How to install hardwood floors, linoleum or tile.

There are many choices for remodeling, you can use wood, tile, or linoleum. These all come in many different styles, colors and designs. Each type requires a different skill set to install but the preparation is the same for any type of upgrade. The type and style you decide to use all depends on your taste and desires for your home.

Wood planks can come in thickness of 1/4?, 5/16?, 3/8?, 1/2?, 5/8" and 3/4" or (6 mm, 8 mm, 10 mm, 13 mm, 16 mm and 19 mm). They can be solid hardwood, or engineered wood. They can be tongue and grove or interlocking planks. They can be pre-finished wood floors or unfinished which means they must be sanded and finished after they are installed. The engineered wood will normally have a wear layer of 2 mm to 4 mm thick. They can be attached to the sub floor by nails, glue or floating, 1/4" thick planks cannot be floated.

You need to find out the method that is recommended or required for the flooring you want to use. What is the sub-floor cement or wood? Cement sub-floors are usually on the ground or sub ground level. You need to check the moisture content, and if it exceeds the recommended content then a moisture barrier such as a plastic sheet needs to be placed over the cement. Check the manufacturers recommendation.

You can make this installation a do it yourself project, learn about all the available recommendations from knowledgeable people before starting. Make a plan for the type of material and how are you going to attach the flooring.

If you are going to glue the floor down, check out the process, does the manufacturer require that you use their glue, they may put a tracer element in their glue to verify if you have used their glue if there is a warranty claim on the installation. Do they require that a professional installer installs it?

Tile floors can be ceramic or vinyl. What is your application, is it in a high traffic area such as hall ways or entrance or high moisture area such as a bathroom?

Ceramic tile can either have a thin glazed layer that is very pretty but can be scratched easily in high traffic. Unglazed tile will have the same color clear through the tile and resists scratches very well. Ceramic tile can be placed over a cement or wood sub flooring. The sub floor must be structurally stable and clean. A cement board recommended for wood sub floors can be fixed to the sub floor per manufacturers recommendation.

Vinyl tiles can be the least expensive tile and easiest to install. They may be installed over an existing resilient flooring, over plywood on wood floors or on dry concrete. Clean, dry and level the sub floor, remove all oil, wax or grease. Study all the pros and cons for the flooring you select and the job it must do.

Linoleum can be produced from environmental natural things such as linseed oil, wood or cork powder, resins and ground limestone. It can be made in many rich colors and patterns and comes in a sheet that is usually 2 meters wide (6' 7") A 2.5 mm thick sheet is suitable for home place use.

It can be installed over most sub floors but if installing over concrete, the moisture emission rate must be with in limits set by the manufacturer. A high pH level of the concrete can ruin the adhesive and the adhesive may not bond to the concrete if it has a sealer on it. If two sections of linoleum are butted together, they must be sealed either with special seam sealer or a color coordinated linoleum rod that is melted with a specialized welding tool.

Linoleum may expand in width and shrink in length over time so this needs to be compensated for when it is installed.

About the Author

When you are ready to remodel your old floors make sure you check with Bruce Contryman's advice on How to install hardwood floors. How to install hardwood floors, and home improvements Grab a totally unique version of this article from the Uber Article Directory

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