For questions regarding various types of floor coverings in general, including hardwood and laminate board, tile, carpet, and sheet flooring (linoleum/vinyl). For questions about the structure beneath this top layer, please see the "floor" tag.
8
votes
3answers
2k views
Is a radiant floor enough to heat the room?
I would like to know if an electric or hydronic radiant floor is enough to heat the room or if it's just to have a warm floor. And if yes, what is the efficiency (the time it take to warm the room, ...
3
votes
1answer
655 views
Do I need to put a second layer of damp proof membrane under my laminate flooring?
I'm attempting to lay some laminate flooring over a level floor made of screed.
At the edges of the floor where it meets the wall I can see that under the screed it looks like the builder has already ...
5
votes
2answers
2k views
How do you build a “wet room” style bathroom floor?
20 years ago I lived in Sweden, and remember that the bathroom was designed with floors that could tolerate a lot of water. There was a tub & shower head but no shower curtain. The floor sloped to ...
6
votes
3answers
376 views
How to replace just a few boards in hardwood floor
I want to replace a few boards in our pre-finished bamboo hardwood floor. After i take the damaged boards out and put the new boards in, how do i get the last board in? How do i get the existing floor ...
2
votes
1answer
2k views
How should I add new joists and flooring to a loft space?
First off, basic floor plan of the loft:
Hard lines are the walls on the first floor underneath, joists on the first floor landing run left to right so does that mean the central wall running front ...
1
vote
1answer
295 views
Do I need to do more prep work on this cement floor before putting in new tile?
In my basement i have a poured concrete floor, and we're re-doing the bathroom down there. It used to have Vinyl flooring, and we ripped it all up. The top vinyl part came up easily, but it left a bit ...
1
vote
1answer
227 views
What height of insulation should I use between joists in an MDF floor?
Background
I am starting my first serious DIY project - converting our garage into a playroom for the kids. The garage floor is concrete.
My plan is to run timber (Sawn Kiln Dried Timber (L)3000 x ...
1
vote
1answer
2k views
How far apart should timber joists be for an MDF floor?
Background
I am starting my first serious DIY project - converting our garage into a playroom for the kids. The garage floor is concrete.
My plan is to run timber (Sawn Kiln Dried Timber (L)3000 x ...
8
votes
4answers
1k views
Floor joists connection to eaves
Apologies if this is a duplicate.
I'm attempting to floor my loft space. It currently has 47mm x 75mm ceiling joists, not enough for a floor. I am going to add something like 47mm x 200mm along ...
5
votes
2answers
283 views
Can I use a paint pad to apply floor varnish?
I went looking in the shop for a lambswool pad to apply floor lacquer, but they didn't have one, so I bought an Anza paint pad. Can I use this to coat a floor? Should I try to find a proper lambswool ...
12
votes
1answer
3k views
Which is better for deck flooring: 2x6 or 1x6 deck boards?
My current deck flooring is done with 2x6x10' boards, however they have degraded to the point now where they need to be replaced.
I'm wondering if there are any specific pros or cons for using the ...
2
votes
2answers
207 views
Ideas for levelling partial flooring for kitchen furniture
My kitchen flooring consists of a click-type wood floor laid on top of an old vinyl layer, which again rests on concrete. After tearing down the previous owner's kitchen, I learned that the cabinets, ...
6
votes
2answers
246 views
Is it practical to have a wooden floor installed in an apt in India?
I own a house in India. It is on the 3rd floor of an apartment.
The floor of the apartment is all concrete with tiles on it.
Having lived in the US for a few years now, I have come to like the ...
1
vote
4answers
439 views
What types of flooring can be used with electric radiant heat?
I am considering converting an old enclosed sleeping porch into a usable room year round (in Ohio). Currently the floor is a big slope to allow for drainage when it was still open, obviously I want ...
4
votes
5answers
2k views
Can porcelain tiles be installed over ceramic tiles?
We have a large portion of our house with ceramic flooring which is now looking very old fashioned. It has large grout lines (3/8 inch) which are white and almost impossible to keep clean. We do not ...
1
vote
2answers
505 views
How to make a second story floor fire proof?
I have a few bench burners on my second story house. While the dry wall has been replaced with a double layer of Type X 5/8 drywall with off-set sockets I worry the floor. Due to the layout of the ...
