15
votes
Floor tile layout process?
Software would be nice, but setting up your room diagram is probably more work than just trying your layout in reality. Plus, there's no substitute for actually seeing it in place.
I usually do this: ...
- 126k
11
votes
Accepted
Why are the areas (square footage) for carpet removal and for vinyl plank installation different?
There are two main reasons:
When you install planks there is a requirement that the ends of the plank must be within a certain distance of ends of other planks on adjacent rows. This means you ...
- 47.7k
9
votes
How do I deal with a skinny strip of flooring at the edge of a wall?
Assuming that this is a locking tongue-and-groove product... Rip the strip and install it as normal. There's no reason at all not to, and it happens on almost every flooring install in one place or ...
- 126k
9
votes
Accepted
How do I know if my subfloor is fire retardant or preservative-treated?
The concern is probably that adhesives won't bond to treated plywood, or maybe that color will leach out and stain the new flooring. You're right that you're seeing paint overspray on your subfloor. ...
- 126k
7
votes
Removing and adding skirting boards when installing floors?
Yes, carpet can be installed without removing the skirting because slightly uneven carpet edges can be stuffed down between the tack strips and the skirting. For wood and tile, straight edges are ...
- 76.9k
7
votes
Removing and adding skirting boards when installing floors?
Laminate requires an expansion gap. When installed without a gap, laminate buckles up as the flooring heats and expands. Leaving the gap exposed would be unsightly, so the floor trim should be ...
- 1,187
7
votes
Accepted
Would it be better to temporarily lay vinyl on a carpet, carpet underlay or floorboards?
Vinyl flooring will fail in short order if laid over something soft like carpet or carpet padding. It's not designed to flex and stretch as it will under foot traffic and furniture, and more ...
- 126k
6
votes
How do I deal with a skinny strip of flooring at the edge of a wall?
Of course, don't tear up the whole thing. But you should consider tearing up just the last full board, and reducing the width of the last two courses:
The last board will have to be glued or screwed ...
- 14.1k
6
votes
How do I deal with a skinny strip of flooring at the edge of a wall?
You can always just glue the narrow srip to the adjacent full plank and make it an 'oversized' plank. The plank will expand and contract normally and be fully floating.
- 61
6
votes
How do I know if my subfloor is fire retardant or preservative-treated?
That looks like good old plywood decking. No obvious treatment there.
- 102k
6
votes
how to hide the ugliest vinyl flooring ever (renter friendly)
One idea you could try is to get a piece of linoleum of a desired color & pattern big enough to cover the whole bathroom, then carefully trim it into place. Use double side carpet tape to hold it ...
- 4,802
5
votes
Accepted
How to use this vinyl tile
A quick search for "stainmaster vinyl tile" shows an image of a floor with similarly misaligned patterns. So it might not be random bad luck that they are poorly aligned.
But it looks like ...
- 1,140
4
votes
Accepted
Replace broken tile with concrete
First that concrete subfloor you have is great. Don't ever demo a good concrete bathroom subfloor unless you have to.
Second if you don't want a tile floor it is very easy to demo the tile without ...
- 47.7k
4
votes
Solution for covering carpet glued to concrete on a balcony
It's a pain in the neck but you need to remove and dispose of the carpet. Anything you put on top of it will only cover a nasty mess that will get worse over time.
Once the carpet is removed you will ...
- 606
4
votes
Divots in concrete from carpet tack
You cannot avoid a divot when pulling nails out of concrete small divots I use epoxy filler larger or a large number I use a self leveling compound or hydraulic cement. Vinyl flooring will show divots ...
- 102k
4
votes
Fixing/stopping crack in vinyl plank flooring
The proper way is to replace the piece, but this is either laborious if you have to replace planks until you get to the damaged one, or it is very difficult and risks damaging the rest of the flooring,...
- 15.7k
4
votes
Leveling the floor before vinyl
You aren't going to like this answer. The best way to do this, and I know from experience, is to get a floor scraper, like the one shown below, from your home store and go to town scraping the floor. ...
- 76.9k
4
votes
Accepted
Should vinyl plank flooring be caulked around a wall pipe?
Well, sure, but caulk isn't going to make your floor a boat. It'll slow things down somewhat, but even self-sealing floors have small flaws in their water-holding ability. A flood is a flood, and no ...
- 126k
4
votes
Accepted
Working with concrete-like float between plywood and flooring
This looks like "gypcrete", a gypsum-based cement product used to level and stiffen subfloor and deaden inter-floor sound transmission in multi-family dwellings. I'm not familiar with the ...
- 126k
4
votes
Accepted
Best way to repair a small tear in vinyl flooring?
The best solution is to replace a unit of the flooring. In your case, this would be one of the simulated tiles, putting the new seam on the simulated grout line where it's less visible. You can use ...
- 126k
3
votes
What can I do with vinyl tile where the floor edge is open, like at a descending staircase?
I do happen to like the aluminum, but would stained and varnished oak stair nosing be elegant enough?
- 34.4k
3
votes
What can I do with vinyl tile where the floor edge is open, like at a descending staircase?
aluminum stair nosing –Google
source
- 13.3k
3
votes
Laying Vinyl Flooring Over Uneven Poured Concrete
Spend $50 on a non contact moisture meter rated for concrete. Make sure your system is ok with whatever level you have spring/fall..
Floor grinding with a diamond cup grinder, followed by SLC (self ...
- 12.1k
3
votes
What are my options for tiling over an uneven concrete floor?
One option would to roughly fill the deep depressions with a relatively inexpensive mortar mix, and only then pull out the self-levelling stuff so you can use less of it.
- 191k
3
votes
Crusty stuff coming up between basement floor planks
Some vinyl planking, like mine, has a thin layer of corkboard on bottom to help padding.
This is why orange-brown crust is seeping up. Moisture from slab is pushing thru the cork layer and forcing it ...
3
votes
Remove brown bicycle tire marks from vinyl floor
I too had tire marks on my PVC floor. After trying everything, I found a solution. It's a bit cumbersome but yielded a positive result. You'll need hydrogen peroxide and a UV lamp.
I applied a cream ...
- 31
3
votes
How smooth does the floor need to be to lay vinyl plank over it?
You can download the DIY installation instructions here, which contain a lot of guidance on the subfloor requirements, as well as instructions. They say concrete is a suitable subfloor, although they ...
- 5,998
3
votes
How do you install a floating floor on stairs?
I don't recommend doing what you're attempting to do but...
If you're covering 2x12 carpet treads, the 2x12 treads will need to be pulled off and have most of the overhang ripped off so you don't end ...
- 1,224
3
votes
Floor tile layout process?
I agree completely with isherwood, especially on a smaller job like a bathroom, but I wanted to add my recent experience with my recent, fairly complicated, tile layout. It required some pre-planning ...
- 1,084
3
votes
Accepted
Should I caulk the baseboards to sheet vinyl floor in a basement bathroom?
If you’re not installing cove base, I would definitely caulk the base to the sheet vinyl...or make sure you never allow teenage girls in your basement bathroom.
- 23k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible