Flooring Repair
Strengthen Joists
You wouldn’t believe the types of questions I get about how to strengthen joists. So, this means we’re talking about basements, crawlspaces, and attics mainly–accessible places where you can get to the joists without ripping apart half of your house. Now, none of my advice about how to strengthen joists applies to houses that... »
How to Get Rid of Vinyl Flooring Bubbles
Sheet vinyl flooring can develop bubbles of trapped air. Since these bubbles are covered by a seamless sheet of vinyl on the top, and by the underlayment or subfloor on the bottom, they will never go away. How do you get rid of them? One of the reasons you bought sheet vinyl flooring in... »
Fixing Concrete Slab Prior to Installing Flooring
If you’re going to install flooring directly on concrete, then that concrete has got to be perfect. You have no more flooring layers available to smooth out things before your finish flooring goes down. So, you need to deal with cracks, depressions, and high spots. And keep in mind that we’re not even talking... »
Fixing Squeaky Floor Without Ripping Up Carpet
If you’ve got a carpeted floor that squeaks, you may think that it’s impossible to silence the noise without ripping up all the carpet. Not so. In fact there is a neat little trick that helps you silence almost every squeak in your carpeted floor, without even pulling back a single corner of the... »
How to Fix Sloping, Out of Level Floor?
Q: My floor slopes and is out of level. One end is noticeably higher than the other end. Peas roll off the plate! How can I fix it? Can I use levelling compound or is something more “serious” required…and I do not look forward to your answer because I’m afraid what it will be.... »
Sandpaper Grit to Use for Sanding Wood Floors
When you’re sanding wooden floors (particularly if you have really crappy floors), the temptation is to really sand the hell out of them. After all, something is motivating you to sand your floors. If you have perfect floors, you wouldn’t be doing this. You sand floors because they are grooved, pitted, stained, worn, scratched,... »