1
vote
1answer
2k views
Can I install sheet vinyl flooring in a basement that gets wet on occasion?
Our basement is usually dry, but every so often we have torrential rainstorms in the spring and we are downhill from our neighbors. We get some water overnight in a small stream that we can mop up. ...
0
votes
1answer
132 views
what should be “ideal” floor coloring in a bright area?
I am planning to go for white tiles . I live in a place where there is a lot of light (near the equator) . Will white be good or should I go for little darker colors (since white reflects a lot of ...
4
votes
1answer
354 views
Can Laminate flooring be installed on Steps?
Can Laminate flooring be installed on steps? I've seen that many laminate flooring manufacturers offer stair nose pieces like this. It would seem that you would fasten (with finish nails) the thick ...
3
votes
3answers
353 views
How many “zones” should my underfloor heating system have?
We're putting underfloor heating in our new apartment. On top will be a wooden floor for most of the apartment, stone/tiles in bathrooms and probably also in part of kitchen.
The constructor said ...
5
votes
1answer
757 views
Should I replace nails in a plywood subfloor with screws to the joists?
As you may know I asked a few questions to this end already and just wanted to know if I should remove the nails and replace them with screws to hold the 1/2" plywood sub floor securely to the joists ...
5
votes
6answers
505 views
How do I remake my floor using hardwood such that it will not squeak at all?
I have carpet in my bedroom that when you walk on certain spots makes lots of noise. I am tossing the carpet and putting down hardwood flooring. I am using 3/4 in prefinished oak in widths of 3 1/4 ...
2
votes
1answer
513 views
How do I pull up sheets of plywood from the floor?
I have ripped up the carpet in the master bedroom and found that between the sheets of plywood there is cold air blowing in because part of the floor is over the garage.
I want to pull up the nailed ...
3
votes
1answer
795 views
How do I roughly cut linoleum to room width?
So far I had to replace linoleum twice and each time it was a room of something like slightly-more-than 3 meters by slightly-less-than 3 meters.
Linoleum is usually cut to length at a shop and then ...
5
votes
4answers
6k views
Where should I start laying nail down hardwood flooring and how do I make it straight?
I'm planning to install tongue and groove hardwood flooring in my living room, dining room, kithcen, hallway, and powder room. The longest unbroken length of floor runs from the front bay of the house ...
4
votes
1answer
264 views
how to install pre-finished hardwood floors?
I have pulled up the carpet in my bedroom and got down to the plywood subfloor.
Do I have to prepare the plywood or lay anything down prior to placing the lengths of 3/4" oak flooring down (and ...
4
votes
2answers
5k views
Which laminate flooring is best with a largish dog?
I'm looking to install some laminate flooring in my kitchen/dining area. I'm pretty set on >= 10mil flooring but am wondering if some brands hold up better than others to pet abuse. I've got an 80 ...
5
votes
4answers
7k views
How do I lift a fitted carpet without damaging it?
We recently bought a house and had a bit of work done on it. We then had carpets fitted in a lot of the rooms and all was fine.
Recently noticed in our spare room (after shifting some of the crap ...
6
votes
2answers
2k views
How can I strengthen attic rafters for storage?
I have standard 2x4 rafters and want to use it just for storage and I am worried they are not strong enough. I was thinking I could buddy ( or sister) up the 2x4's with another 2x4 or 2x6. or stack ...
3
votes
1answer
3k views
How do I fill a wide gap between tile and other flooring / sill plate?
I recently installed 16" porcelain tile in a new laundry room addition. As luck would have it, the room ended up being the same width as 4 tiles, so I had to do very little cutting to complete the ...
3
votes
1answer
694 views
Where can I find a cheap diamond stone-cutting blade for my Dremel Multi-Max?
I'm getting ready to place laminate flooring in a room with a brick fireplace. As per Mike's recommendation here, I'd like to use my Dremel Multi-Max tool to cut a space in the base of our brick ...
1
vote
3answers
4k views
Is there a “safe” sub-floor leveling compound?
I have some gashes in my sub-floor that I'd like to fill/level before placing laminate flooring down. Upon checking at my local home depot, I found some floor leveling compound but quite frankly, I'm ...
4
votes
4answers
3k views
How do I install cabinets on a floating hardwood floor?
