Floor Installation
Vinyl Tile Cutter
Cutting sheet vinyl–accurately–is a monumental pain, and it’s nice when a good crew of pros does it for you. So, you might start to think: Hmm, tile vinyl flooring…easy. By contrast, vinyl tile (i.e., usually twelve inches square) seems like a walk in the park. What could be easier? Slice the stuff apart with a... »
Do You Need a Flooring Jack?
Tough question, so before we talk flooring jacks, let’s ask about your circumstances: Are you a professional installer? If yes, then you need a flooring jack. But you probably know this already. Tougher question: Are you a DIY floor installer? If yes, then we’ll ask if you have more than one room to install. A multiple... »
Red Rosin Paper for Installing Floors
After you’ve got a good, smooth, stable subfloor and underlayment, the last step before installing the finish flooring–red rosin paper. This stuff mystified me the first time I saw it installed. I thought: Isn’t there anything better to lay down as a moisture barrier? Well, for one thing, you don’t want an absolutely impermeable moisture... »
Wood Flooring Moisture
It doesn’t matter if you’re installing your wood flooring yourself or hiring someone–wood flooring moisture is something you need to think about. Every guide you read, every set of product instructions will say, “Let the wood floor acclimate in the house for 3 days” or whatever time length they specify (1 day? 5 days?). ... »
Sealed Concrete Floor: Problem for New Floor Installation?
Laying some types of finish flooring straight atop concrete slab has its ups and its downs. Most concrete is in fairly level condition–after all, it’s a quasi-liquidfied substance that is largely self-leveling. But one problem you’ll often run into is sealed concrete. It may seem that sealed concrete is a perfect surface to lay down... »
Nailing Underlayment
When nailing underlayment, you need to think about three things: nail type, nail size and nail spacing. Sure, it may be tempting to grab just any old nail in your shop and start pounding away, but in the case the wages of sin are high: nails popping up through carpeting and even laminate floor; floor... »
Is the Concrete Slab is Ready for Flooring?
If you’ve got a concrete slab, you’re in luck. In a best case scenario, concrete slabs provide a (relatively) glass-smooth surface for flooring and are so stable that you should never have squeaks. But one thing to keep in mind with installing flooring directly on concrete is that concrete has a lot of moisture…and... »
How to Remove Threshold Before Installing Floor
This is a neat little trick that can save heartache. How do you remove a threshold when you want to install flooring? More importantly, you may wonder why you need to remove the threshold prior to floor installation… The fact is, you do need to remove that threshold; there is no way to get around... »
Why Stagger End Joints on Subflooring?
Subflooring goes directly on top of your floor joists. It is pretty much a no-brainer. Or is it? Well, one thing to keep in mind is that your end joints–or corners–need to have a certain staggered pattern. I’ve never one for doing unnecessary work. For one, I hate the idea of applying subfloor adhesive (nice... »
Learn About Types of Subfloor and Underlayment
Below the finish floor, and above the floor joists (or concrete slab), is the subfloor. Sometimes, you’ll have an underlayment that comes between the subfloor and the finish floor, too. These terms are confusing because sometimes you’ll want both, sometimes not. And other times, the same material can be used as both subfloor and... »