hundreds of dollars by doing the installation on your own. Be aware that the higher end your laminate floors are, the lesser it would need refinishing and recoating.

About the Author

Cindy Heller is a professional writer. To learn the benefits of linoleum flooring and how to maintain wood flooring, please visit guide to installing laminate flooring and tile flooring.

Article Source: Content for Reprint

How to Install Wide Plank Wood Floors over Concrete

Wood over concrete can be done. For the longest time, homeowners were warned that wide plank wood floors installed over concrete would result in moisture problems. But that’s not so anymore. A concrete sub-floor is no reason to deny your home beautiful wood floors.

It is true that wood is affected by climate change: wood fibers expand and contract with fluctuations in relative humidity. However, this movement and the resulting moisture problems can be controlled with proper installation techniques and the use of high quality wood products.

If you’re going to be installing over concrete, it becomes even more critical that you understand what part of the tree the boards are cut from and the manner in which the boards were processed; both of these factors are vital to your overall satisfaction with the floor. Wood cut from the center of a tree contains a higher percentage of vertical grain which makes it less susceptible to movement and thus a higher quality material.

Before you embark on this installation process, there are certain rules of thumb to manage moisture and ensure the stability of the wood:

1. Be sure the wood supplier has properly dried the wood. 2. Let the wood acclimate in the home or business for 7-10 days. 3. During acclimation in your home or business, keep relative humidity at 45 percent. 4. Make sure the wood flooring has proper stress reliefs (These ridges on the underside of the wood relieve tension in wood, reduces board movement, and provides a greater glue surface).

There are two options for installation of wide plank wood floors. Both options are driven by the height allowance between the slab and door. To determine height, measure the distance from the top of slab to the bottom of the exterior door or measure the transition to other flooring surfaces. Check accuracy by swinging door completely in both directions.

Here are some step-by-step installation guidelines once you know the height allowance:

Option One: Gluing directly to concrete -- 1/2 to 3/4 inch height allowance Using an adhesive product, spread one layer of adhesive onto the concrete per manufacturer’s instructions and place your planks, milled to 1/2 to 3/4 inch thickness directly onto the adhesive. Allow 12 hours drying time before finishing your floors.

Option Two-A: Concrete slab with plywood sub-floor -- 1 inch height allowance Place a layer of 6mm polyethylene onto the concrete as your moisture barrier. Using a fastening tool, shoot concrete nails into 1/2 inch plywood to apply directly onto concrete. Install Wide Plank Floors, milled to 1/2 inch thickness by blind nailing and gluing.

Option Two-B: Concrete slab with plywood sub-floor -- 1 1/2 inches or more height allowance Lay down 3/4 inch plywood and then follow the directions above.

The cost associated with both options for installing wood over concrete is similar. However, due to the cost of the adhesives, it can be slightly cheaper to use the plywood method.

It’s also possible to install floors over concrete slabs with radiant heat. The installation process calls for using a floating plywood sub-floor.

Please be aware that information found in any article is the opinion of it's author. Before embarking on any project, it is your responsibility and in your own interest to check the viability of any advice given. Diytips4u.co.uk are not responsible for any consequences of what you may read on this website.

Hardwood Floors - Hot Tips To Save You Money by twinpeak

Article Source: Content for Reprint

Tips On How To Install Laminate Flooring by apple33p

About the Author

Cindy Heller is a professional writer. To learn the benefits of linoleum flooring and how to maintain wood flooring, please visit guide to installing laminate flooring and tile flooring.

Article Source: Content for Reprint

How to Install Wide Plank Wood Floors over Concrete

Hardwood Floors - Hot Tips To Save You Money
by twinpeak

Tips On How To Install Laminate Flooring
by apple33p