We just purchased a bunch of cabinets for installation of a bar / kitchenette in the basement. There are 4 wall cabinets and four base cabinets. These are going to be installed on the existing ...
6
votes
2answers
277 views
Frame or floor planks first?
Is it best to frame a powder room and a couple closets first, on top of plywood subfloor, or best to lay hardwood planks first then frame on top? I guess it would be fewer cuts to frame second. What ...
5
votes
2answers
7k views
How do I make where my carpet meets tile look nice?
We've recently replaced our kitchen tiles. I pretty happy with the results but have no idea what to do with the edge. How do I clean this edge up so that it looks more appealing?
7
votes
2answers
3k views
How do I repair a nick in vinyl floor?
We had some recent work done on our house and it appears that one of the workers nicked the vinyl flooring in the kitchen -- resulting in a circular gash about 3/4 inch wide. Here's a picture:
...
4
votes
1answer
465 views
How Is “Super Laminate” flooring installed?
I recently learned about AABSO "Super Laminate" flooring (aka Vinyl flooring planks). It seems to have some advantages over standard laminate flooring when it comes to moisture resistance so I'm ...
5
votes
2answers
3k views
How do I level an unlevel floor?
The second floor of my house is not to level. The walls are, everything is straight but the floor has a slight pitch.
I'm about to remove the current glued vinyl tiles and replace it with a regular ...
1
vote
4answers
749 views
How can I remove superficial pet urine stains from subfloor?
After removing the carpet from our bathroom closet, I found urine stains on the plywood sub-floor (serenity now).
It sounds bad but the floors are quite sturdy so I'm reasonably certain that it's a ...
3
votes
2answers
2k views
How do I remove glued-on carpet?
I'm trying to remove carpet from a small closet in our bathroom (at most 3.5 ft by 3.5 ft). I started to remove it and it looks to have been glued around the perimeter. What's the easiest way to ...
8
votes
2answers
349 views
What to look for in buying laminate flooring
We are beginning to look at replacing the floors in our home and are considering laminate flooring. We are wondering if there is a difference in type and quality, especially when pricing is concerned. ...
1
vote
2answers
1k views
How do I repair terrazzo floors?
I just bought an older house and it has terrazzo floors the whole way through. The previous owner installed carpet using tack strips that were nailed to the floor, instead of using contact cement, so ...
4
votes
2answers
686 views
Pros and Cons of floated flooring
We just bought a new house which needs extensive remodeling.
Our contractor, after ripping out the existing old carpet and damaged subfloor/padding, discovered that the floor was quite uneven, so we ...
2
votes
1answer
795 views
Do I need to put mortar between wood and backerboard on a mixed wood/tile floor?
We have a hardwood insert on our kitchen floor and we will be surrounding it with slate tile. Also the room next to the kitchen is all hardwood floor. Our heights are correct for the tile (with the ...
5
votes
2answers
2k views
How should we sand and treat our Victorian floorboards?
We have recently bought a new house, well a new old house. It dates from 1900, we have taken the carpet up ad are now looking to sand back the exposed original floorboards.
We plan on giving the ...
7
votes
2answers
12k views
How can I build a cheap, do-it-yourself dance floor?
I would like to make a cheap DIY dance floor and I attained a roll of 3.5 ft x 6 ft vinyl linoleum for free. Can I use this in making a dance floor? Has anyone built their own cheap DIY and what ...
11
votes
8answers
35k views
What direction should laminate flooring be placed in?
I'm thinking of installing laminate flooring and have a question: If I'm installing laminate throughout the house, should ALL of it be going in the same direction?
Say for example, let's say I have ...
5
votes
4answers
4k views
How should laminate flooring be secured next to brick?
I want to install laminate flooring in a family room that has a brick fireplace. Part of the laminate would be directly next to the brick base of the fireplace. What kind of base-board or base-piece ...
6
votes
5answers
8k views
Should I remove old linoleum when replacing a linoleum floor?
I'm planning to replace the linoleum floor in my kitchen in the next few months. According to a friend, I do not need to remove the existing linoleum and can just lay down new flooring on top. ...
1
vote
1answer
258 views
is there a trick to installing “lock and fold” flooring?
I am doing a small installation of lock and fold flooring and find that the pieces don't want to sit flat, they curve up from the floor somewhat. I am tempted to push harder on them, but don't want to ...
